President's Message Nov. 30
Posted by Ron Searfoss
on Nov 30, 2015
Welcome back - I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! (You may recall my prediction the week before to look forward and enjoy the Lehigh victory over Lafayette. Most enjoyable!)
Our program on Nov. 19th was a presentation by and about Engineers Without Borders (EWB).
Three members of the Professional Chapter of the EWB were present: Al Ottinger, Herb Klotz and Bill MacNair. Al is a Rotarian in the Fleetwood Club and Herb is current President of the Allentown West Rotary Club.
Bill provided an update on their current water and sanitation project in the Dominican Republic. The second assessment trip was a recent success and the government has agreed to provide support for pumping stations. Herb gave a brief update on the Central School project in Sierra Leone, Nigeria. This project is nearing completion after over 6 years of dedicated efforts.
The real focus of the program was presented by two young engineers from Lehigh University. Miranda Blanchard, a senior, is President of the Lehigh University Chapter of EWB. Deanna Kocher, a junior, is the Project Class Manager.
In the context of Lehigh University, they are a “club activity.” This ever changing group of young engineers has identified the need for drinking water in Cebadilla, Nicaragua. Two successful assessment trips have been completed in the past few years and another is being planned for early 2016. They have found much more progress is made when they get on site and work directly with the local people. The Mayor had dug a well which was found to be ineffective since it proved not to be deep enough. The club’s evaluations and efforts have paved the way to a successful partnership with the local government. They are drilling to greater depths to access the much needed water and designing appropriate pumps to extract in volumes sufficient to meet the needs of the people. The LU EWB has made a 5 year commitment to the community project. The local government is funding a small percentage of the costs from its budget.
The Professional Chapter of EWB has been providing guidance when possible. Bear in mind these are students who are in college to study engineering and all are in various stages of their education. To add to the challenges, the roster of volunteers changes yearly as students graduate and leave and others must move up to fill their shoes! They work very hard to build solid teams of students to carry on the work. Again, in the context of Lehigh University, they are a “club activity.”
We thank them for their excellent presentation but more so applaud their efforts to succeed in making a difference in the lives of others. Perhaps other opportunities for collaboration may blossom from these efforts.
We had the pleasure of inducting our newest member, John Oesmann.
John’s sponsors, Tom and Janet Kolepp, were proud to do the honors. John has already accomplished many of the new member requirements for weekly activities. However, he has gone way beyond that. He attended the Rotary Leadership Institute Class I on November 7th. John worked the Salute The Troops Concert on November 8th. Finally, John is on the Ballot for the December elections to become a Board Director beginning July 1, 2016.
Also thank you John and spouse Carrie for supporting our Salvation Army Bell Ringing at the Moravian Book Shop on Saturday. (See story below.)
You are a welcome addition to our Morning Star Rotary family.
Rotary Foundation Chair, Sue Burnett, had the honor of presenting Janet Kolepp with her pin in recognition of achieving her second Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Congratulations, Janet! (And thanks to Charlotte Hartmann-Hansen for the pictures.)
Please join us for these upcoming programs –
December 03 – our speaker will be Kathy Matson, Tasting Room Manager from the Galen Glen Winery. (No I do not know if samples will be in the offing!)
December 10 – our own Janet Sipple will talk about Happy Healthy Holidays!
December 17 – Morning Star's Musical Holiday Celebration! Join Rick Santee and the Liberty High School Acapella Choir as we celebrate the Holiday Season! Invite family, friends & guests, and please come and join in the festivities.
December 24 and 31 – NO Meetings! Enjoy family and friends!
Save the Date – HOLIDAY PARTY January 9th at the home of our gracious hosts, Mike and Terry Long.
If you would like to learn more about either Bethlehem Morning Star or Rotary International, please contact Ron Searfoss at rsearfos@ptd.net or 610-504-1460.
Be a Gift to the World!
President Ron
