Beamer 11.20.13
BEAMER 11.20.13
THERE WILL BE NO MEETING NOVEMBER 27TH. HAPPY THANKSGIVING! THE NEXT MEETING WILL BE DECEMBER 4TH AT WELSHFIELD.
GUESTS: Brad Wadsworth.
Heads and tails: Barry Owens is the winner.
Thank yous' were received from the Middlefield Historical Society for our help refurbishing the caboose and from the First United Methodist Church for our support of their food cupboard.
Brad Wadsworth and Heidi Hess have been approved by the board for membership. Any comments should be made to Sharon Gingrich within the next 10 days.
The BMR Christmas Party will be December 11th. A menu will be available shortly with meals running $20-23 per plate.
The County Home Christmas Party will be December 18th with dinner to follow at Grandview. Gift assignments have been handed out. If you have not been giving a gift assignment, you are asked to bring a snack the night of the party. Please contact Mary and let her know what snack you are bringing so she can coordinate. Also, anybody who wants to help put together the gift bags please plan on being at Mary's house around 2 PM on Monday December 16th.
A Paul Harris Fellow was awarded to Todd Hornak for inconsistent and last minute delivery of the Beamer.
Bob Johnson recognized BMR as a $100 Per Capita Club, meaning BMR has 100% participation in Every Rotarian Every Year.
Dick Hills is selling Our Town Around books as a fundraiser for his barbershop quartet.
As a reminder, all BMR Board meetings are scheduled for the third Wednesday of the month after the regular meeting. This is a great way for members to get attendance credit for two meetings (the regular meeting and then the Board meeting following the regular meeting).
PROGRAM: Tricia Vidovick. Education and Outreach Specialist for the Cleveland Alzheimer's Association Chapter.
Alzheimer's accounts for 80% of dementia cases and is a progressive, non-reversible disease with no known cure. Age is the number one risk factor for developing Alzheimer's and people are living longer these days than ever before. Longer life spans mean more Alzheimer's cases and the disease has now become the 6th leading cause of death in America. Of the six leading causes of death, only Alzheimer's is growing in number of deaths caused. Medications for the disease don't slow the progression of the disease and only treat the symptoms. These medications only work 1/2 the time and the often lose their effectiveness within 6-12 months.
Tricia made a distinction between being a little forgetful and having Alzheimer's by comparing the human brain to a file cabinet. When we are young, our file cabinets are very empty and we don't have much to forget or remember. As we age, our file cabinets become full of information as we obtain a job, pay bills, run a household, etc. Sometimes these file cabinets get a little disorganized and we can't remember exactly where we put something, but with a little thinking we can figure it out and locate what we need. A person with Alzheimer's has the same file cabinets we have but the door to those cabinets is locked and they can't get to the information at all.
Alzheimer's can be extremely hard on the families and friends of the patient, especially those providing the care. There is a 24/7 helpline ran by the Alzheimer's Association that can be called to answer questions/concerns and provide support. The number is 1-800-272-3900. More information can also be found at www.alz.org/cleveland.