President Liz Quinn opened our meeting with the Pledge, and My Country Tis of Thee and John Walker gave the prayer.  Guests introduced were Tom Masser,  Lt. Gov.-elect of Division 17, and a member of the Mid-Montgomery County Club, and Jim Resnick, our guest speaker. Great to see Shira Oler back  recovering from the flu.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

Chairperson Bob Quinn of Rebuilding Together (formerly Christmas in April) announced that on Saturday April 26 from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, we will be working on a house in Wheaton which will need painting, landscaping and general cleanup.  This is a big project where you can put your gloves on and really work to help this family.  Contact Bob at RPQuinn@aol.com or on his cell number, 301-785-2600, if you can work all day or take the morning or afternoon shift.  Pat Tiede will be there with a variety of donuts and we'll also have coffee for all the hard workers.  This will be a joint effort with other local organizations.

Tom Masser reminded our club about the musical 1776 at Olney Theatre on Sunday, April 27 at 2 PM. Bring your kids and family. Ads are needed for the program- camera ready art can be emailed to Kelly Boswell: kdboswell@comcast.net. This is Division 17 big fund-raiser for the kids with cancer go to have fun at Camp Friendship.  We need your support!!!

Scott Brewer announced that on May 1 and May 8. Our speaker will be William Offutt, a noted author and Montgomery County resident who will give us a look at the lives of countless individuals and businesses that make up the WOODMONT TRIANGLE community in the early years. Flyers will be distributed to Bethesda merchants and we hope interested parties will attend and find out about our club and benefits of membership.  Contact Pat Tiede at patriciatiede@comcast.net if you plan to attend and bring a guest.

HAPPY DOLLARS: 

Debbie Van Horn, HD for guest Tom Masser. Sue Kirk, HD for speaker Jimmy Resnick.  Shira Oler, HD glad to be back.  Pat Norry, HD also glad to be back. Tom Masser, HD for being guest at our club. Pat Tiede, HD for our club who won the award for Best Website for 2006-2007.  She picked up the ribbon at the Potomac Region Mid-Winter Conference held at Leisure World on March 29.  Bob and Nancy Cressy also attended from our club.  Bob Quinn, HD for speaker Jim Resnick.  John Walker, HD for our speaker who has known him since he was a child.

SPEAKER: 

John Walker introduced our speaker Jimmy Resnick from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. There are 2,000 total personnel in the department including 1,200 career and 800 volunteers who respond to 120,000 calls with an average of at least 2 vehicles for each call. For a car crash on the Beltway they will send 2 vehicles on each of the inner and outer loops of the Beltway- because victims are often unsure of which loop they are on. The GPS on cell phones help but are not precise enough to pinpoint the inner versus outer loop of the Beltway. Some of the requirements for personnel include the ability to walk down 15 flights of stairs to a Metro tunnel with full gear and proceed along the tunnel to a wrecked train, disable the power, stabilize the rail car and cut open the car if needed to lead people to safety. Other extremes include freezing night time conditions and chemical spills.

Everyone should have a plan to exit their home via two different exits (in case one is blocked) and to agree on a close-by location (school or even a neighbor's porch) to meet after exiting. Resnick stated that his own house does not have a fire extinguisher. It is more important to focus on getting out of the house first. PREVENTION is important and can be done to prevent calling 911.  For example changing the batteries in your smoke alarms when the change is made from daylight savings to regular  time.  Reading instructions that come with cleaners or machinery. Montgomery County schools have two code levels for threats. Code Blue is for an event that is in the neighborhood but not an imminent threat to the school- a severe thunderstorm or a police chase in the neighborhood. Code Red is very rare- this is when an individual/group is in the school and threatened harm by a shooter. An energetic and great talk.

Tom Masser won the 50/50

 George Patterson, editor