The Vial of Life

The 609th meeting of the Rotary Club of Dixie Sunrise welcomed Linda Sappington, Director of the Volunteer Center of Washington County. Linda, who is a member of the St. George Rotary Club, that club’s first female member and first female President, came to share with the club the life saving program “The Vial of Life.” However, before we let her escape back to her office we asked her to share more information on the services of the Volunteer Center of Washington County.

First, her original topic, we learned that the Vial of Life project has now reached into approximately 15,000 homes in Washington County. By completing a simple information sheet, placing it in a “pill vial” and keeping it in your refrigerator – the location of choice since almost all homes have a refrigerator and it could well survive a fire or natural event thus protecting your information - you are able to help emergency personnel treat you in medical crisis. Time is primary in events such as heart attack and stroke and if the EMTs or other emergency responders can quickly read your medical history and drugs you take treatment can begin immediately significantly increasing the chance of survival. The Vial of Life program is sponsored jointly by the Volunteer Center, the Citizen Corps Council and Intermountain Healthcare. We certainly encourage the members of the club and their friends and family to take a few minutes to provide life saving information.

On other notes of the Volunteer Center Linda spoke of a few of the other services for which the Center serves as a clearing house. The Youth Volunteer Corps serves young people in crisis between the ages of 11 and 17. The Court Appointed Community Service Volunteers work with those who do community service as opposed to incarceration. And, those in need of healthcare information can phone the Center for assistance in locating needed services.

We hope Linda will come back to speak with us further on more of the services of her organization. Those of you who missed the meeting today, we missed you! Hope to see you next week.

President Elect Marla Shelby-Drabner

Huntsman World Sr. Games

Dixie Rotary - Huntsman World Senior Games

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Welcome to the 608th meeting of the Rotary Club of Dixie Sunrise! Kyle Case, the CEO of the Huntsman World Senior Games came and shared his inside knowledge and passion for this event that brings so much good to our community.


We learned that the games were founded in 1987 by John and Daisy Morgan who owned the Hilton in St George for two purposes:

1. to put "heads in beds" or fill the local hotels
2. to foster Worldwide Peace, Health, Friendship, and FUN.

The Sr Games have grown from a small event to the premier event that it now is. Last year, 9,503 athletes competed--almost 9,000 of them from out of town, and many of them from foreign countries. (53 countries have been represented since 1987.) There were 323 softball teams making it the largest Sr softball tournament on Earth, according to Kyle.

This year, they continue to see growth in the event. They have added two more events, bringing it to a total of 25 events, promising even more competitors than last year.

It was a great meeting and we missed all who weren't able to attend.

Reduce your chances of being a victim

Captain Richard Farnsworth of the St George PD spoke this morning about current crime trends in St George and the steps we can take to minimize our personal risk of being victimized. His presentation continued the late trend of captivating speakers who ended up going a little over due to the level of interest and questions from our members.

Interesting tidbits:

St George has slipped from the 1st safest city of its size in the U.S. to 7th. We have seen a definite increase in gang activity with our recent growth.

All but two of the big wilderness pot farm busts the past few weeks were already under investigation. When they were discovered by the public, law enforcement had to move in as the "secret was out." These growers are tied to the mexican cartel and Captain Farnsworth reports that they have the local kingpin and several operatives in custody as a result of their investigations.

Most of the crime in our town is in the "less than newsworthy" category. Captain Farnsworth explained that the bulk of criminal activity is opportunistic and committed by the "cockroach" element of society--that is, the ones who scurry about in the dark and look for easy pickings. Keeping your homes and business well lit helps keep the cockroaches at bay. Also keeping your valuables out of sight and locked up is a major deterrent to these crooks.

We missed those unable to attend! Hope to see you next week!
President Paul Gooch

"Focusing" on Rotary Youth Exchange Program - Jenna Ashby

Our speaker this morning was Kyle Ashby's youngest sister, Jenna Ashby, who participated in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program for the 2007-2008 school year. Jenna traveled overseas to Taiwan and experienced the Chinese culture to it's fullest, as she so eloquently presented to our club.

Jenna's largest surprise was the fact that she is now repeating her Senior year due to the lack of "real" educational credits. After returning to America, she found that her classes in bar tending, motel bed making and makeup artistry did not pass for the American curriculum.

The slide show to the right contains most of the photos introduced in Jenna's presentation.