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The Rotary Club of Trumbull Club No. 6755, District 7980, Region 1 February 1, 2002 meeting
President-elect Mike Redgate called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Jack Quinlan said the invocation. Steve Hodson led us in singing “God Bless America”.
Attendance: 43 of 64 members attended. Ray Baldwin, Jim Bardon, Jim Baum, Mary Birarelli, Greg Bivona, John Bogannam, Jayne Bolton, Doreen Boutote, Bev Cambras, Jackie Carlino, Dawn Dalrymple, Sy Davidson, Guy DeFeo, Barry Diamond, Dave Dunn, Joan Farley, Lynn Fontana, Tom Galla, Len Germano, Tom Heaney, Steve Hodson, Thelma Hoyt, Steve Jakab, Phil Lane, Dana Lonergan, Steve Lupien, John Makar, Bob Matthews, John McBride, Ted Merritt, Preston Merritt, Frank Metrusky, Jack Quinlan, Michael Rappa, Michael Redgate, Joe Ruospo, Ray Rzasa, Dale Seymour, Rose Marie Spatafore, Dick Stutz, Steve Taylor, George Voynick, Bill Zeidenberg.
Guests: Bill Dunn, a guest of Ted Merritt; Bob Patragnelli, a guest of Tom Galla; Tim Rivers, a guest of Ray Baldwin; Carl Carlson, a guest of Len Germano; Adam Chambers; Gen Riley from The Connecticut Post.
Happy Dollars:
Phil Lane – 5 – For the New England Patriots going to the Super Bowl. Steve Jakab –5- His wife had successful eye surgery, and he is no longer preparing breakfast for his children. Barry Diamond – 1 – to announce that he actually paid three happy dollars last week, not one. Barry also announced that TOCC has obtained the use of a display desk at the library that is available for our members to use for business displays. Jack Quinlan –1- to announce that he gave two happy dollars last week, instead of one. Joe Ruospo – 4 – One of them was a sad dollar because his grandmother passed away. The three happy dollars were for being transferred from Paradise Green in Stratford to the Peoples Bank branch on White Plains Road in Trumbull. Tom Galla – 1 – in honor of fellow Rotarian Greg Bivona who is retiring. Tom and Greg both began their careers together at Aetna in the Insurance field in 1974. Bev Cambras – 1 – sad dollar because Dan Calloway’s mother-in-law passed away. Dan has been caring for her for a long time. Jim Baum – 5 – for spending a great two-week vacation in Florida where his wife made two holes in one on the golf course. Ted Merritt – 1 – a “progressive dollar” because Willie Costello and Bill Zeidenberg have been working hard on our Pettingill Award application, and because a Rotary Club in Colorado now meets on the Internet. Sy Davidson – 1 – sad dollar because his 16 year old dog died. Mike Rappa – 1 – because he did not schedule Winterfest for February 2, which is what Mike Redgate suggested. Guy DeFeo – 5 – for his successful angioplasty operation at Bridgeport Hospital, and because he and his wife are leaving for a three week vacation in Aruba.
Birthdays and Anniversaries: The club sang Happy 75th Birthday to Dick Stutz and Happy 25th Anniversary to Ray and Barbara Rzasa.
Announcements:
Mike Rappa announced that the new large Winterfest posters are here, so please take one for display at an appropriate place in town or where you work. Sign-up sheets were passed around for volunteers for the critical activities at Winterfest. The snow guns are in place should Mother Nature fail to deliver on the promised white stuff. Mike thanked Thelma Hoyt for her monumental effort in producing the 16 page Winterfest supplement, which will be arriving in this Thursday’s Trumbull Times. Our event will also be well publicized on radio stations WICC and WEBE 108. There will be a Winterfest meeting on Tuesday night at Mike’s home. Mike Redgate announced the Board Meeting has been moved to February 13th, 2002 at The Marriott. Rose Marie Spatafore announced that it is imperative that our club members support the trip to Barcelona to attend the annual Rotary Convention. Deposits are needed as soon as possible to ensure airline and hotel reservations.
Program:
Ray Baldwin introduced our topic and guest speakers by stating that he was attending a basketball game at Trumbull High School recently when his friend John Heher suffered a heart attack and died. Unfortunately, there was no defibrillator on hand, which might have saved the life of Mr. Heher. Vi Watson, the Director of Trumbull EMS, and Doctor John Wordman of Bridgeport Hospital then gave an important and memorable presentation on the value and ease of use of the modern AED (defibrillator). Among other things, they said:
1. Defibrillators have now been brought to the public, just like CPR was over 30 years ago. 2. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. 3. There are one million cardiac deaths in the United States annually. 4. Half of those deaths occur outside the hospital, and of those stricken suddenly, half do not survive the trip to the hospital. 5. Arrhythmia, which resembles “quivering” of the heart muscle, is the most serious presentation, because the heart ceases to pump a sufficient quantity of blood for survival. 6. The only method to stop Arrthymia is by administering an electric shock to the heart muscle by using a defibrillator. If a defibrillator is not used within four to eight minutes, death will occur. 7. The new devices are smaller and easier to use than the older ones depicted on television being wheeled into a hospital room on a “crash cart”. 8. The portable AED’s can diagnose whether or not the heart is in attack and determine whether a shock should be administered. They even give verbal instructions via a voice memory chip. 9. The AED requires four hours of training, although only 20 minutes are necessary to understand the instructions. The cost is approximately $3,000.00 per unit. 10. Bystanders who use an AED are immune from suit, according to state law, as long as they use the device in a reasonable fashion. 11. All major casinos use the devices, where they have proven to be very successful. (Casinos want to keep their patrons alive, so they can continue gambling). 12. John Heher’s brother has started a fund-raising program for the purchase of additional AED’s. A comedy club night is planned for March 8th to raise funds. 13. Ray Baldwin, who spent years as a volunteer ambulance driver for Trumbull EMS, deserves our thanks and support for all of his efforts in support of EMS, and for promoting the AED program. Vi Watson has been a Trumbull EMS volunteer for over 25 years. 14. We encourage all Rotarians to support this worthy program, either by attending the comedy night or by making direct contributions to the cause.
Raffle: Dave Dunn and Joan Farley drew for $531.00, with no winning card selected.
UCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
February 5 Winterfest meeting at Mike Rappa’s house at 7:00PM February 8 Pedro Gouveia, Trumbull Teacher of the Year February 9 1:00PM to 5:00PM Winterfest set-up at Indian Ledge Park February 9 Winterfest February 12 2002 Economic Forecast Breakfast 8:00AM at the Marriott February 13 Board Meeting at the Marriott at 7:00PM February 15 Dr. Ron Travalino, Director of Bloodless Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital March 1 Deborah Kovachi, Anti-bullying, Anti-harassment Program, Trumbull Schools
Respectfully Submitted, Dale J. Seymour |
