SPUR October 7, 2015
October 7, 1982 – 33 years ago
This was the opening date for what proved to be Broadway’s second longest running play.
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What play was it?
CATS
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What was the name of the tribe of cats?
The Jellicle tribe
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What was the name of the patriarch of the Jellicle tribe? (and the one to whom the song “Memory” was sung).
Old Deuteronomy
Raffle
$10 - Ed Palomba
$5 - Kate Garvey
card - Jerry Bell - 10 of clubs
Announcements
Ed Palomba spoke about our upcoming project, a walking trail at our playground. Ed shared a map of the project. Proceeds from the 99 Restaurant auction will benefit the new walking trail. Ed approached Lego again to see if they are interested in supporting the trail or the amphitheater for children’s programs. Kevin said that our members can use the Hartford marathon and Kate's ‘Dopey Challenge' at Disney to make donations toward the project. Lindsey mentioned that the playground needs some minor repairs and cleaning. This task might be something for the club to address in the spring. Kevin and Ed said that the town of Enfield suggested adding a water fountain near the playground, but this would be a large expense.
Rotary Leadership Institute is on Nov 7th in Chicopee. The club will sponsor the cost to attend. See Nick for details.
Our district Foundation Dinner is on Nov 5th at Chez Josef. See Nick for details.
Ed Palomba shared exciting news from a recent Rotarian magazine: Nigeria is Polio free and Africa has gone one year without a case.
Guest Speaker Prasad Menon
Prasad visited our club to speak about positive updates in our fight against Polio.
Rotary's attempt to eradicate Polio began in 1985 when a single club in the Philippines asked for funding to prevent Polio in their club area. The project spread through the Philippines. With a humanitarian grant from Rotary, 6 million children were vaccinated in 1978-79 and the country was free from Polio.
In 1985, the 40th anniversary of the UN, the WHO began an initiative to vaccinate children in the developing world. Rotary asked to include the Polio vaccine and then promised $120 million. Because Rotary was actually able to raise $254 million, they used the excess funds to add the "plus" (additional vaccines) to the Polio Plus program.
Rotary's attempt to eradicate Polio throughout the world proved more difficult than planned, mostly because of political struggles. Extensive matching donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have helped Rotary make the final push toward eradication.
India has seen recent success in its vaccination attempts by enlisting mothers (familiar and trusted by their neighbors) to administer the vaccines. India hasn't seen a case of Polio in one year. Nigeria has seen success because tribal leaders began supporting the vaccination efforts. One region along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan continues to be a struggle because of the political climate. However, Pakistan passed a law prohibiting anyone from resisting vaccination attempts. The Pakistani Army began escorting healthcare workers. Their cases of Polio have drastically dropped in the past year from 189 to 32.
Rotary International plans to complete Polio eradication by 2018. We are closing in on the end date, and we are close to success. A year ago, there were more than 200 cases worldwide, and there are just 44 today.
(Remember that October is Polio Month.)
Respectfully submitted by Lindsey Weber