Good morning and I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. This week is our last meeting for the month of October, but there are more things happening!
Important things to remember for this month;
The Polio walk on Saturday, October 24. This event is open to all but you need to sign up online or reach out to Terry Ziegler, Polio Czar. This event will double as our social, so the walk to and from the Water Wall is as wild is it is going to get this month!
Our man Jack Wallace has organized a Rise Against Hunger event for Saturday, October 31st. He emailed the sign-up information on October 6th. Please sign up! This is a fun event where many hands make lighter work and you get to chit chat with lots of folks. Again, this event is open to all but registration is required.
Our West U Rotary Board of Directors meeting is Tuesday October 13th at 7am, via Zoom. If you're a Red Badge and haven't attended a board meeting, come on down!
Many thanks to Brennan Riley, Youth Exchange Officer, and Rachel Mills, Youth Exchange Counselor, for an informative presentation of what it takes to operate the very successful Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Thank you, Lisa Dobey, Country Chair for suggesting the presentation. As he will tell you, it is the reason Past President John Thornton joined Rotary, as one of his daughters wanted to do an exchange.
We were saddened to learn that our member Gordon Lane passed away last week. Our condolences to his daughter Sarah, who is also a club member. As we have more details, we will pass them along.
Lastly, RAH had their meeting last week with a very interesting speaker from the Rescued Pets Movement. This speaker was suggested by new member Gabrielle Ramaiah - thank you, Gabrielle! RAH is looking for a new venue for their meeting, starting in November. If you have thoughts, reach out to Anthony Covington to share.
Our After Hours companion club had a great meet up last Thursday evening at the home of Kim & Jay Anderson. Our last one at their home, we thank them for their gracious hospitality while we find a new spot to meet. Everyone enjoyed learning about RescuedPets Movement, thank you Gabrielle for recommending our fabulous speaker. Clearly the topic was popular, as Kim & Jay's fur babies graced us with their presence to approve of the subject matter. President Bentley may be allergic, but they care not; he's their new best friend.
We got to learn about the upcoming Polio walk, which will also serve as our October social. See Story below for more info. Don't forget, if you have a fabulous spot that RAH should be considering for their monthly meet up (second Thursday of the month) please let Anthony Covington know.
This year, we will be celebrating World Polio Day on Saturday, October 24 by Walking The Walk. This will also serve as our October social!
Rotarians and their families and friends from all over our District will be walking from the Galleria (Dillard's parking lot, 4925 Westheimer) to the Waterwall Park (roundtrip distance one mile) in support of our END POLIO NOW effort. Meeting time is 9:30 AM.
Each Rotarian is asked to donate $100+ to Rotary's Polio Fund between now and 10/24/26 to participate in the walk. Please donate even if you are unable to participate in the walk. And please donate more than $100 if you are able as the Gates Foundation will be matching our Polio donations with $2 for each $1 we donate again this year!
Our club is making your Polio donation extra easy this year. Just make your $25 Rotary Foundation donation as usual with your upcoming West U Rotary Club dues invoice and it will go to the Polio Fund and will be matched by our club Foundation. Or you can increase your dues invoice donation to $50 and have that matched for a total of $100. You are also welcome to donate by logging on to your account at MyRotary.org. Just click on the Donate tab at the top and specify that this donation is for Polio. You can always also give me a check (made to The Rotary Foundation) or cash and I'll send it in for you.
One last match - if you donate between $100 and $500, your donation will be matched with Rotary Foundation Recognition points to make you a Paul Harris Fellow or next level PHF sooner. The points match does not apply if you are already a Major Donor.
Please wear your End Polio or Rotary shirt to the Walk if you have one. Terry Ziegler, Rotary Regional END POLIO NOW Coordinator, will give you an END POLIO NOW shirt (X-tra large size only) to wear if you need one for the walk.
Gordon Lane may not have been a WURC member for a long time, but he was a Rotarian for decades and made a big impact while here. We are grateful for his membership in both our club and the Arch Klumph Society. Gordon will be missed, but his legacy will live on at RI HQ as part of the project that honors Rotary's Leaders in Philanthropy. The actual site is under construction, so the etchings are not yet finished, but this lovely digital display is up in the meantime. Thanks to Wayne Beaumier and Rotarian Amy Hopkins for coordinating and sharing this photo so we can celebrate Gordon's legacy together.
Early detection of cancer is critical to the success of most treatments. There are many laboratory tests intended to detect cancer, but how reliable are the results? In this talk, we will explore the world of “tumor markers,” or blood tests that are used to detect cancer before it causes physical symptoms.
Roger L. Bertholf, Ph.D. is currently the Professor of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine; the Professor of Pathology and Genomic Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital Research Institute and the Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital. He earned his B.S. (Chemistry) from James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA in 1977; his M.S. (Chemistry) from University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA in August, 1981 and his Ph.D. (Biochemistry) from University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA in January, 1985. He completed post-doctoral fellowships in Clinical Chemistry and Neuropathology Research before accepting an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology at University of Florida College of Medicine in 1988.
After nearly 30 years on the faculty at University of Florida, Roger moved to Houston in 2017 to become the Medical Director of Clinical Chemistry at Houston Methodist Hospital. He holds professorships in the Houston Methodist Research Institute, Weill Cornell College of Medicine, and Texas A&M College of Medicine. He is author or co-author of over 60 peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature and over 40 book chapters, and he has edited two books. Since 2012, he has served as Editor in Chief of Laboratory Medicine, a biomedical journal published by the American Society for Clinical Pathology and Oxford University Press.
