Spotlight 12-02-14, Vol. 76, No. 46

 
 
Brighton Rotary Spotlight
Peggi Mintz, President
December 2, 2014, Vol. 76. No. 46
 
GUESTS:       Susan Hilscher and Woody Hilscher, Clemson, SC, Rotary
 
MEET, GREET & LEARN: Nancy B. Johnson and Suzy Lewis were this week’s presenters Commonalities among Suzy and Nancy include being native Michiganders: Suzy was raised in Westland and now owns a house on Brighton’s Main Street, while Nancy was raised in Ann Arbor, lived in seven states, and returned to Ann Arbor in 1992. Both Suzy and Nancy spent a great deal of time in ice arenas:  Suzy helped fund her CMU Parks and Recreation degree by working at ice arenas and was a hockey mom to her son Casey while he was a travel team player.  Nancy was a color announcer for the WMU Hockey team.  Both love to travel for fun and adventure:  Suzy has taken many trips to Florida and travels to scuba dive while Nancy has traveled to Europe six times and used to travel for motorcycles.  Suzy has been a realtor for 20 years, her son Casey graduated from MSU and lives in Chicago while her daughter Chelsey is a RN and lives in Pasadena, CA. Nancy’s son, John Kennedy, is the same age as Suzy’s lives in California and works at UC-Davis as a Student Conflict Officer after graduating from the University of Iowa Law School.  Nancy earned her bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College in Ohio before returning to Ann Arbor to earn her Masters and doctoral degrees in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Michigan.  Nancy has led the Brighton District Library for seven years, and enjoys classical music and sports.. 
Next week: Bill Anderson & Derek Smith
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Cathy Riesterer conducted today’s meeting.
 
GLEANERS this Saturday, 9am-12noon!!!
 
Thank you to Jeannie McMillan for her awesome skills in organizing the Thanksgiving Meal Delivery and to all Rotarian families for their service above self!  425 people received meals last Wednesday as a result of your efforts, and the Livingston Daily Press & Argus included a nice article with photographs in the Sunday edition.
 
Membership Chair Mitch Zoldowski reminded about “Red Leinenkugel Membership Night” TONIGHT (Tuesday, December 2nd) )beginning at 5:30pm at The Main Crossing at 440 W.Main Street.  Discussion will include some history about our various service projects and why our Club is active in the community.  Currently 40 members are expected to attend--Hope all new and current members can join us!
 
Bill Gartley, Interact liaison, is still looking for griddles and Rotarians to help cook & serve breakfast at 7:30am this Sunday for the December 6-7 Interact Exchange Student Christmas Party at our Community Building.  Please see Bill if you can help! 
 
Christmas Party Planners April Dertian and Maribeth Regnier have reserved Cleary University’s Johnson Center for Wednesday, December 10th.  The RSVP list has circulated the past two weeks, and we need to give a headcount by Thursday morning. Children’s names and ages are needed for shopping by Thursday. Please call Maribeth Regnier at 227-7532 to update your information or to help shop/wrap on Sunday about 1pm at Maribeth’s house.  Don’t forget about the Ugly Sweater contest!
 
Save the Date of December 19th to meet RI President Gary Huang at the EMU Student Center.  Registration is open through December 12th at the District 6380 website with a maximum attendance of 600.
 
TODAY, Tuesday, is considered “Giving Day” and all members are encouraged to think of Rotary as you make your charitable contributions for 2014.  Nancy B. Johnson spoke about how our efforts to eradicate polio contributed to the Rotary International Foundation funds while today’s book auction focused on our Brighton Rotary Foundation efforts, especially relating to high school educational scholarships.  Not only do the 10-year pledges that several members have been fulfilling to support scholarships fund our Rotary Foundation, but special events like today’s book auction of 16-17 books on a variety of topics can be an easy way for members to support the Foundation AND complete some holiday shopping!  Envelopes were included with each book to allow easy donation to the Brighton Rotary Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 designated organization.  Thank you Nancy for organizing this opportunity!
 
Note that there will not be a Rotary meeting on December 23rd  nor on December 30th due to the Christmas holidays.
 
Upcoming Events:
12/02/14    5:30pm            “Red Leinenkugel” Membership Night at Main Crossing
12/10/14                            Rotary Christmas Party at Cleary University’s Johnson Center
12/19/14                            Rotary International President Gary Huang visit to the District
12/23/14                            NO ROTARY MEETING
12/30/14                            NO ROTARY MEETING
01/17/15    10am-2pm       Practice ACT at BHS Cafeteria
01/27/15    5:00pm            Rotary’s/Kaplan’s Complete ACT Prep Class Starts
04/24-26/15                       District Conference at Motor City Casino
06/20/15                            Top of the Mountain Dash or Crash 5K run at Mt. Brighton
 
PROGRAM:
Program Host Frank Mancuso introduced Colleen DeBeauclair, BSN, PA-C, from the Multidisciplinary Pancreas Clinic of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his wife Traci Mancuso, a pancreatic cancer survivor who’s last radiation treatment is today.  Ms. DeBeauclair spoke about pancreatic cancer and the difficulties faced by patients and health care professionals in early detection and treatment, along with current medical advancements and future innovations.  The pancreas is the size of a small, flat pear and is a glandular organ of the digestive system.  It makes enzymes to aid digestion and it makes insulin to control glucose levels.  There are two types of pancreatic cancer:  1) Exocrine Tumors, which are over 95 percent of cases,that starts in the cell’s lining of the pancreas duct, and 2) Endocrine Tumors, which are less than 5 percent of the cases, the type that Steve Jobs contracted, and is a slow growing tumor that may be benign or malignant. Pancreatic Cancer is the twelfth most commonly diagnosed cancer (approximately two percent of all cancers) with a lifetime risk of one case for every 68 people, and it is the fourth most common cause of cancer death.  By 2020, pancreatic cancer is predicted to be the second highest cause of death.  Pancreatic cancer is hard to treat because there are no effective early detection tests, it is biogically very aggressive, and the tumors have an inherent resistance to standard DNA damaging agents like radiation and chemotherapy.  Typical symptoms include unexplained weight loss, pain, jaundice, acute onset of diabetes, and acute pancreatitis.  Early symptoms are vague and non-specific which contributes to a delay in diagnosis.  The University of Michigan is one of the nation’s leading centers for pancreatic research and treatment.  The use of a multidisciplinary approach to cancer care with a team of surgeons, oncologists, pathologists, gastroenterologists, and social workers along with the introduction of genetic analysis and personalized medicine holds great hope for families battling this disease.
 
50/50 Progressive Drawing:  In the first week of the new drawing (congratulations to Brian Donovan for winning last week!) Tom Zizka, Rich Perlberg, and Brian Donovan were unsuccessful in locating the Ace of Spades.