5 October Program

Captain Paul Del Rio
Coast Guard Auxiliary Update
ORC again welcomes Paul to the podium as he has addressed members in previous years. He owns Paradise Cove Marina. In addition Paul teaches at Worldwide Marine Training and is a charter and delivery captain. Paul and wife Rose live in Paradise Shores where he enjoys sailing and the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Paul’s employment history has included the areas of real estate, restaurant management, and maritime activities. An old salt Paul is familiar with the Atlantic (Maine to Florida) and the Eastern & Western Caribbean. He is familiar with sailboats up to 65’ and offshore trawlers up to 45’. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from New England College and has studied aviation marketing at Worcester College.

There has been a rise in recreational boating fatalities documented in a 2008 Coast Guard publication of safety statistics. The fatality rate, a measure of the number of deaths against the number of registered recreational boats, increased from 5.3 in 2007 to 5.6 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational boats in 2008. During this time, the Coast Guard recorded 709 deaths, 3,331 injuries and approximately $54 million dollars in damage to property, stemming from 4,789 recreational boating accidents. Operator inattention, careless or reckless operation, no proper lookout, operator inexperience and passenger or skier behavior rank as the top five contributing factors to recreational boating accidents. Alcohol consumption continues to be of major concern in fatal boating accidents and is listed as the leading contributing factor in 17 percent of the deaths. Rear Adm. Kevin Cook, the Coast Guard’s director of prevention policy, noted “The 2008 report shows a clear link between safety and boating education by highlighting that only 10 percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had received boating safety education. In addition, two-thirds of all fatal boating accident victims drowned; and of those, 90 percent were not wearing a life jacket.”

Update on Dinner Dance
To Benefit Alzheimer’s Research
Circle 10 Gallery, Croakertown and Village Hardware will be distribution points for tickets to the 31 October benefit.

Missouri Rotarian on TV reality Show
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Sam Clifton asked the producers if he could do the program without being known. “I didn’t want the media attention. But then I thought about how great it would be to get other people in front of the camera, especially guys in the construction business who’ve been going through a rough time,” says Clifton, a member of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, Missouri.
More than 600 skilled laborers — some unemployed and many from competing firms — volunteered to help build a 3,300-square-foot home in just six days starting 14 July. The episode aired Sunday evening as part of the show’s seventh season on the ABC Television Network.

A Book not to be missed!
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope
Discarded motor parts, PVC pipe, and an old bicycle wheel may be junk to most people, but in the inspired hands of William Kamkwamba, they are instruments of opportunity. Growing up amid famine and poverty in rural Malawi, wind was one of the few abundant resources available, and the inventive fourteen-year-old saw its energy as a way to power his dreams. “With a windmill, we’d finally release ourselves from the troubles of darkness and hunger,” he realized. “A windmill meant more than just power, it was freedom.” Despite the biting jeers of village skeptics, young William devoted himself to borrowed textbooks and salvage yards in pursuit of a device that could produce an “electric wind.”

“An inspiring tale of an African Cheetah–the new generation of young Africans who won’t sit and wait for corrupt and incompetent governments-or vampire states- to come and do things for them. Here is one who harnessed the wind to generate electricity for his village-on his own.” (Professor George Ayittey, Distinguished Economist, American University )

” In this book, the spirit, resilience and resourcefulness that are Africa’s greatest strengths shine through…. a remarkable story about a remarkable young man and his inquisitive and inventive mind.” (Amy Smith, founder, D-Lab, MIT)