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NEWSLETTER

Cedar Rapids Downtown Kiwanis Club

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The meeting was called to order by President Kelly Moore.  30 Members in attendance.

Guests:   None

Birthdays:   Mel Rhodes 9/3

Anniversaries:     None

Announcements: 1. New Officer Installation will be at a noon meeting at Elmcrest on September 24^th.  Savings in lieu of subsidizing the meal will be available for donation to a needy cause.  Spouses are welcome as usual;

2. Dan Breitbach continues coordination of the Per Mar security staffing of Hawkeye football games;

3. Kevin Carlson is working on including Cedar Rapids Kiwanis Club archives on our web site, and recommends all visit the site;

4. Dan Breitbach locked in March 14 for our Farmer’s Breakfast – Xavier, as usual; 

Happy Bucks:  Joe Schmall celebrates the 27 anniversary of Bradley & Riley, and paid the fine.  Joe has been with the Firm for 24 of these years; Chuck Wehage noted that Arthur Collins’ 99th birthday is coming up on 9/9; Dan Breitbach threw in a buck for Mel Rhodes’ birthday; Mike Poggenklass celebrates his 8^th anniversary; Bob Dye’s grandson received his bionic leg; Mel Rhodes’ grandson became a Marine; Joe Schmall looks for a win when his son’s team, Universary of Nebraska –Omaha on the weekend.

Speaker:  Steve Buttry, recently appointed editor of The Gazette, spoke about the job of creating a new business model for newspapers.  Young folks get a lot of data from electronic sources, classified advertising is gravitating to the Internet, on line ads are cheaper than print.  The Gazette has a healthy presence on line with about a hundred thousand page views per day (which bulged to 1.6 million during the flood).  The Founding Fathers blessed journalists with special protections in the Bill of Rights, and that comes with a responsibility to thrive and provide the watchdog function for our society.  So The Gazette must be a print AND digital publication.  The company must do this to continue being a great paper.  New challenges include live blogging – up to the minute news on line, while maintaining credibility and authenticity with editorial oversight. 
   
Upcoming Programs: Next week –John Locher The Elder – Green Square Meals.  On September 10, Superintendent Dave Marquardt of Cedar Rapids Community Schools will address the club

Word for the day:   anodyne: serving to alleviate pain/not likely to offend or arouse tensions – innocuous.

Submitted:   Chuck Wehage