MAR 3, 2015 ROTARY IN REVIEW:
Jerry Noyce
Posted by Michael-jon Pease
on Mar 03, 2015
“Almost President” Carla Hauge opened the meeting with applause for Doug Hartford’s pre-meeting piano interlude (some might say overture). Jerry Faletti led the club in “America” at nice tempo. Doug Hartford, fresh from his exertions at the ivories, led us in the prayer of St. Francis (who would certainly have been a Rotarian if he’d had the chance). Carla recognized the day’s greeters Trixie Ann Goldberg and Heidi Fisher and encouraged the group to think membership. Past President Nancy McKillips introduced visiting Rotarians and guests. PDG Joe Kovarik honored Jerry Faletti and Doug Hartford with multi-stone Paul Harris Fellowship pins for their generosity.
Jay Pfaender talked up our next Rotary speaker Bill Robertson from the WCHA who will address the club on March 10 (“but who knows where or when” as the old song goes). Watch the HUB and your email inbox for the meeting location! Doug Bruce took the podium to talk up the 6th annual Feed My Starving Children meal packing event April 25. We’ve already packed 700,000 meals, so come be part of the success!
Michael-jon Pease confirmed that there are still a few seats for Thursday’s Jazzy Midwinter Social and “Sherry-bration” at Dick Nicholson’s house. Come for cold drinks, hot jazz, a wonderful three-course meal and a one-of-a-kind over-prepared but under-rehearsed performance by the Past Presidents in honor of outgoing ED Sherry Howe.
Trixie Golberg collected happy dollars from PDG Joe Kvarik (in honor of Rotary International and our club’s anniversaries); Claude Hone (for a correction about Iwo Jima – he didn’t raise the flag, he flew overhead in a corsair – meaning he was higher than the flag); Roger Nielsen (in honor of Master Framer’s 44 frames for the “Land of 10,000 Paintings” exhibit. The art might be questionable, but the framing is gorgeous!); Al Drazil (in honor of St. Paul Avenue in our sister city Nagasaki and Saint Paul’s renaming of Gateway Drive near Como Park to “Nagasaki Road”).
Respectfully submitted by Michael-jon Pease
Jay Pfaender introduced his long-time tennis buddy Jerry Noyce, HERO President and CEO who spoke on Improving Worker Health and Well-Being. Jerry addressed the health landscape and its impact on business, how employers are addressing the issues and the next phase of public/private partnership in improving America’s health. It’s important to understand that health in not just the absence of disease, it is a state of complete physical and emotional well-being.
HERO (more information at www.the-hero.org) serves as a think tank, undertakes research, offers a best practice score card for employers and puts on a national conference on employee health. 40 years after the start of the fitness center movement, the gym membership profile (well-educated, well-compensated, about 15% of the population) has not changed at all, despite a greater awareness of health and an industry shift from physical fitness to overall well-being. Jerry shared the CDC’s frightening maps of the rapid increase in obesity since 1990 and some Rotarians immediately regretted their dessert choice. Chronic disease is the number one driver of health expense (diabetes, heart disease, etc.) Stopping smoking, exercising and eating healthy can mitigate or erase the effects of most chronic disease. Of course, in the 1960’s, doctors advised those over 40 not to run because it was too dangerous (as opposed to the three-martini lunches and widespread smoking of those days). Jerry also shared stats on the lower productivity rates of employees with poor diet, low exercise or smoking habits.
Respectfully submitted by Michael-jon Pease