HIGH GEAR: Monday, September 16, 2013

Rotary Scholarship Star Lynn-Marie Rouchanian

What a joy to hear Lynn-Marie tell us of her pre-med studies at U. C. Santa Cruz after graduation from Burlingame High School and having been awarded a Rotary Scholarship.

Program and Speaker

Assistant District Governor, our own Bob Doerr, introduced District Governor Eric Schmautz. Eric is a member of San Francisco #2 Club where he was President for 2008-2009. He is a 25-year member of Rotary International. He works at Wells Fargo San Francisco. Eric reminded that a Rotary Club can do so much more as an organization than any member can do individually.

• Rotary has immunized two billion children in 156 countries
• Rotary is the largest and oldest place to volunteer your time: 1.2 billion members and growing.

After the Rotary International Convention in Portugal, nine Rotarians, including Eric, traveled to Zambia to observe a malaria abatement project. There 61% of children under five years old had malaria by the end of the first quarter 2013. Fifty-five percent (55%) of the women are HIV-positive. Those five-year-olds are likely to grow up without their mothers. The people believe witchcraft causes their children to be ill.

The homes in Zambia are constructed of packed mud, therefore the walls are of minimal height. These homes house a husband, wife, three children, and all their earthly possessions. There is no electricity, no plumbing, no water. Rotary was founded in 1905. In 1917, the Rotary Foundation was established and $5.00 was collected. It was a start!

Next Week’s Program

Our speaker will be our friend Matt Biggar, a former Burlingame Rotarian, who is a Stanford Doctorial Candidate, who will discuss the “Influence of Conditions on Personal Transportation Behavior.