Kiwanis Club of Historic
Newsletter –
President’s
Message:
My year is moving along nicely, I am away at the gaming
tables enough to give me a rest from you guys. We do have to get some bodies
into some offices pretty soon (actually, I think we are late) and our own Lou Nester, is diligently working at
that. If he asks you to serve, say, “Yes!”
Our
Scholarship Committee has met and the members have gone through the
applications that were mailed in on time. They received one from Nease and that
was rejected because the student did not have the minimum grade point average
that we require. The one that was received from Bartram Trail was lacking two
items that are required of all applicants. Therefore, the three winners of our
scholarships will be students from St. Joe. Interestingly enough, two of the
three are in need as stated by either the guidance counselor or one of the
letters of recommendation. Thanks to the committee members for your time and
efforts. After last year, perhaps we should put you in Witness Protection.
All
you golfers get out there and support the Noon Club’s golf tournament which
will be on Monday. See Coming Events
section for times, etc.
Coming Events: [Advise the
editor of events of interest at 797-4332]
4 May 2007: First Friday Art Walk, check out the local galleries
downtown and taste their food and wine.
May 4 -6, 2007: The annual Gamble Rogers Folk Festival.
The newly renovated amphitheatre on the island on A1A is the venue. For details
see: www.gamblefest.com
17 May 2007: Division Council meeting in
19 May 2007: Another yard sale will be had by our
club. Tim and Jolande Chiu have generously agreed to allow us to hold the sale at
their hardware store parking lot as we did last time. Proceeds will go toward
our pledge of assistance to the Boys and Girls Club Building Fund. Please call Tim at 471- 9685 to arrange delivery of
your items to the site for storage.
22 May 2007: The annual Ag Day at the Ag Center. The
service clubs started this some years ago, and the Farmer of the Year is named
and honored along with agriculture in the county, of which there is less each
year. This will be a luncheon at the Ag Center, and we usually cancel our
regular meeting for that week.
Guests: John Thompson
was the guest of, as well as being the son of, Dave Thompson.
Programs:
(Check the website for your speaker assignment date.)
LAST WEEK:
Barney Salzberg, introduced Tom & Iwona Pietrucha, who are the owners of the Rockin’ Bean Coffee
Shop. They explained how they got to our fair city, and even gave us all a
token for a free cup of Joe. They also told us about coffee and where it is
grown, etc. We also had our Student of the Month, once again from St. Joe. John Fuller was accompanied by his
proud parents. John is a good
student, being tied for #1 in his class, and more importantly he is an Eagle
Scout. (As an old Tenderfoot, I always admire the Eagle Scouts.)
THIS WEEK:
Wayne Howell has informed me that he
has lined up Katie Prevatt, from the
Red Cross.
NEXT WEEK:
Our monthly committee meeting and Board of Directors meeting.
⅓-⅓-⅓ DRAWING WINNERS: The winning tickets were drawn and the winners were Lenore Welty and Tom Pietrucha. (Yes, the speaker drew his own number, and very
generously donated the proceeds to the club.) Congrats to both. Remember to mix
those tickets well (put mine on top), and to buy your tickets early and often.
Late Breaking News:
The shootings at Virginia
Tech reflect another one of those unfathomable evils that occur from time to
time. Many people begin to second-guess the police and the school officials for
not “locking down” the campus after the first shooting. Hind sight gives us
perfect vision, but even attempting to “lock down” a campus of that size makes
no sense. Too many of these folks think that evil is predicable and that others
are solely responsible for our personal safety and security, and this is, of
course, wrong on both counts.
Compare the number of college students that exhibit
bizarre behavior each year with the number of campus murders. The question
becomes: How much freedom should a campus forfeit to prevent an infrequent,
random act of violence, assuming they could stop a lunatic acting out on
paranoid, psychotic anger in any event? After all, could elite Secret Service
agents prevent President Reagan from being shot by a deranged John Hinckley?
The illusion of complete safety exists only in the
fertile imagination of a true utopian. While security forces make us safer by
serving as a deterrent – a rational mind will avoid unreasonable risks – no
acceptable level of security in an open society can totally eliminate the risk
of a suicidal maniac acting out the type of horror we saw at Virginia Tech.
Quote(s) of the Week:
“[T]he artillery of the press has been
leveled against us, charged with whatsoever its licentiousness could devise or
dare. These abuses of an institution so important to freedom and science are
deeply to be regretted...” —Thomas
Jefferson
“Voters tell pollsters that they crave a
fresh start in