Our call to order came promptly at 12:00 PM (one little bell ringing followed by 6). President James Good welcomed us all noting that last week he was at the beach! (We would have all come with our masks if we’d known, James…). The Invocation was done by Jumpin’ Joe (Bedard), who suggested we find a place in nature and be still. He noted that William Penn had, in 1701 invoked a “holy experiment in Penns Woods that entreated people to be “in love with God and one another”. He also noted that it is important to be creative in these extraordinary times.
President Good thanked Joe; he then referenced the Four Way Test as we go forward. Club Singing is now a virtual activity so today we were treated to “America the Beautiful” performed by John Legend and Stephen Colbert (nice choice).
And, before we go further, does anyone have a small toy keyboard that they could give to our President? Sounded like he missed the one he had growing up that was part of “America…”.
Pres. James was full of thank you’s today as well: one went to the minute-taker (yup, I was frantically trying to keep up with you, James…), as well as to those who will pack food boxes on Monday, Sept 21, those who have worked on the Dictionary Project (come one, come all to help on Monday, Oct 19 getting the dictionaries ready), and those who have made a $100 donation to the Club’s Rotary Foundation (still time for a thank you if you make one by October 15! And, if you do, your name will enter a lottery to get your face on a billboard).
Announcements included a reminder that the Rotary Leadership Institute is being held in October; a link is coming for that. September is Rotary Basic Education and Literacy month, and we had District Training 7390 at 6 PM.
Next up was “a Mini-Classification talk” by Pratyusha (Patty) Pedaprolu. Fifteen years ago she heard really grim statistics in India regarding education and felt that somehow she needed to do something in order to be a part of the solution to this massive problem. She jumped in with both feet to help. Now, she is no longer 17, has moved to a new country, received a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, gotten married to Gautam (Kris) Pedaprolu (also a new Rotarian), has had 2 children, and now works as a clinical engineer for UPMC Pinnacle. She and Kris are also a part of the PR Committee of our Rotary Club of Harrisburg. James thanked her and said we are so happy that she has joined our Club.
James took us to our next agenda item by thanking the (very active and successful) Speakers Committee. Our speaker was introduced by our very own -- ta-da, bells and whistles, applause, etc.-- John Sygieleski, aka “Ski” (downhill or cross-country, Buddy??). Ski noted that Bob Brandon has worked for Penn National Insurance since 1995. He is now the President and CEO and Ski quoted him as saying that the company’s culture values client relationships, doing the right thing, and serving others.
Bob gave us a brief history of Penn National noting that it was formed in 1919 during the Spanish Flu Epidemic. It is 101 years old and is now focused on the next century. It operates in 11 states, generates $800,000,000 in premiums, and has 850 employees. The company has maintained its mutual company structure so there are no shareholder. The company utilizes independent agents.
The insurance industry today is predicting $100 B. in losses due to the pandemic, including areas such as event cancellations, business income, and mortgages. Investment declines, personal and auto insurance business income and regulation, and legislative changes are all headline news for the industry. He noted people are traveling far fewer miles, premiums are decreasing due to less exposure (Allstate was first to do so), and $18 B has been returned to insurance customers. He noted that there are fewer accidents but that the severity of those that do occur has gone up. Mileage was down 32% in March and 50% in April and May.
Insurance contracts are being re-written due to the coronavirus with PA pending a retroactive re-write. Under worker’s comp the burden of proof regarding where an individual got the coronavirus shifts to the employer. A business continuity protection program would be so big it could only be handled by the U.S. Government and if it became a reality, it would come under FEMA.
Mr. Brandon noted that since St. Patrick’s Day, Penn National employees have been working from home so people can feel secure and make life better when bad things happen. He noted that the company supports the United Way, has given $6,000,000 back to policy holders, and has donated masks to local hospitals as part of their community involvement.
President James gave Mr. Brandon a hearty thank you from the rotary Club and asked for a round of applause for the speaker.
There is NO MEETING next week. The president wished everyone a great week, a Happy Rosh Hashana, and noted that our next meeting, September 28, will feature Scott Dunwoody, speaking on homelessness in our community. At 12:49 our meeting was adjourned.
