Spotlight 02-09-16, Vol. 78, No. 6

Posted by Richard Perlberg 
on Feb 10, 2016
 
PROGRAM:  Bonnie Corrigan presented Matt Riesterer whose program featured the Appalachian Service Project, which sends volunteers to five Appalachian states to provide warmer, safer and dryer housing.
 
PROGRAM:  Bonnie Corrigan presented Matt Riesterer whose program featured the Appachian Service Project, which sends volunteers to five Appalachian states to provide warmer, safer and dryer housing.
GUESTS: Michael Griffith, son of Scott; Matt Riesterer, husband of Cathy.
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Terry Gill went solo and presented a theme of brushes with celebrity. Terry said he once unknowingly got a truck ride with Vince Gill at a family reunion; he had a back-stage encounter with William Shatner; and he once gambled in Vegas next to Dennis Quaid. The ride with Vince Gill was the lie, which the club pretty much guessed. Next week: Joe Petrucci and Mitch Zoldowski.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
  • Mike McManus will serve as assistant district governor for Rotary.
  • Bill Gartley reported that Tom Zizka could be home as early as Friday, but that Ron Cleveland was suffering from health problems in Arizona.
  • Beth Walker announced that 133 showed up for SAT practice tests, including 11 walk-ins. The event raised 4,827 for the scholarship fund.
  • News from the District: There are still 35 openings for high school students to take advantage of foreign exchange programs.
  • Julie McBride said that those wanting to help out with the Flint water crisis should go through their local health agency for more efficient distribution; or, visit the Flint Rotary web site for ideas.
  • Julie Smith reminded club of the Feb. 20 Walk for Warmth.
  • Rich Perlberg said Dash or Crash sponsors are still being lined up, with many prospects identified thanks to fellow Rotarians.
 
 
PROGRAM:
As a member of the First United Methodist Church in Brighton, Matt Riester has participated for 10 years in the Appalachian Service Project, an organization that has sent 13,500 volunteers to five states to bring warmer, safer and dryer conditions to substandard housing in coal country. The work is done by teens … in this case, often from the Brighton church … who work in groups of six or so with a couple of adults. Matt says the work is hard, the food is terrible and the sleeping accommodations are less than comfortable, and…he can’t wait to go again. The story of Arvil and Charlotte Johnson may explain why. Arvil was a truck driver until a leg amputation cost his his job; his wife, Charlotte, then suffered a stroke. A heavy rain flooded their home. That was the project the Brighton group worked on recently. Afterward, Charlotte wrote a heart-felt thank you letter, grateful for the youngsters who showed such generosity and unselfishness. ASP has been sending volunteers to the area since the 1980s. It is an area populated by proud people who don’t want to leave even though the decline of the coal industry is making their home area even less economically viable. Matt says most of the volunteers come from his church, and friends of church-goers. He recommends it as a great experience for young people.
50-50. It was a new deck, and Maribeth Regnier, Cathy Riesterer and Joe Bottum all failed to find the Ace of Spades.
 
Key dates:
Saturday, Feb. 20 – Walk for Warmth
Saturday, Feb. 20 – Midnight in the Tropics, put on by Sunrise Rotary Club.
Sunday, March 5 – Sun Bash, annual Chelsea Rotary fundraiser.
Saturday, June 25 – Second Top of the Mountain Dash or Crash at Mt. Brighton.