Zoom Meeting on December 8, 2020
President Randy Smith welcomed the group.
Patriotic song God Bless America was arranged by David Dix.
President Randy led the Pledge of Allegiance.
The Invocation was offered by Debbie Krutz.
Brian Bialik handling Rotareminder duties.
Visiting Rotarians
None
Guests
Dave Myers introduced his spouse Emily.
Shawn Gordon introduced Andrew Popp.
Announcements
- Todd announced updated information regarding the Holiday Gala – 75 people have registered.Today is the last day.Proceeds will benefit Kent Social Services, Salvation Army and the Kent Rotary Foundation.Event is scheduled for this Thursday the 10th.
- Foundation will be meeting this evening.
- A slate of officers went out last week as well as today.A call for a vote will be held next week.
- TRF 100% giving goal is still intact and ongoing.Please consider your donation before the end of 2020.
- Long-time rotarian Charlie Beckwith passed away on 11/30/2020.A memorial service will be schedule next year at a time yet to be determined.
- Rachel Kerns thanked everyone for the toy donations and reminded anyone who did not leave their name to please do so they may be entered into the drawing.An email to Rachel would be sufficient.
100th Anniversary moment(s) – Jim Myers
- 1933 to 1934 - effect of depression.The morale of average citizen was low.Dues were reduced in ’33-34 to $15 per year (down from $25 two years prior), to allow members to maintain their membership, including offering an installment plan.Robert C. Dix was inducted into the club this year.
Speaker
Dave Myers introduced our speaker Rita R. Colwell, PhD.
Dr. Colwell’s vitae is vast having received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Bacteriology, Genetics and Oceanography. Moreover, she has been awarded 63 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education, as well as receiving recognitions from a number of world leaders for her achievements in science related to infectious diseases and clean water management. She is a nationally-respected scientist and educator, and has authored or co-authored 19 books and more than 800 scientific publications. She produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. She serves as Chair of the Research Board for the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (2010-2020). Her latest book is “A Lab of One’s Own: One Woman’s Personal Journey Through Sexism in Science” (2020) with Sharon Bertsch McGrayne.
Today, she has prepared some remarks on her research approach to identifying correlations that give rise to cholera.
This writer acknowledges that the body of a lifetime of scientific work from a noted scientist cannot be easily distilled to a group of interested listeners. However, I do believe that our responder and fellow member, Dr. Curtis Stumpf summed it nicely by noting how Dr. Colwell has relied upon good science in search of real answers to real problems that plague the broader community.
A message that could not be more appropriate than today…
Curtis Stumpf provided the club’s response.
Respectfully submitted,
Brian K Bialik
