PROGRAM:
John Quigley was named Acting Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) on April 3, 2009. 
Quigley joined DCNR as Director of Operations in February 2005, and was named Director of Legislation and Strategic Initiatives in July 2006.  He assumed the responsibilities of Chief of Staff in March, 2008.  Quigley has had a diverse career in the not-for-profit, public, and private sectors.  He was the founding executive director of a non-profit economic development corporation in Hazleton, PA, and then served eight years as Mayor of the City of Hazleton.  He has held a number of management positions with two industry-leading companies in the private sector, and was an evening instructor in Economics at the Hazleton Campus of the Pennsylvania State University.  He was also wrote a weekly public affairs column for the Wilkes-Barre (PA) Times-Leader newspaper. Immediately prior to joining DCNR, Quigley served as Government Relations Manager with Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future (PennFuture), a statewide public interest organization based in Harrisburg.  He holds a Bachelor’s in Economics from Bloomsburg University, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Lehigh University.  He has done additional graduate work in business and economics.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS / MEETING LOCATIONS:                                                 
April 14, 15 and 16       Foose Vision Project   8:30-2:30 PM

April 20          John Quigley, Acting Secretary, DCNR
Hilton

April 27          Dr. G. Terry Madonna
Hilton            “First 100 days, what did we do?”

For complete programming go to our website: hbgrotary.org and click on calendar.
For meeting cancellations due to inclement weather.... Tune to ABC27-TV
or check your e-mail or call the Rotary office at 234-1208.

NEWS AND NOTES:  

• Roster Information sheets were placed in the badge boards.  Please review to make sure your contact information is correct, select your 2009-10 committees and return to Linda.

• Congratulations to Marion C. Alexander who was chosen as Dauphin County Library System’s Person of the Year. This award is given to an individual who has made a critical contribution to the community in support of the goals of the DCLS mission. Marion has served on the DCLS Board of Trustees for various terms and in many capacities for 17 of the last 21 years.  During her tenure, she has held all the Board offices including President and has been a major driving force in fundraising for the library system. Marion served as Advisory Council Chair for the “Libraries are for LIFE” Capital Campaign, and Major Gifts Committee Chair for the “Connecting the Community in the Heart of Hummelstown” Capital Campaign. She has helped to secure sponsorships for the DCLS annual Service Excellence Award dinner, and provided critical contacts and assistance in many other projects. Most recently, she served as Chair of the DCLS Development Committee during the period of the Hummelstown capital campaign. Marion’s devotion to giving does not end with asking others. She and her family demonstrated their longtime support of libraries and learning by providing the naming gift for the William H. & Marion C. Alexander Family Library being built in Hummelstown, the naming gift for the H.B. & Grace Alexander Community room at the Madeline L. Olewine Memorial Library in uptown Harrisburg, and have made many other gifts over the years. Marion provides a stellar example of dedicated community service and commitment.

•  Congratulations to Ellen Kyzer and her husband on the April 6th birth of Andrew Paul weighing it at 6.89 lbs.

• ANNUAL MEETING vote on April 27, 2009:

1. BY-LAWS Revisons:

The by-laws were almost completely re-done.  Jeff Boswell looked at many large clubs and re-did ours.  Any questions should be directed to Jeff Boswell < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.

Some items of note that were changed are:
Committee structure, Elections of President-elect and Initiation fee
Executive Director and HRF information were added
Treasurer and Secretary now have term limits.

1. NOMINATING COMMITTEE:  Below is the recommendation from the Nominating Committee and          approved by the Board.  Vote will be taken at the Annual Meeting in April.

2009-11     
President                      President-Elect                         Vice President                                       Imm. Past-President                
Carolyn Dumaresq         John P. Judson (2010-11)          Robert S. Saline (2011-12)                     Barry Ramper

Secretary                                  Treasurer                                   Sergeant-at-Arms
Carrie W. Thomas                      William B. Boles                        William M. Tillett                                   

BOARD OF DIRECTORS                                  
Caryn J. Carr                             ‘10                                John R. Detweiler           '11
Lawrence M. Means                   ‘10                                Kent E. Frese                '11       
Andrew R. Rebuck                     ’10                                John J. McHenry           ‘11
Maria B. Persico                        ‘10                                Karen F. Snider              '11

ATTENDANCE:
LAST ROTARY MEETING:  4/6/09       58%                        
Rotarians  74     Active Specials 14      Guests  5    Visiting Rotarians 3   = 94

Minutes by Karen Paris: 
President Barry called the meeting to order at 12:17 PM.  Our invocation was given by Joan Prescott, reminding us to celebrate the beauty of Spring as well as the privilege we have of helping others.  A lively rendition of the “God Bless America ” was led by Doug Pieper.  Meet-and-greets among members, visiting Rotarians and guests were numerous.  And, Mr. Pres made his way through the crowd shaking hands looking just like a politician who in running for office.  Now, just in case you didn’t notice,  Andrew “the man” Rebuck was totally coordinated (must have been Gail’s work) wearing his blue and gold (Rotary colors!) tie to match his sportcoat.

John Judson gave us a “Rotary Minute” and asked all to keep in mind their $100 donation to the Rotary International Foundation because it is a concrete way of improving so many things around the world. If you haven’t made your contribution, please do so soon.  We were reminded of a new book out, “The Trilogy of the Yellow Dots”, a story about how Rotarians who have given their $100 have a yellow dot on their pins.

John recognized two new Paul Harris Fellows.  A big round of applause for Karen Snider and Jack Carr!!!!! both of whom have been generous enough to join the Paul Harris Fellow Society. Thank you for making the world a better place, Karen and Jack.

Carolyn Dumaresq, Shane Rottier and Jewel Cooper brought guests.  There were 12 birthdays announced and Neil Hendershot is celebrating his 1/4 century in Rotary.  He must’ve been 12 when he joined.

Ex-pres Carrie shared three clips of famous Rotarians with us.  In the news were: Al (aka “Mr. Cigar”) Baker, John Hickey, and Carrie herself

Connie Siegel was welcomed back to the fold and President Barry reminded all of the Foose Vision Clinic next week.  (See Linda for some very limited openings.)

We were treated to a mini-class talk from Erik Vatter who works for Smith Barney.  He is a CFP (Certified Financial Planner) who helps people do financial planning. . He noted that one of the challenges facing the industry are the technology that is now available to clients.  He spoke about the Efficient Market Theory and noted that people act irrationally in a rational manner. (Pauline Wallin, doesn’t this sound more like psychology to you??)  He ended saying that his goal is to help us all to buy low and sell high within the former parameters.

Jeff Boswell introduced our own Dr. John Cavanaugh, Chancellor of the State System of Higher Education, speaking about the importance of higher education in our economy.  We were told by Jeff that John loves both chocolate and green beans and that he joined Rotary because of the veggies.  Strange reason for joining the Club, John, but we’ll ask the Hilton to keep serving the green strings... John noted that Chris sent her greetings from George Washington University because she works there, but I think she would have made him nervous so she politely stayed home today.

John made some very great points about the positive role that higher education plays in the broader economy of our country.   College towns appear to be somewhat recession proof.  Grads tend to settle in the college towns where they attended. Universities attract high tech industries (eg. Austin Texas, the Silicone Valley ).  Universities issue bonds in order to “grow” their facilities.  Universities support research and many corporations have given the research functions to universities who receive NIH or National Science Foundation monies.  Workforce training partnerships occur between private companies and universities.  Small Business Development Center/University partnerships are common.  John also noted that college towns tend to attract retirees; they are learning centers as well as cultural centers.

John also cited the gap in unemployment rates when comparing college grads with lower levels.  He noted that President Obama is pushing hard for higher education, technology training, etc to help improve our youth’s employability. 

John ended by noting that the stimulus package has money in it that PA can apply for in the area of workforce development.  His goal is to be in good shape to get that money when it becomes available.

John received many questions following his excellent presentation.

 At the end of the meeting, the President led us in the 4-way test, ending the meeting at 1:18 P.M