President Herb rang the bell at 7:30 a.m. asking us to eat quickly. Pastor Jean Masiko gave a very nice invocation with special mention of Gloria, Dawn and the Hostetter family.
GUESTS:
Michaela Luzicova, Exchange Student; Steve LaPierre, Emmaus RC; Nawal Atiyeh, guest of Herb; Pastor Bob Machamer; and Ronnee Klotz. And Daryl Smith was with us again.
There were 56 attendees today.
STUDENT of the MONTH:
Mikaela Koenig from Northwestern Lehigh H.S. was honored as our February Student –of-the-Month with Rev. Jeff Kistler presenting. See separate article.
NEW MEMBER INDUCTION:
Donna Beach and Jean Machamer were inducted as active members today. See separate article.
COLLECTION FOR THE LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
Our monthly collection to buy food for the Pantry was conducted and $275 was donated. That buys a lot of fresh produce. Thank you, Rotarians.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The International committee held a meeting and enjoyed the food.
On Feb 3rd at LCCC Gwen Pongracz conducted a Speech Contest for H.S. students. Due to some mix-ups, there was just one contestant. She won a cash prize and has a chance to move on to the Regional competition.
Mike Henry said there were 8 AW Rotarian volunteers for Meals on Wheels deliveries on Monday Feb.15th.
Today we do Snack Packs at Parkland.
Today and tomorrow we will volunteer at the Lowhill Food Pantry.
Anna Jean said that we are sold out for our February Dining Out at Eight Oaks with catering by “29 Cooks.” and a Brass Ensemble for entertainment. It starts at 6:30 P.M.
On Feb 24th we will be Snack Packing at Northwestern.
The next Tempting Tastes 2 meeting is on Friday Feb. 26th. NOTE that we need at least 100 more items for the Silent Auction.
On March 30th we will hold this meeting at Parkland H.S. Then on April 13th at LCTI; and ion May 18th at LCCC with our annual scholarship awards.
Our next Thursday evening meeting is February 25th at the Holiday Inn in Breinigsville 5:30 to 6:30 PM. Come and enjoy as an extra, or as a make-up.
The annual Engineers Without Borders event will be on April 1st at DeSales University. Come and meet a real Astronaut.
On April 2nd - Saturday - there is a Rotary Leadership Institute session in Media, PA open to us all. We strongly recommend our members, especially newer ones, to attend; and we pay your registration fee.
The next opportunity relatively close will be in November. Go to rlinea.org
On Monday February 29th there will be new member orientation held at the Holiday Inn.
Opportunities to Volunteer are listed in the weekly e-bulletin.
Next week our scheduled Greeter is Chad Butters, and the program is a Classification Talk by Ralph Wasiakowski.
ROTARIAN of the WEEK:
The AW “Rotarian of the Week” is Joel Masiko, who joined AWRC in 1998, sponsored by wife Jean, after years of working with us when he could. Joel’s career has been in construction which really helped when he worked to install the Flag Poles at the entrance to Ontelaunee Park.
Joel has served on many committees include park clean-ups and now the ongoing snack pack program. He is especially proud of all we did to have the band shell built at Ontelaunee Park. And he truly enjoys his Rotary family.
LUCK of the DRAW:
The door prize donated by Marlene was won by George Ikeda. Then our new member Donna Beach drew the black marble and won the $59 in the 50:50 pot.
FINES:
S-a-A Don Davis fined folks leaving early, but it was slim pickings today.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Jeanne Shipe is happy that she attended two Rotary club meetings in Ohio last week.
Dottie Bloom is happy to report that last week Michaela made 105 cupcakes for the Meals on Wheels staff. Michaela loves to cook; she even prepared dinner for Rick and Dottie. Also Michaela has made the Honor Role for the second time!
Bob Machamer is happy to report that wife Jean is most happy to be in Rotary and working with the Snack Pack program.
Jean Masiko is happy to actually buy a membership application form for Nawal, if that’s what it takes to get one.
Al Lewis had $3 representing just how thrilled he is with the zero degree weather. It was minus 114 degrees wind chill at White Face Mt. And it was minus 30 degrees at Saranac Lake. But the Carnival Parade still was held even in minus 14 degrees there.
Dale Utt is happy to be back.
Geoff Legg is $10 happy about four separate articles about his Dr. daughter, Kim. Things are going well.
Don Davis is happy about the First Defenders celebration.
PROGRAM:
Jeanne Shipe introduced Cathy Gumlock whom she met at a Lehigh Valley Lyme Disease support group meeting. Cathy is actively trying to get a support group in every county.
The LV Lyme Support Network website states:
“Gov. Tom Corbett on Nov. 17 signed The Lyme and Related Tick-Borne Disease Surveillance, Education, Prevention Act. Lyme disease education advocates fought for the bill's passage for 20 years, and they say it's a big step in better tracking and education about the disease in the state.”
“Palmer Township resident Cathy Gumlock said it took several years for either them or members of their families to be properly diagnosed with Lyme or another tick-borne disease. All five members of Healy's family have a tick-borne disease while both Gumlock and her daughter do.”
"A lot of (doctors) aren't recognizing Lyme disease when it's walking into their office," Gumlock said.”
“The bill will help provide doctors with better information about tick-borne diseases, Gumlock said. Schools also will receive more information about the diseases, and school officials will be required to inform parents if ticks are found on their children, Gumlock said.”
Cathy said that Lyme Disease is a pandemic across the world, and gave some statistics:
17,000 new cases of Hepatitis each years
136,000 of colon cancer
232.000 pf breast cancer
300,000 of Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease (LD) is a bacterial infection that can “drill down” in the human body and lead to many different illnesses. There are about 100 strains in the U.S. which is why there is no vaccine yet. And it’s not new; the 5,000 year old “ice man” was discovered to have some LD bacteria.
Cathy showed a U.S. map noting that LD is in every lower 48 state. It is high in the Northeast, Minn. & Wisc. CA, TX and FL. The estimate is that 100,000 new cases were diagnosed in PA in 2015. Ticks harbor the bacteria -- and also 9 other bad things for people.
It is important to know the early signs of LD. When caught early the cure rate is 100%. Since the most new cases occur from April to October, someone feeling like they have the Flu in the Summer may well have LD. Fatigue and fever etc. that does not seem to go away are clues. The distinctive “bullseye” rash only shows up about a third of the time, and it’s weeks later.
There is no reliable test for LD, especially in the first 6 to 8 weeks. Also, less than 50% of people know that they have been bitten by a rick. So the goal is to prevent it, which means keep the ticks away from the people.
Cathy distributed cards with pictures of the many ticks we have. And she emphasized that there is a proper way to remove a tick by using needle-nose tweezers. Do not squeeze the body – that releases the bacteria.
Ticks need moisture to live and like tall grass and brush. So around your house keep people where it’s dry. Don’t kneel directly on the ground. There is much we can do to avoid ticks. They are not just carried on deer; they also are on squirrels and mice, and other small mammals.
Repellant sprays work, and you can buy clothing that has been treated as well. Ticks go where it is warm and moist. On your body this is armpits and groin areas for example. And folks who have been in tick areas need to check their hair also. On your animals do not use alcohol, Vaseline or a hot match. That’s bad.
Twenty Five % of new cases are children ages 5 to 14. And kids with LD untreated are likely to be lethargic and do poorly in school. Prevention is the key.
CLOSING: Halyna hit the right note to start us on a nice rendition of “God Bless America.” Then we recited the Pledge to the Flag of the United States and then the saying “One profits most who serves the best.”
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