Rotateller Rotary Club of Owego, NY
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Gary Williams, Editor

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. Albert Einstein

VISITORS AND GUESTS:

• Donna Townsend, guest of Janelle
• Christine Rathke, John Nolis, Deidre Nolis, Emily Rathke, Phyllis Beach, and Kaylee Wold, guests of Jan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BILL MOON AND SUSAN ENGLISH

FINES: Dave Sedelmeyer

All those who did not help at the golf tournament that weekend. Dave did mention that we had the most entertaining tent!

THERE WERE MANY HAPPY DOLLARS TODAY.

RELAY FOR LIFE:

Maria Dixson shared that we have managed to raise $520 so far.

Our sympathies to Carolyn Wright on the death of her mother.

JOINT MEETING:

Fred informed us that the Endwell Club would like to have a joint meeting with us at the Links on August 14.

STUDENTS:

I miss our students. Laura shared with us that Suzanne called from the trip which is going great. Mrinalini was able to not go back to high school and is already going to college.

There will be a Youth Exchange Orientation this Friday for District 7170 at the Treadway Inn. It is from 6:00 to 9:00 PM and dinner will be served. Matt would love some company. Please let him know if you can attend.

BIKE TIOGA:

Al announced that volunteers will be needed for Bike Tioga on August 11 and 12. The routes will need to be marked ahead of time and people with cell phones will be strategically placed for the safety of the riders.

PROGRAM:

Jan introduced her son, Gene, who she shared has been raised in a Rotary family. I remember her bringing infants to the meetings. Rotary has influenced her family. Gene was interested in leadership and this opportunity presented itself the day after they had a discussion about a leadership camp.

Gene spoke extremely well. He emphasized that the curriculum was excellent and was completely interactive. It was well-structured and the topics and atmosphere facilitated exchange.

The social interaction was very important. It let you get to know these select individuals and, as you got to know them better, you also gained more insights into yourself. There was a great variety of experience. The worst part was some of the speakers, but the presentations stimulated the conversations which was where most growth took place. He learned to try to not pre-judge individuals. He also realizes how powerful the effects of praise and complements can be – perhaps thwarting a variety of problems which can be associated with low self-esteem.

Kaylee Wold read letters from Evan Rogers and Elizabeth Ealy who were unable to be there. Evan shared that being yourself in this group did not make you vulnerable. It helped to build people-skills and the small groups facilitated bonding and communication. To be a good leader, you must also be a good follower, not is the sense of giving-in, but rather in being open to what others say and recognizing that someone may have an idea which is better than yours.

50/50 Bill Russell

This is a very interesting – long – book about the history of the influence of the media in our country. I recommend it, but not if you are looking for a weekend read. Here are some more excerpts.

Ed Klauber came to Bill Paley and CBS in the 1930’s from The New York Times and established what are still considered, by many, the excepted standards in journalistic responsibility. “What news analysts are entitled to do and should do is elucidate and illuminate the news out of common knowledge or special knowledge possessed by them or made available to them by this organization through its sources. They should point out the facts on both sides, show contradictions with the known record and so forth. They should bear in mind that in a democracy it is important that people not only should know but should understand, and it is the analysts’ function to help the listener to understand, to weigh and to judge, but not to do the judging for him.” Halberstam points out that the power of television weakened the party system in our country because politicians could now go directly to the public.

In describing Edward R. Murrow, Halberstam states: “His spoken English was thus unusually effective; he knew, unlike most reporters, how to use pauses and the absence of words as effectively as the words themselves.”

“Thus the story of Time magazine is also the story of the explosion in American education in this century. In 1900, according to U. S. government statistics, less than 1 percent of the country was enrolled in high school; in 1939, the early years of Life that figure, rapidly escalating, had grown to 5 percent.”

Theodore White was a fascinating person who has written some equally fascinating books. Halberstam has the following to say about him. “Teddy White was a new American statistic sprung to life. Near the turn of century, a new kind of immigrant, no longer the good, reassuring Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians, but Russian and Eastern European Jews and Italians, began to pour into the country.” “Fairbank did not think Teddy White would have a fair chance in the elitist diplomatic service of that day. It was still very much a gentleman’s calling, and though Teddy White was in the best sense a gentleman, he was not what gentleman thought a gentleman was.”

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