An impressively large group of us met at the Wyndham Gardens Conference Center for the April 10 meeting. They had no piano so President Greg offered to sing solo, an offer that was met with a few groans. A better option was aadopted – Past President Ingrid Sheldon led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Victor Stoeffler’s inspiration, moving from remarks on the unpleasantness of being cold, offered an antidote to formal and frigid relations between people. “The most important generator of warmth, I believe, is another human being. A warm handshake, a welcome smile, or a generous hug all bring warmth between two human beings. Realize that YOU are the creator of warmth and it is a necessary ingredient in all useful human relationships. Generate warmth, promote it and exercise it. It is not only good FOR human beings, but it is free FROM human beings.”

President Greg thanked the people who set up the meetings and asked the Mic Runners to stand.  Guest and Visiting Rotarians were introduced.

John Eman’s designation of Volunteer of the Year by the Washtenaw United Way was brought to our attention by Jim Irwin.

President Greg wished three of us happy birthdays during the week.  Membership Committee will meet before the meeting and Peace Committee will meet at 1:30pm next week.

Chris McMullen juggled the Social Committee hat and invited us all to attend Moms, Motors and a Meal.  The Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum, a.k.a. Hudson Car Museum, will host us on Sunday, May 12, from 4:00 – 7:00 pm.  A buffet supper will be catered by The Sidetrack and a cash bar serving beer and wine will be available.  Cost is $30.00 per person, $10.00 for children under 12.  Reservations are being taken at meetings and via email: agpreading@gmail.com.  Reservations must be paid by April 30.

The District will sponsor officer training on Saturday, April 13.  It is a great chance to meet other Rotarians and share experiences and ideas for clubs.  Grant writing training will also be offered; this training is a requirement for accessing the grant program.  Contact Anne Nauts for more information: anne@annenauts.com.

DOGS – Doers of Good Services – will be Spring Cleaning at Leslie Science and Nature Center on Saturday April 13 from 9:00 – 12:00 noon.  Many hands are needed so bring your gardening equipment and pitch in.  Located at 1831 Traver Road, the Center is one of the unique resources in Ann Arbor. Contact Phil Weiss for more information: philjweiss@gmail.com.

Past President Ashish Sarkar took the podium to announce that the recipient of the 2019 Robert S. Northrup humanitarian Award will be presented to Dr. Irene Butter.  Dr. Butter is a Holocaust survivor, now an Emerita Professor in the UM School of Public Health and an internationally known and tireless worker for peace and justice.  Dr. Butter will be the speaker at our April 24 meeting, which will be open to the public.  Cost will be $15.00.  Rotary Guests, please contact Ashish Sarkar to make reservations:  adsarkar@comcast.net.

Leo Shedden gave a memorial talk about our beloved Art Holst.  Art was always quick with a joke or a quip, but he was also a serious person who felt deeply and was not shy to express his opinions.  We probably most remember his several recitals of the poem, “Freedom is Not Free” by Kelly Strong.  Leo played a video of his reciting it at our first   Stories of Service in 2015.  Leo told some stories of his time driving Art home from meetings, many of which had to do with Art’s officiating football.  Art was a popular speaker at all kinds of events, and Leo played a tape of one of these events, showing Art in typical form – naughty and puckish.  There will be a memorial service for Art on May 25 at 2:00 pm at First Methodist Church.  We will always miss him.

Notes from the Program

Dr. James Peggs retired in 2014 after 44 years of practicing and teaching family and geriatric medicine in the UM Health system.  He is very active in Physicians for Prevention of Gun Violence, PPGV, an organization of physicians, mayors and community leaders across Washtenaw County and SE Michigan.  Dr. Peggs presented many shocking statistics about the the availability and prevalence of guns in the United States.  Easy access and permissive gun laws have resulted in 42% of the civilian population having guns.  We spend $229 billion in health costs annually.  Gun related incidence is 25 times higher than in other high income countries, with 100 occurrences per day, 4 every hour in the United States.

Physicians have begun asking questions about gun availability in homes during the regular screening of patients at every visit.  They have received little push back on the question, and when the reasoning is explained, most people are cooperative.  Dr. Peggs believes opposition to gun control can be overcome if treated as a public health issue,  pointing to the struggle for seat belt laws and now growing pressure to control opioids as examples.  PPGV is advocating for several laws:

• Universal background checks;
•  Elimination of physician gag laws;
•  Restricting the manufacture of military assault weapons and large capacity magazines;
•  Funding for more research on the causes of gun violence and policies to address and remediate these causes.

Dr. Peggs points out that none of these recommendations conflict with the Second Amendment.

Some other interesting statistics include the close correlation of suicide and homicide with guns being present in the home, that 60% of gun owners say they need a gun for protection, that domestic violence often ends with a gun incident, that overwhelming percentages of guns are not secured in homes, that manufacturers are marketing guns to women – manufactured with pink steel, no less!

PPGV is working for identification of risks for gun violence when patients arrive in the ER.  Intervention is shown to be effective.  Physicians’ questions in the screening and resulting conversations have been shown to change behaviors.  He cited a Red Flag la recently introduced in Michigan.  It is a law that would permit police or family members to petition a state court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person who may present a danger to others or themselves.

Dr. Peggs’ riveting presentation was brought to an end promptly at 1:30 by his wife, our member Peg Talburtt.

President Greg closed the meeting with a reminder that “the life we lead is the lesson we teach”.

(Notes by Agnes Reading; photos by Fred Beutler.)