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Vol. 18, No. 18, October 31, 2005 IN THIS ISSUE: The Friday Program: Microsoft’s Community-Based Programs | Raffle Collection Wraps Up THIS WEEK | Student of the Month: Catherine Osorio-Barrios | Membership Swells by Three (Leahy, Vincent, Allington) | BBRC: 20 Years | Sergeant Raises More Dough | Friday Potpourri | November is Foundation Month | The Journey of a Lifetime: Reports from Africa with Margie Burnett | Report From Norm | Web Fun • • the friday program:
Passman, who is a lawyer, represents the company in conjunction with projects at the U.N., the World Bank and other global organizations. She told her audience that her topic would be "What’s happening at Microsoft." “We have the most robust pipeline of products in all our 30 years in business right now, said Passman. Our largest server and tools launch is occurring in 2005. Platforms for groups that help write software have been expanded. The Xbox 360 will feature 200 new games when it’s introduced on Nov 22. And, Vista — the new Operating System — is coming soon.” Raffle Collection Wraps Up This Week
On a happier note, the Raffle accounting staff raked in $15,000 more dollars at the end of Friday’s off-site meeting, bringing the total to over $93,000. It’s no surprise that Mary Bell’s team (Hell’s Bells) leads both leagues with over $11,000 banked. Jenny Andrews’ squad is not far behind for a close fight for first place. Please bring your packets, ticket stubs and checks to this Friday’s meeting. Jim Zidar’s crew of ticket-tearers will be at work Monday afternoon, November7 at 5:00 p.m at the Plaza Center Building, 10900 NE 8th, Second Floor. Their work will be transferred to the offices of Trudell, Bowen and Lingenbrink the next day, when the winning ticket will be drawn. Drawing time is 1:30 p.m. at 135 Lake Street South in the Anthony’s Homeport Building in Kirkland. The winner of the raffle will be honored Friday night, November 11, at the BBRC’s 20th Anniversary party at the Bellevue Club.
Nick Paget introduced Sammamish High School Student of the Month Catherine Osorio-Barrios, who was accompanied by her mother Bertha and father Cruz to the Microsoft Conference Center on Friday. Catherine is a senior at Sammamish and plans to further her education at Brigham Young University, with plans to major in Political Science, earning a law degree and perhaps a career in politics in her future. Membership Swells by Three (Leahy, Vincent, Allington) In a special induction ceremony at the Microsoft Conference Center, three new members joined the BBRC roster.
Steve told the Induction Story to the newcomers. “Rotary is a way of life. Attend weekly meetings and learn about ‘Service Above Self.’” The three new members received a standing ovation upon their induction.
The Raffle Accounting Group, hard at work outside the meeting room, was applauded for their dedication to duty on this final week of the Raffle ticket turn-in. Cyril Faulkner and his team of Terry Peterson, Zul Alibhai, Jeff Maxwell and Rich Hammond were commended for all their hard work.
Chuck Barnes, on the occasion of Halloween and the celebration of All Saints Day on November 1, informed the membership that this holiday was in recognition of the passing of friends. His invocation included a list of BBRC members who have passed away. The pledge to the Jenny Andrews American flag followed.
Rotarians of the Month were honored for their work on the just-wrapped-up raffle. President Lingenbrink praised the work of Robin Callan and Chuck Barnes for organizing a very successful Golf Outing, which paid for the major raffle prize. The co-winners received plaques noting their selection as the October Rotarians of the Month. The Journey of a Lifetime: Day One I arrived safely in Ethiopia on Sunday night. My flight from DC to Addis Ababa was 16 hours including 1 hour on the ground in Rome to refuel, etc. Addis seems a little improved since I was here 3 years ago - the streets and sidewalks are in better shape and even though there are still many people on the streets just standing around, it seems like there's fewer than before. Maybe I'm just more used to it this time. We drove forever to get to the Cheshire Home today. A place about 12 miles out in the country where kids with polio stay to get rehabilitated and fitted for braces, wheelchairs, etc. They are all so cute and well behaved. I didn't bring any treats along for them so I gave away the family and friend’s pictures I'd brought along to remind me of home. They love to get any kind of pictures like that. So now I just have to remember what you all look like because your pictures are in the pockets of the little polio victims at the home. My roommate Jenny Andrews and I are coping with our hotel room which is definitely a step down from the Hilton I stayed at before. We can't figure out how to take a shower without flooding the bathroom floor. Although we do now know how to switch the circuit breaker ourselves when we blow a fuse because we turned on the hair dryer! Thanks again for all of your love and support for me on this trip. • • • Day Two Thanks again for all your emails and news from home. Some of them really made me chuckle. I also passed on the news about the Seahawks here in the hotel cyber cafe to a resounding cheer. We were on a bus for most of today. There was a big snafu about the distance to a water well project. Lesson learned is when you ask an Ethiopian how long it will take to get someplace, multiply the time by four. We did get out into some beautiful rural areas to see the sight of a new Rotary funded water well as well as a place where a new well will be built. We saw darling Ethiopian children who live in the country. They were mostly unspoiled by handouts from tourists. I gave them some of my trinkets and got some cute picture of two girls wearing Issaquah Boys and Girls Club T-shirts donated by Warren and Winnie. We are a little tired and cranky now, but a beer in the hotel has helped. Another great thing about this hotel is that beer is only about $1 a bottle and it's good, too. Tonight Jenny and I are going to dinner at the home of an Ethiopian Rotarian • • • Day Eight I'm still alive and well. We're wrapping up our time here in Addis Ababa and leaving tomorrow morning for Kampala, Uganda. I seems like I have been here a month with all of the experiences that have been packed into the last eight days. The saddest time for me this week was to hear that my brother's wife passed away on Tuesday. Many of you know that she has been fighting a hard battle for 5 years with breast cancer. I knew when I left for Africa that she would likely not make it until I got back but I decided to go anyway. Her friends and family know that it is a blessing that she was finally able to go to a better place, as her body would no longer support her life here on earth. Besides the fact that Diane will no longer be in our lives, I was very sad, as I miss my family very much and want to be with them at this time. I will especially be thinking of all of them on Tuesday when they have a memorial for Diane. I'll be there in spirit. All of the Rotarians and their friends and families here in Ethiopia have been a joy to get to know or get re-acquainted with, both the group that I came here with from Seattle as well as those here in the country. We all have especially enjoyed spending time with a group of 20-somethings that belong to what's called a Rotaract group here in Addis. They are bright, polite, educated and conversant and willing to help us out with anything we need. They take us shopping, translate for us and have gone out of town on the polio immunization trip I took. Oh, yes, the polio immunization — the reason I came here! Jenny and I went out in the countryside northwest of Addis about 100 miles to two towns (small cities) where we stayed in local hotels, met with the head of the immunization projects in the local areas and assisted in vaccinating children in a kindergarten as well as going house to house. Besides the young, cute Rotaract man, we were accompanied by a driver and a Rotarian from Addis named Gotachu. Seeing Caucasian people is not normal for the children of these areas so they are very intrigued and followed us everywhere. They were thrilled to shake our hand, try out their English and watch Jenny and I try to play their version of tether ball (a sack made of fabric, tied to a thin rope and attached to an electrical pole). The kids really liked Jenny's name and at one point started chanting it! Move over Jaylo, we're celebrities, too. We visited an elementary school in the city called Ambo where 40+ children have class in rooms with a dirt floor and no electricity. The only teaching aid was a chalk board. We gave the school some soccer balls and school supplies. We hope to do a project with a Rotary club in Addis to provide more school supplies and books in the future. As I said, tomorrow we fly to Uganda. We've heard that there is going to be some kind of strike or work stoppage tomorrow in the city so I crossing my fingers that it doesn't include airport workers. The political situation is heating up here according to rumors from people in the know. Love to all of you, P.S. Thanks for all of your emails. I really appreciate them. :) Dear Friends & Family, When we last heard from ol' Norm he was getting ready to head out the door for “Camp Chemo” for an extended sixteen week stay. As he headed out he was head to mumble. “I don’t think Boot Camp lasted that long.” The first day at camp was October 10th. It started with the warm welcome of the receptionist who handed over an agenda of the day’s activities, which included a blood draw, and then resting in a recliner while attentive infusion nurses set up the machines to drip six hours of chemicals into one’s veins. Apparently it has been determined that the most effective remedy is to use two different drugs in combination, in this case Cisplatin and Navelbine. Cisplatin belongs to a group of anti-cancer drugs known as alkyators. The goal is to stop cancer cell growth by binding to DNA, the genetic material in cells. Navelbine belongs to a group of anti-cancer drugs called plant alkaloids. It stops cancer cell growth by inhibiting cell division. With both drugs, the growth of normal cells may also be affected, resulting in possible side effects. This is where the stay at camp becomes a real adventure. One does not know when, and if, the side effects will make them selves known. Possible common side effects may include: nausea and vomiting, kidney damage, hearing damage, weakness, numbness, discomfort at the injection site, fatigue, constipation, hair loss, decreased blood counts. Keep in mind, we came to camp to improve our health and well being. Whew! Anyway, the six hour session is followed the next three weeks with a one hour session and only one of the drugs, Navebline, being pushed into the system. Then it is back to week one with a six hour session. This is done in four cycles, which accounts for the sixteen week stay. To help ease the infusion process, a device know as a “portacath” was installed last Monday. This is a device about the size of a fifty cent piece that is implanted under the skin in your upper chest area. It has a receptor that is connected to a line that goes directly into a primary vein. This allows the infusion nurses a very easy spot to access to draw blood and drip in the chemicals. No more searching for a suitable vein in the arm for the task. Also, use of veins tends to cause damage due to the toxic nature of the drugs, so this makes it some what easier, at least on the arms. Installation of a portacath takes less than twenty minutes, but they want you to show up at the hospital two hours prior to the process, which is my case was 5:30 AM. Do you know that it is now dark at that time of morning? It’s like the middle of the night. On the plus side, traffic was light and finding a parking space was not an issue. So, three weeks into the process and I think that the treatment is working as the fatigue portion of the equation has entered the picture. This past Tuesday I took a three mile walk and felt fine. On Wednesday it was an effort just to climb a flight of stairs. The adventure continues and so will these updates as the camp sessions unfold. One thing that surprises me is that they have yet of offer any craft sessions and we have not had even one campfire. As always, your e-mails, cards prayers and positive thoughts offer encouragement and are truly appreciated. Norm the friday program:
Passman, who is a lawyer, represents the company in conjunction with projects at the U.N., the World Bank and other global organizations. She told her audience that her topic would be "What’s happening at Microsoft." “We have the most robust pipeline of products in all our 30 years in business right now, said Passman. Our largest server and tools launch is occurring in 2005. Platforms for groups that help write software have been expanded. The Xbox 360 will feature 200 new games when it’s introduced on Nov 22. And, Vista — the new Operating System — is coming soon.” Passman said that Microsoft is “linked to what’s happening in the world. We are vitally interested in the State of Washington’s work force. We recognize that the state’s education programs from K through 12 and higher education must be supported more energetically. Microsoft is stepping up its game with support for education. We want Washington to be a place where new employers want to come and establish their businesses. An aggressive business and investment climate will allow expansion of Microsoft and its other business partners. It’s our responsibility to be more active in the state of Washington.” Increasing community involvement by the company, and especially the employees of Microsoft, has become a goal. “We encourage Microsoft employees to be members of community-based organizations and to be engaged actively in their community.” Three members of the BBRC are Microsoft employees: Bill Spencer, Curt Cummings, and Steve Szirmai. Passman said that Microsoft has supported a program that gives software to non-profits, a program that has seen $200,000,000 (million) in software delivered the past five years. A program called "Unlimited Potential" is all about providing information technology skills training to disabled youth. The program currently runs in 90 countries. Hopelink has their Literacy program and Microsoft supports the Eastside organization to provide a showcase for that program.
Around the world, Microsoft takes part in national initiatives. One ongoing project is giving technical support to Boys & Girls Clubs. In fact, over $100 million in Club Tech support has been donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs. There’s an organization called “End Power” — a service group for other non profits. Its job is to gather together other organizations, pooling resources where it does the most good. End Power now has 12 affiliates around the country. Microsoft also matches employee time in the community. If a Microsoft employee were to work on a house painting project, for example, Microsoft will $17 match for each hour. The company is big on volunteer activities, hence the emphasis on tying matching funds to projects completed. Out of this comes a computer-based report, which keeps track of the dollars raised in this fashion. The Washington State Department of Labor has work force opportunity centers. Microsoft supports these. In Beijing, China, a Microsoft project is training Chinese migrant workers who come from rural areas to work in the nation’s capital. Microsoft raised $7.6 for Tsunami relief and another $9 million for Hurricane Katrina relief. The company has also supported the work of Mercy Corps and World Vision, and other on-the-ground disaster relief agencies with contributions of technology.
When asked, Passman said that the Gates and Microsoft Foundations are separate entities. By being advocates for education, the company is impacting the legislative process on how to advance the level of education, not only in Washington, but elsewhere. For her excellent presentation, a certificate to the King County Library System Ready to Read program donates a book in Pamela Passman’s name on behalf of Rotary’s Literacy program. Thanks to Curt Cummings for his work organizing this off-site meeting and his introduction of the speaker. THIS WEEK'S EDITOR THIS WEEK'S PHOTOGRAPHER(S) |
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