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Last Monday Past District 6630 Governor Jack Young from Brunswick, Ohio near Cleveland was a guest at our meeting. He drove 650 miles to pick up 500 shoeboxes and 72 layette bags

They are tobe handed out April 24-25 at their district conference. Young has been to Nicaragua four times.

The inbound Group Study Exchange Team from northern Italy will make two more presentations in our area in the near future.

                They will be at the district conference Saturday, May 2 at Kirkwood Community College and at the Waverly Rotary club May 14.

               If you plan to see them in Waverly, please call ahead to make sure there is room. That club meets at the Waverly Golf and Country Club at noon. The secretary is Paul Schaedig and his phone number is 415-8570.

You can click on the Itzhak Perlman Concert link on the left side of our website to stay connected to this major Rotary event.  We are anticipating the performance and the foundation dinner will SELL OUT - so be sure to read the details and get your reservations in soon.

This is part of a biography of the Maestro compiled by the KennedyCenter for the Arts.

Itzhak Perlman was born in Israel in 1945, the son of a barber. Undeterred by his early bout with polio at age six, the young man persevered in his music studies and excelled at the ShulamitAcademy in Tel Aviv, soon he was performing with the Israel Broadcasting Orchestra.

He emigrated to the United States in 1958, and in 1959 he was featured in "Ed Sullivan's Caravan of Stars," a showcase of gifted young artists where the future master came out and played "The Flight of the Bumble Bee" as well as the demanding final movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. He won a scholarship to the JuilliardSchool, where he studied under the legendary Dorothy Delay and Ivan Galamian. His professional debut came in1963, at Carnegie Hall, and his international career was launched.

He returned to Israel in 1965 for a season of concerts, making his British debut the same year at Festival Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra. Never forgetting his early encouragement, from his teachers as well as from Isaac Stern, Perlman, from the beginning of his career, made a habit of encouraging young talent and has over the years held a variety of teaching posts, including master classes at London's South Bank Summer Music Series beginning in 1968, the Meadowbrooks Music Festival in 1970, and close involvement, alongside his wife Toby, in Perlman Music program for young people, beginning in 1998. On the Fourth of July, 1986, Perlman was one of twelve first-generation Americans to be honored with the Medal of Liberty in recognition and appreciation of his contributions to the United States. In December 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Perlman the National Medal of Arts.

"Why such affection for Perlman?" asked Tim Page in The Washington Post. "To begin with, he reciprocates." Perlman's fellow Kennedy Center Honoree Isaac Stern once described the younger violinist's talent as "utterly limitless." Veteran critic Andrew Porter, writing in The New Yorker, echoed the feelings of countless fans when he described the experience of Perlman in performance as "everything one wants a violin sound to be."

Perlman's tone is warm and rich, the very definition of what has come to be known as the Russian-Israeli school of violin, whose generous influence on American music-making is difficult to overestimate. Like the greatest and most sensitive singers, Perlman deploys his ravishing instrument with the inflections and drama of a universal language. Perlman means every note he plays. His profound musicianship and technical prowess, his command of the most delicate articulation as well as the most staggering raw power, this violinist's boundless generosity, exuberance and sheer love of music make for the sort of artistry any age is fortunate to boast.

Regenwether Honored for Sales Performance

                        Bob Regenwether has been honored by Farmers National Company for his real estate sales performance last year. Bob won the Silver Eagle Award.

Gallagher III Wins Boy Scout Award

                     E, J. Gallagher III was one of six people to be honored by the Winnebago Council of the Boy Scouts with its Silver Beaver Award. The Silver Beaver Award is presented for distinguished service to young people within a BSA local council

1. There is a new page under "About Our Club" that displays a bar graph showing membership levels over the past 6 years.  Are we up or down?  Click here to find out.

2. The highlight of our Rotary calendar will happen this November, as the 4 Cedar Valley Rotary Clubs will host a one-night-only performance of world-reknown violinist Itzhak Perlman.  His perfomance at the Gallagher Bluedorn will be preceded by a foundation dinner to raise awareness and funds for the Rotary International END POLIO NOW campaign.  New information and specfic directions for reserving your advance tickets can be found here.

3. A complete classifications list is now available on our website.  It is easier than ever to find a fellow Rotarian who provides a specific service.  You can also use this page as a recruiting tool to show potential members the amazing group of people included in our ranks.

President Mason and Dave Buck would like your help providing new web content on a weekly, monthly or one-time basis.  If you would like to be a part of our growing website, please email Mason.

Monday's program by Stacy Van Gorp was very emotional as she explained the rare disease that struck her four-year old twins shortly after birth. You'll have a chance to help raise money for research this Sunday, April 26 at 12:30 PM at a walk in Cedar Falls; it's one of four walks this weekend in Iowa.

Details about donating or walking can be found on the internet at http://www.cff.org/UploadedFiles/Chapters/iowa/chapterfiles/PreWalkNewsletter.pdf.

Fellow member Bill Roths submitted this "Opportunity To Serve" (OTS): The City of Parkersburg needs our help. The playground in the park was destroyed by last year's tornado and they are set to rebuild it better than ever.

NEW INFORMATION 4/23/09: Thanks to all for volunteering to erect the playground at the swimming pool park, later to be renamed Miracle Park, on the west side of Parkersburg April 22-25.  All building will be from 8 AM until sundown.  Lunch, dinner, and snacks will be provided.  If you have a socket set and/or a cordless drill, you may want to bring them.  

The playground is located on Colfax Street across from the Veteran's Memorial Building.  Parking will be at the swimming pool parking alot and the cemetary.  We are trying to avoid parking at the Vet's Building as there is a wedding there at the end of the week.  Once you arrive, we request that you sign in and and receive a name tag.  All Parkerburg volunteers will be wearing neon vests so you can ask them questions throughout the day.  

Amy Truax is the contact person for volunteers. Her email is ajtruax@aol.com and her phone numbers are work 319.243.2111 and cell 515-371-0251

There are many needs in our community, some of which simply need extra hands to get a project completed.  These "Opportunities To Serve" will be posted on our website, and I urge you to consider volunteering your time as a Waterloo Rotarian.  Click the "EVENTS" link at the top of the page, then look for "OTS".  You can register for these events online if you login.

-Mason

Symphony hopes to collect used instruments this weekend to give to kids who otherwise would never get a chance to play one. So please look in your attic for that violin that's gathering dust.

            The Waterloo Cedar Falls Symphony in cooperation with the Waterloo Public Schools is urging parents to donate "gently used" musical instruments so they can be loaned to kids who might otherwise never know the joy of playing one.

The symphony is launching a donation drive at its Saturday, April 25 concert, Oz with Orchestra with performances at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.  One hour prior to the start of each concert, donations will be accepted in the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center lobby or during regular office hours at the Symphony office (8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday).

This year's Duck Race to raise funds for the Rotary Foundation will be held at the District Conference May 1st & 2nd.  If you bought a $5 duck this month, you have a chance to win $500 towards your Paul Harris Fellowship.

Our goal was 220 Ducks, but this year's Duck Meister, Tom Arthur, with assistance from Chris Hurley and Sue Beach sold 226!  For the past couple meetings, Rotarians were greeted by splashes of yellow at the registration table, smiling faces, and exciting drawings for cash and lottery tickets.  Tom, Chris and Sue did an amazing job surpassing this year's goal 1 week early - please let them know their club service is appreciated.

The Mason City Sunrise Club has organized this annual event, with all proceeds going to the Rotary Foundation, benefiting programs like Group Study Exchange, Youth Exchange, Polio Plus, and Matching Grants.

Our district has contributed almost $150,000 to the Foundation through the Duck Race.  In fact, our own Bill Robert has "won" 2 fellowships!

Be the first to email me this Rotarian's name - I'll reveal his identity in the next Reporter, so stay tuned!  

Hovey knocks our socks off every time he leads our club in song - his trademark is taking a fmailiar tune and re-working the lyrics to suit our program that day.  Congratulate Hovey on 46 years of club service!