Eric Holm was appointed District chairman for Rotary International's 3-H (Health, Hunger and Humanity) Program which is to be a key project for R. I.
in its 75th Anniversary year celebration. This program calls for gifts amounting to $1,500 for Lafayette Rotary. Eric was also named chairman of the Lafayette Club's 3-H and of its plans for the 75th celebration in
February 1980. A change in Rotary International's procedures calls for the Board of Directors of each club to name a President Elect and a Vice President instead of just a Vice President as has been done in the past.
Annual dues were raised by vote of the club from $54 to $60. The luncheon price was raised by Morris Bryant Inn to $3.50 from $3.25.
There was the traditional parade of club activities during the year beginning
with the Stag party at the Conservation Club. Then came the Rotary Information New Member Dinner at the Country Club with Harold Michael again doing the honors and presenting his usual fine talk on Rotary history and
principles. Paul Million led the Salvation Army bell ringing crew to success. The Jefferson H.S. Acappella Choir again sang an excellent Christmas program for us and at the Valentine Ladies Night Dinner-Dance. James
Hanks and his committee treated us to a night with a Hawaiian Atmosphere. Harley Griffith chaired the 63rd Annual Intercity Ladies Night in the Purdue Union Building and the Purdue Glee Club again performed
outstandingly. The Glee Club Stag in May was shifted to Frankfort Country Club and Wilbur Hancock and Gary Pfleeger get credit for a fine fun time. At the Scholarship-Citizenship Awards Dinner for the winning High
School seniors, Fred Andrews, Purdue Vice Pres. for Research, told the youngsters, "You have made a good start, now create new knowledge."
Stephen Thompson represented our club in the bike race that is
sponsored by the Jefferson High School Student Council and he won and has a trophy to prove it! The club again sponsored a booth at the St. E Hospital's Park-O-Ramo.
Curt Hostetter was named "The Rotarian
of the Month" by District Gov. Calkins and received a standing ovation from the club.
When the Dist. Governor made his official visit to the club in October, he praised Lafayette Rotary for their community
leadership, their High School guest program, The Lafayette Rotary Foundation and for the high quality of the weekly programs.
And, indeed, the weekly programs have been excellent and varied. Here are just a few
examples:
Solomon Gartenhaus, Purdue Physicist who was a distinguished professor the previous year at the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado, showed pictures and gave a fine talk on the
activities of the Academy. There was a series of three programs where each week two students from local high schools, first Jefferson, followed by Harrison and Central Catholic, gave outstanding and thought provoking
talks.
Purdue's President, Arthur Hansen, reported on his recent trip to China where he found the "people friendly, needing our goods." He said 80% of the people were on farms and that their oil reserves
were as great as those in the Mid-East.
There were community oriented programs such as when Jerry Coffins the Program Director for WASK and star of the radio program, Public Opinion, entertained us with tales of
happenings on that program and what he felt it meant to our area. Then O. U. Sullivan, President of the Civic Theatre of Greater Lafayette, spoke on plans to buy and remodel the old Monon R.R. Depot on 5th Street into a
playhouse for their organization. And Bob Kreibel, Managing Editor of Lafayette's Journal-Courier, gave a most interesting report on a survey the paper had conducted on the likes and attitudes of citizens in Lafayette
and West Lafayette. They had found that the Bible was the leading book sold followed by Baby and Child Care and Better Homes and Garden's Cook Book. Top magazines read were Readers Digest and T.V. Guide. Lafayette
families were middle of the road oriented while West Side families were younger, well educated, mobile and critical.
There were health oriented program such as the one by Larry Peregrine, the Home Hospital Heart
Program Director, who gave a fine illustrated talk on coronary heart disease, its causes and actions that can be taken to help prevent attacks. Tim Rollings, Y.M.C.A. Physical Director and one of the 8000 who ran in the
Boston Marathon (he finished 46th), told of the strain of the race and emphasized that in every day life physical fitness was just as important as mental fitness for success.
There were talks by our own members such
as the excellent report that Herm Andre made on the origin, and growth of the Great Lakes Chemical Corp. of which he is Vice Pres. and Secretary. Herm said their basic chemical was bromine, that they have 800 employees
in plants in 11 states and 3 foreign countries, and that 140 are employed in the Lafayette headquarters.
In May of 1979, a big banner reading "Rotary Goals for 1980: Improve Health, Alleviate Hunger—Advance Humanity"
greeted the members. Eric Holm, chairman of the 75th Anniversary committee and the 3-H program, explained the national program, played a short, taped address by R. I. Pres., Clem Renouf, and then with the help of Ev
Wright and Tony Keeley answered questions about the program By the end of June, the members had contributed $1,570 and the fund was still growing.
This was the year when Purdue's football team under the 2nd year of
coaching by Jim Young, went to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and on Christmas Day beat Georgia Tech. 41-21. The winter turned out to be almost as cold as the one had been the previous year. The Purdue basketball team went
to the National Invitational Tournament but lost the final game to I.U. by a last second shot Later, the city officials of Lafayette were set on edge when tons of chemicals, many of them unknown, were found in an
abandoned laboratory in an old garage just off of Ferry St. downtown.
Nationally, in Oct. the Senate extended to June 30, 1982 the deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment. It had earlier approved the Panama Canal
Treaty that will turn the canal over to Panama by the year 2000 In Sept, the historic "Framework for Peace" in the Mid-East was signed by Sadat and Begin after 13 days of conference at Camp David.
In
Rotary, the following members had perfect attendance for the year ending June 30, 1979 and for as many months as indicated by the number: Bachman 62, Botkin 12, John Bradshaw 56, Carmichael 54, Foxworthy 78, Gibson 220,
Gray 100, Hall 243, Hitch 105, Hoggatt 103, Holm 90, Hostetfer 296, Keeley 25, Ketfelhut 151, Lane 212, Messing 174, H. L. Michael 85, W. R. Miller 75, Park 25, Paul 21, Plager 70, Porsch 14, Putnam 44, Trey Reisner 17,
Sicer 49, WM. Smith 183, Steele 40, Taylor 174, L. Teder 46, Verplank 150, Webber 56, Williams 298, Wright 300, Yegerlehner 24.
