«The Vista«

January 6, 2009       Vol. 38, No. 24      District 7170

Ithaca Cayuga Rotary Club

Chartered November 1, 1971     

Meets Tuesday Noon, Kendal at Ithaca

www.ithacarotary.org/cayuga    www.rotarydistrict7170.org

Editor: H. Murphy

Opening: President Chuck Brodhead called the meeting to order and asked Guy Tabacchi to select a song from the four on the sheet he provided. With Doug Armstrong’s help, he led us in the first verse of When You and I Were Young Maggie. It was a bit of a struggle, but the group did manage to get through it. Thought: Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

Visiting Rotarians and Guests: Introduced were Rotarians Linda Confer of Watkins Glen, Guy Tabacchi of Ithaca, and FDG Gene Erickson also of the Ithaca Rotary Club. Guests included Exchange student from Cochabamba, Bolivia, Lorita Sotomayor and Becky Stone, guest of Linda Confer.

Sales Continue for the Calendars and Fruit Cakes. AnnMarie still has a few of the Dewey Neild waterfall calendars for 2009 available for $10.00. Ed Siemon has a fresh supply of the delicious Claxton fruitcakes at $7.00 each. Members had praise for the longevity of the fruitcakes and how good they are with a bit of enhancement when soaked in the beverage of your choice.

Polio Plus jug is on the head table each week waiting for our loose pocket change. Let’s aim at filling it this year. Still plenty of room in it.

50/50 was conducted by Alan Littlefair with Guy Tabacchi holding the winning number.

Next Week our speaker will be Steve Griffin who will update us about current operation of Foodnet in the economy.

Happy/Sad $$: Ev Morse led off with missed meetings $$ plus $$ for the epic tale of his car's engine block blowing out on him, but luckily within a block of home. Doug and Gene were both happy to be back and on the regular routine of Rotary. Dave Thurston with a smile said he had had too many woes to list. Jim Lorbeer was happy to pay for a good report on his sump pump saga. It is working well and keeping the water level lower than it has ever been.

Bill McGuire was happy to pay for a happy and hopeful new year. Ed Siemon wasn’t sure what he had awaiting him at home, but he had a water spot on the ceiling that looked ominous. AnnMarie's $$ were for a good holiday and for her current problem setting up the Power Point for today's speaker.

Chuck was happy to pay for a respite from Rotary and a chance to spend time with family and grandchildren from Houston to New Jersey for a joyous Christmas and New Years. Ed Siemon had another sad $ for the quote he just received for boat repairs. Hank was happy for a very good Christmas with family plus a $ for Guy's Letter to the Editor on behalf of Cayuga Heights' deer. This sparked a lengthy discussion of the merits of various techniques and formulae for protecting plantings from the ever hungry deer.

Program: Our speaker was Veronica Palladino of Lansing, who is a freshman in Cornell's International Agriculture Program. She was the winner of Ithaca-Cayuga Rotary's International Fellowship Award two years ago. Veronica's well illustrated program was a summary of her nine months in South America covering Argentina, Nicaragua, and Guatemala.

In Argentina she stayed in Rojas, west of Buenos Aires and was able to visit with Andre our exchange student a couple of years ago. Birthday parties are well celebrated and she was on hand for several and was introduced to the local dances. On a visit to Buenos Aires she was able to visit a number of relatives who had visited her family in Lansing some years ago.

Beef is a feature of their meals in Argentina with mate the beverage over which they socia1ize. Side trips took her to Escobar and to the spectacular Igauzu waterfalls. A boat trip led to the frontier of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.

In Nicaragua she became involved in a study of super-markets on the local populace. She noted that many earthquakes in the area led to the limitation of buildings to one or two stories high in Managua. Most of her time was spent in Guatemala working with the San Lucas Toliman mission. She helped with the coffee harvest and noted the importance of reforestation to prevent mudslides on the mountains. She also was able to help with the building of stoves for the natives’ homes, which are safer and remove smoke from the kitchens. She found the children very friendly and a joy to know.

Veronica's time was well spent and her experiences are sure to be an asset in her Cornell studies.

Responsibilities	Greeter	Thought for the Day	Introductions
January 13	Jim Lorbeer	Bill McGuire	Ev Morse
January 20	Ed Moy	Art Muka	Hank Murphy
January 27	Joe Quigley	Ed Siemon	Bob Thurston

The Rotary Four Way Test of all the things we think, say, or do

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?