With the tap of the bell, President Robin Smith opened another exciting meeting at the Las Vegas Fremont Rotary Club!  We pledged our allegiance to the flag, tried to improve upon our singing skills and were led through the inspirational moment by Colleen Malany Braid who shared these words from Audrey Hepburn:

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.  For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.  For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.  You will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself and the other for helping others."

Moving on to our next order of business, we welcomed our guests, who included:

Jim Camburn, President Elect of the Summerlin Rotary Club   Ovik Banerjee, guest of Past Pres. Drew Levy

                                                               Maria Ochs, guest of Pres. Robin

President Robin recapped RI's Polio eradication mission reminding us all of the importance to continue to give. Polio anywhere is a threat everywhere and ending this disease will be a generation-defining moment for us all.  Asst. Gov./Past Pres. Linda Bertuzzi is spearheading our Club's own March to End Polio on Saturday, October 19th on Fremont Street, which is the precursor to District 5300's end of the March on Saturday, October 26 in San Bernardino.  See the Committee Report box below for details on participating and donating. 

PE Jim of Summerlin Rotary invited us to Summerlin's Toast to Talent on Friday, November 1st at Garfield's Restaurant, beginning at 5:30 pm.  Tickets are $50 a person and sponsorships are still available. 

Announcements included a reminder of the joint meeting with Las Vegas West Rotary on Tuesday, October 15th at the Canyon Gate Country Club.  This is a regular meeting so please make sure to attend.  Santa Clothes is Thursday, December 5th and the Foundation has approved the sponsorship of six kids.  Thanks to volunteers who have taken the six spots - Pres. Robin, Larry Goldstein, Marilene Nevins, Colleen Braid, Past Pres. Jim Main and AG/PP Linda.  The cost is $100 per child - if you or someone you know is interested in participating, contact MaryAnn Avnet.  Lastly, in the absence of Membership Chair Michael Woodfield, AG/PP Linda auctioned of 4 tickets to the Easter Seals Cheers to Chocolate event on Saturday, October 19th, which we received as part of our Club's Chardonnay sponsorship.  Past Pres's Albert Guida and Scott Stolberg purchased the tickets for a total of $250 and those funds will be donated to Easter Seals through the Foundation.  One additional note, Roger Bishop has taken a leave of absence for a few months and hopes to return in January. 

And we can't forget the liveliest part of our meeting - cross-fines..........To Past Pres. Geoff Holmes for not recognizing Steve Gibson at the gym; to AG/PP Linda for blowing off a dinner invitation from the Gibsons and for doing the wave during our song with Larry Goldstein; to Larry for revealing he has a bow tie collection and providing no other details (do we really want any?); to the Gibsons for continuing to forget we are musically challenged and finally to PP Albert for being tardy for his sign-in duties.

Our speaker this week was especially important as our Club, District 5300 and Rotary International focus on the eradication of Polio during the month of October.  Frank Fiorello was diagnosed with Polio in 1955 at the age of 9, just weeks before he was due to receive his Polio vaccine at school.  At that time in Polio's history, not much was known about causes and cures.  He was initially treated for meningitis, but after extensive testing, ultimately diagnosed with Polio and placed in a temporary facility for Polio victims.  His only visitors were his parents who were required to wear protective gear and masks.  Outside of Frank's hospital room was an Iron Lung standing by..... just in case.  After several weeks of hospitalization he was released and allowed to return home, where desperate for a cure, his family sought any possible treatment.  Therapies included being wrapped in warm, wet army blankets for 30 minutes by a doctor who became known as The Blanket Man, to healing via Oral Roberts tv sermons and finally chiropractic care.  Sadly, with no cure, Frank was confined to his wheel chair and returned to a special needs school, until the government mandated that children like Frank be mainstreamed into regular schools.  Frank continued through public school, graduating with honors in High School and moving on to graduate from the University of Illinois.  During his early years of Polio, Frank immersed himself in art, which he credits for helping he deal with his disease.  He has chosen to "look forward in his life with no regrets."  In February 2001, after operating Fiorello's Pumpkin Patch in Illinois for 18 years, Frank and his wife Sue moved to Nevada where Frank now spends his time painting and writing for their publishing company, Pumpkin Patch Publishing.  His pumpkin-themed children's books are available on Amazon.com.   Frank and Sue were especially grateful for being our guests on this particular Tuesday as we shared the story of RI's commitment to end Polio and he hopes to join us on Saturday, October 19th on Fremont Street.  President Robin presented Frank with an "End Polio Now" button with Colleen, who had just returned from a Polio immunization trip in India, standing alongside.  And, a special note of gratitude to Frank and Sue for their generous donation of a book to the Las Vegas Fremont Rotary Reading Room at the Agassi Boys and Girls Club.