SPUR Oct 19, 2016
President Greg Stokes called the meeting to order at 12:40.
Julie Cotnoir led us in the pledge of allegiance.
Rich Tkacz led the 4-way test.
Chris Leary said our invocation.
We didn't have any guests at the meeting.
Ed Palomba filled in as sergeant-at-arms in Kevin Mayo's absence.
Ed Palomba was happy about his softball playoffs. He was also happy that his daughter came home to visit, even though she was really coming home to see Ed's new granddaughter and not Ed.
Jo Ann Walk was happy to play golf last weekend at Rolling Meadows and win $100 prize. She was also happy for our beautiful fall foliage. She describes it to her midwestern family as "driving through a postcard".
Eric Moody was happy for the fall weather. He was also happy for the LAST presidential debate.
Julie Cotnoir had a happy dollar for her weekend and a good luck dollar to Ed Palomba for softball.
Lindsey Weber was happy to celebrate her 13th wedding anniversary. She had a sad/happy dollar for losing Jack at a family corn maze but then finding him shortly thereafter, safe and sound.
Nick Deni had a hurricane dollar for living through Hurricane Matthew. He was happy to report that his house didn't have any damage. He also had a happy dollar for a grandchild visit.
Greg Stokes had a happy dollar about a conference in Nashville, but wasn't happy about coming home feeling sick. (airplane germs) He had a happy dollar that his two oldest granddaughters visited the 9/11 Memorial in NYC and understood that solemnity of the experience. He noted that for us, 9/11 was an experience, and for his grandchildren, it's a history lesson.
Catherine Williamson was happy to be presenting to our club today.
Carol Bohnet was happy to be at Mass Mutual pitching Allied for a grant.
Joe Fallon's History/Mystery Question:
Oct 19, 1810
This emancipationist, 1832 graduate of Yale College and cousin to the Great Compromiser, was born in Madison County, Kentucky to one of Kentucky's wealthiest slaveholders.
1. Who was he?
Cassius Marcellus Clay
2. Which famous athlete was named after him?
Muhammad Ali
3. Which famous abolitionist was his inspiration?
William Lloyd Garrison
The Raffle
Chris Leary drew a card - no luck
Eric Moody won $10
Keith Madore won $5
We're wondering if their luck was 'in the cards' or if something else was going on because the three tickets holders were all seated together!
Announcements
Save the date! Our club's pancake breakfast will be December 10th.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) will be Saturday, Nov 12th in Chicopee. Attendees needed! There must be 8 people registered in a session or it will be cancelled. RLI is a great way to learn more about Rotary and enhance your membership experience. Rotarians who participate report being happier in their Rotary membership. See Bobbi Mazurek or Greg Stokes if you're interested in learning more.
The district Foundation Dinner will be Thursday Nov 3rd at Chez Josef. See Ed Palomba for more details.
Presentation
Catherine Williamson, one of our newest members and a Gerontologist, spoke to us about the struggles and stereotypes associated with aging. Catherine works in home care and aging services. She speaks to many groups, both young and old, about aging.
She suggested an online test designed to measure our implicit bias. The test results help people understand how they feel about a particular culture or segment of our population. The test can be found here:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
Catherine defined "ageism" as a form of discrimination against people because they are old. She compared it to racism or sexism. She said that ageism manifests itself in how we treat older people.
To illustrate the challenges of aging, Catherine gave several club members bags containing "challenges". She asked them to put on "blurry glasses" and ear plugs to simulate vision and hearing loss. They wore rubber gloves and rubberbanded several fingers together to simulate arthritis and the loss of dexterity. They were then asked to open a pill bottle, sort colored candies, and fill the pill bottle with a specific color candy. The task proved to be quite frustrating!
We then watched an ABC News video about living with Alzheimers. Participants in the video experienced a simulation of Alzheimers and were asked to perform simple tasks. They were amazed at their frustration level with simple tasks like finding socks or setting the table. One participant said, about people battling Alzeimers, "They need your help. They need your understanding." It was truly an exercise in patience and understanding.
Thank you to Catherine for a hands-on, lively demonstration and discussion of a topic that will affect every one of us.
Submitted by Lindsey Weber