President Bill asked guest Sydney Tilman to come forward, accompanied by BJ Summers and Ginnie Malone, for her induction into our Club. Bill then welcomed her and presented her with two Rotary plaques, our club's history book, and her official membership badge. BJ and Ginnie are her sponsors and jointly "pinned her".
Sydney Tilman, our newest Rotarian, with sponsors BJ Summers and Ginny Malone
Reminder of next Thursday, May 19th, meeting, taking place at the MAC Center, starting at 5:30 with a tour and dinner to be provided. There is no charge for dinner. Also, the same day, just prior, Chris Hardy is hosting us at U.S. Kennels for a tour of his facility at 4:30. It's near the MAC Center -- look for Suite 900 and, of course, our Rotary banner.
President Bill mentioned that Rotary International’s newest area of focus is the environment and that he has been trying to identify an environmental service project for our club. He found one possibility. To be held at Pemberton Park, the morning of June 7, it is a wisteria-removal effort. Using tools to be provided, we would be assisting in the cutting and digging of wisteria that has begun to overtake the grounds there. We would NOT be involved in the spraying of agents to prevent regrowth of the wisteria. It was recommended that long pants and long sleeves be worn to protect against nature’s pests. In a show of hands, President Bill acknowledged a lack of response, but said he would float the idea to all members (including those not present tonight) for a final decision as to our participation.
President Bill also read aloud a couple of letters from groups to whom our club has made financial contributions…Easterseals and Off Street Sports Program.
Off
Get Acquainted / Get Reacquainted presenter was Hank Engster.
Hank relayed how life began in Troy, NY, the son of a Urological Surgeon and a Nurse. He has three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother. His education included attendance in public school through 6th grade, then a military academy in Albany for grades 7-12. In college, he majored in Biology at St. Lawrence University, then graduate school at the University of Vermont. His work there, leading to his Masters and Ph.D, was centered around…the chicken! He was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Minnesota at Austin. Following, he accepted a position in research and technical sales at Ralston Purina in St. Louis, MO, where he met his wife Sharon, and with whom they had two daughters. After 10 years there, he met Dr. Keith Rinehart, who offered him a position at Perdue Farms in Salisbury, MD. While there, he served in research and nutrition and was promoted to V.P. of Technical Services. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Poultry Science Association and then served as President of the Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc., where he met and worked closely with our President, Bill Satterfield. He retired from Perdue in 2011, consulted, and then fully retired in 2016. Hank joined Rotary in 1992, and served as President of the club in 2010-2011. He was introduced to Rotary by Dr. Keith Rinehart, and joined primarily because of its motto, “Service Above Self”. He credits one man, a pillar in our community and our club, for why he spends so much time in our kitchen. “…here was this man serving on several Boards of Directors, a community and business leader, in the kitchen washing dishes after every meeting meal. That man is Gordon Gladden.” In conclusion, Hank said that he believes that, at Rotary, we are doing what the Good Lord wants us to do. Rotary provides a means by which we can follow His commandment to love one another. By our works, “that is why, my fellow Rotarians, I will be a Rotarian for the rest of my life!”
Hank Engster, Get Acquainted, Get Reacquainted speaker
Our speaker was introduced by George Whitehead. Brian Stiegler serves as Assistant Provost for International Education at Salisbury University, and has served as the Director of the Janet Dudley-Eshbach Center for International Education since 2006. Brian earned his Ph.D in Spanish Language and Latin American Literature at Penn State University. In his role at SU, he supervises education abroad programming, international student and scholar services, the English Language Institute, and global partnerships. Locally, he is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Haitian Development Center of Delmarva. His focus is on “Global Salisbury: Becoming a More Welcoming Community.”
He informed us that Maryland is one of 17 “Welcome” states (www.welcome.us), to resettle Afghan refugees. Over the last 10 years, Maryland is the fourth most active state in resettling refugees from all over the world. There are over 2,000 residents in the 21801 and 21804 zip codes who have applied for asylee status, led by Haitians and Central Americans. He discussed the differences of one attaining refugee status (applied for before entering the US), and asylee status (applied for after already in the US).
The problem facing our community in the effort to be more involved with this welcoming effort is that those who are resettled in the state must live within a 100-mile radius of the Maryland Office of Refugees and Asylees (MORA) or an affiliated non-profit organization. That is so that the resettled are close to, and are accessible to, all of the services offered by that office. The closest office is located in Silver Spring, MD, leaving our local area outside of the required radius. Thus, to this point, we are on our own in trying to provide such services, and can get no support from MORA in our efforts. The solution, according to Dr. Stiegler, is to appeal to MORA to support a 501c3 (non-profit) organization here, that could partner with organizations located in the Baltimore-Washington area in an effort to better support refugees and asylees on the Eastern Shore.
Brian Stiegler, guest speaker, with George Whitehead
Wrapping up the meeting, a $25 contribution to Polio Plus will be made in Dr. Stiegler’s name.
50/50 drawing: Robin Evans and Bill Cropper were the winners this week, each won $16.
Reminder: Meeting next week at MAC, 5:30 p.m., preceded by a tour at 4:30 U.S. Kennels. See you there.
