Our Greeter today was Ginny Sandoval and she did a marvelous job.
President Dan Crane rang the bell at 7:30 a.m. Then Herb Klotz gave a very nice invocation.
Today we again sang the National Anthem with a faster pace as we watched the newer video. Then we said the Pledge of Allegiance.
President Dan says that the word from the country is from Dale Hostetter who said “Duct tape is like "The Force". It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together.”
GUESTS:
Steve LaPierre, Emmaus RC; Bob Kearney, guest of Al Lewis; Mike Kearney, son of Bob; Marti, Y.E. Student from Argentina; Andy Fink, guest of Chris Blechschmidt; and Tina Buss, almost a member.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE:
Al Lewis introduced his friend Mike Kearney who brought his guitar. Mike entertained us with three great blue grass songs to get us started.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
President Dan showed slides of Chris Blechschmidt, and of last week’s speaker Loretta Ottinger with Arch Klumph. Then we saw pics from last week’s Snack Packing and the Lowhill Food Pantry volunteers. The photo that got the most attention was of Bob Gordon meeting with some very attractive young ladies.
President Dan reminds us to refer to the Activities list that he e-mailed to us for volunteering opportunities and contact information.
DATES TO REMEMBER:
The next Thursday Evening Happy Hour meeting is TOMORROW, January12th at the Holiday Inn. Fleetwood RC’s Loretta Ottinger will discuss solar energy savings.
Friday, Jan 13th we volunteer for Kingdom of Life.
Saturday, Jan 14th – Lowhill Food Pantry – 8:45 – 11:30 AM
Friday Jan 20th is the TT3 meeting.
Thursday Evening, January 26th is Dining Out at Louie’s.
Jan 29th is the board games at the Trexlertown Fire Co.
Feb 20th we drive for Meals on Wheels.
Mar 8th, is a Women’s Day meeting at Cedar Crest College.
Mar 11th, is the District Foundation Gala.
AND, of course, you always can have your breakfast at our meetings sitting with Arch Klumph for a donation of $26.50 to the Rotary Foundation.
NEXT WEEK our Greeter will be Randy Beitler and our program will be Gwenn & Gary & the TT3 Team with an update.
LUCK of the DRAW:
Today ‘s door prize donated by Ginny Sandoval was won by Herb Klotz.
Then Geoff Legg’s ticket was drawn and he selected a white marble from among 5 and did not win the $115 in the 50:50 pot.
FINES:
S-a-A Don Davis fined Jeff Kistler and Bob Gordon for arriving late.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Al Lewis is happy to be here and to have breakfast with Bob and Mike Kearney.
Herb Klotz is happy to report that on Jan 10th the new Whitehall Area RC held its first official “provisional” meeting, and there were 20 members there. Great start. They hope to Charter in late March.
Jeanne Shipe is triply happy. She just returned from successful seminars in Orlando. And she plans to go to Australia in February. Also -- tomorrow is her birthday. So we sang Happy Birthday to Jeanne.
Bill Palmer is happy to report that his #2 grandson, Nathaniel, is applying to law schools and just got his first acceptance --- from Washington Univ. in St. Louis.
Geoff Legg is happy to report that his daughter, Dr. Kim. was in Washington, DC last week giving a talk to the Trump folks about medical issues.
Bob Gordon also is triply happy. He was pleased to be entertaining, and he is going to Baton Rouge, LA later today. And he was happy that Marti was here.
Wendy Weaver is extremely happy to report that her niece, Heather, using an apparatus on her arm was able to feed herself some chocolate pudding. Big applause followed.
Mitch Huston -- a.k.a. Henny Youngman -- told an ant-Dallas Cowboys story about bleaching a jersey. He told a second joke too.
Dan Crane, another triple, noted his grandson, Gavin’s third birthday.
PROGRAM:
Today’s program was a presentation by K9 Officer Jason Laky, Salisbury Twp Police Dept. and a Canine Unit Demo with "Rocket"
Jason started with the Police part time in 1997. He was a leader in raising the funds to get the program started. The first Salisbury Township Police Department K-9 Unit was placed into service in May 2003. Several citizens, the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office and Salisbury Township provided funding for the purchase of the canine and related equipment.
Zeus, a 1-1/2 year old German Shepard Dog, was imported from Budapest, Hungary. Jason and Zeus spent over a month in basic training at the Castle K-9 Academy in Mechanicsburg, PA. before joining the patrol staff.
The K-9 Unit has become a very important part of the Department. The unit was responsible for taking over $40,000 worth of illegal drugs off the street. The use of the K-9 Unit has resulted in enhanced officer safety and a reduction in time spent conducting building and area searches. Zeus was extremely effective during deployments at large disturbances. The mere presence of the K-9 has prevented many problems and caused a reduction in disorderly behavior and violence.
Jason and Zeus also served as Police Department ambassadors during many public appearances throughout the years. Zeus was truly a valued member of the Department and an important asset to the community. Zeus retired from duty in May 2010 and he spent the rest of his life with Jason and his family. Zeus passed away in 2013.
Zeus was replaced by Fonzie in the Fall of 2010. Fonzie has progressed through his training and has become a first-class tracker and drug detection dog. Jason has spent many hours planning, developing and implementing the K-9 program. He has given up much of his personal life to provide loving care twenty-four hours every day for his K-9 partners.
The fourth annual “K-9 Trials” Program was held in 2014 at Salisbury High School and over thirty law enforcement K-9 teams participated in the event. Officer Laky’s dedication to Zeus, Fonzie and the police K-9 program has been outstanding.
In 2014 the K-9 Unit handled over 48 calls of service whether that was performing duties in Salisbury Township, assisting other agencies and doing public demonstrations.
Jason also is a judge for the National Police Canine Association which is the second largest K-9 association in the United States. He also attended the National Police Canine Conference in San Antonio Texas August of 2014.
Fonzie is now retired and living with Jason and his family. Jason’s current dog he is working is a three year old Belgian Malinois Dog a.k.a. a “gammy.” After his presentation Jason brought Rocket into the meeting room for a 5 minute visit. Rocket is extremely active and barked at us.
These days Jason works 4 twelve hour shifts each week and trains Rocket every single day. Jason said that there are about 20 to 25 Canines in police work in the Lehigh Valley. Allentown has 5 and Bethlehem 4.
Mike Kearney sang another song for us while we waited for Rocket.
CLOSING:
We recited the saying “They profit most who serve the best.”
