Announcements
(notes provided by the unconventional and unorthodox Paul Conforti)
Beginning Feb 5th: CU Sunrise Rotary’s version of the popular game show Beat the Clock begins in which each meeting a contestant (club member) will have 60 seconds to answer a randomly chosen question as that questions pertains to their life experiences and Rotary in particular. Our first contestant will be Harold Adams. Harold, come on down!
Mary Hodson is looking for book mentors. Please contact her if you’d like to mentor books.
Rod Roberts announced two upcoming events: First, on at 6pm on Friday, March 6 we will participate in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Bowl-a-Thon. See Rod to get on a team as a bowler, an alternate or a cheer leader / beverage runner. Second, on Saturday, March 7th we would like to participate in Read Across America (stay tuned for more info on this event).
Program
Mary Hodson introduced our speaker Mosbah Kushad who is an associate professor of crop sciences at the UIUC. Professor Kushad is a native of Libya and his talk was about his native country: its culture, Libya’s current state of affairs, and in particular the extensive amount of ancient Roman ruins one can find in Libya.
Libya is a country of 6 million people with a landmass about the size of Alaska. Libya’s population is 80% Arab descent, 9% Berber, 6% African, 3% Tuareg, and 3% other. There are approximately 140 tribes each separated by the tribe’s own region/city. Libya has the largest segment of the Sahara Desert, and there are no rivers in the country.
Libya has many notable ruins from the Phoenician and Roman eras. The most extensive ruins are Leptis Magna, a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Leptis Magna is located in Khoms, 81 miles east of Tripoli, on the coast. The site is one of the most spectacular and unspoiled Roman ruins in the Mediterranean. Professor Kushad’s slide show contained spectacular photography that he took during a visit he made there with his family. (see email forwarded from Paul).
Professor Kushad hopes that someday Libya’s historical assets will be made available to tourism. The political climate is currently unstable, and oil revenues are such that the need to develop tourism as a revenue stream does not exist.
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| Feb 5th | Feb 12th | Feb 19th | Feb 26th | |
| Introductions | Cary Woolard | Kris Young | Harold Adams | Curt Anderson |
| Invocation | Molly Delaney | Ata Durukan | Bruce Hatfield | Mary Hodson |
| Greeters | Cary Woolard | Kris Young | Harold Adams | Curt Anderson |
| Reuben Chambers | Paul Conforti | Molly Delaney | Ata Durukan | |
| Song Leader | Keith Brandau | Alan Chalifoux | Neal Chamberlain | Reuben Chambers |
| Notetaker | Perry | Penwell | Hodson | Lintner |
| Rotary Minute | Harold Adams | Curt Anderson | Laura Auteberry | Oktay Baran |
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UPCOMING SCHEDULE
February 5th – Nathan Montgomery, Executive Director, Salt & Light Ministries
February 12th – Barbara Gillespie-Washington, found and leader of Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO)
February 19th – Dr. James Leonard, CEO of Carle Hospital, will discuss the challenges with health care in the future
February 26th – Sam Banks, CEO, Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club
March 5th – TBD
March 12th – Brian Adams, Illinois Archaeological Survey, will discuss Civil War Archaeology in Champaign County
March 19th – TBD
March 26th – TBD
April 9th – Denise Martin will discuss Cradles to Careers
April 16th – TBD
