No I am not being lazy.  I decided to resend last week's FROM THE EDITOR.  I want to make sure everyone gets a chance to read about the successes Rotary's Polio eradication effort has had recently...... 

Hi Everyone,

Last week I mentioned the great news from India about having over a year of no new cases of polio.  This puts them firmly on the path to no longer being endemic for polio.  Only Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria would be on the list of endemic countries.  Endemic countries being the countries from where the polio virus still comes.

This week the great news continues.  Rotary has met the Gates challenge.  As of January 17, the amount contributed worldwide to the Gates challenge of $200,000,000 was $202,000,000.  As a result of that, the Gates Foundation contributes $355,000,000.  The Gates Foundation has added an additional $50,000,000.

On February 1, our District 5170 will be announcing a new Polio Challenge for District 5170 Rotarians.  The presentation on Poilo Plus I will be making to the club on February 14 will go over the history of Polio Plus and will include an overview of the new challenge.  Please feel free to invite any potential members to that meeting. Hearing about Poilo Plus at a Rotary Club meeting was what convinced me to join Rotary.  If you work for a company that has a community outreach department that donates to nonprofits, this is the meeting to which you want to bring that group's representative. Rotary has earned a lot of respect in the nonprofit community because of our work with Polio Plus. As in, it should be easier to get approval for donations from the company to Rotary.

And the good news continues.........

By the Afghanistan and Pakistan border controlled by the Taliban, the Taliban has agreed to a cease fire.  The cease fire is to allow for immunization of the children in the area.  One of the reasons why these two countries are still on the endemic list is because of the intense political situation. There have been rumors that the vaccines were not real and the whole immunization thing was a scam of some sort.  Well, finally, reality sets in.  Follow this link to an article that explains the cease fire.....

 http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/medical_countermeasures/317690-taliban-to-allow-polio-vaccination-campaign-in-border-area/ 

See you all Tuesday........

Charlie 

25th year in law enforcement

Frank began his career in 1987 for the State of California, Department of Justice as a Fraud Investigator.

He transferred to the Fremont Police Department in 1989 where he worked a variety of assignments as an officer including undercover narcotics and SWAT.  He was eventually promoted to the position of a Police Captain before being appointed as the Director of Public Safety for Sunnyvale.  As a Police Captain, he had oversight of all field operations including the Dispatch Center, Crime Lab and Property and Evidence Warehouse.

Frank is a member of several professional associations including the International Association of Police Chiefs, the California Police Chiefs Association and the California Peace Officers Association.  He was recently appointed as the Chair of the California Police Chiefs Association Technology Committee.  

Frank is to Leslie and they recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.  They have two children, Jake 9 years old and Lauren 6. 

THANKS for your generosity Bob!!!!

Let's CONGRATULATE Rebecca and Rick who recently received their blue badges.

Last Saturday I had another one of those great experiences.  I had yet to be in attendance at a Sunnyvale Rotary crab feed. I had no idea what to expect and thought it would just be another fund raiser centered around food.  WRONG!!!!!

I walked into the church and had this sudden sense of awe.  The number of tables set up for the soon to be arriving guests seemed incredible. I was scheduled to assist Dick Smith in the bar starting at 4:30PM.  I got there around 4:20PM.  What I soon reealized was the high level of activity that had been going on for several hours.  

It was obvious once again the great spirit the Sunnyvale club has.  But this time, I had the pleasure to see how industrious and giving the Homestead Interact Club is.  The high school students were all over the place making sure everything was in place.  There were several walking around selling raffle tickets. 

The next time anyone tells you the younger generations are slackers, ask them if they ever heard of Interact. If they say no and say they high school age students, send them to Lisa Bickford and Michelle Lewis.  These two ladies do a super job co-ordinating the high schoolers.

See you Tuesday........

Charlie 

Photo: 200 Khao San Road in Bangkok.  Photo by Allie_Caulfield on Flickr

Please bring Peanut Butter to a January club meeting!

Where there is Rotary there is less hunger!