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After President Dick Troncone brought us to order, James Buley, a member since August 2009, inspired us with Vince Lombardi-isms. Accompanied by Larry Showley on the ivories, Shelly Brocket led us in God Bless America. Newsman Bert Whalen reminded us of what was happening in San Diego Rotary in 1974—“Time In a Bottle” led the hit parade, Club 33 had 400 member including newcomer Mike Rowan and people complained at the high price of gas—55 cents.
Bonnie Schwartz, Mike Morton and Bruce Hunt recently attended the Large Club Conference in Birmingham, AL. Club 33 is now the world’s fourth largest Rotary Club behind Seattle, Birmingham and Oklahoma City. New members Jason Burns, sponsored by Ed Ecker and Nick Macchione, sponsored by Bill Gore, introduced themselves. Please see page 3 for their bios.
President Dick reminded us of the Rotary Walk on March 6. Please sign up on the club website. There will be some great prizes. Jim Kitchen introduced Jim Sterk, SDSU’s new athletic director. Aztec fans are hopeful that he can continue the turnaround started by Brady Hoke in the football program. Pauline Hill announced that the Boy Scouts’ food drive will be on March 11. Bring cans or packages of non-perishable food to our meeting that day. This year marks a century of Boy Scouting.
Tom Gehring asked for more Rotarians to suggest projects for Rotarians at Work Day on Saturday, April 24. Click the RAW link in the lower right hand corner of our website. Andy Liska was fined for cluttering the tables with fliers for the 10th annual STAR/PAL Celebrity Waiter Luncheon, to take place on Friday, April 18. He’s looking for auction items and for seat and table sponsorships.
Chair of the Day George Gildred introduced the visiting Rotarians, including one from Austria, who received a bottle of Chilean white wine for traveling the farthest distance from home. George then introduced our speaker, Ambassador Charles Shapiro, Senior Advisor for Economic Initiatives, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
Ambassador Shapiro talked about poverty in Latin America and ways the United States is trying to improve the situation. Poverty is caused by bad governance, insecurity, forms of ownership, and history. On average, Latin Americans live on less than $2 a day. Brazil, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, and some other countries are doing better. People live better in the cities than in the countryside. Venezuela has major problems: it’s oil revenues are falling, and it’s run by Hugo Chavez, who verbally assaults just about everyone, and whose party is split.
Solutions for poverty are being tried in some countries with some good success. A Mexican program, for example, gives payments to its poorest families. To get the money, the children have to go to school and mothers have to get training in basic health care.
Editor of the Day: Larry Clapper
Photography by Paul Nestor
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