President Brandon opened the meeting at 12:24 pm and Bob Miller, in full uniform, led the pledge and prayer.
ATTENDANCE: 28 members were in attendance which is 35.89% of our members.
Guests included 6 Students of the month for Dec; speakers - Doug Mastriano & Leah Krichten; Joan Miller guest of Bob Miller; Frank Fuhrman, and Janise Bankard, guest of Kathi Fuhrrman. (Mark Albright and Kasey King are both members now but not on the members list yet)
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Brandon - Ralph Jodice is still looking for volunteers to attend classes in area schools as part of Junior Achievement. Talk to Ralph if you are interested.
Brandon - there will be a meeting immediately following this Rotary meeting open to all members to discuss fundraising ideas for the Club.
Bob Miller - a Pearl Harbor remembrance ceremony will be held at 2:00 this afternoon at St Matthew's Lutheran Church. It is open to the public. Bob will be participating as part of the Honor Guard.
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: Students for December each told us a bit about themselves - school attended, school activities, and future plans.
INDUCTION OF A NEW MEMBER: Brandon inducted Mark Albright into membership with the Club. Terry Gingrow stood in for Mark's sponsor, John Bailey.
BIRTHDAY WHEEL: Those members who have Dec birthdays were invited to spin the wheel to see who would have to pay dollars to the Club. "Fines" subsequently assessed on the unlucky members were paid to our Treasurer.
PROGRAM: Statem Senator Doug Mastriano, State Legislature Update
Doug has had along career in the Army and comes from a military family. After his service career he felt compelled to enter politics to put and keep our country on the right track after seeing so many things that need to be addressed. Throughout his talk he wove in facts and incidents from different military conflicts and leaders including WWII, Pearl Harbor, and the Civil War. Through these stories he emphasized values important to him so we would better understand where he stood on various issues.
He also emphasized that he would like to see both parties work together to solve problems rather than be so polarized. Neither party is ALL right or ALL wrong but they to come together for the good of the State and ALL people in the State. "Harrisburg" is often unaware of and out of touch with what life is like for average residents throughout the State. The legislature should be here to serve people, not the other way around.
Some of the current issues in the Legislature he discussed included -1) Election Reform. After the last Presidential election many people have lost faith in the system being a fair one and we have to restore that faith. Voter I.D. ,transparency, mail-in ballots and poll watchers all need to be addressed.. 2) Examining and possibly changing the Governor's Emergency Powers, particularly in the wake of the Covid Pandemic. 3) Energy Production in the US as a whole and specifically in PA. We have the 2nd largest natural gas resource in the country. We are reaping rewards for this production as many other energy producing States are. 4) Taxes - i.e. cigarette, gasoline and property taxes. Not only these high but often are not going towards the stated purpose of the tax. 5) The Gen Assembly has automatic pay raises while average citizens do not. 6) Capping insulin costs.
We appreciated his time to come and speak to us today.
