2-9-2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha

The Feb. 9, 2012 meeting of the Rotary Club of Chickasha opened with a prayer, pledge and songs.

Prayer concerns included Bill & Janice McVey and Jerry Mottinger.

Announcements included a reminder that the board would meet 2-15 at First Christian Church and that First National Bank would holding a fundraiser on 2-10 for Anita McCoy to help defray medicals expenses.

Don Atkins, a visiting Rotarian from Norman, invited our club members to attend a Celebration Dinner on March 3 honoring Ron Burton, who will become Rotary International president in 2013. Reservations are $50 per person and are needed by Feb. 27. The event will be held at the Postal Training Center in Norman.

Two Rotarians were honored for becoming Paul Harris Fellows, including Cody White and John Mosley. Three club members were recognized for continued giving to the Rotary International Foundation, including Stewart Fairburn for being a Fellow +1 and Elmer Kuntzand Bill McVey for being Fellows +2. Rotarians are named Paul Harris Fellows for their contributions to the Rotary International foundation.

Mark Tibbetts was Rotarian of the Day. 

Our guest speaker was Wayne Elisens, a professor of botany at the Universtiy of Oklahoma. who spoke about plant usage among the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Tribes in Southwest Oklahoma.

He said ethnobotany is the study of the relationship between culture and plants.

He said there are four primary categories of plants that the migratory tribes used on the reservations established between 1867 and 1901 in SW Oklahoma

The plant categories are edibles, material, ritual/medicinal and personal care.

Research has about 164 plant specified were utilized in some fashion by the Native Americans. 

The meeting adjourned after recitation of the Rotary 4-Way Test.