Meets Noon Mondays at the Hilton
www.hbgrotary.org
Executive Director: Linda Freedenberg Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Telephone: 717-234-1208
Fax: 717-234-3234

May 21, 2012

Program: Community Service Award winner John Hickey and Scholarship Recipients

Greeter:  John Cavanaugh
Invocation:  Dick Stewart
Club Singing:  Caryn Carr
Publications:  Steve Baloga

GUIDE TO DOWNTOWN PARKING   2012
The following garage parking facilities in downtown Harrisburg will be at the reduced rate that you pay at the Walnut Street Garage.
WALNUT ST. GARAGE-(215 Walnut Street)
CHESTNUT ST. GARAGE-(322-326 Chestnut Street)
FIFTH ST. GARAGE-(6-14 North Fifth Street)
LOCUST ST. GARAGE-(214 Locust Street)
MARKET SQ. GARAGE-(34 South 2nd Street)

Corporate Members

BIRTHDAYS
John Kooti  May 23
Tom Peluso  May 26
Bob Craumer  May 29
Dolly Lalvani  May 30
Marquita Jones  May 31
Jessica Ritchie  May 31
Bill Spahr  May 31
Janice Black  Jun 2

UPCOMING PROGRAMS
at the Hilton
5/21  Community Service Award and Scholarship Recipients
5/28  NO MEETING – Memorial Day
6/4 Dr. Joyce Davis, President World Affairs Council  "AS AMERICAN CITIZENS, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE WORLD TODAY, WHAT
6/11  John Kirkpatrick, Cate Barron and Sara Ganim, The Patriot News Co. "THE EARNING OF A PULITIZER: A
Salute to the PATRIOT NEWS"!

6/18  Bishop Dr. A. E. Sullivan, Jr. , President - The I.M.C. of Greater Hbg.

6/25 – Changing of the Guard

 For complete programming go to our website: www.hbgrotary.org
and click on calendar.
For meeting cancelations:
Check your e-mail or call the
Rotary office at 234-1208.

PROGRAM:
John Hickey is the recipient of the 2012 Community Service Award.

The award is made entirely for performance of volunteer service apart from activity related to Rotary.

John has served as a dedicated volunteer and he epitomizes the values embodied in the Community Service Award.  For his leadership on local boards of directors; his leadership as a local business owner dedicated to the community; and his leadership as a community philanthropist, John is most deserving of this award.

We congratulate John on his service and we are proud that he is one of our Rotarians.

NEWS AND NOTES:
• Just a reminder:  You may make tax-deductible gifts to HRF in honor or in memory of loved ones.  The recipient will receive notice and you as the donor a thank you. 

• Please remember to send to our office your $100 made payable to Rotary International Foundation and your $10 to Harrisburg Rotary Foundation for Support the Troops.

•  The Picnic/Pool Farewell Party for Anti Nool, our Youth Exchange Student will be held on Tuesday, June 5th at the home of Andy and Gail Rebuck at 6 Hearthstone Court Mechanicsburg, PA 17055.  The evening will begin at 5:30 PM.  A picnic dinner will begin at 6:15 PM.  You and your family are invited to attend.  Please RSVP by May 31st to Linda Freedenberg at the Harrisburg Rotary Office at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 717-234-1208.  Please give Linda the names of all attendees.  And remember to bring your swimsuit.  See you there.
Youth Exchange Committee

DISTRICT NEWS:
• The May Governors Newsletter is available at:
http://www.rotary7390.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Ok1pspPQ9Sk%3d&tabid=113

LAST ROTARY MEETING:  5/14/12      Minutes by Carrie W. Thomas
President Bob Saline opened the meeting at 12:15 PM by introducing Al Schmidt to give the invocation, followed by Karen Paris leading the Club in singing “America the Beautiful,” with Norma Swain at the piano. The Pledge of Allegiance was followed by the Club members greeting each other warmly.

Corinne Rebinski introduced all the many guests and visiting Rotarians, after which Robin Scaer, Rotarians 1st Year Chair, described a new initiative consisting of designating a table at each meeting specifically for new Rotarians. Long-time members are encouraged to sit at the table as well, which should enable the new Rotarians to get to know each other, as well as to become acquainted with members more established in the Club. Robin went on to explain that new Rotarians are asked to complete six tasks before they become full-fledged members. John Cooney, having completed the required tasks, was named a full-fledged member at this point.

Ira Packman then spoke of the Homeless Initiative Committee, now one year old. He explained that the next project will take place at the Farm Show Building on September 28 when Rotarians are needed to assist homeless individuals to access the 150+ service providers which will have booths there that day. At last year’s similar event, 170 clients were assisted with a myriad of needs. Besides volunteers to serve as guides to the vendors, doctors, dentists, counselors and other specialists are needed to provide free services that day.

Corinne Rebinski then returned to the microphone to conduct the ever-popular Good News Reporting. A plethora of good news items were announced by Rotarians, including many relations of accomplishments of children and grandchildren. Betty Hungerford enthusiastically reported that over $200,000 had been generated with the gala celebrating Homeland Centre’s 145th anniversary several weeks ago. Karen Paris reported that finally she has achieved the status of mother-in-law!

Next on the agenda was Jack Detweiler’s announcement of the Ecology Award-winner. His committee Co-Chair Pete Ressler said that he, Jack, Barry Goodman and Jeff Boswell had all helped to select the award at the Science Fair at Whitaker Centre. The young woman chosen was Alexandra Schardt, who had experimented with seven types of alternative oils, trying to determine which may prove a viable substitution for petroleum to combat global warming. Her project was deemed worthy of the Club’s $750 scholarship award for Ecology.

The inimitable Bob Hostetter was next at the podium, giving the introduction to the speaker as only Bob can do. The speaker, Dr. Stephen MacDonald,  is President of Lebanon Valley College, which provided a segue for Bob to discuss the college career of one Betty Criswell, which was very illustrious but in Bob’s hands, also very amusing! Of course, the student Betty Criswell was revealed to have been none-other than our own Betty Hungerford. In beginning his talk, Dr. MacDonald asked the audience whether they may prefer to be entertained by…Betty Criswell!

On a more serious note, Dr. MacDonald centred his presentation on “Is Spending $45,000 on a Private College Really Worth It?” He noted that yesterday’s New York Times had run an article on a young Ohio college student who had gone $100,000 in debt before she had even graduated. He said that at Lebanon Valley College, 426 students graduated on Saturday with an average college debt of $32,000. This amount of debt is very difficult for young people just starting out with their careers, obviously. He went on to say that Governor Corbett’s proposed dramatic cuts in State funding for Pennsylvania’s colleges and universities are considered draconian in most circles, and in fact, the Republican-controlled Legislature opposes these cuts.

Dr. MacDonald explained why it is so expensive for colleges to produce quality educations:

1. A college education is a service, and the cost of services has risen faster than the cost of goods in the past several years. A college education is a “labor-intensive delivery system.”
2. The number of students-to-faculty ratio should be low in order to provide a quality education. The “less efficient a college is with this ratio, the better a school it is.” He stated that at LVC, an assistant professor makes $58,000, with a full professor earning about $81,000.
3. Good colleges have excellent technological facilities, but these are very expensive and don’t result in more “efficiency in production.”
4. Attracting students is a fiercely-competitive process, with 86 other institutions competing for the same young people.
5. The service infrastructure has expanded enormously in the past 20 years, with colleges now employing psychiatric counselors, multi-cultural  coordinators, career counselors, etc.
6. A college education is also more costly than previously because the State is less supportive with PHEAA grants, etc.

Dr. MacDonald continued by saying that the next year’s budget for LVC is $53.5 million. Only 86.7% of that will be covered by student tuition. The gap must be filled by contributions from the college’s endowment fund, some Federal and State monies, the annual fund, and sales from the bookstore and fitness centre. He stated that the annual tuition next year will be $33,670, or $43,650 including room and board. Although this is less than at Franklin and Marshall and Dickinson, it is still very high for most students. Fortunately, LVC provides merit scholarships to students, granting students a 50% tuition discount who graduated at the top of their high school classes, and proportionately lower scholarships to others who ranked a bit lower.  Of 500 new LVC students yearly, one half of these usually qualify for the 50% tuition discount. The average is 46% for all students.

Among the benefits Lebanon Valley College provides students are a guaranteed four-year education, a vibrant athletics program, a study-abroad program, and  a true liberal-arts lifetime background. However, Dr. MacDonald admitted that a four-year liberal-arts college education may not be for all students. He asked Dr. “Ski” (John Sygielski) from HACC whether some students would better benefit from two years at a community college, and received the emphatic answer “yes!”

Dr. MacDonald concluded with stating that although the current recession may be preventing some college graduates from finding jobs, in the long run, college graduates earn a great deal more in their lifetimes than those with only a high school diploma.

When asked whether amenities such as a sports program, good food, etc. are important when students select a college, Dr. MacDonald said very much so. Una Martone inquired which fields  the speaker may recommend to young people as the most successful careers. He replied:  a doctorate of physical therapy is by far the easiest field in which to find a job at this time. All those graduates have found jobs already, with starting salaries at $60,000.

OFFICERS:

DIRECTORS:

Robert S. Saline              
Una Martone
Karen F. Snider
John P. Judson, M.D.
Carolyn Dumaresq, Ed.D.
William B. Boles
Richard Utley                

President
President-Elect
Vice President
Immediate Past President
Secretary
Treasurer
Sergeant-at-Arms

Jeffrey R. Boswell
Caryn J. Carr
David E. Freet
Kent E. Frese
Lisa Lewis
Thomas A. Peluso
Andrew R. Rebuck
Robin Scaer