In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria our club has been inundated with offers of help from other Rotary clubs throughout the US in the form of donations or volunteers.  In the past six months our club members have distributed food and personal items to several communities, coordinated the distribution of 55 tons of baby/senior citizen food worth over $450,000 throughout the island including the communities in Ciales, Villalba, and many other Rotary Clubs and relief organizations, repaired a roof of a community center in Cupey Sur which serves over 200 citizens, installed a water filtration system in Comerio, distributed over 400 solar charges and lanterns worth $9,000 throughout the island involving several Rotary clubs, and helped individual families in Adjuntas and Canovanas with new mattresses and household items.  This week your board approved the purchase of 52 mattresses to help a community in Loiza which was flooded by the waters of the hurricane.  We visited this community a few weeks ago to assess their situation and determine their most urgent need.  We also purchased a generator to help a school in Cupey which educates children with special psychological and physical needs.  Our club also has several projects that we are working on including rebuilding houses in Vieques which were destroyed by the storm, installing water systems which serve communities that are not connected to PRASA, as well as several global grants, focusing on economic and educational development. 

Thanks to the generosity of other Rotary clubs our club has the resources to support new projects dealing with hurricane relief.  We need your help in finding additional worthwhile projects which will help the neediest of communities throughout Puerto Rico.  Please present your projects to our Hurricane Relief Committee members headed by Bob Bolte, Gerry Cumpiano and Ray Erb. 

Even better, consider joining this committee.  We need all the help that we can get to improve the lives of our fellow citizens in need.

Ken

The 100th Anniversary Committee, consisting of Past Presidents, will meet on Tuesday, March 13, at 11:00 AM in the AFDA Club.

Attending our meeting on Tuesday were Magda Baggett, Past District 7730 Governor; Joe Running, Asst. District 7730 Governor, both from the Fayetteville, NC Club; Jay Sollis, Asst. District 7730 Governor from New River, NC, and Branka Panic, Duke University Scholar from Serbia.  Joining them were President Ken McGrath, Past District 7000 Governor and President Elect Jose M. “Pepito" Rivero, and District 7000 Governor Elect Juanita Morris.

Major General Felix Santoni, Civilian Aide Emeritus to the Secretary of the Army for Puerto Rico, gave an overview of the tremendous help the Armed Forces gave to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.  15,000 servicemen were at Fort Buchanan to help in the repair and flow of supplies to the stricken island despite damages done to the military installation, itself.  4,500 Reservists volunteered to help operate the Support Center. Unfortunately, much of this assistance as well as aid from Federal Agencies did not get much recognition.  General Santoni was there to ask us to be sure to pass this information on.  Our speaker is a native of Arecibo. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance, University of Pennsylvania.  His Army career spans sixty years which includes the Command of Fort Buchanan, He serves on may Boards and, at present, General Santoni is a United States Military Academy Liaison Officer.  Another fine program arranged for by Speaker Chairman, Warwick Butler.