To my fellow Rotarians,

It has been quite a busy few weeks but things are finally settling down.  I realize that it has been a few weeks since my last editorial and I hope that this week's column serves its purpose as an editorial "tidbit" of my make-up meetings.

As I mentioned in my prior correspondence, I have been attending the Cy-Fair Rotary meetings.  The Rotarians I have met are a great bunch of guys and the meetings similar to that of our club. 

One week, we had a "Stress Management Specialist" - Kelly Smith (kellyspeaks@pdq.net) - who spoke to the club regarding stress management.  Her presentation addressed the causes of stress and laid out strategies on how to deal with stress.  Kelly also emphasized therapeutic strategies such as "massage therapy" from a therapist (as opposed to a massage "parlor").  The presentation included a group exercise on how to reduce stress, which resulted in everybody feeling relaxed by the meeting's end. 

The other week, another speaker gave a presentation on one of the club's projects - Boys and Girls Country-- a Rotary sponsored program that assists troubled children abandoned by their parents.  Though most of the children there do not have a criminal record, they are taken in at a crucial time before they would commit a crime thereby deterring them from having criminal records.  The success of the program is shown through the many students who have undergone the program, completed college degrees and has gone on to pursue noble professions.

Lastly and most recently, last weekend,  the "Boner Open" - a local radio station (Rock 101 - www.klol.com) sponsored a Golf Tournament for the benefit of research to prevent birth defects.  IP Mike Ryland was one of the co-sponsors to the event and was kind enough to invite Rotarians to participate in the tournament by way of fellowship.  The event also had a fundraising auction and dinner that brought in additional funds for the project (might be a good idea for our club, too).

The Rotary Club of Cy-Fair is similar in many ways to our RCSFLU as I compare every new Rotary experience I have had with RCSFLU where I started.  My conclusion is Rotary is universal.  --- AAA

Siglet of the Week:  Before you open your mouth to speak, please make sure it's an improvement upon the silence.  -- Anonymous         

As is our normal custom, the weekly meeting of RCSFU started precisely at 12:30 P.M. Rtn. REGGIER "filled in" as the Master of Ceremonies and PP ANDY was the Day Chairman. After the ringing of the bell, Pres. JEROME officially called the meeting to order. PP MARC led us in the opening prayer with perhaps some new theological insights. We also had the usual reciting of the 4-Way Test. Rtn. JONG then led us in the Pambansang Awit.

There was no special entertainment provided for the day's meeting. PVP ARNOLD officially welcomed our guests and celebrants. Today's celebrant was one of our senior PP's, PP ALDY and his wife Rosita are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Not only did we have a double scoop of ice cream, but PP ALDY announced that he was making a 10,000 pesos donation to the rebuilding of the Rotary Service Center. It is without saying that our special thanks and appreciation go out to PP ALDY for this very kind gesture.

The Friendship Session was conducted by PP FERDINAND. Since our Guest Speaker was from DOLE, the fining questions dealt with worker's benefits and things related to the Labor Law. Pres. JEROME'S time was very informative as it usually is. He brought us up-to-date on the latest "happenings" in the world of Rotary.

Rtn. FREDERICK had the honors of introducing our Guest of Honor and Speaker, Atty. Florence Marie G. Ulep, Mediator-Arbiter, DOLE Region I. She was very courageous coming to speak to a ;room full of men, being the only woman present. Her topic was concerning gender issues and women's rights, including domestic violence and equality of women. My compliments go out to our Guest Speaker. She did a wonderful job speaking on a very important topic that should and must be addressed by all of us.

After the open forum, the always observant PP KIT gave the appropriate response. On, by the way, I will be gone for the next few weeks. Rtn. REGGIE will be "filling in" for me. I am sure that he will do a great job.