Our guest speakers this week were two Alter High School juniors, Dane Kuntz (M) and

Jimmy Finke (R), shown here with Alter High School English and Speech teacher

Audrey Miller. Both gave excellent 4-to-6-minute speeches for the Rotary 4-Way Speech

Contest. Jimmy Finke was considered our club winner, who will go on to the district

contest. Runner-up, Dane Kuntz, won $50 and Jimmy Finke, $100.

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President Brad Thorp said he visited Fred Weir and found him looking good and spirited but noted that his health has been causing him problems and that he is working on getting his dialysis and caretaking service a bit better. He is up to having visitors and would enjoy hearing from and seeing from his friends in Rotary. 

Brad said Ram Nunna, who had taken a leave of absence because of his work abroad, should be back working in the area and able to rejoin the club this year. He will handle the International Service area as before, he said.

 

Brad talked about lunching with Tony Blair while on business in New York. He said he also visited the NYSE and when asked by a member, said it was down 50 points that day, but back up the next day.

 

Kim Senft-Paras appointed five judges from the club to score the two Alter High School students on their 4-Way-Test speech presentations: Dale Berry, Bob Fry, Jim Harris, Bridget Herzog, and Joyce Young. Leadership, service to others, and life experience was included along with Rotary's 4-Way-Test: 

Is it the truth; is it fair to all concerned; will it build goodwill and better friendship; and will it be beneficial to all concerned. 

Kim noted that the rules of the game say the speech has to be between four and six minutes long and spoken without notes, use of podium, displays or props. No more than 75 words may be quoted and the work must be that of the contestant alone.

 The local winner goes to the District 6670 contest Sunday, April 10, at Wright State University's Millett Hall.

 

 

Boyd Preston said people could still sign up for our Service Day March 19, and that there is still a person needed to work at the Kennard Nature Nook, off McEwen Road.

 

Ron said Brian Hayes will be inducted into the club March 10 and that Chuck King should follow soon after. We pictured Brian Hayes last week, and this week, we get a look at Chuck King, on the right in the picture below, with his sponsor Ed Flohre on the left. Chuck is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, who now works in Wine Tasting at DLM in Springboro. He lives in Washington Twp.

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BUCKS: 

 

 

Sgt.-at-Arms Erich Eggers collected Happy Bucks for St. Vincent de Paul.

 

Many members gave Happy Bucks for St. Vincent De Paul, and some for basketball wins, and many for Fred Weir and the Alter High School students participating in Rotary's 4-Way-Test speech contest, and for their teacher that helped them.

 

Jeff Senney said a son of his who graduated from Centerville High School has just landed a job in the Commerce Department of the U.S. government.

Bob Fry gave $25 for his recent 25th Wedding Anniversary

Mike Wier got to tell about his eight weeks in the Caribbean on a cruise where it got cold...in the low 60s.

Kim Senft-Paras said Daybreak plans to let the Rotarians working at the bakery March 19 do some of the baking of the dog biscuits, not just packing.

Mitch Biederman gave $20. He said he has been a runner for three decades, mainly because "I really like to run." But on May 1 he plans to run a Marathon in Cincinnati for a charity that was talked about last year by one of our speakers who has a foundation helping to heal orphans in Monterrey, Mexico. Jed and Katie Zayner moved with their family to Mexico to help the children there, Mitch said. 

Arnie Biondo gave $10 for the 10 exchange students that SW Ohio Rotary District 6670 has lined up.

Jim Briggs gave $10 for his tenth anniversary as a club member. 

Brad's son Isaac will be back in Iraq for about a month, so Brad asked that we pray for his safety over there. 

 

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Why is this man smiling so broadly? He was just promoted to a Vice President at Merrill Lynch, and also he and his wife are expecting their second child in August. Hooray for Dan Johnson and his expecting wife Katie. The yellow Rotary shirt slung across his shoulder is for the March 19 Service Day for our club members.

 

It was noted that someone is still needed to put together a gift basket to be in the silent auction for the district conference. Let Brad know if you can do the honors. 

 

 

Both our speakers spoke about how Rotary's 4-Way-Test and leadership are interconnected.

 

Jimmy Finke spoke about leaders and followers and how leaders step up to take charge because they know "it is the right thing to do." Followers know their role under good leadership. He said "Service is what we are called by God to do." It helps build good relationships, he said. He told of helping a young disabled boy play basketball, and how it was beneficial "to all." He said it is important to take 10 to 15 minutes out of your day to help other people. You can use your life experiences to build a relationship that will be beneficial to all, he said.

 

Dane Kuntz took a different approach, taking us back to the first Roman Empire and the Roman leader's struggle to keep the empire intact. The values of Rotary can be seen in the leadership it took to defend the Palmyrans from the Saxons, he said. With Palmyra and Syria being destroyed by Isis, it destroyed the values the leaders upheld.

 

President Brad Thorp said in his recent meeting with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, he asked him about leadership, and he noted that leadership is realized when someone steps forward when everyone else is stepping back. Also, multiple relationships are realized in distress, he said. That's when the value of a partnership is realized, as in 9/11. It was not just an assault against America, but an entire population as in the Roman Empire. Brad emphasized how difficult it is when you are young to get up in front of a large group and participate in public speaking. With practice, the art of public speaking with ease can be developed, he said. "Public speaking is one of the most amazing qualities to develop," he said.