Last Week District Governor Peter Kyle Peter was born and raised in New Zealand and came to the University of Virginia for post-graduate law studies on a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholarship in 1973. On a World Bank trip to a third world former Soviet Republic that is 90% mountains, he attended a Rotary meeting and was met by a member that spoke good English. In his third world travels for the World Bank, Peter is impressed with the presents of Rotary activity. Rotary membership is expanding outside of the US, but contracting in the US; thus the need to increase each clubs net membership by 2 members. This year’s theme is “Engage Rotary, Change Lives”. The Distinct Conference will be at the Baltimore Hilton Hotel on May 11, 2014 and will have Dr Ben Carson as a guest speaker. Peter presented a Rotary pin to our new member, Jorge Urrutia.
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A Wider Circle is a nonprofit organization to impact poverty in the Washington area by support from the bottom up. As a MD University professor,Mark Bergel discovered families in DC with 35 year old grandmothers (that look 80) living with a daughter and grandchildren and having no food or furniture. Girls are pregnant by age 16 and half the boys are in jail by 16. They are born in poverty with no way out. Government poverty programs are a band aid. A Wider Circle engages directly with their poor clients and provide furniture, food and job interview training. When they are ready, they provide proper cloths for the interview. A Wider Circle’s mission is to provide a way out of poverty. Their web site is www.awidercircle.org.

Last Week Andy Pollin shared some of his experiences over 37 years as a radio reporter in the sports world. His comments covered a wide range of topics on local professional sports (e.g. Redskins, Nationals) and the future of certain sports (football, soccer). On the football front, Andy is a long time Redskin fan and is looking forward to RG III starting at quarterback on the Redskin’s opening game against the Eagles on Sept 9. The Redskins are 4-0 in the preseason — off to a great start. He noted that professional football is the most popular and profitable sport in the U.S. Although soccer may be the most popular sport in the world, it will never surpass football in America. He briefly discussed the proposed settlement of the lawsuit filed by professional football players against the NFL over concussions experienced by some players over the years. If the settlement ($765 million) is approved by the court it will avoid lengthy, expensive and uncertain litigation for both sides. He also discussed the diminishing role of AM radio and increasing role of FM radio and the rise of internet radio. Andy’s comments generated many sports questions from the floor.