THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 15, 2010
President George Perkins opened the meeting with 126 of 488 members.
NEW MEMBER(S): None GUEST(S): None
MINUTES: Don Hudson read the minutes of January 8, 2010.
MEMBERSHIP ASSISTANCE Chairman, Bob Moylan reported that John Newman is now at Waveny. Jack Messert announced that Joe Ziegahn passed away and advised of the memorial service arrangements for Bea Robinson, Erick Bruhn, and Dick Bond.
ANNOUNCEMENTS were made: Estimated taxes are due today. Dues ($35/year) have been paid by 219 members to date.
The status and plans were reported for various activities and couth trips:
ACTIVITIES: 4F Luncheon - 1/29 at Nino's in Vista. Bridge - as usual; sign up. Amateur Chefs - fully booked. Photography - meets Wednesday, 2/16, 1:30 at Lapham Community Center.
Paddle - Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, 9-11AM. Junior Tournament and Mixed Paddle Tournaments are scheduled. Racquetball - (2-0-0).
COUTH: Culinary Institute of America, Tuesday, 2/9, 40 of 45 booked; $50/person; depart 9:30; return by 3:30-4:00. Navy League dinner, 2/3, at Riverside Yacht Club; speaker will be the heroic Captain Phillips of the Somalia pirate incident. Defensive Driving session - see Roger Colson.
HUMORIST: Mike Law described the characteristics and attributes of the Taliban.
GUEST SPEAKER: George introduced Dr. Thomas Flynn, who presented an update of developments pertaining to the devastating earthquake in Haiti and described the involvement of Hôpital Sacré Coeur CRUDEM (Center for the RUral DEvelopment of Milot), which was built in 1986. The mission hospital now has 74 beds and tended to 54,000 patients last year. On the day of the earthquake, the hospital was full, and fortunately, despite some structural damage, everyone was fine. The facility has been designated as a triage center working with Project Hope and the U.S. Navy. The response to hospital needs has been tremendous; surgical teams are now arriving. The situation is truly mind-boggling - terrible road system, nonfunctional government, no water, and sporadic electricity. The hospital is prepared; funding is needed.
SPEAKER: Vice President Paul Stein introduced SMC member Craig Wright, who delivered a picturesque slide presentation on his travels to Namibia and the Southwest African Skeleton Coast. Namibia is twice the size of California, has a population of 1.2 million, primarily literate, black, English-speaking Christians. He described the several different ethnic groups, including the Ovambo tribe and the Hereros.
While on his land (via Range Rover) and air (Cessna) safari, they encountered a large variety of wildlife, including elephants, crocodiles, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, rhinos, lions, ostriches, giraffes, antelopes, hippos, and hyenas. Craig described several species of unique trees, plants, beetles, and birds. The Skeleton Coast's history of shipwrecks is due to the strong currents, gale force winds, large waves, and fog conditions.
His tour included visits to a diamond mine, a meteorite shower exhibit (including a 60 ton meteorite, the largest in the world), magnificent sand dunes, and a colony of about 200,000 seals. They even saw a real mirage!
The Q&A session addressed the country's history, climate, food, and currency.
Roger Langevin, Assistant Secretary