On our International Day, Dr. Jade Myers of RIT spoke to us of her travels to Haiti and the work she has accomplished there.
INTERNATIONAL MEETING
Opening and Invocation led by Jim Weiler, filling in for Josh McCrossen.
Visiting Rotarians:
Meg Huff, Bloomfield Rotary
Jodi Kaufman, Canandaigua Rotary
Guests:
Pam Hannan guest of Dave Hannan
Eric Johnson guest of Donna Johnson
Jade Myers, guest speaker
Luis Alonso, Youth Exchange Student
Strange Laws in Louisiana
Many strange laws in Louisiana, including: "It is illegal for a woman to drive a car unless her husband is waving a flag in front of it."
Birthdays
Susie Earl
Wedding Anniversaries
John and Anne Tickner (38)
Club Anniversaries
Susan Hasenauer (3)
President Adam O. (16)
Announcements:
- Lynn Mooney reminded us to purchase the Raffle Tickets from Jan Hence.
- Adam thanked Linda Werts and Donna Johnson for organizing the International Meeting.
- Gary Reilly announced the Camp Onseyawa Golf Tournament on June 8. Looking for sponsors.
- Jim Weiler has flyers for the Newark Rotary Family Festival.
- Gail Chambers reminded us that the Color our Community Pride day is on May 18th.
- Michele McManus said that the Visingard's and Malwina’s families are meeting up in Dublin, Ireland and will attend the Taylor Swift concert in June and tour Ireland.
- Michele also asked for volunteers to join the festival fundraising committee to solicit business for sponsorships.
Happy Moments:
- Gary and Norma Reilly had a great time in the Philippines.
- Scott and Kim Healy were in Orlando visiting their daughter and granddaughter. Also, they dealt with a dead battery in his rental car on their way to the airport. Fortunately their flight home was delayed by an hour.
- Clayt Depew announced the birth of his granddaughter on May 4th. Congratulations!
- Steve and Evy Taylor had a great time in Ticonderoga visiting the Star Trek exhibit.
International Raffle: Three baskets were raffled off and the winners were Pam, Dave and President Adam. Donna spoke about the international committee. She said the committee is looking for three new members by the end of May. The committee meets 3-4 times per year. The will give a program on Tabi at the end of May.
Queen of Hearts: Doug Doebler picked the winning ticket and the Queen of Hearts! Years ago Doug started this fundraiser to help Kay Espwa Orphanage in Haiti.
Program:
Jade Myers, PhD is a research development specialist at RIT.
She spoke about Danie of Haiti. She lost her mother during the Haiti earthquake in 2010. Danie was trapped in the rubble of her home and had to self-amputate her arm to extricate herself.
She then lived in a shack near the airport for seven years, begging on the street to survive. She was doing her best to support her daughter, even as her money was stolen from her by gang members. Theft and rape common where she lived.
Jade met Danie and helped her get a prosthetic arm during. Danie asked her for help to live in a house. Jade started a Go Fund Me when she returned to the U.S. At the last moment, the goal was reached. Jade took Danie to her new home that was much safer, self-sustaining and solar powered.
Danie started a business selling cold drinks. But more recently neighborhood and home has been overrun by gangs. Now Danie has a family of six. Jade applied to bring her to the United States.
Working through Call to Care Canandaigua, three of the six family members have come to the U.S. Her husband and two other children are still in Haiti. Jade asked us to continue to support the group. Jade’s talk was riveting and brought attention to the suffering being endured by the people of Haiti.
Linda Werts and Scott Healy presented Jade Myers with a Paul Harris recognition for her work in bringing beneficial changes to the people of Haiti.
President Adam's Inspirational Message: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." Ferris Bueller