Just before 12:30, President Courtney rang the bell and called our meeting to order. We began by reciting the Four Way Test. Bill Guerre shared his father’s favorite prayer – the prayer of St Francis of Assisi. Our patriotic song was “America, The Beautiful” accompanied by John Dale Smith.
Parker Sessa travelled the room from end to end to make sure that all of the guests and visiting Rotarians were introduced. With a number of guests visiting for the second or third time with applications in progress, it seems that we can expect to welcome new members soon!
As to the health of the club, we seem to be in fine shape. It was announced that Lorri Rishar-Jandron recently lost her mother. A red badge was presented to new member Casey Thompson from the YMCA.
John Person spoke on behalf of the Foundation Board to highlight Global Dental Relief, one of our recent International grant recipients. GDR operates dental clinics providing free dental care to children in areas of the world that don’t have sufficient dental care available. Services are provided by volunteers who pay their own way to articipate. Grants are used to pay for supplies used at the clinics. During a recent clinic in Guatemala, GDR provided care to 847 children over five days. The value of the services provided was estimated to be in excess of $200,000. Care is administered at schools which makes it easy to reach the children in need of care.
This is an organization we have supported for several years and they receive funding from many other clubs as well. General volunteers are always being recruited. If you are interested, visit their website at GlobalDentalRelief.org to learn more.
Sue Hansen reported for the nominating committee. This committee is made up of three Past Presidents, the current President and President Elect, Secretary and two members at large. Sue reminded us that the committee has previously nominated Rebecca Bahar-Cook as President-Elect Nominee. They continued their work to nominate Directors-Elect Scott Duimstra, Scott Watkins and Cathy Zell. Sue moved that nominations be closed and a vote called. Mark Hooper seconded. The three were unanimously approved by the members in attendance.
John Dale Smith introduced vocalist Lauren Handspike from Dewitt High School as our special music for the day. Lauren was part of the choir that sang at our Christmas Party. She is a senior and will attend MSU next year, studying in Lyman Briggs College. She was set to perform in the Solo and Ensemble Contest on Saturday in Alma, both as a solo artist and as part of several ensembles. Lauren sang two selections – “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” from Grease. I’m certainly not a music critic, but the consensus at my table was that the second selection really showed off Lauren’s talents!
The Chair of the Month for January is Jeff Crippen who also served as Chair of the Day. After explaining, that yes, he did have a PhD, received in 1965. In his case, PhD stands for Papa has Dealership. However, the Dr. Jeff Crippen who spoke to us is his son, a Chiropractor, nutritionist and coach who enjoys helping others unlock their true potential.
Dr. Jeff practices in Texas, an hour north of Dallas. His passion stems from his personal struggles, having experienced his first headache when he was in first grade. The headaches steadily worsened in spite of years of doctors, drugs, testing, and talk of brain surgery. His worst headache was non-stop for 2 years.
Eventually, he decided that if doctors couldn’t help him, he would just have to figure it out for himself. Jeff likened the US healthcare system to the Yellowstone Park ecosystem. In the early 1900’s, the elk population was increasing, the number of cottonwood and aspen trees were decreasing, along with the number of beavers, fish and birds. The ecosystem was diseased. In 1930, elk began to be trapped and killed to reduce the population. This effort was not successful in bringing the ecosystem back into balance. This approach was treating a symptom without determining the underlying cause. Ultimately, it was discovered that the problems began when the wolves, who preyed on the elk, were killed throughout the park. Wolves were reintroduced to the park in the 1990’s and the ecosystem gradually returned to its former balance.
Although we have one of the best systems of emergency care, our disease care is terrible. The system treats symptoms without understanding and correcting the root cause. Many of our treatments are less than effective and some are even detrimental.
For example, one study showed that Vitamins C and E increased the risk of lung cancer. Digging into this research, Dr. Jeff discovered that Vitamin C and E supplements are very different from the Vitamins C and E that occur naturally in foods. Vitamins in food are linked to other nutrients that are not present in most supplements. These synthetic supplements are isolated pieces of naturally occurring nutrients that do not provide the same benefits. Supplement labels should read like food, not like chemistry.
Ultimately, Dr. Jeff discovered that he could rebuild his body with whole foods and supplements that are derived from foods. This realization coincided with his first visit to a holistic doctor when he was 13. He had also been taking anti-depressants which actually caused depression.
Dr. Jeff recommends that we focus on eating more local foods, which are higher in nutrients than foods that have been shipped from far away places. Take time to notice how you feel after eating certain foods. Do you feel better or worse?
Nutrient requirements may vary greatly from person to person, and are influenced by our health. For example, the body’s requirements for zinc are greater during an infection.
In response to a question about GMOs, Dr. Jeff stated that if you stick with organic foods, you can be sure you are not getting GMOs. He believes it is safer to stay away from GMOs. Corn and soy are the two foods that are most likely to be GMOs.
Dr. Jeff was able to eliminate his headaches by using supplements to heal his body, and eliminating pain relievers, sugar and dairy. He noted that the process of pasteurizing milk modifies the proteins that it contains and eliminates most health benefits. He would also recommend removing bread and pasta from one’s diet. Focus on eating fresh vegetables, fruits and meats – local whenever possible.
If you are looking for whole food based supplements, Amazon carries Standard Process brand.
Dr. Jeff has just released a book titled Timeless Youth. He brought four copies to donate to our Foundation. If you are interested in a copy, see Cathy: cathy@lansingrotary.com
President Courtney thanked Dr. Jeff for speaking to us and let him know that we would be making a donation to our Foundation in lieu of a speakers gift.
Next week our program will be “Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2022” with Joe and Linda Pulver as our speakers.
Linda Lynch's email is: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com