• New Member Propsoal
  The Ithaca Rotary Club Board of Directors will be considering the membership application(s) from the person(s) listed below. Any concerns about these membership proposals should be made in writing to the Secretary of the Club by February 13, 2004.
  
  Name: Teresa Nix
  Position: Director of Operations and Development
  Company: Bridges Cornell Heights
  Sponsor: Jean McPheeters
  

• Notes from President Jeff
  Congratulations to Rotarians in Action Noel Desch and Bob Baker. For those of you who have been following the inter-municipal waste water treatment plan that has been so much in the news of late, our own Noel Desch was instrumental in the development and finalization of that plan. Thanks Noel!
  
  Bob Baker was elected into the Hall of Fame recently, though we're still not quite sure which one! Ithaca's weekly newspaper reported on Bob's election, but apparently did not include the name of the hall. We are pretty sure that is has something to do with Bob's lifelong involvement in the poultry industry, so perhaps it is the International Poultry Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Bob!

• Report of the Board of Director's Meeting
  The Ithaca Rotary Board of Directors met on Tuesday, January 20 and completed the usual slate of business. A leave-of-absence was granted to both Tony Pesco and Fran Clines; resignations from Pat Haugen, Steve Froehlich, and Mary Benetti were accepted with regret; two new members were approved. The usual monthly reports from the Avenue of Service chairs were accepted as well. The next board meeting will be Tuesday February 17, 2004 at the Chamber of Commerce building on East Shore Drive. All members are welcome to attend the monthly board meetings.

• Get eConnected with Ithaca Rotary
  If anyone on the club is still not receiving the newsletter via e-mail, please subscribe now online so that we can make sure everyone is subscribed. Thanks to the move to an all-electronic newsletter, your Rotary club is saving more than $4,000 in production and mailing costs this year! Thank you all for Lending a Hand.

• Call for Meeting Setup Volunteers
  Dave Flinn, John Hays and Mike Billings have been sharing the meeting setup chores on a monthly rotation basis for the past three years and have done an admirable job. Dave and John have announced their need to participate in other ways and will be phasing out of service this year. So, this is a call for any interested Rotarian to serve the club in this necessary and important activity. It requires that the individual be available from approximately 11:45 to 12:15. (Earlier is acceptable) The tasks include preparing the podium and sound system, putting up flags and banners and assisting the President and program speaker as required. Service will continue to be rotated based upon the number of volunteers, i.e. three volunteers equals one month of service out of three. It is desirable but not required that the setup person be available for the entire meeting. Please see Scott Russell if interested. For further, first hand information, talk with Dave, John or Mike.

• Membership Month!
  February is Membership Month and we will be focusing our efforts on bringing in new members. Along with a variety of membership-based programs and events, all members will have the opportunity to bring potential new members to lunch at the club's expense. Any member who has a serious prospect for membership can bring that guest to lunch and the club will pay for the guest's meal. One guest per member, per week please. Look around your neighborhood - at home, where you work, where you shop, etc. - and talk to people about Rotary. If you have any questions about sponsoring new members or the process of bringing in new members, see Scott Russell or Heidi Goldstein.

• Learn about the New Medicare Bill
  Dave Cook would like all members to know that he has available a fact sheet which details all of the changes on he new Medicare bill. If you need to know more, please contact Dave.

• Pride of Workmanship Nominations
  The nomination period for this year's Pride of Workmanship Awards presentation is now open. Deadline for nominations is January 29th. For the 10th year of the program, there will be 10 awards given to deserving employees from around the county who excel in their work place. Tom Sanford and his committee will also be looking for an extra special employee who will receive a special "Lend A Hand" award this year. If you receive one of the nomination invitations, please consider whether or not you have an employee who deserves this special recognition or whether you know a business with such an employee. If you have any questions or need a nomination form, please contact Tom Sanford (pricelog@twcny.rr.com) who will be happy to help you out. This year's presentation will take place at our meeting on February 11.

• DUES were Due
  Dues ($85.00 + $40.00 Fair Share) were due by December 31 and any payments received after that date must include a $10.00 late payment fee. Dues notices, which have been mailed out to members who did not pick them up at the meetings, also include a line for a tax-deductible donation to the Ithaca Rotary Charitable Trust. The Charitable Trust funds the James Gibbs Scholarship among other things in the community, so please consider adding a donation to your dues payment. Please get your dues payments to secretary Scott Russell as soon as possible. Thank you.

• Ithaca Rotary Community Grants
  Once again the Ithaca Rotary club will be presenting worthwhile organizations in the community with small grants to help them achieve their goals. Requests for Rotary Grants are now being accepted and any organization with a need can apply simply by making a request to the Small Grants Committee. A letter detailing the request should be sent to either President Jeff True or Secretary Scott Russell care of the Ithaca Rotary Club, P.O. Box 306, Ithaca, N.Y. 14851. Letters may also be addressed directly to the committee via chair Jessie Ripple, 57 Highgate Circle, Ithaca, N.Y. 14850 If you have any questions about the Small Grants Program you may also call Jessie at 257-6454 or 254-2372. Deadline for requests will be January 31, 2004.

• Donations to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund
  The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund Committee recently sent letters to all members of the club requesting donations to the Rotary Foundation. If you are looking for something to perk up your day and don't know where to turn, look in the Rotarian magazine or on-line at www.rotary.org and you will find numerous stories about the great works of the Rotary Foundation throughout the world. Through your contributions to the Rotary Foundation, you become part of those great works -whether it is a well for a dry village or volunteers administering polio vaccine, the Rotary Foundation is helping people all over the world every day. Without your help, the Foundation could not continue its mission. Please consider this request for your help and give whatever you feel you can. Every dollar helps and no gift is too small. Thank you.

• Rotary Centennial Project Update
  Our Rotary club will be donating a total of 190 trees to the City of Ithaca (one for each year since Rotary was founded and one for each year since our club was founded - 100 and 90 respectively) over the next year and a half as our Rotary Centennial Tree Project. In cooperation with the City Forester, a map showing the location of all the future plantings and describing the types of trees to be planted has been created and Rotarians can purchase a tree as a gift or memorial and choose where it will be planted. Trees are $79.00 each and make great gifts. Please contact Beverly Baker if you would like to purchase a tree and help support this wonderful project.

• Rotarian Ambassadors
  1/6: Jessie Ripple (Fountain Hills, AZ)
  1/8: Barbara Caldwell (Ithaca Sunrise)
  1/15: Barbara Caldwell, Rich Farr (Ithaca Sunrise)

• Visiting Rotarians
  Barry Downing (Endwell, NY)
• Visiting Exchange Students
  Esteban Campos-Hernandez (Costa Rica)
  Michal Sykora (Slovakia)
  Jose Salcedo-Martin "Pepe" (Mexico)

• Former Student getting Married!
  One of our former exchange students from India, Dhanya, is getting married and we are invited to the reception in her honor. If anyone is planning to be in India on February 8th, you would be welcome to attend. For details, contact Tim Ainslie.

"The Health Index of our Ithaca Rotary Club & Tompkins County"

Donna Rider

There was some good news interspersed with the bad, but on the whole, our club is not doing too bad. For instance, only 5% of our club members are smokers and nearly 80% of our club members over the age of 50 have had a colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States today with 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2 men being diagnosed with some form of cancer. One in every four deaths is due to cancer and 90% of those cancer deaths are directly related to smoking. New studies by the American Cancer Society have also found links to cancer and obesity. Overall incidences of cancer in the U.S. have been on a steady decline since 1992, attributed to a combination of better diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Of course, Donna has some suggestions on how to help prevent cancer. Eat better, exercise more, and get regular check-ups. For that small portion of our club that still smokes, quitting should be a big priority in your life.

If anyone would like any more information about cancer treatment or prevention, please feel free to contact the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345. Our thanks to Donna for sharing the results of our survey with us and bringing us up to date on cancer trends in our community.

• Please view the calendar posted on the main page of this website for the most up-to-date information. [View Rotary Calendar]

Program Chair: Jeff True
Kettle Watch: Ralph Barnard
Greeter: Phil Meyer
Thought: Beverly Baker
Introductions: Guy Tabacci
Music: Jack Burns, Bill Cowdery, Don Hinman
Photography: John Ziegler
Setup: John Hays
Editor: Dale Flinn
Website: Matthew Dearing

• Please address all correspondence to the club to:
  Ithaca Rotary Club P.O. Box 306
  Ithaca, N.Y. 14851
  Attn.: Scott Russell, Secretary
  
  
• For eNewsletter comments, questions or corrections, and subscription requests please contact the Editor at bigd@starflinn.com.