Granite Chips
On Wednesday, August 5, 2015, thirty-four Rotarians, spouses, guests and entertainers gathered at the home of Charlene and Karl Rinker for the Barre Rotary Club Annual Cookout. Steaks, expertly cooked by Karl and Ted, were the centerpiece of our dining experience. Rotarians contributed appetizers, salads, rolls, and desserts resulting in a fine array of culinary delights. Social hour preceded dinner and there, of course, was a cacophony of sounds and panoply of colorful shirts, blouses, pants and shorts.
Socializing
A few minutes after the chefs had seated themselves to join the others, Tony rose to be recognized by President Karl for the purpose of proposing a fine of one-and-nine on Joe for wearing a certain type of shorts (not sure exactly.) Fine didn’t pass, I think. Someone proposed a fine on Sue for not giving a Secretary’s Report and so she gave one, having Rotarians introduce guests and spouses. Among the guests were two Montpelier Rotarians, President Eddie Rousse and Linda Milne; a member of the Central Vermont Club and Past District Governor, Harley Jordon; Northfield member and the current District Governor, Louisa Tripp. Since Sue vindicated herself, the fine did not pass.
After we finished our meal, Karl asked Louisa to come forward to say a few words about the Paul Harris Fellow Award. She not only spoke about the award, but also about the latest matching gift from the Gates Foundation to continue the battle against polio. Karl next called Ron to come forward to present a Paul Harris Fellow to Peter Gagne who has helped at the Annual Rotary Breakfast for several years. He has long been a supporter of Rotary and of its good works. Karl also presented Peter a certificate of Honorary Membership in the Barre Rotary Club. He received a standing ovation.
Paul Harris Fellow Presentation
As we plunged into our desserts, Karl introduced the evening’s surprise entertainment: HIGH VOLTAGE--An Electrifying Barbershop Quartet with members Eric Olberg, Greg Morrill, Don Pierce and Charlie Church. They regaled us with a variety of songs in barbershop harmony and laced their performance with wit and light comedy. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the concert as demonstrated by warm rounds of applause and a standing ovation at its conclusion.
High Voltage
Enjoying High Voltage
Thanks to all who made the Annual Cookout a success and especially to Karl and Charlene for sharing their lovely home in its beautiful setting with no rain.
On another matter, President Karl wanted to pass on this announcement regarding polio: An announcement at the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon, Portugal, set the stage for a bold new chapter in the partnership between Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the campaign for polio eradication. “Going forward, the Gates Foundation will match two-to-one, up to US$35 million per year, every dollar Rotary commits to reduce the funding shortfall for polio eradication through 2018,” said Jeff Raikes, the foundation’s chief executive officer, in a prerecorded video address shown during the convention’s plenary session on 25 June. “If fully realized, the value of this new partnership with Rotary is more than $500 million. In this way, your contributions to polio will work twice as hard.”
The joint effort, called End Polio Now – Make History Today, comes during a critical phase for the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The estimated cost of the initiative’s
2013-18 Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan is $5.5 billion.
Funding commitments, announced at the Global Vaccine Summit in April, total $4 billion. Unless the $1.5 billion funding gap is met, immunization levels in polio-affected countries will decrease. And if polio is allowed to rebound, within a decademore than 200,000 children worldwide could be paralyzed every year.
Rotary and the Gates Foundation are determined not to let polio make a comeback.
“We will combine the strength of Rotary’s network with our resources, and together with the other partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), we will not just end a disease but change the face of public health forever,” said Raikes.
In 2007, the Gates Foundation gave The Rotary Foundation a $100 million challenge grant for polio eradication, and in 2009, increased it to $355 million. Rotary agreed to raise $200 million in matching funds by 30 June 2012, but Rotarians in fact raised $228.7 million toward the challenge.
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