Meeting Notes for September 22, 2016

Ring of the Bell: Kathy Gailey says “It’s my pleasure to welcome you”. R.I. President is John F. Germ and his motto is: “Rotary Serving Humanity”. 

Greeter: Lucky Sandhu was on duty and offered an interesting “Thought for the Day” from Rotary’s Founder, Paul Harris, which I will paraphrase as follows: “Individual effort will produce public good, but the greater good comes from the combined efforts of many toward serving mankind.” Lucky is a mortgage broker and says rates are at all time lows. So, see him if your want to refinance.

 

Patriotic Song: “My Country “tis of Thee I Sing…”

 

Table Introductions: We had Chris Jo who visited us after many years with Rotary Interact. Ron Kalich visited from Edina Minnesota club. Raybir Randhawa, is a former software engineer who has become a restaurateur.  Her kitchen serves only plant based foods that are preservative free. John Millich was back to visit. He is a long time San Ramon resident with a large family. Michelle Lee stopped by and it is always great to see her. Finally, our old friend Pam Double joined us for lunch also.

 

Mark & Robin’s Farewell Dinner: Thursday evening at Santorini’s. A large crowd has signed up. Check with Marie if you want to join us.

 

Raffle: Sponsor signs need to be distributed Saturday 9:00 to 12:00. A sign-up sheet was passed around.  Meanwhile, get your pledges in a.s.a.p.

Rotary Facebook Page: Be sure to “like” our videos!

 

The Hopyard San Ramon Fundraiser: The Hopyard ‰estaurant is raising funds for the three-year-old that was killed in an auto accident recently. 20% off on September 25^th.

 

Turkeys for the Homeless. Horace’s church in Walnut Creek is going to be giving out turkey dinners for Thanksgiving. If you would like to roast a turkey to support this event contact Karen Macnamara.

 

Main Event: Mark Camenzind, PhD gave a talk on a disease most people are not yet aware of: Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Mark got his PhD at Berkeley in theoretical chemistry and did post-doctorate work at the University of British Columbia.  Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or ME/CFS, is a devastating and life-altering disease that affects up to 25 million people in the U.S. alone.  Suffering from a host of symptoms that are chronic and incapacitating, patients with ME/CFS have a lower quality of life and higher rates of disability than patients with AIDS, MS, Diabetes and Rheumatoid Arthritis.  No cure exists. The disease is invisible; it is pervasive; and it is under researched. Dr. Camenzind is  working through the HOPE Open Medicine Foundation’s “End ME/CFS Project”  to change all that.

 

Mark’s son is one of the hundreds in the Bay Area that have the disease. He was a computer science student at Stanford, but since developing the disease in January, 2014 he has become bed ridden, and cannot stand. He is also extremely sensitive to light and sound.

 

Sadly, the Center for Disease Control does not track the disease and the National Institute of Health barely funds it in comparison to AIDS funding. While AIDS mostly affects males, MF/CFS affects 75% women.

 

Those interested in learning more should view a video by Laura Hildebrand called “Forgotten Plague”.

 

Raffle: Norbert won the Greeter’s Gif and Chris Jo won a chance at the $70 Progressive prize. But no luck. It’s $80 next week!