At our meeting yesterday, Mark Scott of MARK IV Builders used the example of an Easy Bake Oven to bring home how much energy is lost by an incandescent light bulb as heat rather than light. Moreover, Mark shared how a home can be made significantly more Green, in a variety of ways, without costing a lot. Mark separated the practical from the “fad” in a very down-to-earth, informative way.
This morning we were privileged to welcome Laura Hudson, who shared on the impact and success of the Rotary Four-Way-Test program at Sparks Elementary School, where she serves as Student Counselor.
As Laura puts it, the Four-Way-Test is the measuring stick of ethics used worldwide by Rotary Clubs. The Four-Way-Test is four simple questions that individuals need to ask themselves of the things they think, say and do:
Laura is passionate about this program, its heritage, and its effectiveness. One can hardly doubt that through her hard work in implementing the program, the school – not to mention the Sparks community and the world-at-large – is better for it.
For those interested in hearing more, please contact Tom Custance at 410-833-3360 or email: tom /AT/ tomcustance /DOT/ com
Scott Bowers was our guest speaker at this morning’s meeting. It’s amazing how much you realize you don’t know about a subject until someone called a “Master” of his trade comes to visit! Scott, a Master Electrician, educated us this morning about the growing importance of whole-home surge and spike protection, especially given the more prominent and ever-growing presence of pricey electronics in our homes. Thanks to Scott for his eye-opening presentation!
Scott is the owner of Main Street Electric Company here in Reisterstown. His website is www.breakmaster.com.
Today at Rotary we hosted Bruce Laird, former safety for the Baltimore Colts. He gave Rotarians and guests a great presentation about the current issues facing retired players and how his foundation, Fourth and Goal, helps. What a great speaker! Pictures to follow.
Bruce Laird, former safety for the Baltimore Colts, will be at this week’s meeting as our guest speaker! He’ll be speaking to us about the history of Pro Football in Baltimore. This is one meeting you won’t want to miss!
Today we had two students from St. Timothy’s school speak about malaria preventative nets. For only $12 per net three people are protected. What a great cause and thanks for a fantastic presentation!
We’ve moved!! In case you hadn’t heard, we’re now meeting at the Gourmet Girls in Owings Mills. The “Girls” performed flawlessly at our first meeting there this morning, serving us fresh fruit, coffee, juices and a full hot breakfast made to order. I think it’s safe to say we’ve found ourselves a new home for the long run.
Our guest speaker this morning was Laurie Duhan of BGE, who spoke to our club about the benefits of taking advantage of choices of electric and gas suppliers. While we can control very little with regard to our electric bills, we can control who we get our electric and gas supply from. Laurie, an Owings Mills resident, also passed out a plethora of information about ways to save on our electricity. She pointed out that a Playstation alone can cost hundreds of dollars per year to run!
Many thanks to Ed Underriner for continuing to book quality guest speakers like Laurie for the benefit of our club members and guests.
Have you heard?? Rotary OMR is growing! At today’s meeting we inducted two new members: Dave Clausen, a former member rejoined us after a short hiatus and Howard Lipman was inducted. We look forward to working with both of these great members of the community!
Club President, Jim Flower, inducts Howard Lipman:
Club President, Jim Flower, inducts Dave Clausen:
Troy Williams, a local Realtor and Rotarian, gave us a fantastic update on the outlook and opportunities that exist in today’s real estate market. Although there are still challenges, he’s optimistic about the future. He also pointed out that Maryland is not as bad off as some areas of the country. Of note, Troy wanted everyone to know that the tax credit for first time home buyers of $8,000 will expire on December 1st. Thanks for coming today Troy!
Today’s meeting was a fantastic presentation/discussion by Professor Steve Phillips from Towson University about the impact of China and the challenges it presents to the United States and President Obama. Our thanks go out to him for an engaging discussion that had to be cut short due to time… we hope to see him back in the future for more updates and discussion.
Jerry DeBar also reminded us that we should all remember to bring canned/non-perishables to the club meetings for the Community Crisis Center in Reisterstown. He has been collecting goods weekly and bringing them down to the Crisis Center for local distribution to those in our community in need.
