February 2, 2012GroundhogEdition

MAKE UP SITESMONDAY

NOON•Wood River—St. John

UCC, WR•Jerseyville—Peace

United Church6 PM

•Alton-Godfrey—AltonSports Tap

TUESDAYNOON

•Collinsville—HolidayInn

•Granite City—NiedringhausMethodist

•Highland—Michael’sRestaurant

WEDNESDAY7 AM

•Bethalto—Red AppleNOON

•Goshen—LCCC Center,Edwardsville

THURSDAYNOON

•Riverbend—Mac’s TimeOut Lounge, 315Belle St.

•Edwardsville—FirstChristian

FRIDAYNOON

•Troy, Silver Creek—Pizza Man

To locate a club whereyou are visiting check:http://www.rotary.org/en/AboutUs/SiteTools/ClubLocator/Pages/rid

AWhole Lot of Shakin'Chris H. introduced his guest, Larry Ringerring, director ofMadison County Emergency Management Agency. Larry spoketo the club about disaster preparedness, especially if weexperience an earthquake on the New Madrid or Wabash faultline.An 8.2 earthquake along the New Madrid faultline would probablycause 4000 deaths. Historically, we are overdue for this size of aquake. It would result in collapse of bridges, broken pipelines,downed powerlines, water plants would be offline andcommunication would be lost. Even dams could burst.Larry's job is making sure that the county is prepared for all kindsof emergencies, from storms to major catastrophes. 99% of alldisasters will be handled locally, so their preparedness is essentialto our safety.

Still, Larry encouraged each family to be prepared for disaster.Every family should have a disaster plan to care for themselvesfor 3-5 days without any other services. Classes areavailable at LCCC to teach you what to do to respond to anemergency. Information is also available at: http://www.mymadisoncountyema.org/

News, Notes, and NonsenseOur solo guest last week was Michael Ringerring who was there tosupport his brother, our speaker. Total attendance was twenty-three.The menu was ham and mac & cheese.

Red was back with two shiny new stints and feeling fine. Chrisentered with briefcase in hand, gladly surrendering it to presidentDave. Brad P. arrived late enough to sit all alone. And Brad L. wassporting a brand new set of crutches, having had surgery for an old"war wound."

The president announced that anyone attending an Interact meetingwould be awarded a makeup. All members would be welcome to popin on our RHS Interact club.

Our club will be sponsoring two RHS students to RYLA and the WoodRiver club will sponser two from EAWRHS.

Eric served as bag-passer for sub-SAA Joe who received donationsfrom those not signed up to work the BB tournament, from late folksand from Red and Diane who share good news: Red for hissuccessful stints, and Diane for $1000 raised at the quarter auctionfor the Boys and Girls club.

Red and Corey took a shot at the $141 in the 50/50 pot and left onlywith shiny new cards.

PROGRAMTODAY

Paul HooverNEXT WEEK

Dwynn IsringhausenTom Gibbons

Il. States Attorney

BIRTHDAYS2-4: Mark Speciale

Upcoming Events2-4: RiverbendRotary Trivia2-18: BasketballTournament2-23: Board Meeting3-10:WR RotaryTrivia night4-28: CombinedMeeting

CLUB OFFICERS

PRESIDENTDavid Miller

PRESIDENT -ELECTEric BargerSECRETARYLori PalmerTREASURERCory Gallivan

DIRECTORSCLUB SERVICEPaul Hoover

VOCATIONAL SERVICEBrad Lavite

COMMUNITY SERVICEMark Allison

INTERNATIONAL SERVICERod Croxford

NEW GENERATIONSRhonda Pluester

SERGEANT AT ARMSRick Hooks

BANNER EDITORLarry Lacher

CLUB ARCHIVESRick Hooks

FOUNDATION OFFICERSPRESIDENTErin PhillipsTREASURER

Mark SpecialeSECRETARY

Rose Sebastian

The Rotary BannerEast Alton Rotary Club

Chartered Oct. 28, 1971 District 6460www.eastaltonrotary.org

East Alton RotaryClubP.O. Box 56East Alton, Il 62024

Service Above Self

The Four Way Test

*Is it the Truth?

*Is it Fair to all concerned?

*Will it Build Goodwill andbetter Friendships?

*Will it be Beneficial to allconcerned?

We're on the Web!See us at:www.eastaltonrotary.org

Like us on Facebook

See our blog at:eastaltonrotary.blogspot.com

Board Meeting MinutesJanuary 26,2012

Our club checkingaccount balance as of12/31 was $440.10Joe and Brad L. arecoordinating theBasketball TournamentThe Lawn and Gardenshow has beencancelled.Combined meeting withWR and Bethalto wasscheduled for theevening of April 26.We will send two RHSstudents to RYLA at acost of $195 each.There was interestexpressed in partneringwith the RHS Interactclub for projects.There was interestexpressed in having aclub quarter auction.Next board meeting isFeb. 23.

Schools Repaired inChina through RotaryI have a fondness and an

aptitude for numbers, whichhelps – and, as I discoveredthrough Rotary, a passion forputting my skills to work forcauses I believe in. As theclub’s international servicedirector, I was charged withreaching out to join forceswith clubs in other countries.Bruce Stinson, past

president of the KowloonNorth club, had already madefriends with Sai-Hong Choi,past president of the RotaryClub of Macau, and hadvisited impoverished Du’anCounty in southeast China in1999. He’d been moved totears by the condition of manyof the area’s rural schools –the roofs and walls hadcollapsed, and there were nodesks or seats, he reported.The Macau club lackedfunding, and that’s where westepped in.I knew that it would be

something of a gamble tomake our way through theChinese regional bureaucracyand ensure that the money weraised went where it wasintended, but I’d beengambling successfully formost of my adult life. As I gotto know the Chinesegovernment officials in Du’an,my level of trust increased.They turned out to be sincereand honest and grateful forour help.The government agreed to

put up half the money if weput up the other half – a totalcost of about $60,000 torebuild each school. To me,this seemed like a slam-dunk,and thanks to the success ofmy business, I was able todonate a substantial amountof those costs on my own.The Kowloon North club

teamed up with the Macauclub to build the first threeschools in the region, andsince then, our district’s clubshave been able to fund manymore. Putting the money intobricks and mortar assured uswe were creating somethingof lasting value, that themoney wasn’t being fritteredaway. It was my kind of

gamble.For me, one of the most

rewarding results of theseservice projects is to watchmy perceptions bump upagainst reality. I expectedChina to be a tyrannical place,even brutal.But my Rotarian colleagues

and I learned a few things aswe watched the Long’anmiddle school in Du’an beingtransformed from adilapidated building into afunctional structure. I askedthe headmaster aboutdiscipline. “Do you spankstudents?” I wondered. Helooked at me incredulously. “Spank students?” He wasshocked at the suggestion.Teachers and administratorsare forbidden to employphysical punishment, heexplained. “They do that inyour country?” It wasinconceivable to him that wecould even think that waspossible. So much for myconcern about socialprotectors.Now, about 11 years after

the first schools were rebuilt,Du’an has become a thrivingregion. When we visited in2008, schoolchildren nolonger looked at our camerasin awe; they snapped digitalphotos of us with theirsmartphones. There had beenan amazing upsurge inprosperity. Our first schoolproject was dwarfed, in agood way, by high-rises allaround.Did I ever expect to become

involved in so many projects,or to meet my wife, Vivian, inthe Rotary Club of KowloonNorth – she is a pastpresident of the Rotary Clubof Peninsula Sunrise, HongKong – and to marry for thefirst time at age 53? I wouldn’thave laid odds on any ofthose things happening.But computer programs,

even mine, have seriouslimitations. They couldn’t havepredicted the adventures I’vehad or the personal rewardsthat have come my waythrough Rotary. I donate toThe Rotary Foundationbecause I believe in itsmission.

Just For Fun

A man was on a beach when he discovered anold lamp in the sand. He rubbed it and a geniepopped out. The genie said "I will grant youthree wishes. The only condition is that youcannot wish for more wishes." "Alright," saidthe man, "I wish for more genies."

Q. How many psychiatrists does it take tochange a light bulb?A. Just one, but that light bulb really has towant to change!