4 January Program

Business Meeting
Boo – it’s a New Year! In a quandary as to the correct pronunciation for 2010? Not to worry…
The National Association for Good Grammar has decided to step in and decree that (2010) should officially be pronounced ‘twenty ten,’ and all subsequent years should be pronounced as ‘twenty eleven,’ ‘twenty twelve,’ etc.,” proclaims the association’s news release.
The National Association of Good Grammar – essentially a guy named Tom Torriglia and some friends who also paid attention in English class – say people have been mispronouncing the year for 10 years.
“NAGG is here to put everybody back on the correct path,” Torriglia said by phone from his home in San Francisco. “We lost the battle when we went from 1999 to 2000 – but now we’re hoping to win the war.” The “20″ should have been pronounced “twenty” all along, he said, pointing out that every year in the 20th century was pronounced “nineteen something.” ” ‘Twenty’ follows ‘nineteen.’ ‘Two thousand’ does not follow ‘nineteen.’ It’s logical.” (www.sfgate.com)
Wow your editor is more confident in forging ahead toward an unknown future. One less item to obsess over…

Harnessing the Energy of the Gray Matter
Here are some helpful ideas to promote your own personal renaissance. Cheers to keeping that brain nimble and quick… (Suggestions are from thedailybeast.com, a favorite web address for your editor.)
-Author and illustrator David Macaulay thinks anyone who wishes to get smarter in 2010 needs to go out and buy a pad and pencil. “Taking just a few minutes to really look at something forces you to ask questions,” says Macaulay. “Asking questions not only makes you smarter, it makes you more curious about the next thing you see which you might otherwise not even have noticed.”
-Bright Sheng, professor of music at the University of Michigan says, “Attentively listening to classical music, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, and Mahler, would definitely make you smarter.” You might also want to learn how to play their work, says Nina Kraus, a neuroscience researcher at Northwestern University: “Experience with music appears to help with many other things in life, transferring to activities like reading or picking up nuances in tones of voices.”
-The Settlers of Catan “Settlers,” as its devotees call it, is an intelligence-building German board game developing a zealous cult following among everyone from criminal prosecutors to software programmers. The game requires ruthless negotiating skills, deception, a razor-sharp memory, and a knack for rapid numerical calculations and resource allocation.

Recognition for Rotary International
This was an award-winning year for The Rotarian magazine and Rotary International’s Web site, which were recognized for editorial and creative achievement by Folio magazine. Folio is the only magazine that serves the entire magazine publishing industry and is the definitive source of industry trends and news. RI’s Web site won a 2009 Eddie Award for editorial excellence. It was named the bronze winner in the category for association and nonprofit sites circulated six or more times a year. The Rotarian picked up a 2009 Ozzie Award in the category of Best Use of Digital Imagery for associations and nonprofits. The recognition was for the January article “How to Do Good and Feel Good Doing It.” Folio’s Eddie and Ozzie awards are the largest awards competitions in publishing. The prestigious designations are bestowed on only the best in magazine and editorial creative teams.

District 7720 News
-January 27 mid-year meeting (area 8 includes ORC) at the Chelsea Restaurant, New Bern
-March 7th Rotary District against Drugs Speech Contest Chowan University
-March 19th – 20th PETS for 2010/2011 Club Presidents
-March 21st – 18th GSE Team visit from Brazil
-March 27th Four Way Essay Contest Deadline
-April 9th – 11th RYLA at the 4-H facility in Columbia
-April 16th – 18th 16th District Conference Hospitality House, Williamsburg, VA