September 2:    CURT HENRY DISCUSSES HIS BIKE RIDE ACROSS THE U.S. FOR POLIO PLUS.

September 9:    CLUB ASSEMBLY.

September 16:  JIM WELSH.  MINE SUBSIDENCE IN WESTERN PA.

September 23:   ROTARY IN REVIEW.

September 30:   KIRWAN HEIGHTS FIRE DEPT.

Our Guest Speaker on May 27th was Suzanna Masartis, Vice-President and Executive Director of the American Liver Foundation.  Suzanna was a good sport as she had to defend herself against all of the liver and onion and liver pate jokes that were going around the room.  Suzanna spoke about the various liver diseases, such as, cirrhosis and hepatitis A, B & C.  She also told us that the liver is the largest internal organ in the body and that its primary function is detoxification.  

Ron Cehelsky and J. J. Guida of Baby Boomers & Beyond Realty were our guest speakers on May 20, 2010.  Baby Boomers & Beyond is a branch of Airport Realty that specializes in handling the problems that senior citizens often face every day.  This could mean having to sell their home and moving into alternate housing or trying to find an economical way to stay in their current home.  Ron has a team of unpaid specialist,  ranging from home care providers to attorneys that act as consultants to their customers.   

Erin Tipping of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library was our guest speaker on May 6, 2010.  Erin talked about adult literacy and how many illiterate adults across the country hide their inability to read from their very own families. They do this by avoiding certain situations that would expose them or by creating clever excuses.

Pictured here is our club president, Diane Karcz, along with Erin Tipping from the Andrew Carnegie Free Library.

Dr. Michael Kavic and his wife Pat were our guest on April 29th. Michael and Pat own the Michael Stephen Kavic Winery which is located on Campbells Run Road in Carnegie.  They currently make 12 different types of award winning red and white wines. 

Robert Levine from Levine Design was our guest speaker on April 22, 2010.  Robert Levine designs custom jewelry and does jewelry appraisals as well.  Robert told us several stories about being commissioned by the NFL to design a special Super Bowl ring as well as designing jewelry for several unnamed celebrities.

Matt Aleisio was our guest speaker on April 15, 2010.  Matt has been a college football official for the past 18 years. He currently works as an umpire in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Colonial Ivy and Patriot Leagues .   Matty told some funny stories about dealing with college head football coaches. Matt has worked the Harvard-Yale game twice as well as every round of the NCAA National Championship Series.

Matt worked his 200th Division I game this past season as a college football official.  This must mean Matt's very good at what he does or that these football leagues couldn't find anyone else crazy enough to stand in the middle of a football field trying to avoid getting run over by 285 pound linebackers.   

Gary Lobaugh and Tony Emanuele from the Pennsylvania American Water Company were our guests today. Gary told us that our water supply comes from the Monongahela River and that their company has two plants that help filter our water: Hays and West Elizabeth. Gary also mentioned that tours are available and that our water is better than EPA/ U.S. government standards.

Our guest speaker on April 1, 2010 was Gary Lobaugh, from the Pennsylvania American Water Company. Here he answers an excellent question posed to him by Ruth Forsyth about what has been the impact of the Marcellus Shale drilling to the PAWC and to our drinking water.  Gary told Ruth that the PAWC has benefited from the large amounts of water that has been used in their drilling and that they have noticed some hardening of the water that they get out of the Mon River.  Gary isn't sure if the drilling is directly related to the hardening of the water.

Our guest speaker on March 25, 2010 was Pittsburgh Tribune-Review sports columnist, Kevin Gorman.  Kevin covers a variety of sports for the Trib, including Pitt Basketball. 

Kevin Gorman is shown here answering questions from the Rotary audience about Duquesne University's decision to cut four college sports and whether Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon would leave Pitt to go to a Pac-10 school. 

The Pittsburgh Tribune Review's Kevin Gorman gave an excellent talk on the current state of sports in Pittsburgh. However, we ran out of time and I didn't get to ask him about the Penguins chances in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On March 18, 2010, our guest speaker was inbound Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, Barbara Bonamassa, from Bologna, Italy.  Babara came to study at Pitt in August and will be returning to Italy in April.  She is currently doing lab work (molecular therapy for cancer treatments) at Pitt.  So far, Barbara has visited New York City, Niagara Falls and will be visiting Washington D.C. in April, in time for the cherry blossoms. 

Barbara told us that the weather in her hometown of Bologna is usually warm.  She had never sen anything like the 40 + inches of snow that we had in Pittsburgh in February!  She also told me about Italian food.  I recommended a few places in Pittsburgh for her to visit before she headed back home.  Her Rotary Ambassadorial scholarship is valued at $25,000 and she didn't have much time off for sightseeing.

Joe Zgurzynski, a second generation beekeeper, who operates a farm and a business on Dorseyville Road in Fox Chapel, brought some tools of the trade with him at today's meeting.  The props included a bee smoker, protective hoods and movable hives.  Joe explained that the frames used in moveable hives have to be built to exacting specifications to keep the bees from filling in the spaces with propolis, which would glue the bees into the hive. Smokers are used to calm the bees. 

Joe explained how the colony operates as an organization, keeping the center where the queen is laying eggs, at exactly 95 degrees Fahrenheit, summer and winter.  Queens can lay 1000 eggs a day, giving the colony the ability to reconstruct itself quickly, if damaged by a bear.  The sting of a bee releases a chemical that causes more attacks by other bees.  Bears will eat the honey but skunks will actually knock down a hive and eat the bees!  Joe stated that beekeepers are the best line of defense against Africanization since they quickly recognize the changed behavior of a hive, so that Africanized bees can be destroyed.  Joe also said that the reason for a colony collapse is unknown, although pesticides is the leading theory.

One of our newest members, Joanne Letcher, owner of J & L Travel in Carnegie, was our guest speaker on February 4, 2010.  Joanne told us how much she enjoyed working with Southwest and Continental Airlines compared to their competitors. She also mentioned that Italy (the Tuscany Region) is her favorite travel destination.  Joanne went on to say that cruises are doing well now, especially to the Caribbean Sea and the European rivers such as, the Danube and the Rhine.  Mexico and the Dominican Republic have been solid vacation spots, as well.  Joanne also owns For Ladies Only Travel. It's nice to have Joanne back in our club after a ten year hiatus.

On December 17, 2009 , Mary Lear and the Carlynton High School Choir Ensemble, entertained the Carnegie-Collier, Greentree and Bridgeville Rotary clubs.  The 50 students performed ten holiday songs, including "The Hot Cup Of Cocoa" song.  Once again, it was a great way to start our holiday season and to close the 2009 Carnegie-Collier program schedule.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Columnist, Brian O'Neill, was our guest speaker on October 29th.  Brian discussed his newest book, "The Paris Of Appalachia: Pittsburgh In The 21st Century".  Brian also talked about the need to reduce the size of the Pennsylvania State Legislature, The Pittsburgh Promise as well as, the likelihood of Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh merging in the future.

Brian O'Neill was our program today and Brian discussed his first book to be published, "The Paris of Appalachia: Pittsburgh In The 21st Century".  I finished reading the 145 page book in two days and I must say, it was quite interesting.  The book goes into Pittsburgh's population loss over the years, its population density, our ethnic neighborhoods, urban sprawl and Brian's love of living on the North Side of Pittsburgh.  Brian captures the essence of Pittsburgh and its citizens with honesty and humor. Yes, I've lived in the same house for 52 years. Yes, I've had an out-of-towner follow me 10 miles in my car so that they wouldn't get lost. Yes, I've waived to total strangers driving by and I've also opened doors for countless people I didn't know.  To me, that sums up a Pittsburgher.  Help a stranger find their way or help  a neighbor by raking their leaves.  Not because you are asked to but because it's the right thing to do.   

WTAE-TV sports anchor, John Meyer, was our club's guest speaker on October 15th.  John paid his first visit to the Carnegie-Collier Rotary Club and got his picture taken with his Uncle Rich.  John spent the past three years working at KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa.  John beat out over 400 applicants to become the new #2 sports anchor on Channel 4. He joins Guy Junker at the station. John discussed some of his more memorable flubs on live TV as well as some of his experiences in dealing with today's athletes. 

Rick Miller, A.K.A. Abraham Lincoln, was our guest on October 23, 2008.  Rick is an Abe Lincoln presenter and he spoke to us today about the 16th President of the United States, Honest Abe. He looks good for 200 years old!