Jim Manley has been a member of our club for more than a decade, and in that time, he has been responsible for coordinating our dictionary program and giving thousands of third graders their first real book. Jim, who gave us a classification talk last week, considers that one his greatest achievements as a Rotarian (that and participating in our annual cleanup of Rock Creek). Jim discussed his career in the construction and remodeling business in Montgomery County, starting with his job as a contractor for Sears. He also talked about his work with the Glen Echo Park, where he serves as a consultant and facilities contractor.
Jim also mentioned that he and his wife will be moving south later this year after she retires from the McLean High School, where she has been a teacher for many years. We’ll miss them both!

Keith Oberg, the recently-retired executive director of “Bikes for the World,” gave us an interesting presentation last week. Keith started the organization more than 15 years ago with a slightly recycled truck trailer and a vision. He mentioned an early event that he did with “Pedals for Progress” and North Bethesda Rotary that collected more than 100 bikes.
Since then, Bikes for the World has become the nation’s largest bicycle reuse program, shipping more than 12,000 bikes to more than a dozen partners in 29 countries around the world. Although retired from the organization (now housed on Parklawn Drive in Rockville), Keith is still active in promoting the organization and its work. The organization works with a number of national, state, and local organizations to collect bikes. Maybe we can rejoin them!

Bob Levey is a prizewinning journalist who has covered the Washington scene since the Johnson Administration. For 23 years, he wrote a daily column, “Bob Levey’s Washington,” for The Washington Post. The column looked at all aspects of life in the nation’s capital. It won major awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Journalism Review. Currently he writes a monthly column for Senior Beacon Newspapers. Washingtonian magazine readers named Bob Levey one of the most popular columnists in D.C. seven times. Earlier in his 36-year career at The Post, Bob Levey covered Presidential politics, Congress, local news and sports. In 1999 Bob Levey was named a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine in recognition of his community service through his column and as a hands-on volunteer.