North Vietnamese Fighter Pilot Visits Club

General Dan Cherry introduced a former North Vietnamese Fighter Pilot to our club today. His name is Nguyen Hong My and he was accompanied by his son and a beautiful Vietnamese student from WKU that was his translator. Mr. My is in town for the dedication tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. of the Aviation Heritage Park on Three Springs Road. Dan said CBS News is in town to do an interview this afternoon and also will be on hand for the dedication tomorrow. The piece will air on the evening news next week and perhaps there will also be a segment on the Sunday morning show.

Several months ago Dan was made aware of this pilot's identity. Mr. My and General Cherry were combatants in an areal dog fight over Vietnam on April 16, 1972. Dan shot Mr. My's plane down. Fast forward 35 years and a popular TV show on Vietnamese TV show finds out about these two airmen. Dan says it is the No. 1 rated show in Vietnam and it reunites long separated people. The show brought Dan over to Hanoi to actually introduce these two former combatants on the air. Afterwards Dan was invited to Mr. My's home in Hanoi and they became friends. While Dan was visiting he helped Mr. My celebrate a grandson's first birthday. Now that little boy has turned two. Mr. My is a retired insurance executive. Dan had hoped to bring him to the States and was fortunate enough to get him here for the dedication of the Aviation Heritage Park tomorrow. Dan's actual fighter plane (an F4D Phantom II) has been restored and is parked in the new Park. Please make your plans to be at the dedication tomorrow.

News & Notes for week of April 5-11

The lovely Rachelle Phillips (Miss Kentucky 2007) was present to announce the formation of the WKU Rotaract Club (a Rotary Club for the college age.) They will be here on April 22 for our program. In the meantime Rachelle says they have 17 members to start and will meet at 4:30 Wednesday April 15 at in the Cravens library on the first floor in the Center for Leadership Studies room. We are invited to attend. Sally Ray and Kevin May have worked with Rachelle to get the club rolling on campus. Rachelle is a natural leader and will be a tremendous leader of the new club.

Our own Joe Davis was chosen as the Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year. Joe is the manager of Gerald Printing.

Margaret Curtis was back home after spending several months teaching English in China. Welcome home Margaret. We're anxious to hear more about your travels.

Laura Goodman with Junior Achievement Speaks

Many of our members participate with Junior Achievement and local Program Manager Laura Goodman was at our April 8th meeting to bring us up to date. JA has programs for all school age kids from kindergarten through High School. They try to tailor their curriculum to match teaching units required by the State. Our own Bob Kleier help do a unit for Edmonson County Seniors last year and their principal was so taken by the material that he required all Seniors to take the class. Bob said they had a phenomenal response. The photo outlines several special events that JA sponsors. This year's mini Corvette rally is going to take place at the Corvette Museum. It should be fun.

The Center for Courageous Kids

Tim Turner from Scottsville is a retired GE executive who grew up on the same street in Scottsville, three blocks and worlds apart from the Cal Turner clan to whom he is not related. Nevertheless after touring Betty Turner Campbell's Center for Courageous kids Tim volunteered then became hooked on the project. His constant volunteering led to a second career. Tim did an outstanding job of bringing us up to date of this center for very sick children and their families.

Stormy Norman Murray spoke to the club a few years ago outlining their plans. The facility was based on one near Mt. Dora in central Florida started by General Schwarzkopf. Last year was the first year in operation for our Center and they served 1800 people including kids and their families from 17 states. This is one of only six such facilities in the U.S. In the summertime kids come for a week at camp when all the other kids have similar problems. During camp sessions volunteer medical specialists and support personnel are present 24/7 to assist. The $20 million facility has abundant facilities for fun but is also a fully equipped medical facility. For much of the balance of the year families come with their kids for weekend retreats. When not in use, parts or all of the camp are available to rent.

Tim encouraged everyone to come visit. Vickie Elrod said a plan is in the works for the seven clubs of our sub-district to have a meeting there. Thanks Tim for your excellent presentation.

LeRoy Underwood turned 98 this week!!!!!

He's got to be one of the oldest active members of Rotary anywhere. We are so proud of LeRoy and glad to have him among us that we stood and sang Happy Birthday. He turned 98 this week on Tuesday March 24. He is still very agile mentally and physically. The rest of us can only stand in awe and admire the remarkable genetics and good fortune that have brought an unassuming retired mail carrier this far. Thank you Lord for the blessing to our community snd our club of LeRoy and give him many more birthdays to celebrate.

Our Club Eases Hunger in Kenya

Cheryl Kirby-Stokes reported to the club that monies earned from the sale of Kenyan baskets was used to buy 7,000 pounds of grain to help feed the people of the villages that made the baskets. Elephants had destroyed the local crops leaving an already impoverished people with even less. Our club has been very supportive of Cheryl in her endeavors there and she wanted to let us know how that has translated into some very needed and humanitarian efforts. I am often asked what Rotary does, well here is one good response. Thank you Cheryl for the report and your continuing efforts in Kenya.

Dr. Andrew McMichael talks about Thomas Jefferson

Culminating a fabulous month of programs on U.S.Presidents Dr. Larry Pack brought WKU professor Andrew McMichael today. Andy spent two years in the National Archives pursuing original material on Thomas Jefferson. He had free reign of the place and opened many "Miscellaneous" boxes. He said his most revealing find were documents that revealed incidents where T.J. borrowed money from his slaves. T.J. lived in an era where he inherited the debt of his in-laws and it took him 30 years to pay that off. Later he used his own money to help furnish the White House. All in all he died heavy in debt and his assets were sold to satisfy his creditors including Monticello.

Dr. Andy talked about T.J. being enigmatic and contradictory. He told us that T.J. was a consummate politician who could embrace both sides of an issue at the same time. He was opposed to slavery but owned slaves for example. Then Andy examined Thomas Jefferson's views on religion. According to Andy, Jefferson's thinking reflected the Enlightenment philosophy of the day. Jefferson thought Christianity was an acceptable form of moral governance but he rejected all the basic tenets of Christianity. T.J. published after his presidency his version of the N.T. which ends with Christ in the tomb. The rest T.J. held as superstition.

Thank you Dr. McMichael for a very interesting and enlightening program.