PITTSFIELD ROTARY CLUB  10-1-08

Visitors:  Michael Boren with wife, Julie;  Mike Reed, Sny Island District Supervisor with Joe Dierker;  Jonathon Shoenherr and Adam Lawson, Farmers State Bank, with Murray Martin.

Student Guests from Unit 10:  Drew Boshardy, who is in Swing Choir, Spanish Club (and visited Mexico this year), Student Council, Math team, band, Jazz band, and plays a great game of football.

Joelle Shoenherr, is in National Honor Society, Math Team, Golf, Saukettes, Swing choir, also went to M3exico, accompanies chorus, and is active in the lst Christian Church Youth Fellowship.. (She is also Keith Smith’s granddaughter)…..

October Birthdays were plentiful:  Eldon, Chuck, Dawson, Chris, Helen and Harry.

Johnson Stillwell reported he had talked to former Rotarian Dick Alspaugh’s wife, Sue, and she reported that both she and her son had survived IKE, but their daughter, Debbie, was living on the coast of Texas and lost everything.

Program:   Johnson Stillwell introduced our State Representative, Jim Watson, who just returned from serving with the IOF in Iraq.  He was there from February to September 2008.

Jim said ‘we take a lot for granted….we can drive a car, get ice water when we want it….in Iraq, several lived in a small trailer, 2 to a small room, and  had to walk 200 yards to the bathroom…..

Iraq’s citizens do not act as people do here….they may not show up fo9r meetings, and if they do, often just walk in and out during the session.

Jim’s job was to assist in building Iraqie confidence, and wrote by-laws for Iraq…..

He met with Obama while there, and learned his goal there was to focus energy on the most important issue vital to Iraq’s future.

Jim said he learned that given the right people and right goals, everyone can work together.

He told how much help he had had from both Republicans and Democrats while he was gone, and he really appreciated it, for both himself and the people he serves.

Jim emphasized  that Iraq IS getting more stable, and that we’ve gotten about as far as we can go in helping the.

They have to do the job themselves.

He also showed excellent pictures of the country and people over there trying to assist the Iraq citizens.   Excellent program Jim!!!  We enjoyed learning more about what’s going on in Iraq.  Glad you are home.