Welcome
President Bob Grady opened the meeting at 12:10 pm.
New Member, Jim Kester, offered the invocation.
The Menu offered a vegan option along with beef stroganoff, salad, and apple pie!
Announcements
Dick Palmer’s Memorial Service at St. Philips in the Hills Episcopal Church will take place on September 7th at 1 PM (NE corner of Campbell and River. In lieu of flowers, donations of remembrance may be made to The Catalina Rotary Club for the Boys & Girls Club of Tucson, The Desert Museum or your favorite charity.
Catalina Rotary’s August Happy Hour will be held at 6 PM on Thursday August 29th at the Hacienda del Sol. Come at 5 or 5:30 pm for happy hour prices. No meeting on last Friday of Month, August 30th. Tony Spear will be entertaining us in a Jazz Trio!
Grand Opening and Dedication of the Catalina Rotary Creative Arts Center at the Boys & Girls Club on Grant Road will be held on Wednesday, September 25th from 4 – 5 PM.
Upcoming activities: Dictionary Project, ALS Walk, Road cleanup, ITK Playdate. Details to follow. And, for those bell ringers in the room, we’re saving you a spot in December!
Introductions
Pat Egbert introduced visitors and guests:
Dr. Pralhad Deshpande and his wife, Uma, joined us from a suburb of Bombay, India; banners were exchanged.
Frank Presson brought his wife, Jackie.
President Bob Grady introduced the CEO of YOTO (Youth on Their Own), Elizabeth Slater.
Creative Arts Center Preview
Barbara Kiernan gave a sneak preview of the new Boys & Girls Club Art Center by showing us a Mural painted by artist Jessica Gonzales on Oracle and then the work she did to recreate it with kids at the BGCT. They made it their own and added to its meaning!
Queen of Hearts
Our guest, Elizabeth, drew the ticket, Jimmie Muñozcano won the draw, but NO QUEEN! Sorry Jimmy; the pot rolls over. 49 cards to go.
Sergeant at Arms
Bob Stofft was up next and took us to task with UA sports trivia, things we should have read in the Rotarian Magazine, and Dick Palmer’s Father-in-law’s record for the 800 meters (among many other achievements)! Many more memories of PDG Dick Palmer to be shared at his memorial on September 7th. Maria Elena McElroy then went a leg up for 51 years of marriage; other Happy Bucks followed from Pat Egbert (Viet Nam friend called) and Joan Booth (safe return from solo trip in RV to Kansas and back).
Program
President Bob then introduced our speaker, Dr. Dennis Bastron, a new member of the club this year who tried to make sense of death for us. His presentation began with a reminder that death is not the enemy; mortality is 100% guaranteed. Given this, he reviewed the history of how death has been determined – from the ancient Greeks until today. Until recently, the agreed upon definition of death was the cessation of breathing and a lack of pulse. This has, however, been complicated by technology and our ability to maintain life’s functions artificially. Denny’s presentation described the search for guidelines that would avoid a lingering death and employ common sense. His presentation also made clear that the issue is filled with difficult decisions that are still with us today. Questions at the end illustrated that the nature and ethics surrounding the end of life (e.g., living wills, DNRs, technology) are as important to us today as they ever have been.
Denny was educated at Wentworth Military Academy (High School and Junior College) and the University of Iowa (BA and MD). After an internship at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis, he received his anesthesia training at Iowa, and Harvard Medical School. After a tour of duty as a USAF Medical Officer at Scott AFB, He returned to Iowa as a professor. He has been a professor at Texas A&M where he also was the Head of the Medical Humanities Department. He has been professor of anesthesia at the University of Arizona since December of 2002. His interest in death and dying comes from many years as a member of trauma teams, Director of a surgical ICU, a Hospice physician, a member of national and hospital ethics committees, and teaching classes in medical ethics. Publications include 1 book, 13 chapters, and 90 publications. His life-long research interest has been to discover new and innovative ways to prolong his adolescence.
President Bob adjourned the meeting at 1:30 PM. Remember, no meeting next week (August 29).