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President Lisa Smith called the Friday, April 1st, 2016 weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Lansing to order at 12:29pm on the 1st-floor of the Lansing Center. Invocation followed, with a deeply thoughtful message and prayer given by Invocator Larry Ammons. With fellow Rotarian John Dale Smith’s piano accompaniment, our Club joined together in the singing of “My Country ‘tis of Thee” (also known as “America,” by the way) before Rotarian Manny Garcia circulated the meeting hall, microphone in hand, to facilitate the introductions of guests and visiting Rotarians.
We had several guests, but no visiting Rotarians joining us for our chicken, wild rice and vegetable meal. Our guests included, with their respective Lansing Rotarian hosts: Rick Laber, hosted by Mark Hooper; Nicole Noll Williams of the Capital Region International Airport, hosted by Chris Holman (who noted that direct daily American Airline flights to D.C. will resume this summer from our Airport); and, Shelly Applebaum of MSU and Cheryl Bartholic, hosted by Dave Gillison.
Our two student guests were Grace Mohr and Bryan Myrick, both attending Lansing Catholic Central.
Rotarian Diane Sanborn let the Club know that Jack Bates was home after his brief stay at Okemos’ MediLodge. Diane continued with her Remembrance Report, mentioning that two Fellow Rotarians, John Stephenson and Rick Foster, were recently admitted to the hospital. Rick is having a pacemaker implanted, and it is in Rick’s absence that I’m writing this Editarian Report. We wish you all well, Jack, John and Rick.
President Lisa returned to the podium with Announcements, of which there were several. Another reminder that our Club will be celebrating its Centennial Birthday on Friday, June 17th, 2016 at the Lansing Center; bring your spouse or significant other. As well, a reminder that we will be meeting on Thursday, June 23rd, 2016 instead of on that Friday as our Club will be hosting Rotary International President, Tennessean John F. Germ, in honor of our Centennial.
President Lisa gave the floor to fellow Rotarian Sue Mills, who continued with Announcements, sharing with us that each meeting table had a copy of the Proofs for our Club individual gifts made to the Impression5 Centennial Project. Sue asked that each Lansing Rotarian review the Proof to make sure that our individual donor names are as we would like them and that the spelling is correct. Sue noted that there are those that wanted to be anonymous, and to make sure that their anonymity is maintained in that their name is not listed as requested.
Volunteers wanted, how about you? Sue expanded a bit on our Club’s plan to accumulate 100 hours (as in, Centennial “100”) of volunteer work, and she is asking that if you’d like to volunteer that you please choose between either the April 15th Greater Lansing Housing Coalition service project or the April 16th Highfields project (or both) and sign up via www.micauwvolunteercenter.org and identify yourself as a Rotarian. Carey McLamara of United Way is the contact if you have questions, and you can call her at (517) 203-5033.
And, one last reminder. President Lisa gave a shout-out to our Rotary District Conference set to begin on April 23rd in Kalamazoo at the Radisson Plaza Hotel. Help to honor our own, Rotarian and Rotary Hero Ken Beachler, by registering no later than April 11th.
Fellow Rotarian Dan Aylward added to the list of announcements with the waving of the Rotary flag from Empalme, Sonora, Mexico, which he visited earlier in March 2016 with a Rotarian entourage from Imlay City, Burton and London, Ontario, Canada. Dan and his group of Rotarians were working with the non-profit organization VOSH through Ferris State University. Making the short walk up to the podium, Dan presented President Lisa with the flag.
President Lisa then asked fellow Rotarian Courtney Millbrook to brief the Club on what was behind our Special Music for the day. Courtney obliged by describing the interesting and quite unusual short film clip from the Saturday, April 9th Capital City Film Festival to follow, and a brief piece from the upcoming Wednesday, April 6th Lansing Symphony Orchestra’s orchestration covering of the Silly Symphony Celebration of Disney films. Sounds from the LSO followed, and then a surreal four-minute short film entitled “Fire, Water, Air and Time” (Feuer Wasser Erde Luft und Zeit) colored the meeting hall screen with a scene involving a bubble-blowing man and a second man moving in opposite directions in time yet interacting with each other and the elements. Thank you, Courtney…a unique and captivating respite for the day.
Having reached the pinnacle of our weekly meeting, Chair of the Day & Month, Michael Clark introduced our speakers, MSU Football’s Team Physician, Dr. Randolph Pearson, M.D. and MSU Head Athletic Trainer, Dr. Sally Nogle, Ph.D..
Leading off, Dr. Pearson focused his portion of the presentation on concussions, how to determine if an athlete has one, what is done when an athlete has experienced one, a breakdown of concussion symptoms and the scales and severity thereof, studies and medical similarities to dementia, sports equipment technology, and finally, the future as it relates to concussions.
Citing Dr. Robert C. Cantu, M.D. of Boston University School of Medicine as one of the foremost authorities on concussions, Dr. Pearson commented that much has been learned from studying and treating boxers (think Muhammed Ali) who often experience concussion-like symptoms and commonly develop “pugilistic dementia,” as it is referred to, for the resulting dementia-like symptoms they experience from having received repetitive head blows. And in a similar way, a correlation has been drawn between concussions and dementia. Interestingly, there is a potential connection between the tau protein in Alzheimer’s Disease and concussions.
Dr. Pearson continued by describing concussions as a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), from which an athlete exhibits a pattern of injury consisting first of the initial receiving of a blow to the head, loss of consciousness, followed by the rapid onset of symptoms (ranging from dizziness to lack of balance and headaches with difficulty sleeping, blurred vision, light sensitivity and fogginess) and then onto other neuropathic changes over the next weeks, months or even years.
Rest, balance and cognitive exercises, vestibular exercises (think virtual reality goggles) and constant monitoring (CTI and MRI scans) are all part of concussion management for these athletes so afflicted, Dr. Pearson explained. “Hype and Hope” defines the future for understanding, preventing, and managing concussions for athletes and others. Equipment technology (Kevlar helmets and sensors), proper fitting equipment, nutrition (e.g., Omega 3 fatty acid supplements), advances in severity detection, prevention and pro-activeness and rehabilitative technology (vestibular exercises) are among the many approaches and areas of concern for concussion care under consideration by medical professionals like Dr. Pearson, institutions and researchers.
Dr. Sally Nogle, MSU Head Trainer, took over at this point in this timely presentation and proceeded to explain her role at MSU, her interest and involvement with concussions and MSU Football, and closing by providing us with some fascinating facts and figures associated with MSU and the management of its athletic programs.
MSU athletes and coaches, and in particular MSU Football players and coaches, are given instructional training and orientations on concussions when beginning their athletic and coaching careers and the seasons to follow at MSU. This involves Dr. Nogle and others on her staff testing athletes’ baselines, scoring them on the balance board, and detailed concussion presentations. Dr. Nogle emphasized the importance of information and education in concussion care, management and prevention at MSU.
So what happens when an MSU football player receives a blow to the head? Dr. Nogle describes the steps for medical staff conducting concussion evaluation and followup in this way: first, the player is examined on the field; next the player is taken off field and evaluated on the sideline, followed by post-concussion impact testing (i.e., balance testing and MRI scan); and, if test results concur, the player is allowed to re-enter game play, followed by next day tests (reaction, recall and recognizing colors & designs). Treatment for post-game hits to the head and concussions of certain severity include gradually-increasing exercise, from biking to jogging, and ultimately back to measured hitting in the sport.
Headband sensors are now more commonplace in concussion assessment, research and treatment, with 90g the point at which it has been determined that a concussion occurs. Furthermore, Dr. Nogle emphasized, the successiveness of multiple less severe blows and resulting concussions are just as critical to MSU sports training and medical staff as are the sporadic and more severe blows and resulting concussions.
In closing, Dr. Nogle shared some surprising facts regarding the costs and measures of MSU sports treatment. Trainers and medical staff are constantly covering athletes’ scrapes and cuts, wrapping and protecting elbows and ankles (3/4 of a roll of tape per ankle, at $2.50 per roll, with an average of $30 per athlete spent in this way), spatting athletes’ shoes (think NIKE and them not wanting their logo covered up with spatting), and applying custom and off-the-shelf knee braces ($600 for custom, $400 for off-the-shelf). And even more remarkable, did you have any idea that the annual tape budget for MSU training is $60,000 per year?...well, it is.
With the meeting clock winding down, President Lisa took to the podium for a final time this day to thank Dr. Pearson and Dr. Nogle for their outstanding presentation and to honor them by elucidating that our Rotary Club will be donating $1,000 to our Bio-Sand Filter Project in the under-developed nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic on their behalf. Each presenter received a Rotary Four-Way Test coin as well.
After extending a brief reminder that our Rotary Club of Lansing will meet at the Country Club of Lansing next week, April 8th, 2016, with Ingham County Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann to be our presenting speaker, President Lisa wished our Club a fond farewell and happy weekend, and, with the dropping of the gavel, adjourned this, our grand weekly meeting, at 1:31 p.m.
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Pat Lindemann was first elected as the Ingham County Drain Commissioner in 1992, an office he has re-defined to reflect his environmental stewardship ethic and systems approach to stormwater management. He has received international, national, and state recognition and awards for his innovative drain projects.