Today’s Rotary meeting was held on a crisp blue day that held hints the seasons would soon be changing.
President Flannery welcomed Rotarians and guests by sharing news celebrated across the globe on this World Polio Day. Rotary’s commitment has helped in nearly eliminating polio. 2019 saw the eradication of the second type of wild poliovirus, which is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of a polio-free world. Of the three wild poliovirus types, only one remains. Despite this accomplishment, polio cases are rising in areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan that face tremendous challenges because travel is difficult, they are often not secure enough for vaccinators to do their work, and the people are highly mobile. In 2018, these two countries reported just 33 wild poliovirus cases. The 2019 case count is so far is 88, and health experts predict more cases to come.
Rotarians across the world have contributed more than $2 billion to polio eradication since the PolioPlus program began in 1985. Rotary is committed to raising $50 million a year for polio eradication activities. Because of a 2-to-1 matching agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, that means that $150 million a year goes toward fulfilling Rotary’s promise to the children of the world: no child will ever again suffer the devastating effects of polio.
Today's words of inspiration are available by clicking here.
Today’s program was moderated by our own Dave Busiek and included Jeff Kaufmann, chair of the Iowa Republican Party, and Troy Price, chair of the Democratic Party. Kaufmann and Price shared their thoughts on the Iowa Caucuses, which will be held Monday, February 3, 2020. Iowa has been the lead-off state of the presidential election since 1976.
Kaufmann and Price agreed that Iowa’s role in this process is as good for Iowa as it is for the country. The type of campaign candidates must run in Iowa differ from what is run in larger states. The up-close-and-personal exposure in Iowa forces candidates to shun traditional media and large events seen elsewhere.
Price explained Democrats efforts to open the caucuses up to Iowans who will be out-of-state on caucus night, and to those who will be in-state but unable to get to their assigned caucus site. After much negotiation with the Democratic National Committee, Iowa Democrats agreed to establish satellite voting locations based on information gathered by those who request to participate remotely through a portal on the Iowa party website. There are currently seventeen Democrats running for president. Kaufmann explained Iowa Republicans would caucus even though Kaufmann sees Donald Trump as the “only viable Republican candidate.”
Price expects the national party will host a debate in Des Moines in January before the caucuses, but he did not have any details. Kaufmann said the Republicans did not need a debate as “our president debates himself regularly.”
Price expects some 250,000 Iowans will participate in the Democratic caucuses. Kaufmann did not speculate how many will participate on his side.
Thanks to Dave Busiek’s excellent skills as a moderator, today’s program was positive, informative, and entertaining.
See you all next week at Rotary!