Jake Kraus, a former Eagle Scout is the Executive Director of the Conestoga (South Hills) District of the Boy Scouts of America as of June of this year.

He grew up in the suburbs of Detroit and began his professional Boy Scout career in the inner city of Detroit following his graduation from Oakland University, located just outside of Detroit, where he earned a BS degree in Electrical Engineering.

Club Member Tom Atkins, who has been Appraising Businesses since 1992, presented The Business Appraisal Process to the Club at the Thursday night meeting of October 29th.

President Jim announced the meeting tonight is a Club Assembly with Carl Gaddis explaining the Rotary Foundation.  Donated funds are used on projects in two basic categories, humanitarian and cultural/educational.  Members are asked to contribute annually to the Rotary Foundation.

MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN KICK OFF

John Donahoe introduced the two members of SLIM (Student Leaders in International Medicine) Elizabeth Van Loon and Sesi Aliu, both students at Pitt, to tell about our project in Malawi.

Emily Hauser, a Rotary Foundation Scholarship winner

This is my last article in my year as club president. In just a couple of days a new Rotary year will begin. Planning has started, once again, on our major projects. It is fitting that our last meeting of this Rotary year was devoted to distributing funds to the community outreach organizations we support. This is always a happy meeting. It puts money to work in the community through these organizations and it validates the role we play as a vital community asset. 

Although there are still a few weeks left until the end of the Rotary year, our club observed its 58th "Changing of the Guard" rituals last Thursday. This is always a happy and positive meeting. There's the opportunity to recognize the acomplishments of the year and to gain enthusiasm for the coming year by swearing in fresh officers and Directors.

On June 11, we were pleased to learn about "Mercy Ships", a global charity that has been operating a fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. Our speaker was Sean McCune, Regional Development Manager for Mercy Ships. Living in Tennessee, Sean travels throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, W. Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania telling the "Mercy Ships" story, recruiting volunteers, donations etc. for this Texas based charity.

We are rapidly nearing the end of the Rotary year. To prepare for the next chapter, V.P. Jim Bolas presented his "game plan" for the coming year.

Pittsburgh is on the move. We're the world professional football champs, a repeat contender in the Stanley Cup finals and now chosen to host the next G20 summit! People all over the world are paying more attention to Pittsburgh.

It is interesting timing that brought a naturalist, Lindsay Totten, to our club to discuss plans that have been brewing for the development of a world class Botanic Garden in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

Our annual District Conference was held at Erie's new Bayfront Convention Center over the weekend of May 14 - 16. Jody and I, along with Past President, Tom Rohrich and future President, Herm Dieckmann represented our club.

At last week's meeting I reported on convention activities. This was a "combined" conference, including clubs from D. 7300 and D. 7280 to our north. The Erie facility is a great place to hold a district conference. It's brand new and right on the water. The weather was sunny but unseasonably cold.

Once again our club hosted a group of ten high school students who have achieved excellence in one of several technical education classes.  Each student was honored with a dinner invitation and a plaque citing their accomplishment.  As the Rotary Club of Bethel-St.Clair, for many years we have honored not only  USC students but also students from Bethel Park H.S. This year the Tech Award recipients were:

Bethel Park High School

Benjamin Hudson         Transportation/Power & Energy Systems
Nate Glotzbach             Wood Materials & Processes
Tyler Remington           Automation Systems
Hannah Hudson            Graphic Communications
Emma Cline                 CAD I

Upper St. Clair High School

Bryce Doerksen            Graphic Design
Matt Wilson                  Engineering
Ishan Mitra                  Engineering
James Baily                  Manufacturing & Construction
Ajit Sutreja                  Manufacturing & Design

Dr. Stephanie A. Urchick, Past District 7330 Governor joined us last Thursday as our program speaker. She is currently the Executive Director of the Southpointe Property Owners' Assn. and is founder of PlatformPoise, a coaching and consulting business providing public speaking, career development and leadership training. She graduated from the U. of Pennsylvania (International Relations), Duquesne Univ. (Master's in Education) and Indiana Univ. of PA (PhD in Leadership Studies). The winner of several awards in her field, Stephanie is a member of the R.C. of Canonsburg-Houston. She has served RI not only in many leadership positions but also as a participant in a variety of international service projects. Coming from an Eastern European family in Monessen, PA, probably the one closest to her heart has been the securing of mammography equipment for a hospital in Poland. She has also been to India and Nigeria for National Immunization Days. She has helped build an elementary school in Vietnam and has mentored now Rotarians in the Ukraine. Stephanie has been doing it all! 

PDG Denny Crawford [DGE Rick Martin on left] came to our club last week to tell us about the new District RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) program that has been set up to replace the Teen Leadership Institute that we've had in the past. Formerly, District 7300 had partnered with the Gateway Rehabilitation organization and ran the summer "camp" program which trained teens to be leaders in their high schools.

Every year there is the opportunity to get to know a group of young professionals from another country...it's called the Group Study Exchange (GSE). Over the years we've met, housed and entertained people from almost every continent. This year's team is coming to us from Norway.

Last week our speaker was Upper St. Clair Township Manager, Matt Serakowski. While Matt is fairly new to this job, he has been working for the Township, in one capacity or another, since the early 90's. In 2004 he was the Director of Community Development and, in 2008, he was tapped to replace long time Township Manager, Doug Watkins.

March 28, 2009 - It was a banner year for the Easter Egg Hunt in USC with approximately 450 little egg hunters showing up with their parents in tow. The Interact students from the high school were there to help entertain the young 'uns while they waited for the hunt to begin. They decorated cups and filled them with dirt and a spring flowers. Of course, the hunt lasted about 2 minutes before they had picked up all of the  3500 candy-filled eggs!  Sixty eggs had prize slips tucked inside which they then exchanged for a colorful variety of stuffed bunny toys. Three grand prizes of giant bunnies were raffled off as well. Milt and Carol Hamel, Ray and Carol Kells and their committee did a great job of organizing a fun morning.

For 33 years Lanny Frattare has been known as "The Voice of the Pirates". That is how he was always introduced, whether as an occasional speaker at our club or as the celebrity "auctioneer" at our Gourmet Dinner Dance and Auction each fall.

All three of the Bethel-St. Clair clubs gathered to spend an evening with "Honest Abe".

A goal of mine this year was to share at least one meeting with our morning and lunchtime brethren. That was accomplished last Thursday when Rick Miller aka Abe Lincoln came to call.

Interactor officers from the USC high school, Beth Poluszejko and Kelsey Mailman, who recently visited our club,  described their Interact club's activities both past and upcoming. In the fall they participated in a carwash at Chick-Fil-A and raised $500 for the American Diabetes Assn. They also participated in a School Walk for Diabetes and had about 70 students out walking for diabetes research. The Interact Club sent about 20 students to help us with the Pancake Festival which was greatly appreciated by our Rotary Club members! They will also help us with the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt by filling the eggs and by entertaining the children with games and activities. They have planned a trip to the Pittsburgh Food Bank on April 22nd and they hope to have a "Battle of the Bands" with the Bethel Park HS Interact Club. [Lou Piconi's niece, Karen Lucarelli, is president of the BP club.] The girls also told us that they are participating in a fundraiser for our friend, Brian Schill, from the morning club, who is undergoing chemotherapy. The deadline for ordering cookbooks is March 20th.

IN SEPT 2006 WE MET WITH THE LONG EATON CLUB DURING THEIR VISIT TO PGH TO DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL PROJECT OPPORTUNITIES.  RAY TERRY AND MIKE BASS FROM LONG EATON AND MILT HAMEL, CARL GADDIS, DICK BECK, AND JOHN DONAHOE FROM BETHEL-ST.CLAIR CLUB SET UP THE INIITAL AGREEMENT TO PROCEED. LONG EATON ARRANGED FOR THE AARS ROTARY CLUB IN DENMARK TO JOIN US. IN DEC 2006, TOM ATKINS INTRODUCED THE BETHEL -ST. CLAIR CLUB TO SLIM (STUDENT LEADERS IN INT'L MEDICINE) FROM UNIV. OF PGH, WHO HAD IDENTIFIED PROJECTS IN MALAWI. NATHAN RILEY AND ELIZABETH VAN LOON BECAME OUR PRIMARY CONTACTS AT SLIM.        

Paul Halliwell introduced our speaker, Beth Ann Coonrod, who is the Diabetes Disease Management Coordinator at St. Clair Hospital Diabetes Center in Bethel Park. Beth Ann is a 1986 nursing graduate from West Virginia Wesleyan College who then received her Master's in Public Health and her PhD in Epidemiology from the U. of Pittsburgh. She has been working as a diabetes educator ever since.

Glenn R. Dandoy of Upper St. Clair was inducted into the Bethel-St.Clair Rotary Club at the February 19, 2009 meeting at St.Clair C.C. Glenn is the Manager of Assisted Living at Country Meadows Retirement Community. He is the Regional Marketing Manager. He is a graduate of Grove City College and is also a current USC Commissioner.

He and his wife, Bobbie, have five children: Amy, Jim Russell, Hannah and Natalie. Welcome to the Dandoy family!

Our own Dr. Sam Sando will be honored by the University of Pittsburgh. Each year the University of Pittsburgh hosts an Honors Convocation celebrating the achievements of students and faculty that have contibuted to the academic life of the University and the local community. On Friday, February 27, Chancellor Mark Nordenberg will lead the 33rd annual Honors Convocation. The University will pay tribute to a number of outstanding faculty for their dedication and talent in the areas of teaching, research and public service.

Dr. Sando will be recognized for his many years as Director of the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the University. The members of Bethel St. Clair Rotary offer their heartiest congratulations.

Paul Halliwell introduced our speaker and his good friend, Ed Symons of Symons Capital Management which is located in Mt. Lebanon. Ed earned his undergrad degree at Cornell and his law degree (summa cum laude) from the University of Pittsburgh. He has served as an Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth where he was assigned as Chief Counsel for the PA Department of Banking.

Ed later became a tenured professor at Pitt where he authored a key text still used extensively by many American law schools as their principal text on banking, mutual funds, securities and insurance law. It's safe to say that Ed knows banking law.

PRES. DICK introduced Pressley Ridge Institute's  CEO and President, Dr. Scott Finnell. Pressley Ridge is a non-profit children and family service organization.  Dr. Finnell is a Dallas native who has been in Pittsburgh for the past 10 years.   He calls Pressley Ridge one of Pittsburgh's best-kept secrets. They were founded in 1872 and are 77 years old. The name comes from a merger between two service organizations that were originally on Pressley and Ridge Avenues, respectively. Currently, they are on Marshall Avenue  on the north side of the city. Today they serve about 3,500 children. They have 1,200 persons on staff and a budget of about $75M.

Last week's meeting was devoted to a review of our current activities and plans for the balance of the year.

President Dick strolled down each "Avenue of Service", asking the Directors present to review their activities.

At our Christmas Party on December 11, 2008, Rotary Foundation Trustee Lou Piconi presented the following members with Paul Harris recognition:

Bill Gallina - Paul Harris Fellow (PHF)
Jim Bolas - PHF +1
Herm Dieckmann - PHF +1
Past President John Donahoe - PHF +2
Ray Kells - PHF +2
Past President Bobbi Jo Haden - PHF +3
Bernie Ernst - PHF +3
Past President Jack Watkins - PHF +6

Jim Collins, President and CEO of St.Clair Hospital was also recognized by our club with a PHF designation "in special appreciation of the ways in which his life exemplifies the humanitarian and educational objectives of The Rotary Foundation."

Lou urged all Paul Harris Fellows to wear the PHF pin to all Rotary events, as a symbol of your appreciation for and support of the programs of The Rotary Foundation.

The struggling economy and the holidays have occupied our attention. It's time to look forward and "SPRING" into action.

Not many people in Allegheny County have any idea of the many aspects of the County Treasurer's job - only part of it is collecting taxes.  Our treasurer for the past 10 years, John Weinstein, visited us last week. He also serves as president of the County Retirement Board. He's a lifelong resident of the area growing up in Kennedy Twp. where he attended Montour H.S. and Robert Morris University.

JOHN DONAHOE reminded us that it's the time of year when those of us who are retirees get a lot of mail regarding our Medicare choices for the coming year. It all can get quite confusing and we often have questions. Fortunately for us this evening we have an expert, Wendy Kuhn from Highmark, who has come to  enlighten us so that we make informed choices in our medical coverage. [Non-retirees should also find this information on the mysteries of Medicare helpful.]

 1.   Vicki Gerlach   $100
 2.   Dick Connell   $125
 3.   Ralph Patton   $125
 4.   Cliff Taylor   $150
 5.   Mark Shook   $175
 6.   Chip Gaddis   $175
 7.   Lloyd Price   $200
 8.   Walter E. Schrage   $200
 9.   Lou Piconi   $225
10.  Ray Kells - $225
11.  George Pitcairn - $250
12.  Ray Kells - $275
13.  Gary Buffington - $300
14.  Tom Shook - $350
15.  Carl Gaddis - $450
16. James J. Bartos - $575

Our club was honored to have DG Jim Kunkelmann and his wife, Sibyl, visit with us at our meeting last week. Pres. Dick introduced Jim as "the" official representative and only officer of RI in the District. The DG has many duties and responsibilities (like any CEO) but little authority to force any Rotarian to do anything. He must create results on the strength of his sparkling personality and stellar leadership abilities. Unfortunately, when his term expires, there is no golden parachute.

Jim is a long time member of the Monroeville R.C. who now has 28 years of perfect attendance. (His assistant, Bob Brindley, now has 61 years of perfect attendance!) Needless to say, Jim believes in the importance of being committed to attending his Rotary meeting and he encouraged us all to do the same.

Last week, VP Jim Bolas, gave us a detailed report on the progress the committee is making in planning for our 50th Pancake Festival celebration. He thanked Bob Kohler for working with Jim on a special celebration logo which will be featured on all print items associated with the festival.

The power point presentation itself can be viewed by going to the clubrunner website and clicking on "Downloads" on the homepage. Select the last download and, when it comes up, right click on "Rotate clockwise" and you will be able to see it all.

Last week's meeting was devoted to an open discussion of the No.1 topic of interest to every Rotary club  MEMBERSHIP

On Saturday evening, October 11th, there was a bright spot amid all the gloom and doom of late. Our own PAUL HALLIWELL was performing with The Allegheny Brass Band at their concert at Westminster Presbyterian Church - what a good time it was!

Eckert Seamans law firm has in its employ one David Mayernik who is in the firm's Business and Government Relations Department. He was a 20 year member of the PA General Assembly where he sponsored numerous bills and amendments which became law. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Pitt's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs as well as serving as an instructor at the Allegheny County Police Academy. He has served on many local boards and authorities. The list of his accomplishments serving in professional and civic organizations is long.

Dave is an alumnus of Pitt (both undergraduate degree and a graduate degree in Public Administration) and the Widener University School of Law.

Ray Kells introduced our speaker last week - the Rev. Dr. Dan Merry (flanked by Ray Kells and Jim Hall) who is senior pastor at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Mt. Lebanon. Ray told of how, 21 years ago, they were searching for a new pastor and found Rev. Merry and his wife, Beth. Rev. Dan has been their pastor ever since and has proved to be a most dynamic one. From August 2004 to August 2005, he and Beth along with their daughters, Heather and Brooke, served as missionaries to the Synod of Blantyre in Malawi, Africa. He held us all spellbound as he showed us what their experience was like in the poorest country on earth!  Can you imagine taking your teenage daughters to such a place?

Last week our own Bob Kohler spoke to us about the current digital photography scene.  Many of us are not up-to-date on what's "out there" and consequently uncomfortable with the idea of using the new cameras which have those little cards in them that allow us to download them to our computers for printing, editing, e-mailing or creating clever little things like cards, calendars, collages, etc. The lingo alone is enough to discourage our participation in all the fun we can have at home. 

Digital cameras give you extraordinary control over images. You can transfer them to your computer, crop, adjust color & contrast, plus add textures and other special effects. But you can also either make prints at home or just drop off a memory card at your favorite photofinisher where they can get your prints for you or you can use one of their machines to quickly print your own. They are happy to assist customers.

Rolf Zimmermann, our past club member who has now returned to Germany, came to visit us and bring us up to date on the progress being made on our joint  international project with his RC of Bornheim, Germany which also includes our club and two other Rotary clubs as well.

Before he retired a few years ago, Rolf worked for a lignite mining company that operates in Germany and Eastern Europe and  he became familiar with that area. One of his contacts in Bulgaria was a Rotarian and a member of the RC of Stara Zagora. Through him, Rolf's club became aware of their great need, among other things, for medical equipment. His club in Bornheim has taken the lead in organizing help for their Children's Hospital through Rotary.

Last week, the Becks and Hamels brought their pictures of their stay last May in Calci, Tuscany, Italy. At last year's Gourmet Dinner, Milt and Dick were the high bidders on the two week stay at our British fellow Rotarian's (Graham Smith's) villa that Lanny Frattare auctioned off. There were lots of pictures of the condo complex, Pisa, Florence, Lucca and the town of Forti di Marmi on the coast as well as many pics of crumbling walls and other delicious aspects of the Italian countryside. We are going to be auctioning off another 2 week stay at the upcoming Gourmet Dinner on November 8th.  Perhaps the picture show will give someone in the club a preview of what they might hope to experience.

August 28th: Despite the grey day, 47 members and guests once more gathered at Lion's Park for our annual Corn Roast. Fortunately the rain held off while Grant McRoberts, Carl Trakofler, Ed Harmon and Roy Warner, our cornhusking team performed the ritual husking of all the fresh corn. Keith Jackson grilled the burgers and hot dogs and Carol Hamel and Bobbi Rimkus did yeoman's duty steaming the corn.  After an opening prayer, we all lined up to taste the various dishes that our spouses had brought along to share in addition to the club offerings. Afterwards, the dessert table was replete with goodies galore - more than enough to satisfy the sweetest craving.

We were pleased to have Molly McCann and her parents, Garry and Anna Marie, join us for dinner on August 14th where their daughter was presented with the Service Above Self Award which is presented to our high school Interactor who most exemplifies the high standard of service required by our Interact program.

John Donahoe introduced our speaker this evening, Jeff Kotula, who serves as President of the 900 member Washington County Chamber of Commerce. Born and raised in said county, he was only twenty-six in 1999 when he assumed that position. In the nine years following, under his leadership the chamber has doubled its membership, increased its budget threefold and enjoys a 92% retention rate.  Jeff has received many honors and awards and he makes the most of the good education he received at Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University.

Upper St.Clair resident, Dr. Ed Kelly, was introduced by program director, Paul Halliwell as our speaker for the evening. Dr. Kelly is a retired orthopedic surgeon and a 2007 Jefferson Award  winner. (See www.post-gazette.com/pg/08005/846770-51.stm ) He told us that his first personal experience with Rotary occurred when, as a member of Friends of DaNang, his group was accompanied on a trip to Vietnam by  members of a Rotary Club from Sante Fe, NM in 2004 - so Dr. Kelly knows first hand about what Rotary does in the world.  In that case, the group was there to inspect a sewage project that their club was involved in. As we know, it's one thing to support a project and another thing to make sure it remains up and running.

Paul Halliwell had the pleasure of introducing his friend, attorney Bruce Campbell who has been keeping Paul entertained for many years with his stories about Pittsburgh history and events. He's a Haverford College grad in Political Science and then he went on to the U. of Chicago Law School (1962) and got his Master's in Comparative Law 2 years later. He went from there to U.S.Steel Corp. and, subsequently, became chairman of the Urban Re-Development Authority (1971-77). At the same time, he was the Executive Secretary to Mayor Pete Flaherty. In 1977 he was appointed Deputy Attorney General for the U.S. He currently is the solicitor for the Retirement Board and the Auditorium Authority.

President Dick introduced Manher Jariwala's sponsor, Bob Stevens, who brought our new member and his wife, Leticia, to the podium. 
Our usual ceremony was held in which we recalled the Objects of Rotary and the Ethics of Rotary. 

IF YOU CAN'T MAKE OUR REGULAR MEETING, PLEASE CONSIDER A MAKE-UP MEETING AT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING LOCAL CLUBS:

USC-Bethel RC meets at The Grand Residence on McMurray Road on Tuesdays at 7 AM.

Mt. Lebanon Sunrise RC meets at Bado's on Beverly Road on Wednesdays at 7 AM.

Bethel Park RC meets at the Warehouse Cafe on South Park Road on Wednesdays at 12:15 PM.

Bridgeville RC meets at Tambellini's in Bridgeville on Thursdays at 12 Noon.

Our able program chairman, Paul Halliwell introduced Dr. Cyril  Wecht who came to visit us last week. "I came out in search of a Democrat," he quipped.  He then proceeded to give us a wide ranging talk that had us all amazed at his ability to capture an audience. First, however, he pointed out that, even in ancient times, when a person died, people always wanted to know why. Julius Caesar was stabbed multiple times [35] by 23 of his fellow senators. They brought in the physician, Antistius, to determine which one was the fatal wound and he determined that there was only one that actually killed him.

As President Dick remarked last week, it is always nice to do an "in house" meeting from time to time and give one of our members a chance to share some of his interests with us. Last week we had that opportunity in having our club chaplin, Reverend Bob James, speak to us about Islam, both as a religion and as a culture.

 Carl Gaddis began the program with the recognition of our new Paul Harris Fellow, John Mendel, who was presented with the medal and a pin. Our past presidents were then called forward for recognition for their many years of service.

Here is The Fort Couch Potatoes bicycle team - can you find George?  Click on the picture to make it bigger.

PLEASE NOTE: Dick Beck's approved budget for the 2008-2009 Rotary year has been posted on the Clubrunner website.  To view the budget you must:

          1) Log on to the website using your I.D. and password 
          2) Click on ADMIN
          3) Click on VIEW CLUB DOCUMENTS

In the summer of 2000, Nathalie Bonilla made her way from her home in Venezuela to the Atkins' home in Upper St. Clair as a Rotary High School Youth Exchange student.  While here she spent time living with the Atkins, Hamel and Gaddis families.  This past week we had a nice surprise when she came to visit us again at our meeting.

Every now and then you meet someone who is the perfect person for the job at hand. Such is Erin Estell who is the Manager of Animal Programs at the National Aviary which is located on Allegheny Commons in Westview Park on the North Side. She's bright, informed and deeply involved with her bird friends at the nation's only independent, indoor, nonprofit zoo dedicated exclusively to birds.

Rotary Presenter---Carl Trakofler                      

Chuck McCullough came to give us the Republican view of the proposed city/county merger.  As a Representative At-Large on the City Council as well as the Upper St. Clair Township Attorney with many years of experience in legal counsel at various state and local government levels, Chuck gave us his pragmatic assessment on the issue - He finds it a bad idea, indeed!