- Good afternoon. Welcome to the Bloomington Rotary Club's weekly celebration of service. I'm Steve Wicks,
- and I'm honored to serve as your president this year. Please silence your electronic devices. On this
- day in history, December 9th, 1854, Alfred Tennyson's poem, Charge of the Light Brigade, was published
- in The Examiner. There's not to make reply. There's not to reason why.
- theirs but to do and die into the valley of death, wrote the 600. And on that cheery note, Sandy Keller
- will deliver today's reflection. Gee, Steve, I just don't know what to say about that introduction.
- Hi, everybody. I'm Sandy Keller with My Sister's Closet. I would like to tell you about something that
- happened about three weeks ago.
- I was looking at my calendar and alert came up and it was a notification saying that this was one of
- the dates that Charlotte and I had picked out for an intimate fundraiser using her four cases of wine
- that were still in her flat. And we were going to do this after she arrived at Bell Trace with chocolate
- and cheese and wine. It was going to be a wonderful evening. And of course we know what happened after that.
- You know, Charlotte has known me for over 27 and a half years since I started My Sister's Closet, but
- it was really over the last three years that she started to really get involved and notice what was
- happening with our organization. I started meeting with her and Cheryl Munson, who were trying to tell
- me that this move was happening because the convention center was going to move forward no matter what.
- Very hospitably, Tracy Yovanovich hosted both Charlotte and I at her home once where she made this fabulous
- bread and lunch and wrote down a list of people that I should consider contacting to be on a capital
- campaign board. None of whose names I knew at all. And they insisted that I needed to move forward and
- take myself out of helping clients with the programming and being so involved with running the organization
- if this was going to happen.
- And I walked out of there thinking that this was the most impossible job and there was no way I was
- going to be able to do this because I had no experience doing it at all. We'd been running my sister's
- closet as a mostly self-funded business for this entire time. And where was I going to get this money
- for a capital campaign beyond what our monthly mission was all about? But Charlotte kept meeting with
- me. She kept calling me up in the middle of the night saying that she had an idea.
- We kept coming over to her house when we found out that we had found the building. She was so excited.
- She insisted that Marcy and I put her in a car and drive her over there for a tour because she wanted
- to see firsthand what was going on. And then pretty much every day after that, until she moved to Beltrace,
- I was hearing from Charlotte in one way or another.
- And she laid out this plan of things that she said that if I put faith in it, things would start to
- happen. Grants would come in. People would show up. And they have shown up. They've shown up on teens.
- They've shown up with their talent. They've shown up with their resources. And she will forever be in
- my head. But I love her. But we are still going to do this event sometime. We'll put it on the calendar.
- You'll all be invited.
- In the meantime, we have a gala that we are planning for February 13th, which is a Friday, which is
- not bad luck. But it will be all about chocolate and the Woolery Mill and dinner and dance music and
- great client stories. Charlotte was big on helping us in ways that I did not know that she could. Like
- when the Ukrainian refugees came in, she still had enough
- Russian language that she made them come feel welcome when she stopped by to make sure she was there
- for that appointment. And so many other ways she helped us out that I can't even name in this very short
- three minutes.
- I would just like to let you know how much I appreciate her and how we are moving forward. We have no
- money still, but we are moving forward with resources to money. And our lease is ending in June, as
- many of you are asking. And last week, when it was 19 degrees out, it was 47 degrees in that building,
- even with the heat on. So we've got a lot of things to do. But I'm very grateful for her and all the
- ways that she has done things to help these women that we serve. And I appreciate all of you.
- Thank you. Thank you, Sandy. I think probably most of us in the room at one point or another experienced
- moving forward with no money. Hank Walter will introduce our guests today. Good afternoon. That's a
- tough act to follow. We have just one guest here on site.
- Lindsay Giacomino is a guest of our AMIC. Lindsay, welcome. And do we have any guests online?
- We do not. We do not. OK. Thank you, Hatt. Hank. Birthdays, we have several to celebrate.
- On the 10th, club director and program committee chair, Michael Shermis. On the 11th, club executive
- assistant, still working a few hours for us, Natalie Blaze. Also on the 11th, Kate Johnson. On the 12th,
- club director, Jim Sims. Also on the 12th, Greer Carson. And on the 13th, Daniel Matthews. Just one
- anniversary to celebrate. On the 11th, Trent Deckard, who's sitting there in the back, nine years with Rotary.
- Announcements the DEI committee plans to meet after the club meeting today Meeting is open to DEI committee
- members as well as club members who would like to serve on the DEI committee Patrick Smith is right
- there. So he'll kind of group people together near the end of the meeting We're also planning to maintain
- the zoom link so Leslie as our zoom host today if you could
- Kind of make sure that those on Zoom who want to stick around for the DEI meeting, they can do so. They'll
- just have to stay on the same Zoom call. Bloomington Rotary Foundation committee is also meeting at 1 p.m.
- here after today's meeting. Remember the 23rd and 30th of December, no club meetings. So unusual that
- we miss time, but this is typically when we'll miss two weeks.
- The union, I think, is closed for some of that time, so no Rotary Club meetings on Tuesday the 23rd
- and Tuesday the 30th. Wonder Lab, on Saturday, December 13th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, December 14th,
- from 1.30 to 5 p.m., Wonder Lab invites you to celebrate the chilly magic of the season with a weekend
- full of winter-themed science fun for the whole family.
- Come ready to investigate all things snowy and cold. The IU Rotorack Club has scheduled a fundraiser
- for this Thursday, December 11th, 4 to 8 PM at the Chipotle at 420 East Kirkwood. 25% of the sales proceeds
- during that time will be given to the IU Rotorack Club. So if you're not going to the holiday party
- and you don't have dinner plans on Thursday,
- think about ordering from the Kirkwood Chipotle between four and eight, and you'll help the IU Rotorack
- Club. I believe we had eight club members who rang bells this past Saturday at Kroger East and Kroger
- South, and we have all our spots covered for December 13th, so thank you very much. Last announcement,
- Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours and Holiday Party is on the 18th, Thursday,
- at the German American Bank, the South Branch on South Walnut. As members of the chambers, a member
- of our organization, we're a member of the chamber. So Rotary Club members are invited to that free
- of charge. Now I think we're ready for the mystery rotarian. Okay, for those who don't remember the
- rules, I'll put up several clues from the mystery rotarian.
- If you know the answer, put up your hand. Don't shout it out. Those of you online, if you know, put
- up your hand electronically. Here's our first clue. After earning degrees from the universities of Maryland,
- Tennessee, and Louisville, this Rotarian discovered Bloomington by accident after getting lost following
- a visit to Brown County State Park.
- Okay, we have quite a few who know it so far. All right. Once again, don't shout it out. Second clue.
- Before joining the Bloomington Rotary Club, this individual was a member of a Rotary Club in Laguna
- Niguel, California. As a BRC member, this Rotarian has become a Paul Harris plus one fellow, a generous
- donor in general,
- and an active supporter, particularly of the club's international projects and local refugee efforts.
- So put up your hand if you know. Those who put it up the first time, you can put it up again. OK, about
- the same number. OK, third and final clue. This Rotarian has served as the president of the local society
- of the Friends of Music and the Monroe County Medical Society.
- Before retiring to North Carolina and subsequently Chicago, this club member established and ran Volunteers
- in Medicine here in Bloomington. Okay, lots of people. And our Mr. Rotarian this week, Dr. Raj Dhali.
- And Raj, I'm sure you're online. I don't know what you can see, but there are lots of people clapping for you.
- And I think Trent and Sally were the first two that I noticed, but there are several over here as well.
- Did you guys have it right? Okay, excellent. A little bit more about Raj. He is one of our regular Zoom
- meeting attendees. He's also served as a member of the IU Foundation International Committee, a cardiac
- rehab volunteer, and a boys club soccer coach. At one point, his volunteer efforts were recognized by
- then Governor Daniels.
- Originally from Iraq, Raj ultimately became an orthopedic surgeon. Volunteers in medicine is now part
- of Health Net, which continues to do great work in Indianapolis and Bloomington. And Health Net is an
- organizational member of this club. Raj enjoys skiing, loves to travel, stays fit through walking and
- regular gym use. And Raj is passionate about opera, music, and theater. So good job, Raj.
- Leslie, did anyone have it right online other than Raj? Yes, Martha and I had our hands up. If there
- were others, I'm sorry if I missed you. Okay, good job for you and Martha. Okay, we will move on to
- Rotary International. Here are seven areas of focus. Remember, December is Disease Prevention and Treatment Month.
- And our Happy Dollars proceeds in November and December will be given to the Rotary Foundation. That's
- Rotary International. So things like eradicating polio. And now we have a video to play.
- Behind every Rotary Project is someone who believes in a better world. That someone is you. Thanks to
- your generosity, communities around the globe are growing stronger every day. This year alone, your
- support helped fund 1,424 global grants and 468 district grants, fuelling projects that create lasting change.
- In Papua New Guinea, a midwife buddy program is creating local leaders and fostering safer birthing
- practices in even the most remote villages. In Uganda, four schools now have a rainwater harvesting
- system, delivering clean water and improving both health and education. In Serbia, a program using robots
- is teaching students the IT skills needed to be future innovators. And around the world,
- Your contributions are helping to deliver life-saving polio vaccines, bringing us closer to a polio-free
- future. Together, we are preventing disease, expanding access to education, growing economies, and protecting
- mothers and children. This vital work is only possible because of you. With your help, the Rotary Foundation
- raised more than $569 million this year. Every gift,
- Large or small helps create meaningful lasting change. The good we do starts with you. And together
- we are doing good in the world. Thank you. And once again, the Rotary Foundation pledged $50 million
- a year for the next three years.
- combined with the Gates Foundation, $100 million for the next three years in the efforts to eradicate
- polio. We have time for happy dollars. Tracy has graciously stepped up short notice to be our camera
- mic operator. So do we have everyone, anyone who is happy today? We better.
- I'm happy for the Quariaman Men's Choir. Saturday night we had very few people, or because of the football
- game, but on Sunday we had a rousing crowd, and also on Saturday I saw Mohammedi family, refugee family
- that we helped, and they are doing so well thanks to our help. Thank you, happy dollars. Who, okay. Welcome.
- We have Leslie online with her hand up. Oh, sorry. Hi, I have Happy Dollars. I just got word that my
- dad made it through surgery. He had aneurysm in his aorta. So very, very happy that just got word of
- that. So I'll be donating Happy Dollars. I'm giving Happy Dollars because I was happy with that video.
- And it reminded me of our students that
- applied for scholarships for Rotary this past time. I think seven out of the 11 were doing robotics,
- which was a new area for me and new learning. And it's exciting to know that we're doing that at an
- international level as well. So I'm giving you $50 to support the foundation and all the good work they're
- doing. Fortunately, I wear flats.
- I'm happy that my friend Lindsay was able to join us today. I'm happy because I'm just really thrilled
- with how our football team did. It was just fantastic. It's like a dream come true. And on top of that,
- I'm going to be visiting my grandkids out in San Francisco over Christmas.
- Do we have any more online while I'm looking internally? We do. We have Raj. Go ahead, Raj. We can hear
- you, though. We can hear you. You're good? Yeah, we can hear you. OK. I'm delighted and happy about
- our football success this year.
- I lived in Indiana 43 years. I never saw a season as wonderful as this year, particularly the last game.
- As well, there are two things I thank Steve about honoring me being the unidentified Rotarian. But the
- most important thing to let everybody know, despite me out of Bloomington,
- My route and my connection to Bloomington is strong as ever. Bloomington News is my news and I appreciate
- being part of the Rotary to keep these news coming. For that I'll give $50 for the dollar. That's awesome. Sandy?
- I have happy dollars, because on the way over here, I received a text from someone I hadn't heard from
- since I was 18 years old. I'm 66 years old, who is making a sizable gift to our campaign. And I didn't
- even know him very well in high school. I hate to say, but it was just a wonderful, wonderful thing to hear.
- That's awesome. And I have won. I will give $20 two things. One, we went to the game, and I am so proud
- of our fans and team and how classy they acted and act in winning, especially in looking at the opposition,
- I'll just say. And then secondly, I just want to make sure everyone's aware this is not so happy. In
- the Mohammadi family, Jawed was actually picked up by ICE. And I think we all know
- that he has the legitimate credentials. He is going through the process, which is required, et cetera.
- And he was picked up and taken to Indianapolis. And that's all we know at this point. But just keep
- him in your prayers, because that's really hard. So I hate to end on that note. Is there anyone else
- with happy? OK, thank you for saving me. Katie.
- I'm just happy to be here today at the Rotary meeting with my fellow Rotarians. Thank you all. That
- last one there, Katie, the last time I saw her was early in the semester. And she was telling me she
- was on her way to Bangladesh. And then after a month, and after two months, and after three months,
- I began to get a little bit concerned. So I'm glad that she's back with us today.
- Jim Griffith will introduce our speaker for today. Good afternoon. Our speaker today is Jeff Immel,
- Service to Armed Forces and International Services Director for the American Red Cross in Indiana. Jeff
- leads a portfolio that touches military families, veterans, and international communities across the
- state. His work ranges from emergency communications for deployed service members to building innovative
- of outreach programs in neighborhoods, YMCAs, community centers, nursing homes, and National
- Guard installations. Jeff is known across the Red Cross for creating bold new models that bring the
- mission closer to the people it serves. He leads the National Training Hub for SA, excuse me, Service
- to Armed Forces deployment teams in Indiana at Camp Atterbury. He's the architect behind several field-tested
- community mobilization pilots
- And these prototypes are now drawing interest from regions across the country. Jeff served eight years
- in the United States Marine Corps, is an electrical engineer, and founded and ran a drone manufacturing
- company that supported federal government customers. Jeff is a lifelong Hoosier, an amateur radio operator,
- a published author, and a student of leadership. He believes in small acts that create big impact. He
- believes in wow moments.
- and he believes that communities become stronger when people step forward for one another. So please
- join me in welcoming today's speaker, my colleague and friend, Jeff Immel. Well, thank you so much,
- Jim. I've got to say, I've been to several rotary clubs over the last several years. You by far are
- the most technologically advanced
- Rotary Club on the planet. I mean, the roving camera, that is way cool. I was briefed today as if I
- was a professional speaker. I mean, when I walked in, I mean, I was greeted and immediately I was briefed
- on lapel mic and clicker and everything else. So I hope that when I push this button that
- My presentation is going to. Oh, here it comes. It's coming up. Wonderful. I want to share some things
- with you. Some secrets behind the American Red Cross. And I would imagine whenever you think of the
- American Red Cross, you probably immediately think of what? Yeah, we collect blood.
- We teach CPR. We ask you for money during disasters. We respond to home fires. Well, I'm about to tell
- you something about the American Red Cross that no one knows about, but that we're very active in worldwide.
- And I think what we're going to find in this presentation is that the Rotary and the Red Cross have
- a great deal in common.
- This is Shaman. And Shaman has lived in a Rwandan refugee camp for all her life. She's still there.
- And 25 years ago, Shaman, living in this refugee camp with her two-year-old daughter,
- And Shaman had a pretty good idea that life was not going to change for her anytime soon and maybe never.
- And consequently, life for her two-year-old daughter was probably going to replicate her life. Shaman
- made an excruciating decision
- There was an opportunity for her to put her daughter up for adoption. And her daughter would be adopted
- by a family in the United States. It completely destroyed her. It was excruciating. But Shaman decided
- that the best thing for her daughter was adoption.
- by someone in the United States. For over 22 years, Shaman thought about her daughter every single day.
- And every single day she thought would have, could have, should have. Every single day she wondered
- if the decision that she made was the right decision.
- She wondered where her daughter was, what kind of family she was with, where did she live in the United
- States? And really, truly, was the decision that Shaman made the right decision? Well, Shaman was impacted
- by a program that is run by the International Societies of the American Red Cross.
- And it's called Restoring Family Links. And Restoring Family Links is a program that can be used by
- families and family members who have been separated because of war, because of armed conflict, because
- of political conflict. And these family members can reach out to the Society of the Red Cross in their country.
- and they can file a case. They can actually open a case, provide information about the family member
- that they are looking for. They might even have a picture. Shaman did. Shaman had a picture
- of her two-year-old daughter. She can provide information of what she knew, and Shaman knew very little
- other than her
- her daughter went to the United States and was adopted somewhere in the United States. Shaman didn't
- learn about this program until one day, 22 years after she put her daughter up for adoption, she was
- talking to a volunteer of the Rwandan Red Cross. And Shaman shared her story.
- about she put her daughter up for adoption. She wonders where she is. She wonders if she made the right
- decision. And it just so happened that this volunteer knew about the program, Restoring Family Links,
- shared this with Shaman. And so the volunteer helped her fill out all the paperwork. The volunteer collected
- the picture that she had.
- And that paperwork entered into the database of the International Red Cross. Now, the way this works
- is that we have volunteer caseworkers. Volunteer, we call Restoring Family Links, RFL. That's the acronym.
- We love acronyms in the Red Cross. So it's an RFL caseworker, a volunteer caseworker.
- And we have six of those here in Indiana alone. And that caseworker gets to play a very important role.
- Now, I don't know if any of you are old enough to remember. I am. On Saturday nights, I think it was
- on CBS, there was this show called Columbo. Columbo.
- Now, I love Columbo because it was always interesting how he was able to solve every single one of his
- cases in less than an hour with commercials by simply asking questions. And that's how we train our
- RFL caseworkers. Be curious. Ask questions.
- and they begin to collect the leads and they begin to run down the leads and they ask more questions.
- And when the family member is located, we've got a couple of options. One is that we can have the family
- member who is located, if they want to be found, they can write a letter to the family member that was
- looking for them. We send that through the Red Cross network.
- The other way is that we simply pick up the phone and they can make a telephone call if we have a phone
- number or even a video call. So that's how RFL works. This really matters. And it really matters because
- families deserve answers. We had an RFL case that was opened up about three years ago. It was a family member
- who had immigrated here from Honduras with his family. He decided to go back to Honduras and visit the
- family that was there. Little, he was calling home every day. And then one day after, after about a
- week, he quit calling home and no one was answering his cell phone. And so the family opened an RFL
- case that went to one of our caseworkers here.
- They asked questions, they searched, they collected all the information, they reached out to
- their counterpart in Honduras, the Honduran Red Cross. And that person went to work, that volunteer
- caseworker went to work, and she found him in jail. Yeah. He'd been picked up for something he did not
- do. And that caseworker in Honduras
- found an attorney that would take that case pro bono. And in less than three days, that family member,
- that brother, was out and was back in the United States. And that is the power of RFL. We have a growing
- international population here in Indiana. In Greenwood, Indiana, we have the Chin community. These are
- people who have immigrated here from Myanmar.
- Most of them have been persecuted because of their religious beliefs. Over 41,000 are here in Indiana.
- Many of them have left family members back at home. We have a Haitian Creole community. We have a Latino
- community. We have Ukrainian community.
- Afghan community that are all here. And here in Indiana alone, since 2023, two years, we have reunited
- six families. And right now we have six cases that are open here in the state. This is where we have
- a lot in common. In Rotary, you have service,
- above self. We have service above self. For us, it is humanitarian action. It is serving others, as
- I like to say, serving people on their absolute worst day. Both our organizations, well, we build bridges.
- And you build bridges through service. And we build bridges through reconnecting families.
- Here's some ways that you can help. Now, in a little bit, I'm going to share with you a QR code. You
- can scan that with your phone. That's going to take you to the restoring family links page on the Red
- Cross website. You can read more about restoring family links. I would encourage you to please share
- it within your networks.
- tell people, I learned something new about the American Red Cross. They just don't collect blood. But
- they also help reconnect families. You may know of a community leader from the international community.
- Introduce me to them. I would love to meet them. And I would love to tell them more about restoring
- family links.
- And if you're really excited about this, you can actually be trained as a Restoring Family Links presenter
- and do the same thing that I'm doing right now, simply sharing the program with your community. And
- you don't have to stand in front of a group of people. You can share that one-on-one with your friends,
- with your families, and within your networks. It's really easy to become a presenter. The training is
- less than an hour. It's all online.
- And it's really a great thing to have in your toolkit. Ah, Shaman again. I didn't tell you what happened,
- did I? No? Well, I'll tell you what happened. So that case, that case came to Indiana because
- The family that adopted Shaman's daughter lived in Indianapolis. And so our caseworker got it and began
- to work that case. It took some time. She ran down some dead-end leads and a few others. But one day
- she made a telephone call who she thought might be Shaman's daughter.
- And she began asking questions and come to find out the woman that she was talking to on the other end
- said, yes, I know that my mother put me up for adoption. I know that my mother is from Rwanda. And so
- she actually had a picture of her mother.
- And so we took this picture here and compared it to the picture of her mother. And it was a match. Oh
- my goodness. How exciting. So our caseworker immediately reached out through the network, got in touch
- with the volunteer that was in that refugee camp. And it just comes to find out that
- Everybody had Apple phones. Oh my goodness. So you know what that means, right? That means we're going
- to do a video call and this refugee camp had outstanding wifi. Wow. To see that moment. Now here is
- the bonus. Here's the icing on the cake.
- Shaman is not only a mother, she's a grandmother. That's a two year old granddaughter. Yeah.
- What a story. Wow. What a story that is. And to even be a part of that is so fulfilling.
- You can be a part of it too. Here's a QR code. You can scan this. This will take you to the American
- Red Cross, Restoring Family Links webpage. You can read all about Restoring Family Links. You can read
- about some really, really great stories about families being reunited, families that had lost track
- of each other, and now are brought together because of this.
- program. I'm going to put this back up here in just a little bit when we go to Q&A. But here's my contact
- information. Hey, if you know of someone who has missing family somewhere outside the United States,
- reach out to me because I will be thrilled to talk with them.
- I will be thrilled to guide them. I'll be thrilled to point them to the proper path. What kind of questions
- do you have for me? Sir? Oh, right here. I've got it. Oh, got it. Sir, that was such an inspiring talk
- and certainly resonated with me. I may have missed this,
- I'd like to investigate becoming a rotary volunteer. How does one go about it? Yes. So that is really
- easy. You can go on the internet to redcross.org, click on the volunteer button, and then simply fill
- it out a volunteer application. It's going to ask you, what do you want to do? Push RFL. Now an even
- faster way is, Hey, see me.
- All right. I'm going to give you my business card. OK. And then we'll get we'll get you going.
- So thank you. Thank you for that. I know I know you do a lot of work in collaboration with other organizations.
- like Americare's direct relief. I mean, there's so many of you folks that do great work in disaster
- relief. But of course, a large part of that was also the U.S. government and the role they played in
- that. And we've had a lot of cuts to various organizations as well as programs. So I'm wondering how
- you folks are managing during these very challenging times with a lot of cuts and a lot of
- I would say, increased distress, increased poverty, increased hunger, increased homelessness. How are
- you managing through these very challenging times? Yeah, the times are challenging. One thing is the
- American Red Cross, we have no government funding. So we are only sustained through donor donations.
- So that's where that comes from.
- Part of that too is, so you're aware that the Red Cross teaches CPR in first aid. So that is a profit
- center for the Red Cross. That money is a contributor to support Red Cross missions. Also, our blood
- collection also is another way that we support our mission, but we have no government funding. Now,
- one of the things that
- all organizations face, all non-profit organizations, is simply donor fatigue. Because you're right,
- there are so many organizations that are out there. One thing that we're blessed with is that the American Red Cross
- is the second most recognized brand in the United States. Does anybody know what the first most recognized
- brand is? McDonald's. Ooh, okay, so I heard McDonald's. I heard Coca-Cola. Anyone else want to try?
- Ketchup. Heinz. Are you football, Heinz? It's Coca-Cola. Yeah, Coca-Cola is the number one
- most recognized brand in the United States. And second to that is the American Red Cross. So we're thankful
- for that. I'm also thankful that whenever there is a big disaster, you'll notice, like during NFL football
- games, you'll see the crawl that goes across there, donate to the Red Cross. Do we have any questions
- online? No, we do not.
- All right, Sally. Just a clarification. Do you mean that you've never sought federal funding or you
- currently do not have federal funding? So currently we do not use to have federal fund. I don't know.
- I have no idea. I'm kind of new to the Red Cross. I sold my drone company and retired and was looking
- for some structure in my life.
- and wanted to help people on their worst day. And so here I am. This is a question I don't want to ask,
- but I'm going to. I was a volunteer in Appalachian, Kentucky when we had a flood, and I served as a
- volunteer handing out supplies and so forth. I found in that experience that there were a few people,
- a very few,
- who exaggerated their condition or said somebody would say, well, this guy never had the flood in his
- house. How much of that happens in your emergency recovery operations? People that don't really qualify,
- but they ask for help. So I'm sure that happens. I don't have I don't have any visibility into that.
- to give you a firm statistic on how that happens. I'm sorry that you saw that, and I'm sorry that happens,
- but I don't know the answer to your question. I'm sorry. Okay. I have one question. So, tagging onto
- what Jeff said earlier, with the RFL specifically and the government changes in immigration, et cetera,
- are you seeing that impact adoption or relocating each
- families? So, I'll tell you what I see. So, tomorrow, I will be at an event at the Chin Community Center
- in Greenwood, Indiana. And I work a lot with the Chin community. I work a lot with the Burmese community,
- Latino community. What I see is a sense of fear
- about reaching out to locate family members. And the reason why is because we got to collect
- some information. We got to collect information on when's the last time that you had contact with him.
- Do you have an address or a telephone number that used to work? And what we find is people
- in the international community right now
- feel some fear about sharing that information right now. So that's what I'm seeing. If I have one more
- question, can you talk about countries in the world where it's especially hard to get information? So
- you talked about Myanmar. Are there other examples where it just
- People just disappear and you can't get information. Ukraine, we have two cases right now in Ukraine,
- and these two gentlemen disappeared. We don't know where they are. So those are active cases. Iraq is
- another one that we find. Afghanistan is another one. Pakistan would be,
- those places that are the most difficult to attempt to locate someone. Now, you notice that all of those
- have something in common. All of them have recently been in some sort of war, some sort of armed conflict,
- and that's what is particularly difficult with Ukraine. So, the two people that are missing were combatants,
- They went missing sometime during combat, and now we're trying to find them. Thank you. Thank you very
- much, Jeff. Just the thought of reconnecting families is so heartwarming.
- In honor of your talk, a donation will be made this quarter to the Lake Monroe Water Fund.
- So thank you. We are a little bit ahead of schedule. And so I'm going to do something we've not done
- before that I know of, at least during my short time with the club. But we're going to have five minutes
- of open mic. If there is a member who wants to put up your hand, you'll actually have to come to the
- front of the room. So Tracy, you're good to go. Or online.
- Anyone has something short that they want to say? Hopefully it's positive, but it can be negative. So
- we have happy dollars, but those are confined to happy thoughts. But anyone who'd like to just get up
- and say something? OK. John and Jim are?
- Good afternoon, everybody. I'm John Zote, your club treasurer. It's not about a treasurer money thing.
- But I'm also on the steering committee for IU Bloomington's celebration of America's 250th birthday.
- And so just wanted to part of my job is to outreach with service organizations around Bloomington. And
- obviously, we're one. So I just want to let you know to kind of keep your eyes peeled for information about
- what the university will be doing next year when we get into 2026. If you didn't know, IU is one of
- the holders of one of three copies of the Declaration of Independence, west of the Allegheny Mountains.
- It's housed at the Lilly Library. So more to come, but wanted to make that announcement. Thanks for
- the open mic. I just wanted to say a couple of things. One, isn't it great to have a partnership with
- the American Red Cross?
- And it's so wonderful to have Jim Griffith as a member. And Jeff, that was a terrific talk. Thank you
- so much. You really speak from the heart. Also, as several of you mentioned, wasn't Saturday night special?
- I mean, honest to goodness, I never in my life thought I would live to see such a date. And, you know,
- I'm a little sad, more than a little sad that some people who
- were such big IU fans, I think of Bob Hamill and who didn't live to see it. You know, just kind of that
- part of it kind of breaks my heart. I just wanted to also maybe I'm sure already know this, but next
- Sunday night, 60 Minutes is doing a segment on Coach Signetti and the turnaround. And I don't know about
- you, but I'm planning on turning in for that. John Wertheim.
- who is a native Bloomingtonian and has worked for Sports Illustrated for years and currently works for
- CBS 60 Minutes is doing that story. So seven o'clock Sunday, unless the NFL game pushes it back, the
- starting time, but I know you'll want to join me in seeing that. Thank you very much. Thank you, Steve.
- A couple of things I want to reply to John. So we have between Glenda Murray and Jim Cachu and now John
- Zote. I feel like we're we're kind of have good connections as to the America 250th anniversary and
- and hopefully we are planning next weekend next week to induct the new director of the Monroe County
- History Center.
- So anyway, we're kind of looking for cues as to what our role as a club will be in celebrating America's
- 250th anniversary. The other thing in response to Jim's comment, Bob Hamill's son was a suitemate during
- one of my years at IU. And before the game, I got a text from him, and he was at the game and a picture
- of what he could see down on the field. So I was really happy for him and sorry that his dad wasn't alive.
- Just to tag on to what John said, for those of you who have not watched for the 250th anniversary, the
- Ken Burns special, it's very good to watch. It's a reminder of what we in this country have gone through
- over the years. This is not new news, what we go through now, and it should give you some inspiration
- that we fight for what's right. And since this is also
- close to December 7th, I would also say that one of the other things that happens every year at Christmastime
- is a group called Reeds Across America. People buy wreaths online, volunteers put them out in cemeteries.
- We first experienced this in Beaufort, South Carolina at the National Cemetery there where Patrick's
- brother-in-law is buried and nephew.
- But we do this in Monroe County in a number of cemeteries. And so if anybody is interested in helping
- on Saturday, they're hoping to have 1,600 wreaths to put out in Rose Hill, just Rose Hill Cemetery.
- But it's a huge cemetery.
- If you have time, anytime between now and the end of the year, drive through and see the wreaths and
- the red bow, and you know every one of those graves is a service member. Thank you. Thank you, Glenda.
- Leslie, anyone online have anything they'd like to say? No hands came up, but I just want to say I rang
- the bell for the first time at the Southside Kroger, and I had a blast.
- I think I talked to everybody that walked by and just want to say thank you for everybody participating
- in the bell ringing. It was quite enjoyable. Thanks for doing that, Leslie. One last thing that Steve
- caught up, if you want to come up and say something, that I'd like to say is we had a presentation,
- and I lose track of time, but it was a year, year and a half ago,
- And it was about innovative defense readiness and about a possible really big project that the military
- would do here in Bloomington. And we were hoping it would take place in June of 26. And unfortunately,
- it's not going to happen. We haven't heard if it's a no or if it's a not now.
- But anyway, that was kind of out there as a big question mark on our calendar. It would have been a
- really great thing for this community. And unfortunately, it's not going to happen at this time. Just
- want to say in remembrance of this 250th anniversary, we're pretty lucky. My mother and her three brothers
- and Indiana all volunteered within two weeks of Pearl Harbor. They served honorably and had an honorable
- discharge and two of the boys saw serious action in that war. One went into the hospital for 14 months
- in the Battle of Okinawa. So the United States has a long history
- history of serious conflict. Worse, of course, is our Civil War, where we lost more people than we lost
- in all of our other wars combined. So we're lucky to be where we are today. It inspired me to join Navy.
- And I just wanted to say, be happy that you're here.
- Steve, we have one more online for Judy Schroeder. OK, go ahead, Judy. I just want to emphasize that
- we have a meeting next week and it's going to be a really important meeting. I know that Steve was going
- to tell you this, but I'm going to get a jump on him. We have a really good expert, Bob Kravchuk on
- Ukraine, and he's going to give us his
- on what is going on there. And it will be up to the minute. So I don't think you'll want to miss this
- meeting. Just wanted you all to know that. Thank you, Judy. I also want to thank you. I was afraid there
- might be a motion to impeach, but that hasn't happened. So anyway, so as Judy said, next meeting will
- be here in the jointed room, December 16th.
- and we'll learn up to date about the war in Ukraine. So Tyler, if you could share the graphic for the
- four-way test. All right, did you have something? Yeah, one quick thing. For anyone who didn't get the
- QR code from Jeff's PowerPoint, at the end of the meeting, I'm gonna put it back up on screen. Okay,
- excellent. After the four-way test, right? Yes. Okay. So please stand if you're able. Of the things
- we think, say or do, first, is it the truth?
- Second, is it fair to all concern? Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships? Fourth, will
- it be beneficial to all concern? And fifth, is it fun?