Rotary Club of Harrisburg
Meeting Minutes
November 15, 2021
Submitted by Karen Paris
The meeting was called to order promptly at 12:05 by Matt Staub, President. It’s soooo nice to have Norma here with her own special music – that’s one of those things we really missed when we couldn’t meet in person. (Or, another way of looking at things is that when Norma plays, all is right with the world.) A thoughtful invocation was given by Jeff Boswell, who noted it was really nice to see people in person. We had the Pledge of Allegiance but no singing today. We also had a few guests. It looked like there were about 45 members attending in person, so slowly but surely, we are getting back to (new?) normal.
President Matt did a brief look-back on 2021 to-date. He then recognized all of our members who are Veterans.
Then came a short summary of the Non-Event-Pancake-Breakfast, which raised over $22,000? Boy, for a non-event, this Club (esp. the BIG R guy) really came through!!! By the way, did anyone try their Pancake Mix and flip their own cakes from last week yet?? If you did, post your photos!) Finally, Matt noted that a Strategic Planning survey will be coming out. Watch for a message from Dame Leadership in your email inbox soon.
A mini-classification talk was given by Patrick Nese. He describes himself as being a “local” (he’s from Hershey.) He joined the Club about four months ago and has a history in commercial real estate. He told us that he really wants to get more involved with Rotary (ok, Committee Chairs, this is your best chance – go get him on your committee before someone else recruits him!!)
An announcement was made about the Holiday Social at the Harrisburg Country Club on November 30, 2021. Don’t miss it. Details will follow.
Then President Matt introduced our speaker, Harrisburg’s Police Commissioner, Thomas Carter. Chief Carter has been the Chief of Police in Harrisburg, PA since 1988. He noted that in 1929 new ideals for policing emerged – they included prevention of crime, earning public trust, and a shared responsibility with the community for both trust and prevention. However, Chief Carter cited the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. He noted that both of these killings were not justified and that police do not use brute force over and over and over, and that actions such as these killings give police a bad name throughout the country. (And, of course politicians can’t avoid “wading into the fray” when issues arise.) These killings have, unfortunately, divided the country into two groups: 1) those who believe that the police are “against us”, and 2) those who feel the police can help us.
Chief Carter noted that in large cities throughout the U.S., homicides are up. In Harrisburg, the Chief notes that getting handguns off the street would help tremendously in making the City a safer place. So far, 1,000 guns have been “retired” in Harrisburg. Chief Carter thinks that education of students is key, and he has placed officers inside schools. His hope is to dialogue with the students in terms of how the police can best help them. Multiple arrests over time do not solve any problems. Noting that 18 year olds do NOT NEED AR 47 weapons, his overall goals are to establish trust through police presence in the City’s communities. There is currently an Academy for the City’s youth as well. Currently four mental health professionals ride with City officers. He also noted that riding with the police officers is one way to further establish more trusting relationships. He closed noting that the City has a website, that the crime rate was down for 10 years (except 2020 reversed that trend), and that he is grateful that the extended protests and unrest that occurred in Portland did not happen here.
Ted Reese thanked him for his dedication since 1988; in answer to Ted’s question, the Chief noted that he loves Harrisburg, he lives here, and he wants to make the community a better place.
President Matt adjourned the meeting at 1:10 P.M.
