Every writer needs a good editor. That's the truth. My first newsletter hit the inboxes last week, but not without a blooper or two. Unfortunately, that's not fair to all concerned. As Todd Shaver pointed out to me, it's "Justin Barrow - there's only one of him." My mistakes might not have built goodwill, but certainly better friendships as my fellow Rotarians reached out in support of their wronged brethren. Nonetheless, I hope the newsletter continues to be beneficial to all concerned.
Keep your feedback coming. It’s helpful, appreciated and entertaining.
In this Issue:
- Learn about the man who, while jamming to the Grateful Dead, started contemplating the Speed of Light Speed and how it came to be a thing.
- Familiar with a péniche on the Loire? Melanie Doyle is.
- Which Rotary Club member knows a lot of Mexican trivia? Hint: Go Navy.
Speaker: Tom Buesch, Professor of Communications and Humanities at Colorado Mountain College, prepared a lesson for the club about the history of The Speed of Light. Seem an unlikely topic for a communications professor? Tom spent 17 years as an engineer with a German automotive products firm and five years as a computer programmer. He's got the geek gene for sure. And in case that's not impressive enough, he also has a PhD in German Language and Literature.
The Speed of Light in a vacuum is 299,792,458 meters/second or 186,282 miles/second, which is more than 670 million miles/hour. For your mathematic convenience, Tom said it can be rounded to 3 x10^8 meters/second. The reasons you might care about this will vary, but the fascinating aspect of the Speed of Light (at least to your editor) is that it takes light 4.35 years to travel from the nearest star to earth. So when you're outside stargazing, you're actually looking at the past - 4.35 years ago to be exact. The stars you are looking at might not even exist today. The good news is that it only takes light 8 1/5 minutes to travel from the sun to earth, so if the sun burns out, we'll still be in blissful ignorance for 8 1/5 minutes until we realize there's a real problem.
The man we credit with defining the Speed of Light is Albert A. Michelson, the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Science in 1907.
For more on Tom Buesch, (who apparently used to shoot magpies off the roof of the Red Onion when he was growing up) who truly is a fascinating Aspenite, I dug up a story Stewart Oksenhorn wrote about him in 2010. It's worth the read. http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20100801/ASPENWEEKLY/100739988.
Outbounder Melanie Doyle reported via Skype from Nantes, France. She looks and sounds happy despite her report that school days are often 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. She reported that she loves speaking French and can finally understand everything in conversation and she is even dreaming in French. Robin Smith asked Melanie if students play sports with such long school days. Melanie said that sports are not important in France and that there are very few organized teams. She did join a gym with friends, but there are no school sports like we have in the United States. The highlight of Melanie's time abroad thus far was a trip she took to Paris, Belgium and Rome. She also had the unique experience of a divorced first host family. The mother lives in an apartment in the city, but the father lives on a péniche on the Loire River. A péniche is a French barge and luxury péniches that serve as homes or restaurants can be found on many large French rivers.
Announcements:Ernie Fyrwald thanked the Club for the incredible participation manning The Salvation Army kettle. A special shoutout to Dan Johns who wasn't kept away from his kettle duty by a serious blizzard. Ernie reminded everyone that there is still time to make a donation to The Salvation Army if you want to buy your way out of not picking up a shift this season. John Ward reported about the good things happening at the Aspen Camp and encouraged Rotarians to attend board meetings as they are productive and entertaining. The next board meeting will be at 7:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 11 in the Sister Cities room at City Hall. He also announced that the Aspen Camp cleanup will be June 11-12.
Guests: Bill Simon, owner of Symbion Designs, a guest of Peter Waanders. Michael Edinger, a guest of Todd Shaver (side note: Michael and Jill Teehan Edinger are expecting their first child any day). Kelly Johnston, younger brother of the editor-of-the-month, Samantha Johnston visited from New Orleans. His comment after the meeting: "Wow. I could be really inspired by having breakfast with this group once a week."
Sometimes we have such important speakers that we aren't able to name them too far in advance of the meeting for fear that the Aspen Meadows campus will be overrun with citizens from near and far who want to get a glimpse of our speaker. Look for Lorraine's email later this week reminding you of the time and date of the upcoming Rotary meeting AND the the reveal of this week's presenter.
1.21.16 - Someone awesome. Show up and be prepared to be wowed.
2.12.16 - Board Meeting. Join President John and the rest of the board for what is always a fun and informative meeting. The meeting will take place at 7:30 a.m. in the Sister Cities room in City Hall.
Rotary really is the gift that keeps on giving. For all of your who promptly marked your calendars for the Aspen Camp Clean-Up on May 14 & 15, we give you the gift of time. You now have a weekend free to spend on other humanitarian efforts. In consideration of the mountain climate in which we live and the likelihood of snow on the ground in May, the clean-up dates have changed.
UPDATE: June 10 & 11. Aspen Camp Clean-up Weekend.
Scott Russell played Mexican trivia in light of the recent capture of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán. The 5'6 "El Chapo" earned that nickname, which means "shorty." Scott reports that we can thank Mexico for chocolate, corn and chilies. Thank you, Mexico. Jim DeFrancia was the guy who knew that Mexican children receive Christmas presents not on Christmas Day, but instead on Jan. 6, which is "El Dia de Reyes," or "Three Kings Day." This special day marks the culmination of the 12 days of Christmas and commemorates the Three Wise Men who traveled from afar bearing gifts for the baby Jesus. John Sarpa announced that W Hotels Worldwide will be the operator for the hotel and residences at the redeveloped Sky Hotel. Kathy Klug is glad to be back after "two new Dr. Pevny knees." While she hasn't been able to get out on any dance floors yet, Kathy reports that she's back in action. Scott Russell thought the Aspen Education Foundation was a great event. Maurice Emmer was happy to see Kathy back because she is on the Youth Exchange Committee and he has plenty of work for her to do. Roger Nicholson anticipates hours of great jokes next week when he and Maurice Emmer share a car ride to Grand Junction and back. Nobody is sure what they are doing in Grand Junction, but there is a Colorado Lottery Claims Office there ... just sayin'. Justin Barrow announced Mark Favro as the newest Blue Badge Rotarian. Mark happens to be the board treasurer, so we're glad he's finally earned his permanency with the club.
On January 13, 2016, Rotary International announced $35 million in grants to support the global efforts to end polio.
In 2015, only two countries - Afghanistan and Pakistan - report a single strain of the wild poliovirus.
2015 Polio Milestones
Nigeria - the last polio-endemic country in Africa - was removed from the World Health Organization's list of endemic countries in September, following one year without a new case of the wild virus. The last wild polio case anywhere on the African continent was in August 2014.
In September 2015, one of three strains of the wild poliovirus - Type 2 - was certified as eradicated, with no cases since 1999. Type 3 has not been seen anywhere in the world since November 2012.
Pakistan, which continues to report the majority of the world's polio cases, reduced its caseload by 82 percent in 2015 over the previous year.
Funds Needed
Experts estimate that $1.5 billion is needed to sustain the polio eradication progress. Without full funding and political commitment, the disease could return to previously polio-free countries.
Rotary's current funds will support efforts to end polio in Pakistan ($11.4 million) and Afghanistan ($6 million).
Youth Exchange Committee: We are seeking three host families for the 2016-2017 academic year. We will have one "inbounder" for that period, arriving shortly before Aspen High School classes start in the fall of 2016. We don't know whether it will be a boy or a girl, but it will be a student entering the sophomore or (more likely) junior year at AHS. Host families are responsible for the "inbounder" for between three and four months. There is a lot of support from the club's Youth Exchange Committee. The current committee is Maurice Emmer (Youth Exchange Officer), Harold Barel, Chris Bendon, Emily Burr, Christina King, Kathy Klug and Mike Tunte. For information about hosting an "inbounder" next year, please contact Maurice Emmer at mauriceemmer@gmail.com.
Mark Favro - Vice President, Commercial Lending, ANB Bank
Mark began his financial career in 2004. Prior to joining ANB, he was a director with Cushman & Wakefield, a privately held commercial real estate company. Mark earned a bachelor's degree in finance from Providence College in Rhode Island.
In the community, Mark is a member of the Aspen Young Professionals Association and treasurer of the Aspen Rotary Club. He coaches youth hockey and has volunteered as an after-school homework tutor for children from low-income families.
Welcome, Mark.
This adorable member wishes to remain anonymous. He simply can't manage all of the fan mail at daycare. He usually sits in the back and makes an early exit. If you see him this week, tell him how much we love his attendance at Rotary.
The Weekly Newsletter of the Rotary Club of Aspen.
