December 20, 2005:  Dennis Gilfoyle spoke about the Junior Achievement organization that introduces middle high school to entrepreneurship and helps them develop business sense and money skills through life-like business activities.

December 13, 2005:  Rotarian and Lt. Colonel Brain Schill gave a presentation on his job in the PA Air National

December 13, 2005:  Rotarian and Lt. Colonel Brain Schill gave a presentation on his job in the PA Air National Guard.  He flies KC135 Tanker planes that refuel military aircraft en route to their assigned destinations.  The views from his cockpit "office" window are breathtaking.

December 6, 2005:  Krishna Narayan, Vice President of Fisher Scientific, introduced his company and spoke about the services and equipment he provides for emergency response, firefighting and for the military.

November 29, 2005:  Former Charter Member, Jim O'Brien, joined us to introduce his latest book, Fantasy Camp with the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates.  The book illustrates the "getting older" process and brings back wonderful memories.

November 22, 2005:  Kevin Kramer introduced his company, Web Wise Seniors.  Kevin trains seniors in the use of PCs and teaches them how to participate in the Internet, work with desktop software and use Internet auctions.  Classes are often sponsored by various organizations so that seniors can benefit from reduced cost or even free instruction.

November 15, 2005:  Today's guests were Upper St. Clair High School seniors Raksha Kumar and Philipp Lueckgen with their teachers Marjiie Heins and Pat Palazzolo.  Raksha and Philipp participated in this year's World Affairs Council debating the political situation in Iran.  The event was sponsored by our club.

November 8, 2005:  Club Assembly.  We had a successful food drive in Bethel Park benefiting SHIM.  The Early Learning Center Gift Wrapping Party at Mike Giglotti's house is coming up (date and directions TBA) - the Christmas Party will be on December 15.

November 1, 2005:  Jeanine Richardson was our speaker.  She is a personal trainer for the Silver Sneakers fitness program for seniors.  Jeanine explained the fundamentals of nutrition and physical fitness including healthy diets, cardiovascular exercise, stretching and weight training.  Fitness is becoming increasingly important to seniors and has great health benefits.

October 25, 2005:  Dr. Joe Falbo, Optometrist and Founder of the Red Apple Reading Center in McMurray, spoke about children's learning through developing better reading techniques.  People with greater vocabulary usually have better incomes.  Vocabularies are primarily acquired through reading so children should spend several hours per day reading or being read to.  Rotarian Ed Harmon attended as guest from the Evening club.

October 18, 2005:  Phil Henry spoke about tax-sheltered financing options for college tuition, using provisions of section 529 of the tax code.  We pinned new members Ray Halackna and Brian Schill, bringing our active membership to 44.  Congratulations to Ray and Brian - please give them a warm Rotary welcome and handshake.

October 11, 2005:  Our speaker was Lou Piconi from the Evening Club.  Lou gave an update on activities with the Rotary Foundation as well as the relief effort for the victims of hurricane Katrina.

October 4, 2005:  Mike Lloyd gave us an update on his recent mushroom hunting ventures, including a lesson on how to find them using GPS.  Of course, only those mushrooms with GPS coordinates can be found.  For more GPS information, go to www.geocaching.com and look for Moondog's stories.
Ray Halackna and Brian Schill, prospective members were our guests.

September 27, 2005:  The Tuesday morning after (the BarBeQue):  We sold 1900 chicken dinners and had a very successful fundraiser.  We ran out of chickens and had to turn away a few late customers - most did not ask for a refund but donated the money to us.  Great day + great weather + great helpers + Scott = SUCCESS.  Initial estimates came in a good bit higher that last year and we are anxiously awaiting our treasurer's tally.

September 20, 2005:  Club Assembly - BBQ Chair Scott rallied the troops one last time. 

September 13, 2005:  Ethan Callan and Michael Spina, seniors at USC High School, came to discuss their efforts to raise funds for the flood victims.  Our club will help them contact a local Rotary Club to help sponsor  high school seniors displaced by the floods to attend classes at USC so they graduate this year.  Ray Halackna, prospective new member, and Rotarian Ed Harmon from the Evening  Club attended as guests.

September 6, 2005:  USC High School Athletic Director, Ted Petersen, spoke about his roots in rural Illinois that turned into a success story as a professional football player with the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line.  Ted has a great story to convey to the students - try hard at what you wish to achieve and you will succeed.

August 30, 2005:  Jürgen Brune showed slides and talked about his recent trip to Brisbane, Australia.

August 23, 2005:  District Governor Joel Nagel spoke about recent developments in our district 7300.  Congratulations to Linda Paterni and Callan Wilcox who were pinned as new members.  Linda is manager of the Grand Residence, and Cal is a manager at PNC Bank.

August 2, 2005:  Scott Churchill spoke about his recent visit to a Rotary Club in Maui, Hawaii.  Congressman and Rotarian Tim Murphy gave us an update on recent congressional action that affects the Pittsburgh region.  Roy Werner distributed Chicken Barbeque tickets so THE SALE IS ON. 

July 26, 2005:  Lynn Heasley spoke to us about the University of Pittsburgh Human Capital Resource Initiative.  The aim of this group is to retain young people in the Pittsburgh area by offering internships with local companies that often end up in permanent employment positions for these people.  Our guests were Linda Paterni from the Grand Residence and Cal Wilcox from PNC Bank, both prospective new members.

July 19, 2005:  Terry Beggy, Executive Director of Pittsburgh Social Venture Partners, spoke to us about her organization, a partnership of philanthropic-minded individuals who invest their time and expertise to serve at-risk youth.  PSVP tries to effect lasting change in the local communities.

July 12, 2005:  Susan and Dave Hicks, Jay Schulhof, Frank Procaccini and T.A. Ward, who all had attended the Centennial Rotary International Convention in Chicago, reported about a great meeting of international Rotarians and their impressions of the convention.

June 28, 2005:  Our annual Changing of the Guard Dinner at Valley Brook Country Club was well attended.  President Susan Hicks passed the gavel to incoming President Jürgen Brune.   Best wishes to Jürgen and his wife Renée for a successful Rotary year.

June 21, 2005:  We heard great news from Marta Winks who recently traveled to Malawi where she presented a check from our club to the Rotary Club of Blantyre, one of the three Rotary clubs in this south-east African country.  Rotarians in Malawi assist the people by providing for children's schooling, school meals and community service projects such as drilling water wells and providing medical services.  We plan to expand our engagement in Malawi with a Rotary International service project.

June 14, 2005:  Dr. James Lombardo, Superintendent of Upper St. Clair Schools, spoke to us about the plans and challenges for our school district.

June 7, 2005:  Our guests were the Service Above Self Award winners from Upper St. Clair High School, Kaitlin Roche and her mother, Marsha, and from Bethel Park High School, Sarah Corsinelli and her mother, Susan.  Both graduates gave a summary of their outstanding community service records.  Congratulations to both of you, and good luck in your college studies.

May 31, 2005:  Club Assembly.  Preparations for the Chicken Barbeque are in full swing.

May 24, 2005:  Robert Baker spoke to us about the "No Child Left Behind" program to improve the quality of education in our nation's schools.

May 17, 2005:  We had Penny Layne and her Labrador Retriever Fawn as our guests.  Penny works for PAWS with a Cause and trains dogs that assist people with disabilities to help them open doors, retrieve dropped objects and support other activities that these people cannot do due to their handicaps.  Fawn demonstrated some of her amazing skills such as picking up a dime dropped to the floor, keys, a dollar bill and she even did a good clean-up under the tables after the Rotary breakfast (dogs understand Newton's law of gravity:  Food drops straight down wherever people eat...)

May 10, 2005:  Ivy Leo spoke to us about the good work of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.  It is connected with 350 agencies (among them SHIM, meals on wheels etc.) and serves 120,000 clients per month.

May 3, 2005:  Club Assembly.  Due to VP Pete Pearson's workload, he is unable to assume the presidency for the next term.  The Board met and proposed Jürgen Brune to become incoming president.  Scott Churchill will be vice president, Jim Yusko secretary and Mike Giglotti will be treasurer starting July 1.  The slate of new officers was confirmed by the membership present at the May 3 meeting.

April 30, 2005:  Rebuilding Pittsburgh in Bethel Park:  Pat Findle had it all lined up, putting 50 (!) volunteers from the Evening, Noon and our Breakfast clubs as well as a number of college students and several skilled craftsmen to work.  Pat wrote:
Another great Rebuilding Together day in the books.  We were blessed with good weather (it could have rained all day, but we just got a few sprinkles). Our count of volunteers: 50!  All 3 Rotary clubs made solid contributions.  Our house was not a "heavy" project, as roof work was done last fall, but we accomplished much --- Leveled front walk, rebuilt driveway wall, demolished broken down tool shed, replaced garage door, bathroom redone, painted inside rooms and outside foundation, new carpet, shower, washing machine tub, kitchen floor, dishwasher, carpet cleaning, reset back patio stones, fire alarms and probable more I am forgetting. Good work done by Bob Hackett (provide much needed coffee), Jürgen Brune (garage door and camera man), Pete Pearson (Ryan will work hard at tennis so he can pay someone to strip wallpaper), Congressman Tim Murphy (guaranteed his wall work until the next election), Randy "House Captain" Quinn, Greg "I never met a shed I didn't want to knock over" Peterson, Matt "Sledge Hammer" Giglotti, Joe "Running Man" Kiernan, Scott "Dear Valley" Churchill (not sure why he couldn't be in 2 places at once), Larry Lehman (found the place, but forgot his work gloves), and the Findle girls did a good job organizing and painting (including their faces!).

April 26, 2005:  Matt Giglotti, Mike's brother, was pinned as our 41st member - our club is at the top of the growth list in District 7300.  Welcome Matt - carry on the great Giglotti Rotary tradition!
Our own mushroom expert lawyer, Mike Lloyd, gave us legal advice (?) on how not to injure yourself when eating (smoking?) bad mushrooms.  Mike shared his vast expertise and experience - he is available for a consultation if you have doubts.

April 19, 2005:  Richard Allen, Administrative VP of St. Clair Hospital, spoke about the 50-year history and growth of the hospital that begun as a field of dreams on 1954.  Today, St. Clair is a $160 Million business that admits over 15,000 patients and handles more that 48,000 ER visits annually.

April 12, 2005:  Our speaker, Ric Castro, spoke to us about his experience as a Rotary Group Study Exchange student in Sweden and other northern European countries.  He also visited other northern European countries - great experience fostering better understanding between peoples and cultures in the world.

April 5, 2005:  Club Assembly - organizing the Chicken Barbeque.  Scott Churchill and Brendon Costa are well prepared and ask for all members to engage actively in the preparations and the selling effort.  It's up to each and every one of us to get the job done - it's hard work for a great Rotary purpose!

March 29, 2005:  Carol Popp, Executive Director of SHIM, gave us an update of recent activities.  SHIM provides food for over 220 families twice monthly and serves 250 children through weekly youth programs.  SHIM also offers interfaith education programs, serving more that 1000 participants in 1700 counseling sessions for youths and adults.  SHIM also supported recent flood victims with clothing and meals.

March 22, 2005:  Club Assembly.  Mike Giglotti will find out about upcoming activities at Kon-O-Kwee.  Pat Findle has identified a house for Rebuilding America - in Bethel Park.  The project is scheduled for April 30 - we need at least ten volunteer rebuilders.  Also on April 30 is the Rotary District 7300 Assembly at the Holiday Inn Greentree.  April 16 is roadside cleanup along Bethel Church Road - meet for breakfast at 8:00 at Eat-N-Park.

March 15, 2005:  Dr. Scott Tyson from Physicians for a National Healthcare Program (PNHP) spoke about his vision of solving the health care problems in the U.S. such as 43 million citizens with no health insurance, skyrocketing health insurance premiums, high malpractice insurance costs and relatively poor health indicators when compared to similar industrialized nations.  PNHP advocates a single-payer system where the government finances health care, but keeps the delivery of health care to mostly private control.  Check their website, http://www.pnhp.org/  

March 8, 2005:  Ken Martin and Matt Geppert were today's speakers - their topic was Congenital Heart Disease in Tibet.  Mike Lloyd gave an update on the tapping and cooking of maple syrup at Camp Kon-O-Kwee.  Hundreds of gallons of sap were condensed into 6 gallons of precious syrup using traditional and modern methods. Buzz Pasquini was pinned as our 40th new member, bringing our active membership to a record high!  Congratulations, Buzz!

March 1, 2005:  Rick Futrell from the Washington City Mission was our speaker and received a Charitable Giving check.  Rick gave a status update on the good work of his mission.  Their "Sweet Sundae" fundraiser netted $60,000 - Rotarian Frank Procaccini had organized a number of helpers from our club to serve sweet sundaes on Sunday, February 13.

February 22, 2005:  Our speaker was Russ Davis. Russ spent nearly 25 years in the environmental field, watching the market change drastically. He went looking for solutions to help him deal with the changing conditions and found Peak Performance Management. Peak's approach enables the sales person to regain control of the Selling process.

February 15, 2005:  We had our Annual Celebration of Charitable Giving at the Valley Brook Country Club for the  President Susan Hicks presented checks to South Hills Interfaith Ministries, the Early Learning Institute, Camp Kon-O-Kwee & Camp Spencer, Southwinds, YMCA Camp Aim and for the Mike Giglotti Scholarship at Camp Kon-O-Kwee.

February 8, 2005:  Mike Lloyd spoke to us about his engagement with the YMCA Camp AIM and the upcoming fundraiser.  Contact Mike if you can participate and help out with making calls.  Melissa Polachek gave us some more information about the fire department construction project fundraiser.

February 1, 2005:  We pinned Bill Erdman today as the 39th member in our club.  Congratulations, Bill!
Pirates pitcher and radio announcer Nellie King returned to tell us more about the Pirates in the 70's.  He also spoke about the problem with performance-enhancing drugs in the sport.

January 25, 2005:  Our guests were Jim Viola, Kim Weightman, USC Fire Chief Brian Reddecliff, Melissa Polacheck and returning guest / future member Buzz Pasquini.  Kim, Jim and Brian informed us about the new Upper St. Clair fire station and the fundraising efforts to support its construction.  The new station will offer additional garage and equipment storage/locker space and also house a regional emergency communications center shared with surrounding communities.

January 18, 2005:  Dr. Dick Michaels from Physicians for Social Responsibility spoke to us about his organization that strives to use diplomacy, not military power to resolve conflict.  The Physicians group organizes gun buyback programs, monitors nuclear arms reduction and advocates to curb military spending.

January 11, 2005:  Bill Evans was pinned today as a new member in our club.  Congratulations, Bill!  Don Anderson spoke about a fundraising concert featuring him singing Sinatra.  The 2004/5 charitable giving budget is $15,600 - we need to push harder with the next Chicken BBQ fundraiser.

January 4, 2005:  Club assembly.  We discussed help for the flood victims in southeast Asia.  2005 charitable giving will be discussed at the Board meeting January 10.