2009 Golf MAJOR Wrap-up

The Elizabethtown Rotary 2009 Golf MAJOR was a fantastic success yesterday!

A wonderful day of golf, fellowship, service, funds raised for cancer research, comedy, food and drink, and warm sunny weather will be remembered for a long time.

$30,000 was raised for cancer research bringing our total contribution over the past 4 years to over $100000! Anyone who heard Dr. Yun speak at the club meeting on Friday, will appreciate how our support of the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation is being put to good use and achieving results! The success that he has had with the sphingosine kinase inhibitor and shrinking down different kinds of cancer cells is unbelievably promising.

HUGE Kudos to Golf MAJOR chair Dave Schmidt who puts endless hours into this tournament and is responsible for its amazing success. Dave's vision, passion, and leadership continue to propel this event beyond expectations every year.

John Martin 2 was relentless in securing sponsorships. We had a total of 96 sponsors this year for the tournament, many of them thanks to John. Ken Wolfe puts a lot of work into the silent auction and it's proceeds continue to grow yearly. Thank you Ken!

Kevin Engle and Engle Business Systems (A Toshiba Company) were awesome as the major sponsor this year. Not only did Kevin contribute financially in a huge way, but he was present all day to kickoff both rounds and greet each golfer on Hole #1. As Tom Labagh said, Kevin was the perfect host!

Thank you also to all of the members of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club for their support in many different ways. I personally saw more than half of the club members at the tournament yesterday (yeh- I was counting) and I know there were many others who were unable to make it but provided sponsorships or helped the golf committee with planning. It is wonderful to see such an active club. Everyone I spoke with and thanked for being there was having a great time.

Congratulations Etown Rotarians for a job outstandingly done!

Highlights from the July 24th Meeting...

Here's the recap of the July 24th meeting....

Pastor Fetter stepped in for the invocation.
I declared the 4th Friday of each month "President's choice" for the music selections. There was moaning from the masses. Having been to DisneyWorld a week ago, I chose "It's a Small World" and "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah" to sing. In coming months maybe we'll do some Buffett or Springsteen.
Ken Brandt did his usual masterful job introducing guests.
Clair Baum found the 2 of spades (I think) for the 50/50. There was great rejoicing.
Harold Engle stepped in as sheriff.
Ken Brandt gave a inspiring report about his trip to the RI Convention in England.
Dennis Z spoke about the Foundation Pledge form.
Bart spoke about beginning sign-ups to work at the fair
Dave Halliwell handed out the veggies from last week's auction with bonus zucchini breads.
Dave Schmidt gave an extended history of the golf tournament and announced that we have raised over $100,000 for cancer research in the past 4 years. Awesome! We broke out THE BIG CHECK for a photo op after the meeting.

The Program was introduced by Warren Gittlen. Dr. Jong Yun, researcher at the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation, gave us an update on his latest research on the sphingosine kinase inhibitor and how it stops cancer cells. Fascinating stuff and amazingly promising as a treatment of cancer!!

Highlights from the July 17th meeting

I've seen some Rotary websites and newsletters that give brief recaps of the previous week's meeting. I kind of like the idea as a way to create a running archive of the meetings for the year. Our new blog is a good place to put this... So here it goes. I was on vacation for the July 10th meeting, but here's my recap of the July 17th meeting....

Scott Cvek invocated.
We recited the 4 Way Test after the prayer.
Charlie and Tess led some "singing".
Steve Lane did a great job introducing guests (his first time!).
Bob Hollinger found the 8 of diamonds for the 50/50. There was great rejoicing.
Susan Grubb stepped in as sheriff and fined herself and others for not wearing their namebadges.
Dennis Z spoke about the Foundation Pledge form.
Kristi Baker from Junior Achievement spoke briefly and accepted THE BIG CHECK for our $725 donation this past year.
Dave rambled about the golf tournament and told us that Beatriz will arrive from Brazil on August 14th.

Chuck outdid himself for the monthly auction - Tom Labagh's standing bid scored one of the Rotary ties, Glenn Erb the other (donated by Rodney Fink), Ken Wolfe went pretty high for the Yankees-O's bustrip outbidding Bob Hollinger (donated by Barry Acker), Jim Novinger got the t-shirt donated by Lois Herr, and 10 members bid $15 each for a veggie selection donated by Dave Halliwell. $396.50 was raised for club programs!!! What a great month!

The Program was our own Lois Herr describing her trip around the world on the Queen Victoria. It was a fascinating journey!

One Week until 2009 Golf MAJOR

We are less than a week away from the 2009 Golf MAJOR which takes place next Monday July 27th.

I am pleased to see that a majority of club members are supporting our effort to raise funds for cancer research by sponsoring, volunteering, or playing in the tournament.

There is still room for 2 foursomes in both the morning and afternoon rounds and there is still need for volunteers. Please contact Dave Schmidt by Thursday if you would like to play or volunteer to help in either round.

This Friday's program will be by Dr. Jong Yun, a researcher from the Gittlen Cancer Research Institute, to talk about the latest advances in cancer research that we are contributing to. I am told that Warren Gittlen will also be coming and will bring video of NBC's West Wing episode that highlighted research being done at the Gittlen Institute. This is sure to be an excellent program you won't want to miss.

2009 Golf MAJOR

Elizabethtown Rotarians -

You should be aware that our 2009 Golf MAJOR will be taking place on Monday July 27^th at the Blue Ridge Country Club in Harrisburg.

The proceeds we raise from this event support both the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation and the Elizabethtown Rotary Melanoma Endowment at Hershey Medical Center. The money we raise goes towards cancer research and the annual melanoma symposium which brings cancer researchers together to share ideas, all here in our own backyard. Click here to see the Gittlen Foundation newsletter to see the details of the research we are supporting.

The support for our event continues to grow every year. Just take a look at this amazing list of sponsors http://www.elizabethtownrotary.org/GOLFSPONSORS.cfm . We have over 280 golfers registered to play already and the registrations continue to come in.

The success of our Golf MAJOR has reached levels unsurpassed by any other charitable golf tournament in our community. As an Elizabethtown Rotarian, I encourage you to join your fellow Rotarians and be involved in some way with this great fundraiser.

Ways you can be involved -

• Golf or encourage someone to golf
• Be a business sponsor or secure a business sponsorship
• Volunteer as a helper at the event
• Assist the organizing committee
• Come to the post-tournament comedy show on Monday night and/or encourage friends to purchase $10 tickets
• Provide a small memorial donation or be an individual sponsor

There is still time to get involved! Please contact Dave Schmidt (David.A.Schmidt@usps.gov) or John Martin II (ssmartin.4@comcast.net) to get involved in any of the areas above. A volunteer signup sheet will be circulated at the next couple of meetings if you can work the event in the morning or afternoon.

Be proud to be an Elizabethtown Rotarian! This golf tournament ROCKS! in many different ways. Get involved, do good, and help find a cure to the myriad of terrible diseases we call cancer.

Joe

New Zealand is July's Featured Country

In the International spirit that is Rotary, each Etown Rotary board meeting this year will feature a different country by way of a wine tasting. According to the French proverb, " In water one sees one's own face; But in wine one beholds the heart of another."

Our meeting tonight will highlight New Zealand. New Zealand has 269 Rotary Clubs and approximately 10,000 Rotarians. Our tasting will be a 2006 Pinot Noir from the Wairau River Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand.

This wine has an intensely perfumed nose of wild berry fruits and hints of
forest floor, framed by toasty oak. Showing complexity on the palate, the
low yielding vines and skilful winemaking give this wine a silken texture
with a fine tannin structure and great length. Indulge with gastronomic
delights and scintilating conversation.
- Allan McWilliams, Winemaker

Rotary Foundation Goals

In the magnificent history of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club written by Ron Stratton in 2001 there is a list of 93 members and friends of the club who had become Paul Harris Fellows through our Club. At that time, our total giving to the Foundation had reached $128,870.

As of May 21, 2009, our club is credited with a total of 120 Paul Harris Fellows and $211, 897.31 in total giving. In just 8 years our club members have managed to give $$83,000 to the Rotary Foundation. That is an amazing record, and we ought to be proud of our collective generosity.

But here are some other interesting statistics that tell the story in a different way. The total contribution has come from 67 current members of our club and 121 contributors who never were, or are not now members of our club.

The most surprising statistic, to me, is that there are 19 members of our club who have NEVER made a single contribution to the Foundation. That's 20% of our members, or one in five.

And so I want to salute President Joe Rebman for making one of his key goals for next year 100% participation by our club members in this major charity effort of Rotary. Every member of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club will be asked to make a committment to become a Sustaining Member of the Foundation by pledging to give $100 per year, which can be added to your quarterly dues and meals billing.

Think of it this way: when you go to church, you contribute to the benevolences of your congregation or denomination. That is what helps define you as a member of that church community. And it should be no less in Rotary. The most important programs of humanitarian aid and world service of Rotary International are conducted through its foundation-- if Rotarians don't support it, how can we expect others to follow our lead? EVERY MEMBER, EVERY YEAR!
A VERY WORTHY AND ACHIEVABLE ROTARY CLUB GOAL!

--Tom Labagh, PP

The Rotary Bell

The Rotary Bell
The Rotary Bell has both form and function. Its practical use is for the President to signal certain times in our meeting. When it rings at the opening of the meeting, we automatically stand for the pledge to the flag and the invocation. When it rings in the middle of the meeting, we become silent to hear the program.	When it rings at the close of the meeting it sends us on our way to serve our community. More than this-- it is a symbol of the regularity and timeliness of Rotary. It represents the simple orderly manner in which we conduct our business. It demands... it deserves... our respect. -Tom Labagh, PP