THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN
Minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 31, 2002
Acting President Jack Murray opened the business meeting at 10:00 on a warm, sunny morning with 118 members present. Total membership is full at 500, with 33 waiting. Guests Ivor Chapman and Monty Dingee were introduced.
Membership Concerns: Harry Caesar is still at Waveny. Jack Farrnakis is making a slow recovery from knee surgery and is still experiencing much pain.
Activities: Bowling will resume after Labor Day. Bridge will play for sure, at Lapham. This is the last call for golf signups for next Tuesday at Redding CC. Racquetball had 4 this morning. Tennis averages 14 per day, Mon-Tues-Thurs- at 8:00. Trailblazers will walk the West Rock Ridge on June 12th. The 4F's will meet June 28th at some location as yet not specified.
Couth: Ron Seger repeated the SMC trip payment policy: no check, no priority. The Goodspeed trip in June is full, but the jazz festival for July 2nd is wide open and easily expandable. On August 15th we ride the Port Jefferson ferry, if the checks materialize. In September we race at Belmont. "Oklahoma" in NYC in October is overbooked, as is a November visit to West Point.
Announcements: Vance Ward will be running an orientation session for new members, at 8:45 AM on June 14th, just before the regular meeting; officers and committee chairs will explain the workings of this mystical organization. Bill Sessions told us that the Advertiser's Friday morning discussion sessions have been rescheduled from 10:00 to 9:00, in order to better accommodate SMC members. And at the break Bob Shafter requested that we forward suggestions for speakers to Jack Murray at his e-mail: jfmurray@optonline.net.
Resident Humorist pro tem Vern Thunem recited three more of the infinite number of light bulb jokes. He then gave two examples of the power of the word "GOD", as applied to miscreant small boys and an unsuspecting burglar
Speaker: Bob Shafter introduced Gus Burriesci of the American Caner Society, who spoke briefly of improved cancer survival rates and said that today's program was intended to be informative, not to frighten. He next pointed out literature available on the membership table and then turned the mike over to Chris Boynton, also of the ACS. Chris enumerated the four major areas of activity of the Society. The first of these is research; the ACS funds about $120 million in research annually, which is a massive sum except in comparison with the $2.2 billion cancer research budget of the government. A second major endeavor is education, aimed at prevention through life style choices, or at early detection. A third field is advocacy, trying to influence decisions about funding, insurance, and privacy issues. And finally, the ACS supplies services, such as counseling and all manner of support groups. It is the largest volunteer charitable organization in the U.S. Chris recommends that anyone touched by cancer call first the support and information number 1-800-ACS-2345.
Chris then introduced Bob Evans, a Connecticut attorney for 42 years and a prostate cancer survivor. Bob traced his own cancer experience, from the shock of diagnosis through evaluation of treattment options to his decision for surgery and his determination to be a survivor. He pointed out that prostate cancer strikes one of every six American males, and he urged early, regular and thorough testing, a message which seemed to resonate with his audience.
Peter Schurman - Assistant Secretary