ROTARY FLASHES

08/07/2008

Greeter:  None

Presiding:  Eric Liggett

Invocation:  Offered by Mike Holbrook.

Visiting Rotarians:  (Read by Bob Johnson) None.

Guests:  Eric Ligget brought a guest, Brent Toto; Ian Webb introduced Derrick Hastler.

Absentees:  Campbell, Catlos, Dan Delong, Dutton, Eitel, Ely, Feeley, Fluhart, Ford, Hedges, Hill, Hollabaugh, Imboden, Justinger, Mabe, McNemar, Messick, Patrick, Peters, Poling, Powell, Queen, Reeser, Spires, Starkey, Stevens, Taylor, Theller, Wellman, Westenheffer, Wilcox, Wippel, Wolfe, Wolford.

Make-ups:  Circleville Sunrise – Jim River; Chillicothe – John White; Middleburg, VT – Bill Campbell (2); eClubOne – Shawn Catlos (2), Roger May.

Birthdays: (August) 3^rd – Glenn Reeser; 5^th – Bill Stout; 9^th - Bob Cole; 15^th – John White; 16^th – Bud Brehmer; 21^st – Dick Tootle; 31^st – Kelly Feeley.

Anniversaries:  (August) 3^rd – Jack Hooks, John Prince; 4^th – Drex Poling; 7^th – Jerry Leist, Charlie Pockras; 14^th – Dan Fouts; 17^th – Bill Campbell; 18^th – Tom Tootle; 19^th - Bob Sneed; 20^th – Mark Smith; 26^th – John Stout, Bob Tootle; 28^th – Terryl Queen; 30^th – Tom Theller.

Piano:  Don Metzler

Songs:  Norm Wilson led us in “Hey, Look Me Over” & “Rotary Will Go Round The World.”

Student Guests:  None.  (Summer vacation.)

Announcements:   

• Ian Webb gave another reminder about the upcoming Rotary Golf Scramble on Sept. 11^th at Cook’s Creek.  Amy Elsea has brochures for anyone who needs one.  Sue Pairan is selling the raffle tickets.  Clark Cellio says that they still need volunteers.

• Eric Ligget passed out flyers regarding the “All Ohio Rotary Crew Night” event on Saturday, Aug. 23^rd.  Contact Eric for a flyer, or for more info go to website: http://web.mlsnet.com/t102/tickets/2008/indiv_game2/index.jsp?partner=rotary

SAA:  Tim Tener took on the job with gusto.

Mark Smith, Joe Brown, and Mike Holbrook all had to pay a buck for “the big tadoo-ings” at OCU tonight, when they celebrate OCU’s 60^th year!  (Fireworks too!)

Tim asked that all Boy Scouts stand up.  Then he asked that they ones who reached Eagle status please sit down.  All the ones still standing had to kick in a $1.  (Tim confessed that he himself never made it to Eagle because he “suffered from fumes…car fumes & perfumes!”)

Dick Fullen got fined for still having a plaque in a church that had his name on it.

Then Tim threw us for a loop by quizzing each table on obscure (and I do mean obscure!) trivia from Andy Griffith’s fictional town of Mayberry.  Only one group answered correctly, and I think that was by a stroke of luck.

Lottery:  Bud Christopher had some luck by having the lucky ticket (for $21) for the 2^nd week in a row, but he didn’t have enough luck to win the jackpot. The pot has grown to $2,715.

Program:  Bob Sneed introduced today’s program speaker, Dave Carwile.  Dave is the Associate Director of WOSU, and is in charge of Planning & Initiatives.  Some of his past positions include being a former Manager of WOSU Radio, and being in charge of building the WOSU digital facility at COSI.  He also belongs to the Downtown Rotary Club, and –along with Dave Kaylor- announces the OSU Band at football games.

Dave took the podium and gave a brief history of WOSU, including how it dates back to 1922 with its AM Radio service.  He then dove into the main topic of today’s program, which is the upcoming digitalization of television broadcasting on Feb. 17, 2009.

Here are some of the highlights:

• This is the biggest change to broadcasting since just after WWII

• The conversion DOES NOT affect those with cable or satellite services

• If you do not have cable or satellite, here are your three options:

  1. Keep your analog TV and get a converter box, which costs approx. $50-75

  2. Purchase a new digital TV, and will need an indoor &/or outdoor antennae(s) to pick up digital signal

  3. If you have digital TV but your current analog signal is fuzzy because you are “right on the edge,” you may need to get a better antennae because with the digital signal “it is either there or its not…no in-between!”

• This conversion has been “in the works” for more than a decade

• The signal spectrum that will be open after the conversion, is already earmarked to be used elsewhere (e.g. emergency services).

• The government is issuing quantity 2 of $40 coupons per individual, to be used toward purchase of a converter box. 

• These coupons have an expiration of 90 days!

• If you are not planning on using your 2 coupons, he suggests that you still apply for them and then donate them to WOSU (or to another agency) so that they may be used to help the elderly, etc. to make the conversion. 

• Rojanne Woodward, Director of our local Dept. of Job & Family Services, says that they are accepting these donated coupons as well, and will use them to help the elderly/disabled make this conversion.

Following a brief preview of upcoming WOSU programs, Dave opened the floor for questions, of which there were several.

Contact info: 

WOSU Public Media

2400 Olentangy River Road

Columbus, OH 43210

(614) 292-9678

Website: www.wosu.org

Eric regained the podium to inform Dave that a donation will be made in his name to the Community Park fund. 

Meeting adjourned.

August’s program schedule: (as submitted by Vince Yaniga)

• 14^th:  Live demo of a massage – Patricia Walen-Shaw, Medical Massage Therapist

• 21^st:  Rotary GSE – Anthony Neff & the 2008 American GSE Team

• 28^th:  Update on Berger Health System – Larry Thornhill

September’s program schedule: (as submitted by Dave Moss)

• 4^th:  Wendy Woods of Stepping Stones

• 11^th:  Annual Rotary Golf Scramble

• 18^th:  “MBA Program offered at Berger” – Dr. Ed Yost, OU-Chillicothe

• 25^th:  Jan Broughton, new Superintendent of Logan Elm School System

Until next week…,

Patty Rothe,

Editor

E-mail: pjrothe@rpjohnson.net