Last Week our speaker was George Like, Director of the Schools and Hospital Office of USAID. The American Universities in Cairo, Beirut, and other locations, as well as hospitals, such as Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, all receive assistance through funding. The history of USAID dates back to the Marshall Plan, at the end of WWII. The Marshall Plan eventually morphed into USAID, which now provides foreign aid throughout the world. The aid is generally focused on furthering US foreign policy objectives. The US and its citizens also provide significant private aid through many organizations and foundations such as Rotary. As Americans we have a moral obligation to help others improve their standards of living. Foreign aid last year was .007 of the total US budget, which is $21.8 billion of the $2.7 trillion budget. This aid includes military aid as well as humanitarian aid. The funds go primarily to Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Peru, and Columbia.

Last Week Katrina Ruminski, from the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action, spoke about the NRA. The NRA was founded in 1871 by two civil war veterans, to promote civilian marksmanship. Currently with four million members, it represents the consumer, not gun manufacturers, though sometimes their interests may co-inside.

The NRA has a large lobbying component, but its real goal remains education. There are 62,000 trainers to teach fire arm safety. Ms. Ruminski discussed a number of issues with the club, including the 2nd amendment, the recent Supreme Court Case which found DC’s gun ban to be unconstitutional, and the reality of federal gun regulations in light of gun ownership being a constitutional right. Ms. Runinksi reminded everyone that the NRA headquarters is in nearby Fairfax, just off interstate 66, with a free public museum, showing the history of guns, and a state of the art driving range that is used by the FBI, military and the general public.

Last Week Kim Farmer, a member of the Rotaract Club of Downtown Washington D.C. was selected as a member of the 2008 GSE (Group Study Exchange) program that visited the southwestern part of the Netherlands.  We sponsored the Downtown Rotaract Club, and Kim was nominated by us for the team.  She spoke about the program and the trip.

The GSE program is an exchange of young professional members from around the world. This exchange is a part of the Rotary goal to promote world peace through the exchange of ideas and the understanding of other cultures. District 1600 includes Rotterdam and The Hague, which are the second and third largest cities in the Netherlands, following Amsterdam. The four GSE members lived with host families, gave presentations to several Rotary Clubs, and visited vocational sites related to their respective professions.

Last Week Peter Kyle, spoke about the World Bank and its role in health, water and education. WB now has 184 member companies and its primary goal is to reduce poverty by promoting sustainable economic development. The goal is to cut poverty in half by 2015. In Africa poverty is rising, getting worse with the energy crisis affecting food supplies. At thirty percent of its budget, a major effort is financing infrastructure projects; roads, bridges, telecommunications. 7% of its budget is involved in health efforts. HIV/AIDS is top priority, as well as fighting malaria, avian flu and developing vaccines. 8% of the WB budget goes to education, where they are especially active in literacy and education of women. About 9% goes towards financing water, sanitation & flood prevention projects. WB always finances programs through governments, but they need more hands-on effort, to see that programs reach those who really need the help. Rotary can be a great partner in this with Rotary clubs and their local-level resources.

Last Week Kurt Chesko from the HALO Trust spoke to us about the work of this non-profit NGO that specializes in the removal of land mines and munitions from war theatres around the world.  The organization is composed of over 8,000 volunteers and recently celebrated their 20^th anniversary.

Working primary in Afghanistan, Cambodia, and Angola, the volunteers go through a laborious process of de-mining large land areas that globally result in over hundreds of annual landmine accidents.   These accidents have resulted in more than 300,000 maimed landmine survivors worldwide and up to 20,000 deaths and maimed victims each year.

Halo is supported by large donor governments (USA, Netherlands, UK, EU,& Japan).  They also are partnered with Rotary International and work with approximately 18 Rotary Clubs now involved in Cambodian de-mining operations.  Lead by Rotary District 5030, the Seattle club pledged $50,000 to this effort.

Last Week our speaker was Dr. Howard Schilit, author of Financial Shenanigans: How to Detect Accounting Gimmicks and Fraud in Financial Reports and Blue Chips and Hot Tips.  Business Week has called him the “Sherlock Holmes of Accounting” and one of the nation’s top 50 savvy investors tuned in early to the danger of fraud in his profession. He was one of the first experts to point out the conflict of interest built into the relationships between many corporations and their accounting firms.  In 1994, when he first codified the “seven shenanigans” for accounting fraud, he found 16 different tactics, which increased to 30 varieties in 2002. First, some companies record revenue too soon or record revenues that are of questionable quality. Second, some companies go a step further and record bogus revenue. Third, there have been instances where companies have boosted income with one-time gains. Fourth, Companies will shift future expenses to the current period, as a one-time charge.

Last Week Sandi Bourget, from INOVA Blood Donor Services, spoke about the facts and myths of donating blood.  The adult human body contains about 8-12 pints of blood.  With someone needing a transfusion every 3 seconds in this country, there is always a great need for donations.  There are three agencies that collect blood locally: American Red Cross, Washington Hospital Center bloodmobile, and INOVA.  INOVA is a local group, and is the primary supplier of blood for Montgomery County and Northern Virginia Hospitals. They transfuse 78,000 pints of blood a year. You can donate every 56 days, ages 16 and up, with no upper age limit. The only serious restrictions are if you lived in England or Europe for more than 5 months in the 1980’s (due to mad cow), if you’ve had Hepatitis, or are taking certain medications. Our blood supply is also very safe – it is tested for many diseases, such as HIV, sickle cell, hepatitis A and B.

Last Week Harry Haller, former White House Chef, spoke about his time in the White House as Chef to Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan.  After retiring Mr. Haller authored the White House Family Cookbook. In 1965 he was working at the Sheraton East in New York when he received a call from Lady Bird Johnson.  She told him that the most important thing for the Chef was to keep the President happy, and shortly thereafter he was hired. President Johnson had a large appetite and worked long into the night. There were two weddings with 600 guests at each as well as many state dinners. President Nixon had a dinner for 1300 people for the returning North Vietnamese prisoners of war.  Under his presidency there was also a 600 person wedding.  Nixon used to come into the kitchen to discuss food with Chef. On his last day in office President Nixon told Chef Haller that his food was the best in the world.  The Fords were a terrific family and ate everything.  During the Ford presidency there was another dinner for 1300.  For the Carters Chef Haller had to learn southern cooking.  The family was very budget conscious because they wanted to live like average Americans.  After the Peace Conference there was another 1300 person dinner.  For the Reagan’s “California” cuisine had to be learned.  Mrs. Reagan oversaw all aspects of state dinners and reviewed and approved all menus.  Chef Haller retired while Reagan was president.

Last Week our speaker was Rebecca Shambaugh, author of “It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor, and founder of the first leadership development program expressly for women. 6% of the top wage earners in the country are women. Rebecca explored the reasons why and found that there were 7 key areas that contributed to the sticky floor and that self-awareness was the key. Women need to understand their blind spots.

1. Managing work & life balance – It’s an allusion that you can do everything.

2. Striving for perfectionism – Decide what is good enough vs. what is perfect.

3. Loyalty – Staying in a place too long.

4. Building relationships that are strategic – Be intentional in building relationships.

5. Make words count

6. Use political savvy

7. Ask for what you want

Rebecca summarized by saying that “If you think there is a Glass Ceiling, you will probably find it. If not, the Sky is the Limit!”

Last Week Rob Brown from Rotary International spoke to the Club about the Rotary Foundation World Peace Program which sponsors the World Peace Fellows, Ambassadorial Scholars, GSE program, and humanitarian grants.

Today when we have the world outstripping its resources, there are more violent and potentially violent conflicts than ever before. The Rotary Peace Initiative began in 1995. It is centered at 6 universities, on 5 continents, with over 150 graduates. The focus is on conflict resolution and peace building. There are about 60 Peace Fellows each year. They have academic grounding in mediation, negotiation, and bridging gaps. There is a 2 year program, in which the students earn a graduate degree, and an 8 week program for professionals already working in the area of peace. The goal of Rotary International is to raise $95 million by 2015. Locally we need to assist in funding raising, and help to locate good candidates for these programs.