The Hanover Rotary Club met virtually on Tuesday, Oct 20, 2020 beginning at 12:00 noon.  The meeting consisted of 37 members and guests.  Our guest speaker was John Nanni on the topic of Rotary’s Polio Plus Program.
 
 
 
Additionally, John will be co-hosting  World Polio Day Saturday Oct 24, 2020 as per the information below:
This is the World Polio Day Telethon that I will be co-hosting on Saturday, October 24th between 10:45am and 2pm.
 
The registration is on DACdb thru Zone 33 but Rotarians outside of Zone 33 can register as a guest.
 
 
 
Many RI Leaders will be speaking, including:
RI President Holger Knaack RI Past President Ravi Ravindran Senior Rotary International Leaderships Speakers, Music, Auction Items
 
 
Sincerely in Rotary Service, 
John A. Nanni
President Chris opened the meeting at 12:05 and Karen Nelson led us in the Pledge and Prayer.
 
ATTENDANCE:
37 people joined the meeting including John Nanni, our speaker, Carol Ferguson, and our 8 students of the month.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Chris Helt - Please consider virtually attending the District Foundation dinner on Thursday November 5, 2020.  It is free but they are asking you to consider a donation.  One added benefit for us is that Dr Jess Socrates will be awarded with a special commendation for his work with Operation Braveheart in the Philippines.  Come out and support Jess!!
Ralph Jodice - expects that he will be calling on various members over the next few months to give a brief  “Rotary Minute” to benefit our Students of the Month.
Greg Staub - there will be a bike ride on the Cumberland Valley Rail Trail, Shippensburg Comfort Station, 51 E Fort St Polio fundraising event this Sat. Oct 24.  Riders leaving between 8:00 am and 10:00am.  Pre registration - https://Rotary 7390.org/event/Ride-to-eradicate-polio
Christy Lucas - reported on various events in which  the Delone Interact Club is involved.  (More on these activities separately on the website)
 
PROGRAM: John Nanni on Rotary’s Polio Plus Program
John described the 3P’s in his life - Polio & Covid-19; Post Polio Syndrome; Polio Plus
Polio/Covid19
     John told the brief, tragic history of the advent of the Polio epidemic in the U.S.  He outlined some of the similarities between Polio and our current Covid19 Pandemic - isolation of victims, separation from family and friends, contagion, closures, remote learning, and the uncertainty of why some people were affected and others not.
 
Post Polio Syndrome
     John shared his personal experience with polio, contracting it as a child, successfully overcoming many of the symptoms to lead a largely normal life, and finally seeing it return much later in life.  Symptoms of Post Polio Syndrome include fatigue, weakness, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders, & memory issues.
     He also stressed the importance of vaccinations especially leading to herd immunity to protect those who cannot be vaccinated.
 
Polio Plus
Actually began in 1985 with Rotary.  At the time there were about 350,000 cases.  By 2020 these cases number in the hundreds.
Due to tremendous air travel diseases can spread anywhere in the world in 24 hours.
Immunization for ANY disease is critical.
the Plus in Polio Plus stands for all the communicable diseases that can be stopped with proper immunization.
Rotary’s fundraising goal is $50 million per year.  We exceeded that this year which means that amount is tripled to $150 million due to matching funds from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
John also spoke about another interesting fundraising initiative called The World’s Greatest Meal.  More
information can be discovered at wgmeal.com.
 
 
NEXT WEEK’S PROGRAM - YORK CO ELECTION AND VOTER UPDATE