Elkhart Rotary Club Meeting February 24, 2020

President Candy Yoder opened the meeting and introduced Donna Belusar who shared positive words, led the Pledge, and Four-Way Test to start the meeting.

Welcome Table greeter Rob LaRoy introduced today's guests including: Visiting Rotarians John Wingfield from South Bend Rotary and Brian Alwine from Asheville, NC. Guests of Rotarians included Jenna Ellis, Mackenzie Murphy, and Kim Dukes of CAPS (Melinda Konrath-Fielding), Macy Troyer (Monica Abair), Sarah Homan (Tom McArthur), and Honorary Rotarian Marie Drake. Welcome to ALL, we hope you can all join us again some other time!

Three new members were inducted by Aileac Deegan today! Pictured from left to right they are: Jenna Ellis, Mackenzie Murphy, and Macy Troyer; Melinda Konrath-Fielding (sponsor for Jenna and Mackenzie), and Monica Abair (sponsor for Macy Troyer). Jenna, Mackenzie, and Macy provided short introductions to the club - - WELCOME TO ELKHART ROTARY! We encourage you to jump right in and get involved with committees and programs that help to make our community (and world!) a better place in which to live, work, and play.

Announcements and continuing club reminders for February 24:

• Jim Rieckhoff reported that discussion with the Elkhart Morning Club are coming along very well and we expect formalization of our new relationship by the new Rotary calendar year beginning July 1. Please consider attending an Elkhart Morning Rotary Club meeting, see Eric Garton or Jim Rieckhoff for that schedule (it varies through the month, but is always held on a Thursday at either 0700 [no breakfast] at Elkhart Health & Aquatics or at an offsite location at 5:30 p.m. - stay tuned for more information!)
• Eric Garton provided a quick online run-through of how to setup a monthly, recurring contribution to the Rotary Foundation at Rotary.org. Simply start by clicking the 'donate' button in the upper, righthand corner, or click here.
• Peter Norton for the Grant Committee: This spring's COMMUNITY GRANT APPLICATIONS are now available on our website and will be accepted through March 13. Please share this with not-for-profit leaders you know. This is what we raise funds through weekly fines for!
• Peter Norton - - Cancer Resources for Elkhart County could use your volunteer help at their upcoming Leprechaun Leap on March 21. Contact Peter directly if you'd like to get involved
• REMINDERS: 
  • The Marketing Committee is looking for events and volunteer opportunities among our NPO members! Are you a Rotarian who works at a not for profit who needs volunteers or help promoting your events that have volunteer opportunities? Let Erin Wagler know, the committee will help spread the word through our Rotary Facebook page.
  • The Marketing Committee is also looking for help managing the club's Facebook page (and seeks others to help out with the Marketing Committee); have some skills and interested in helping?... let Erin know! 
• Meeting Reminders: 
  • An upcoming Caring Committee Meeting on Monday, March 16 (third Monday) at 11:15 at the Matterhorn before our Club Meeting.

Today's speaker was introduced by Eric Garton, Matt Rudkin, Chief Meteorologist WSBT 22 News, who presented "How's the weather outside?" a fun look at Matt's job including a Q&A session among the club.

 

About Matt:
Matt Rudkin is the chief meteorologist at WSBT 22 News. Growing up in Warsaw, he is no stranger to our area. Matt delivers the forecast on WSBT 22 News at 5:30, 6, 10 and 11. Matt is also the host of Weather 101, which airs daily on WSBT 22 News First at 4. In addition to his on-air presence, you can also see Matt's forecasts in the South Bend Tribune and hear them on Sunny 101.5, News Radio 960 WSBT, Live 99.9 and Z94.3. Matt is a certified Meteorologist with a Bachelors Degree in Atmospheric Science from Purdue University. His career began at the National Weather Service. From there, he worked at WLFI-TV in West Lafayette, IN as well as WSIL-TV in Carterville, IL. Matt is a member of the American Meteorological Society and holds the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist certification, the highest distinction given to a broadcast meteorologist.

 

Here are a few of the slides Matt presented, including:

 

Green Screen Technology - - and why you should NOT wear green when delivering a forecast on TV!

 

 

Production room - - WAAAAY too many buttons and screens for most people to think about!

 

Examples of how on-screen graphics are made and selected for live TV.

 

Visual interpretation of how Polar Vortexes happen.

 

Did you know the Great Lakes are currently only 17.6% covered in ice right now? ON AVERAGE, ice coverage this time of year is OVER 60%!

 

Matt talked about the difference between "weather" and "climate", topics often misunderstood and interchanged incorrectly.

 

Yes, global temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations are higher than they've ever been in the earth's history. The earth's average atmospheric air temperatures are, shown by scientific data, undeniably warming.

 

 

Thanks, Matt, for a very informative presentation! If you'd like to learn more about WSBT or Matt's role as Chief Meteorologist, visit their website.

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• March 2: Krista Bailey, Sustainability: What, Why, How
• March 9: Terry Mark, ECCVB, Vibrant Communities - Well Crafted!
• March 16: Jamison Czarnecki, Director of the Elkhart Environmental Center, Sustainable Elkhart: A Project of the Elkhart Environmental Center
• March 23: To be announced 
• March 30: Dinner at the Matterhorn, **5:30 p.m.** A fun evening gathering of the Elkhart Rotary Club - details to follow! RSVP to Eric Garton