Our Greeter today was Jeffrey Kistler and he did a marvelous job.
President Amir Famili rang the bell at 7:30 A.M. opening the meeting and welcomed all. Then Rev. Jeff Kistler gave a very nice invocation, including special praying for Ronnee Klotz..
Secretary John Scott began the meeting by having the members recite The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Then he led us in reciting the Four Way Test. John also reviewed some of the upcoming
GUESTS:
Whitman Scott, son of John; Dave Dries, Spring Township RC; Cathy Abreu, Bethlehem RC; and Bill Erdman, Emmaus RC.
Pres. Amir showed pictures of the AW volunteers at Friday’s shelf stocking at Kingdom Life.
PHOTO REQUEST:
AW Rotarians do a lot of good things and take a lot of pictures. In order to maintain the best quality photos on file, it is requested that the original be sent first to Gary Heller, our RC Photographer.
PAUL HARRIS FELLOW RECOGNITION:
DG Herb Klotz explained that this year, as an encouragement to donate to The Rotary Foundation, AW members performing volunteer hours will receive PHF Recognition Points towards their next PHF level.
This morning we recognized four members for reaching a new level of giving:
Gail Micca and John Scott are first time PHF members. Jeanne Shipe is a PHF+1, and Len Salines is a PHF +4. Thanks you all for doing this.
PAUL HARRIS SOCIETY (PHS) RECOGNITION:
Our D7430 Paul Harris Society Coordinator, Bill Erdman, thanked the four PHF members, and thanked Herb for pitching Rotary Direct as an easy way to donate.
Bill explained that a member of the PHS has committed to donate $1,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation each year -- as long as they are financially able. Bill asked President Amir Famili to come forward and receive his PHS lapel pin insignia acknowledging his new PHS membership. Thank you, Amir, and congratulations.
DG Herb noted that Brochures and application forms for Rotary Direct and the PHS are here today for us.
2019 PURPLE PINKIE RECOGNITION:
DG Herb presented Certificates of Appreciation to both Race Director, John Scott, and President Amir Famili for the 2019 results. The AW Rotarians gave $4,850 and the net for this district-wide event was $60,000 toward Polio Eradication !!
TEMPTING TASTES 6 DATE CHANGE:
TT6 has been rescheduled to September 13, 2020. Planning meetings will resume in February.
OUTBOUND YOUTH EXCHANGE STUDENT:
Last week Sue Weber and Bill interviewed a Northwestern sophomore and his parents and he will join the Outbound group for this Fall.
DONATIONS ARE NEEDED:
Dottie Bloom is charged with setting up and stocking a Hospitality Room for both Friday and Saturday evenings at OUR April 24 and 25 District Conference. Donations of Beer, Wine and snacks for at least 40 guests are needed. Please contact Dottie at bloomnbunny@ptd.net.
NEW BAD WEATHER POLICY:
Our policy now is to cancel a meeting for bad weather whenever the Parkland Schools are closed; i.e. NOT JUST A DELAY.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
This great group still depends on cash donations from AW Rotarians. And volunteering for the produce pick-up and distribution on Saturday mornings is a very satisfying thing.
THURSDAY EVENING SCHEDULE:
TOMORROW, Jan 23 will be held at the Starlite Diner starting at 5:30 P.M. in the private back room.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Pres. Amir introduced Sgt.-at-Arms Mitch Huston who conducted the drawings and collected Happy Dollars.
The door prize bottle of red wine donated by Jeff Kistler was won by Len Salines.
The $12 pot of the 50:50 was not won by Chris Blechschmidt’s ticket being drawn followed by a white marble. Lots of marbles will be back next time.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Whitman Scott is happy about Rotary.
Herb Klotz thanks all for praying for Ronnee. And he reminds us that many AW members are needed to attend OUR April 24, 25 District Conference.
Halyna Stegura is back from a great two weeks in Togo, Africa where daughter Christina works for the U.S. State Dept.
Bill Erdman said it was great to see so many old friends this morning, and to make new ones.
Geoff Legg is happy to presents two checks, one to Treasurer Chris, and one to The Rotary Foundation.
Kristina Sundstrom is happy to report that The Parkland Cares have just served their 100th household last Saturday.
Tom Friday seemed to say that he was happy that his wife was going away.
Dave Dries was happy about something.
0
Bill Palmer thanked Dave Dries for establishing the driver network in 2012 that gets him to Rotary meetings ever since.
Gail Micca is happy to have just visited Las Vegas. And she reports that she found a $2,000 car for the Jim Thorpe family, but it needs repairs. Donations are welcome.
Bill Weber, addressing Bill Erdman, said that Emmaus is his second favorite RC. And if his surgeon says it’s OK, they will head to Hilton Head for 2 months.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Amir introduced our speaker, Dr. Chris Nelson a member of the Bethlehem Rotary Club regarding Human Trafficking. Chris is an ordained minister of the UCC Church since 1979. She serves on a number of boards of directors. She noted that she has run in the Purple Pinkies 5K race a few times
Chris is a member of the Bethlehem RC. She began by explaining who they are as a Bethlehem Rotary Action Group Against Slavery which they call RAGAS. The Co-Chairs are Dee Dee Foran &Patrick Morgan of the Beth RC.
Human Trafficking: Today’s Slavery is all around us!
In March 2018 in a hotel in New Orleans a 12 year old boy was seen in the company of 2 middle-aged men. An employee of the Marriott Hotel overheard one of the men say to the other: “I may take this one home.” Because Marriott had trained its workforce worldwide to spot and report human trafficking, the incident was reported to the proper authorities. The authorities discovered the boy had been reported missing 3 days earlier. Because RI Rags organization had access to major hotel chains and convinced them of the reality of human trafficking, a young boy was saved from a dreadful life and returned to his family.
Common thoughts of Human Trafficking:
Victimless crime
Victims choose to be there
“Not in my community”
“Doesn’t affect me”
Nothing we can do about it
Misconceptions of Prostitution –
85-95% of prostitution is pimped-controlled
Average age of entry is 12-13
90% have been sexually abused as a child
It’s to support their drug habit
Drug addiction is a result of prostitution
Prostitution is just another job
Their “workplace” homicide rate is 51 times higher than the next most dangerous job for women -working in a liquor store
Average life span is 7 years
Prostitution and Trafficking - Quick Facts ;Melissa Farley, PhD and Emily Butler, JD Prostitution Research & Education 2012 (http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/Prostitution%20Quick%20Facts%2012-21-12.pdf)
The U.S. Department of Justice states that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 years old.
( U.S. Department of Justice, Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (November 2007). Domestic sex trafficking of minors. Retrieved July 22, 2009, from http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/prostitution.html. )
People in prostitution face a “workplace” homicide rate 51 times higher than the next most dangerous job for women (working in a liquor store).
(Potterat, J.J., Brewer, D.D., Muth, S.Q., Rothenburg, R.B., Woodhouse, D.E., Muth, J.B., Stites, H.K., and Brody, S. (2004). Mortality in a long-term open cohort of prostitute women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 159(8), 778–85 (homicide rate of 204 per 100,000 for women in prostitution). Compare to Castillo, D.R., and Jenkins, E.L. (1994). Industries and occupations at high risk for work-related homicide. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 36(2), 125-32)
Average life span is 7 years once entering prostitution- FBI (http://www.justice.gov/jmd/2011summary/pdf/fy11-fbi-bud-summary.pdf)
Chris discussed how the problem is CLOSE TO HOME ---
READING GANG
“The Sevens”
March 2019 S 4th St Boarding House
Crime: Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion of minors
How it works
A Trafficked Person Is:
FORCED
FRAUDED
COERCED
The Definition of a “Trafficking Perpetrator”
Recruitment, transportation, harboring, provision or obtaining of persons by FORCE, FRAUD or COERCION for the purpose of:
sex trafficking where the person is induced to perform such an act;
or
b. labor or services by subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
The Definition of a “Trafficking Victim” from the Trafficking Victim Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 (TVPRA):
The number of U.S. children trafficked within the country each year is an estimated 300,000 for the sex industry alone.
Jobs where you will find Trafficking ---
Labors
Construction
Nail salons
Dishwashers
Busboys
Food servers
Hotels
What is the Bethlehem Rotary Action group against slavery doing?
Two Key Initiatives are Community Education and a Task Force/Consortium Creation.
Actions ----
Find a Club member to:
join the RAGAS Coalition to work together as a District Ragas group. The NEXT MEETING is February 19, 2020 @ 1:00 p.m.
- Promote and attend events including:
- The Opioid and Trafficking Symposium
Mar 5, 2020, 7:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Moravian College HUB
CLOSING:
Pres. Amir closed our meeting by our reciting the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
Photos by Gary Heller
.png)
.gif)
.jpg)
.jpg)
