Newberg Noon Rotary Newsletter for Wednesday, July 25, 2018
~ GREETER ~
Today’s GREETER was Denise Bacon…..Thanks, Denise!
~ Our new President ! ~
Brimming with her usual enthusiasm, our new Club President Om opened our meeting with a personal…today, July 25!…experience of “Be the Inspiration!”….as she wore her new Newberg Rotary polo shirt to an eye appointment…resulting in an opportunity to extol the virtues, opportunities and excitement of Rotary!
~ Opening Pledge ~
Kurt Walker did the Pledge today….Thanks, Kurt….
~ Visitors/guests ~
Our guests today included Nick & Chris Morace, Ashley Mumm and our speaker, Brian Snider…..a big Rotary “HELLO and WELCOME!”….
~ Rotary Moment ~
Judy Robinson provided this week’s Rotary Moment for us, relating a pleasant discovery of a large Rotary sign at a public recreational site she visited recently….saying how good it felt to see Rotary’s name publicly displayed that way! Thanks, Judy!
~ “Tunes on Tuesday” ~
Corey reminds us again of the “Tunes on Tuesday” free summer concerts during July & August at the Cultural District Plaza…for more information go to:
www.TUNESONTUESDAY.com
~ Pancake Breakfast ~
Jeff Lane reminded us of a number of open volunteer slots for both Saturday & Sunday for our Annual Pancake Breakfast jointly held with the Newberg Early Birds…. AND….don’t forget to contact Kurt Walker for Pre-Event tickets…as all the proceeds from those we sell PRIOR to the event go into the club’s coffers! Not much time left on THAT! [Editor: Remember, this newsletter principally deals with the 7/25/2018 meeting….BEFORE the Pancake Breakfast….however….I usually do not “put it to bed” until the following Monday….SO….we now have some….]
…..LATE BREAKING NEWS!! The Pancake Breakfast is now in the HISTORY books! Beautiful weather…FULL MOON!….LOTS of breakfast eaters! Terrific parade! The COMBINED ROTARY PANCAKE BREAKFAST TEAM did a FANTASTIC JOB of keeping things moving and feeding all those hungry mouths! AND…some “special kudos to some special kiddos” who helped make this event yet another great success: NHS Interactors, Macy Schowalter and Abigail Hein; Walter Want’s family,: wife: Julie, their daughter Susan, her husband Keith and their two kids, Jacob and Julia. Also helping out at nearly every volunteer position were Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts...and their leaders, too! THANK YOU ALL!
~ The Duck ~
Patrick Bancke handled this week’s DUCK “offerings”…and managed to “extract” contributions from several Rotarians present…bragging on a variety of subjects….including Shannon Buckmaster’s announcement that she and her hubby have signed up for several shifts volunteering at this week-end’s dual-club fundraiser…the Rotary Pancake Breakfast in Memorial Park….GO SHANNON!
~ Today’s Program – Artificial Intelligence ~
Today’s PROGRAM speaker was Brian Snider, from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at George Fox University ….speaking to us on AI – Artificial Intelligence….
Historically, humans have “assigned” special intelligence and powers to inanimate objects such as stone idols, etc. for millennia. But the notion of artificial intelligence didn’t get a real start until we had devices that could be programmed/mechanically directed to take on tasks normally done by humans…for normally time-consuming mathematically-based functions as an example.
With the dramatic advances in computer technologies and capabilities in recent decades, more and more “intelligence” arenas have been placed under the label of AI – Artificial Intelligence. With current informational database review capabilities equivalent to millions of books PER SECOND…. AI devices such as IBM’s “WATSON” can take a question, review its database[s], make inferences/comparisons as needed, and come up with the correct answer not only quicker than can a human…even a very bright one like Jeopardy’s favorite expert, Ken Jennings…but virtually in an eye blink or two…and with greater accuracy.
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Brian also touched on ethical questions that have come up regarding uses/abuses of AI…as well as the challenges of translating various databases from other languages into algorithms used in AI. Brian used autonomous autos as an example several times to make a point…and basically feels that on THAT subject, “we are not really there yet…but…”. A final example was of a female android/ humanoid/robot granted “citizenship” in Saudi Arabia in 2017….a human-female-appearing “robot/android” that does not have to wear the traditional Muslim headgear, and would not be granted citizenship as a human woman, but has been granted it because ”she” is not human….and the subject raises a lot of questions…. Use of AI is a daily occurrence today….but in accomplishing limited results…such as voice-activated devices, the GPS management in your family car/SUV, etc. He also mentioned a trend toward “fear-mongering” among some in discussing AI…with the expressed concerns of AI taking over…and…ultimately…turning against humanity. Brian did an exemplary job of explaining a complex subject that borders on “sci-fi” for many of us! Thank you, Brian!
~ Next Week’s Program ~
As of this writing, Corey has yet to announce a program for the meeting of August 1…any ideas/leads/suggestions – contact him a.s.a.p.
~ and Prez Om closing this week’s meeting with….. ~
President Om closed our meeting today with recitation of Rotary’s Four Way Test and her constant example and reminder to…..
~ “Be the Inspiration!” ~
Sell those tickets and we’ll see y’all at the Pancake Breakfast!
In Continuing Rotary Service,
Rick Kaufman
Newberg Noon Rotary
Newsletter Editor
[BTW…the Membership Committee met today before the regular meeting to discuss dues, meals, attendance, Rotary membership types, recruitment concepts/ideas, etc. Committee Chair Shannon Buckmaster will have a full report in the near future. Newsletter comments, additions, deletions and/or corrections should be directed to my e-mail at: rmkaufman@yahoo.com ALSO….I need a volunteer each week to help me keep track of who- says-what in meetings as even my “corrected” hearing is less-than-youthful!]
