May 27
Our meeting today was a combined Zoom / In-Person meeting. There were 14 people in attendance at our usual location. The protocol was social distancing, and masks were optional, according to personal preference. President-Elect Harvey Clark coordinated the physical meeting, which included setting up his computer and a display screen, and logging into ZOOM.At the same time, President Bob Benjamin hosted the ZOOM portion of the meeting. We had 8 Rotarians plus our speaker attending via Zoom. One of our Zoom Rotarians was in Iowa and our speaker was in downtown Phoenix.
Our speaker, Martha Burruel, Education Manager for the Alzheimer's Association, Desert Southwest Chapter, provided a wealth of information on the global crisis that Alzheimer's has become. Currently, 5.8 million people are living with it in the United States, and that number is expected to grow to 14 million by 2050. She stressed the need for all of us to learn about it. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease and is fatal, because it kills brain cells.The Alzheimer's Association offers many free services (many of which are provided by volunteers), including:
- education workshops
- support groups
- online tools
- community resources
- a helpline at (800) 272-3900 that operates during all hours of every day.
To learn more--and find out how you can help--visit https://www.alz.org. You can get information on resources in your area through the Community Resource Finder (https://www.communityresourcefinder.org).
In commemoration of today's shuttle launch, Carole Kralicek told us about her experience with a previous launch. Through a fellow Rotarian in Coco Beach, Florida, she was offered the opportunity to spend a week in Florida and not only witness the launch, but also meet the astronauts and their families during the week of celebrations leading up to the launch. What a great story about the community of Rotary!