Rotary Spinnings

May 10, 2018

Thank you to Peter Webb, our photographer extraordinaire.

 

 Susan Manheimer led the Pledge and John deRussy gave the Thought of the Day. 

 

Ro Bianchi gave the newscast, focusing on his new book about the Sicilian fishing industry in San Francisco.  Years ago, Ro’s father wrote 270 pages of poetry describing the industry and now Ro has taken that information and turned it into prose.  It will be sold at local bookstores for $20 including tax, but the price for Rotarians is $15 all-inclusive.  Please contact Ro if you’d like a copy.  It’s sure to be a winner.

Bob Whitehill gave the Sunshine report, noting that Bob Campbell’s wife Sandy has passed away.  Services will be held on May 18, from 3 PM to 6 PM at Poplar Creek. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Bob and his family.

Bob Binn reminded all that services for Aron Hoffman will be held on May 21 at 11 AM at the Temple Beth El in San Mateo.

 

There were no visiting Rotarians, but the charming Jeremy Korer was a guest of Prez Chris. 

Mike Peterson and Jeff Lowenstein double-teamed to report on our raffle ticket sales. As of today (5/10), we’ve sold 284 tickets, with more expected to be sold at the reception. (Late breaking news of the winners will be added after tonight!)  A drawing was held for sellers of tickets and the winners were Steve McDonald, Tom Huening and Yours Truly. The prizes were generously donated by Christensen& Rafferty Jewelers, Hillsdale Shopping Center and Cuvee Winery. 

Tom offered his prize to the first Rotarian who had not yet bought a raffle ticket and Peter Sortwell volunteered. Chris made sure Peter committed to buying a ticket before handing over the prize.

WINNERS AT THE EVENT were Margaret Taylor ($15,000 grand prize—she donated half of it back for scholarships); Steve Fick (2^nd prize of $1500) and Amy Cook of Waddell and Reed ($500.) Congratulations to all!

 

 

Lynn Armenio reminded all of the upcoming Mystery Night to be held on Saturday, June 9.  The event, which is a lot of fun --and will not have dancing or a lot of walking--will be $100 per person.  It will start at 4:20 PM and you’ll be back by 10 PM.  Please email AnneL@smccvb.com asap if you’d like to attend.  (You may pay for both events at the club.  Mystery Night is also payable on our Club Runner website.

 

Laura Porter announced that we will have a Rotary event at the Giants-Padres game on Sunday, June 24.  Our Club Level tickets will be $86 each, with $5 form each ticket coming back to our SM Rotary Foundation.  Email Laura soon if you’d like to attend (lbporter@sfgiants.com)!  If we don’t pick up all 100 tickets, the event will be opened up to neighboring Rotary clubs.

 

 

Laura  Bent’s high school pic was flashed on the screen. It seems she won a volleyball scholarship her senior year. (Where is he getting these things??)  Laura joined the President’s Club.

Marsha Eddleman was dinged for the President’s Club because of a sign that read "Reserved for Edelman" (or Eddelman).  Although she pointed out that the sign was not hers and did not spell her name correctly, no mercy was shown.  Instead, Prez Chris threw Nick Rodgers under the bus for another sign for his company that read “Reserved for Rogers”.  Nick pointed out that A, he’s already in the President’s Club, and B, he spells his name with a “d” in the middle.  Nick tried paying half of Marsha’s fine, but she demurred, paying it all herself, so he joined for a second full President’s Club.  (Are you following this….??)

 

Too bad Prez Chris didn’t know about Tom Huening’s brand new Ford F-150, used to tow his two new kayaks, or there might have been a third person hit by El Presidente. 

 

Meanwhile, the Hall’s Eucalyptus lozenges placed on the tables by Prez Chris remain a mystery….(Was he going to say “Cough up the Money!”  or “I get a tickle in my throat every time I fine you.” or “Anyone not paying up sucks.” ? …. Maybe we’ll learn the answer next week.

 

Keith Humphey, MD, Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford and an expert on mental health, gave a stellar presentation on the opioid epidemic.  He made a lot of interesting and terrifying points, among them:

 

*There are two sides to the dilemma: addicts and bad guys who abuse opioids and patients in pain who truly need them.

 

*Opioid prescriptions in the U.S. rose 400% from 1991 to 2013, with more prescriptions written than we have residents. 

 

*In order to lose our spot as the “number one” country prescribing opioids, we would have to cut our prescriptions 35%-- or 70% to be comparable to other countries. 

 

*Our physicians currently write six to eight times the number of opioid prescriptions as are written in England and France.

 

*Opioid use surged in 2016, because once people were addicted to pills like OxyContin, heroin dealers moved in, enticing addicts to buy heroin, which is cheaper. 

 

*The latest craze is fentanyls, synthetic opioids that are fifty times stronger than heroin.

 

*Fentanyls were responsible for 10,000 deaths in 2015 and the number grew to 20,000 deaths in the next 12 months.

 

*We need polices that represent a reasonable standard of care, without encouraging abuse.  Among the actions we can and should take:

Great talk!

### AL