Rotarians Learn About Artificial Intelligence's Influence on Healthcare
Rotary Club of Scottsdale members and guests welcomed Chris Yoo PhD, president and CEO of Scottsdale's Systems Imagination Inc. (SII), to the club's luncheon meeting at Scottsdale McCormick Ranch Golf Club's Pavilion. SII, founded by Dr. Yoo and Spyro Mousses PhD, is led by a multidisciplinary team of scientists and technologists with the mission of developing industrial solutions to massively accelerate the evolution of healthcare and life science knowledge. During his introduction, Rotarian Gay Baker stated that Dr. Yoo holds a bachelor’s from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from Yale University. Dr. Yoo is an experienced leader in understanding the latest biomedical and information-based technologies – both today's innovations and the future's potential – and in developing strategic ventures to prove the value of the molecular understanding of disease for better medical decisions. Ultimately, this will support better practice of medicine for the benefit of patients. Dr. Yoo worked for large technology companies, founded several startups, and published important research findings in respected scientific journals, all in the pursuit of the application of innovative solutions for the healthcare and life sciences Industry.
During his talk, Dr. Yoo talked about the remarkable progress and challenges of managing massive amounts of biomedical data, especially in relationship to data storage, sheer size, complexity, interconnection, transfer and knowledge sharing. When talking about genomics, he noted that within the next 10 years the national effort to collect personal data will truly benefit precision medicine. He talked about artificial intelligence's (AI) growing and exciting impact on transportation, education and healthcare. Other topics covered during his talk and Q&A time were: advances in cancer detection; using one's eye retina to detect an impending heart attack or stroke; data governance and ownership; ethical, risk and privacy issues related to managing and sharing healthcare and/or DNA data; difficulties to genetically solve neurological issues; and much more.
Honoring Rotary Founder - Paul Harris
The Rotary Club of Scottsdale holds two Paul Harris Days each year, in spring and fall, at multiple meeting sites with club members serving as hosts. Paul Harris Day serves as an opportunity for club members to learn more about each other by gathering in small groups, in member's offices or other locations, just as Rotary International's founders did a century ago. "Rotating" between members’ offices is actually how the name Rotary was established.
Paul P. Harris, a lawyer, was the founder of Rotary, the world's first and most international service club. On February 23, 1905, Paul Harris formed the first Rotary Club with other businessmen in Chicago. Through Harris's vision of service and fellowship, Rotary membership has grown worldwide to now over 30,000 clubs in 161 countries with over 1.3 million members.
Club members who graciously hosted Paul Harris spring 2018 meetings were: Carroll Huntress at Sugar Bowl; Gwyn Jones at Salvation Army's Kroc Corp Community Center; Kent Hammond at Rudolph & Hammond, LLC; Jim Flynn at his architectural office; Orme Lewis at his home; Don Loose at Loose, Brown & Hobkirk, P.C. Law Firm; John Auran at Town of Paradise Valley Courthouse; David MacIntyre at Arizona Best Real Estate; Jay Franz at Buchhalter Nemer Law Firm; John Campbell at Northern Trust Bank; and Steve Mountjoy at Arizona Bank.
Rotary Club of Scottsdale's Foundation Awards $78,000 in 2018 Individual Scholarships
The Rotary Club of Scottsdale, held its annual Rotary Youth Day luncheon to honor and celebrate the 2018 individual educational scholarship award winners, parents and student advisors. Attendees enjoyed a luncheon at Scottsdale McCormick Ranch's Golf Club Pavilion. At the gathering, Rotarian Sara Crosby-Hartman announced the Rotary Club of Scottsdale's Foundation’s 2018 individual scholarship awards:
- The Bob and Louise McCall Visual Arts $10,000 Scholarship to Drew Dodge, Chaparral High School
- The Colonel Park Shaw First Responder $2,500 Scholarship to Nathaniel Zachariah, Arcadia High School.
- The Norval O. Tyler $1,000 Scholarship (facilitated by Helen and Robb Tyler) to Jose Fernandez, Coronado High School.
- The following targeted scholarships of $7,500 for first place winners, $5,000 for second place winners and $1,000 for third place winners were:
- Peter J. Fish Science and Technology: First Place – Sarah Perleberg, Saguaro High School; Second Place – Allison Mason, Chaparral High School; Third Place – Javier Morales, Coronado High School.
- Business: First Place – Cecilia Forshey, Arcadia High School and Second Place –Spencer Scher, Chaparral High School.
- Vocational/Technical Trade: First Place – Brisa Marroquin, Arcadia High School and Second Place – Therese (Tessa) Sorrells, Chaparral High School.
- Performing Arts: First Place – Jacob Staudenmaier, Arcadia High School and Second Place – Eric Flayton, Chaparral High School.
- Athletics: First Place – Brenna Doyle, Chaparral High School; Second Place – Jack Spier, Arcadia High School; and Third Place – Taeler Jones, Coronado High School.
The Rotary Club of Scottsdale Rotarians provide financial support to their youth and community projects through the Club's Scottsdale Rotary Foundation. This is a separate not-for-profit corporation whose officers and board of directors are elected by the members of the Rotary Club of Scottsdale. All contributions to the Scottsdale Rotary Foundation are tax deductible. The annual club golf outing, 2018 Rotary calendar sales, Tennis with a Cause fundraiser and individual member donations are the Foundation's primary funding sources. At the Youth Day luncheon, the club's Rotary International In-Bound Youth Exchange students Valentina from Chile and Takuma from Japan provided presentations about their youth exchange experiences. Each took the opportunity to thank their host parents and acknowledge the club's and Rotary International's support of the international youth exchange program.
The Club annually sponsors, at $400 each, high school students that attend the "Speak Up" Rotary Youth Leadership Award Camp held in Ponderosa in Heber. RYLA is a unique leadership camp where students are empowered through challenging courses, inspirational presenters and amazing activities. The 2018 RYLA award winners were Debanhi Reyes from Desert Mountain High School and Destiny Rodarte from Coronado High School.
The club also, supports a student mentoring program in which high students are matched with club members. The student and a Rotarian meet one-on-one to discuss career choices.
Rotarians Learn about WestWorld's Possibilities and Scottsdale's Sister Cities
Brian Dygert, general manager of WestWorld of Scottsdale, was the luncheon speaker at recent Rotary Club of Scottsdale meeting held at Scottsdale's McCormick Ranch Golf Club's Pavilion. When introducing Dygert, Rotarian Virginia Korte stated that WestWorld, located in the heart of Scottsdale, Arizona at the base of the McDowell Mountains, offers limitless possibilities for event planners and is a remarkable and world-class destination.
Dygert provided Rotarians and their guests with WestWorld's demographics and annual statistical data: 386 acre property with 12 acres of turf field; 11,000 vehicle parking spaces; 16,000 sq. ft. of conference, banquet and hospitality space; over 470 RV spaces with utilities and water hookups; 119 events – 64 equestrian and 55 special events; 518 total days of use with 151 days of multiple events; and 870,000 attendance with expected growth of 15-20 percent each year.
Dygert provided an update about the Tony Nelson Equestrian Center, which has over 330,000 sq. ft of climate-controlled event space. Dygert stated that WestWorld expects to address additional parking, new events, continued good neighbor support and utilization of additional acreage. Dygert answered questions about WestWorld's facility budget, staffing, tax benefits to City of Scottsdale and the expedience of facility turnover between events, i.e. daily cleaning over 600 horse stalls or accommodating over 2,000 horses at the Arabian Horse Association of Arizona event. Dygert provided an overview of WestWorld's Monterra banquet and catering service options.
Additionally at the meeting, Honorary Member, Mayor Jim Lane, provided members with an update of City Scottsdale and Scottsdale Sister Cities Association Inc. (SSCA), a partnership that many Rotary Club of Scottsdale members actively support. SSCA's mission is to promote international friendship and goodwill through programs, such as student, educational, cultural and economic development exchanges creating long-term international partnerships. Mayor Lane talked about his and Rotarian Max Rumbaugh's recent cultural exchange visit to sister cityMarrakech, Morocco. The City of Scottsdale has eight sister cities: Alamos, Sonora, Mexico; Interlaken, Switzerland; Cairns, Queensland, Australia; Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Haikou, Hainan, China; Marrakech, Morocco; Uasin Gishu, Kenya; and Killarney, Ireland.
For more information about the Rotary Club of Scottsdale speakers, projects, programs and meeting dates and locations, visit www.scottsdalerotary.org. Visitors to Club meetings are always welcome; call 480.945.6158.
Dr. Honora A. Norton