Summary of the Iowa City Noon Rotary Meeting on October 29, 2015
New Member Induction –
Dr. Debra Schwinn (Sponsor Usha Balakrishnan)
David Walker, Former United States Comptroller General
Chris Atchison introduced David Walker, former Comptroller General for three U.S. Presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton) from 1998 to 2008 and is Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative. Mr. Walker is a Rotarian in Bridgeport, Connecticut and stressed that Rotary understands stewardship and the importance of leaving things better positioned for the future. He has authored three books, with the last one entitled “Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (2010) which is a national bestseller. Walker is a frequent speaker, Congressional witness, writer and media commentator.
Chris Atchison introduced David Walker, former Comptroller General for three U.S. Presidents (Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton) from 1998 to 2008 and is Founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative. Mr. Walker is a Rotarian in Bridgeport, Connecticut and stressed that Rotary understands stewardship and the importance of leaving things better positioned for the future. He has authored three books, with the last one entitled “Comeback America: Turning the Country Around and Restoring Fiscal Responsibility (2010) which is a national bestseller. Walker is a frequent speaker, Congressional witness, writer and media commentator.
The U.S. debt is a ticking time bomb. The federal government is too big, has promised too much and desperately needs to be re-structured. Our focus shouldn’t be on deficits but on debt as a percentage of the economy. The American people are smarter than the politician’s think and we need to end the continued gridlock. The next president needs to be a true leader, to tell the people the truth, have executive leadership experience, some government experience and a proven track record on getting things done. Current or past governors are best positioned to handle the job. We need to get over the idea of balancing the federal budget (because it will never happen) and work on inflation, unemployment and under employment. His belief is so strong that in the fall of 2012, the Comeback America Initiative led a campaign called the “10 Million a Minute” Bus Tour. The tour covered about 10,000 miles and stopped at universities, technical colleges, and businesses in over a dozen states. The tour’s goal was to bring national attention to the economic and fiscal challenges that face our nation and various nonpartisan solutions that should be able to gain bipartisan support. Mr. Walker believes that the future is going to be better than the past. It is not too late to make investments in our future and become more fiscally responsible.
CALENDAR
Nov. 5 – Noon Rotary Centennial Celebration at the Iowa Memorial Union at 6 p.m.
MEETING
Singing: Bob Crane led the singing of America the Beautiful and Smile with Jim Conard on the piano.
President Thais had the following announcements:
Pete Knapp: the members all stood for a moment of silence for Pete Knapp who passed away recently. Pete was the father of Chris Knapp our future District Governor.
Noon Rotary Centennial Celebration: Members should have RSVP’d for the 100th celebration on November 5. The celebration will kick-off at 6:00 p.m. at the Iowa Memorial Union and the winners of the raffle prizes will be announced. Please note: there is a noon meeting on Rotary projects that day!
Raffle Corner: Please buy or help sell Raffle Tickets. The net proceeds support our Club’s projects as well as the three public libraries in our area. The raffle corner will be at the back bar before and after today’s meeting if members need to turn in money. There are a lot of outstanding tickets so please remember to finish selling your tickets and turn them in by October 30. The winners of the raffle will be announced at the November 5 dinner.
Usha Balakrishnan had the following announcement:
Rotary Tote Bags: Usha had tote bags on hand today for any members who are interested in receiving one. The tote bags were a collaboration with the Environmental Concerns committee. Bankers Advertising provided the printing services. The bright green bags feature our 100th year logo as well as “Be a Gift to the World” in yellow lettering. Contact Usha at usha.balakrishnan@gmail.com if you are interested in a tote bag.
Please remember that all members need to go into the Clubrunner system and update their own records in the membership directory as they have changes. We want to ensure that we have the most up-to-date information on all of our members.
Membership and Every Rotarian Every Year dues need to be paid as soon as possible. Payments were due July 1st – we want all members in good standing. Contact Steve Quigley with questions at: squigley@uiccu.org .
For questions related to Club administration, please contact us at secretary@iowacitynoonrotary.org.
Guests and Visiting Rotarians
Scott Enyart introduced Visiting Rotarians Chet Woodman (Chagrin Valley District 6630), Tim Conroy (Iowa City Downtown Noon), Jim Scott (Park City Sunrise), Carolyn Wanat (Iowa City AM) as well as guests Dick & Joyce Gerleman (Bernie Cremers), Liv Watson (Usha Balakrishnan), Kirk Witzberger (Kathy Jacobs), Dale Roberts (Steve Wolken), Andrea Jensen (Matthew Steele), John Stamler (Jody Braverman), Evan Evans (Wally Chappell), Gordon Fischer (Brenda LaMarche).
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
Program: Tom Cilek; Attendance: Nancy Droll; Greeters: November 5 – Ron Zieglowsky and George Eichacker, November 12 – Kelley Drowne and Jeffrey Kueter. November 19 – Tony Weiler and Sarah Richardson.