Buzz 1/9/12 Vol. 154 Div. 11

This Week: Kevin Panter provided this week’s program. He spoke to the club about the dangers of texting and driving. If you missed today’s meeting, you missed a very good presentation. We watched a video that really makes you think twice about answering that text while driving. Thanks Kevin.
Next Week: Eddie Ayers has next week’s program. Kenny Stuart will be speaking about trucking.
50/50: Jere McConnell did not pick the joker and win the $163 pot. Oh well…
Bingo: Last week’s bingo made $1615. This week is the Vannoy team.
Birthdays: Eddie Ayers 1/18.
Anniversaries: Kevin and Lorraine Panter 1/24/; Forrest and Debbie Hamm 1/27.
Notes: Our first pancake breakfast fundraiser will be Feb.25th from 7a-noon. Please come and help as it will take all available members to make this a success. This saturday there will be a “practice” breakfast at 9am. Come out to the fairgrounds and get some breakfast!
Dues are due. Tom Patterson sent out all the invoices. If you didn’t receive one, please let Tom know.
Did you Know:
- Sharks can’t swim backwards
- If you’re average, a rope woven from your hair could support the weight of 400 people
- Cats can purr while inhaling or exhaling
- On average, Hawaiian residents outlive those of all other US states
- A newborn baby’s heart has the same number of cells as an adults
- A man’s brain is 2% of his body weight, a woman’s is 2.5%…hmmm…..
Quote: Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.
-Bernice Johnson Reagon
Have a great week all! -sm
Buzz 1/6/11 Division 11. Vol. 154

This Week: This week was a board meeting.
Next Week: Kevin Panter has next week’s program. He says it is about texting and driving….sounds pretty interesting.
Bingo: Last week’s bingo made $880. This week was Ted’s Angels. Special thanks to Stan for filling in for me.
50/50: Ted McConnell’s name was drawn, but he did not win the $149 pot. Aww…too bad.
Birthdays: Eddie Ayers 1/18.
Kiwanis Anniversaries: Dale Dyer 1/1/48 (an amazing 64 years!!)
Notes: Plans are being made for our first annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. More information to come…
There is a new bingo schedule out. Please pick one up at the next meeting along with the new program assignment list. Feb 13th will now be the STAR student banquet and Cory Callihan will have the July 30th program.
Did you Know?:
- an eagle’s bones weigh half as much as its feathers
- British government toilet paper used to read, “Govt. Property, Now Wash Your Hands.”
- The average person will suffer aprox. 200 colds in their lifetime.
- Sitka, Alaska, was once the capital of a Russian territory.
- A natal cleft is the medical term for butt-crack.
- Chinese brides traditionally wear red wedding dresses.
Have a good weekend all! -sm
Buzz 12/06/11
Vol. 153
This week: This week was a board meeting.
Next week: Next week is our annual Christmas Party. It will be held at the Blue Ridge Swim and Tennis Club. Social hour begins at 6pm with dinner at 7pm. The price is $15 for guests and $7.50 for seniors. We will once again be playing our Chinese Christmas game so each person should bring a gift that costs no more than $20. It will be loads of fun!!
50/50: The McConnell boys had the winning ticket but couldn’t win the $127 pot.
Bingo: Last week was Super Bingo and we made a $1701!! Tonight is the McConnell Team.
Kiwanis Anniversaries: We really need to recruit some members for December!
Notes: As you all know, this is Dale Dyer week in Fannin county! Congrats Dale; it is well deserved! —– Jill and the Key Club are selling local and national discount cards as a fundraiser. They cost $20 and offer some great discounts. For more info please call Jill. —– If you have an idea for a fundraiser please let Ken or Tony know. Any ideas are welcome as every little bit helps!
Quote of the week: “The one thing that women don’t want to find in their stockings on Christmas morning is their husband” -Joan Rivers
Did you know?:
- The busiest Pizza Hut in the world is in Paris, France.
- Your heart beats faster during a heated argument than during sex.
- Michael Jackson owns the rights to South Carolina’s state anthem.
- Kissing can cause wrinkles.
- Helen Keller could identify her friends by their odors.
- Stenophobia is the fear of narrow spaces.
-have a good week all! -sm
Buzz 11/30/11
Vol. 152
This Week: Sara Waterhouse and Susan Kiker brought this week’s speaker, Dr. Doroodchi, Fannin Regional Hospital’s new Orthopedics and Sports medicine doctor. Dr. Doroodchi spoke to the club about injury prevention and the importance of taking vitamin D, and afterward answered several questions. Dr. Doroodchi will certainly be a great asset to our community!
Next Week: Next week is a board meeting and afterward will be new member orientation. If you are a new member please try to attend. It will be worth your while and only takes about an hour.
50/50: Since Tom Patterson won over $1100 last week, the pot was only $113. Of course, my number was drawn. Don’t worry folks. I didn’t win!
Bingo: The Black Friday Bingo was an amazing success! There were 186 people and we made a record $1,865!! Great job Ken for putting this together and great job Hamm team!!
Notes: Our annual Christmas party and Chinese gift exchange will be Monday, December 12th. Social hour starts at 6pm and dinner will be at 7pm. The cost of dinner will be $15 for guests and seniors. Please RSVP by Monday the 5th. For our newbies, this is a “don’t miss” event. Bring your spouse and come out for lots of laughs!
Birthdays: Dale Dyer 12/01
Kiwanis Anniversaries: Clarke Mercer: 12/01/92 - NL Prather 12/01/46.
Quote of the week: “Tony’s right, I am past my prime.” – Kevin Panter
Did you know?:
- During most of the Earth’s history, the north and south poles had no ice.
- Americans eat about 95 million pounds of marshmallows every year.
- 7% of people say they get heartburn every day.
- Time magazine was originally going to be named, Facts.
- Dromomania is an abnormal impulse to travel. (I think I am an dromomanic!)
-Have a great week all! -sm

Allow me to introduce the writer and creator of “The Buzz”, Sharon McFarland! ”The Buzz” is the Blue Ridge Kiwanis Club’s Official Newsletter. Thank you, Sharon, for all of your hard work- we appreciate you!
Signed-
The Club
Buzz 11/15/11:
THIS WEEK: I’m not getting this website to cooperate today and will do what I can for a buzz this week. This week’s program was Mike Maginn and the speakers were Becky Housey and Ned Rand from the Toccoa River Water Coalition. This group’s goals include protecting the Toccoa River watershed, increasing public awareness and improving water quality. They discussed proposed restrictions to meet these goals.
50/50: The pot was $1161 and Wilda’s ticket was called. Unfortunately, Forrest wasn’t able to draw the joker for her!
BINGO: Ted’s angels made $1161 last week! This week is the Vannoy team!
NOTES: We have a new member! Welcome to Toby Minter!
Please meet tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 to put Thanksgiving boxes together with the Key Club. Afterwards, there will be a budget meeting at 5:30 at the fairgrounds. Everyone is welcome to attend.
There will be a Yardsale Saturday from 9-4 at the fairgrounds. We need several members to help. Please try to drop by for a few hours to help.
Buzz:
Well folks, my computer crashed so I will only post a small sliver of the Buzz this week from a “borrowed” PC.
This week’s speaker was Debra Raleigh RN. She spoke to the club about home health care and agencies. She explained what’s covered by Medicare/caid, who is covered and the advantages of certified help vs. private help.
50/50: This week the amount was $923! Milt’s ticket was drawn, but he didn’t win the cash.
Bingo: This week is the Hamm team!
We had a small fair report from Ken. Of course, we all know that the weather hurt us, and the fair company is willing to try again next year if we agree to the last week in September. This will be discussed more at the board meeting. Please send any thoughts, ideas, or suggestions to Ken or one of the fair committee members.
Next week’s program will be TJ Haymore. He will discuss scouting. David Ralston will be speaking on 11/21.
Remember that help is needed on Monday, 31st at the Halloween booth to hand out candy!
I hope everyone has a great week!! – sm
Buzz 7/11/11
vol. 149
This week: This week was a board meeting so there was no program.
Next week: Next week’s program is being provided by Cory Callihan. He says the program will be all about the Golden club and the upcoming trips and activities.
Bingo: Bingo did very well last week! We made $1776! A hard act for the McGinn team to follow this week!
50/50: The pot was $519 this week and Gary’s name was called. However, he didn’t win the cash! Maybe next time!
Notes:
The annual Girl Scout’s yardsale is July 23rd from 8am-2pm. If you would like to donate items, please plan to bring them out to the fairgrounds before the start of the sale. We will also need to have volunteers to be present during the sale. While we don’t have to work, we need to have a presence. I have to leave at noon and really need someone to stay until they close it down. Please try to come by, even if only for a short time. If we split it up, it should be an easy day. Thanks!
The rodeo is coming up and we will soon need volunteers to put up banners. We will let everyone know when they are ready. Kevin tells us all the major sponsors have been filled. Good news in this economy! If you know of anyone that would like a booth/space. Please let me know.
80th birthday party: plans are being made for our birthday party July 30th from 5-8pm. The invitations have gone out to the “dignitaries” in the community. Hopefully we will get some good exposure, get new members, and show our town a good time in the process. Please let us know if you can help. We can always use more!

We had a ton of fun in the parade. We looked good while we threw candy out to the area kids!
See the “Special events” page for more pictures…
Birthdays: NL Prather 7/9/19
Anniversaries: Ted and Mary Ellen McConnell 7/7/73
Kiwanis Anniversaries: Forrest Hamm 7/1/02; Jere McConnell 7/5/91; Alex McFarland (became our jr member on) 7/5/10; Eddie Ayers 7/7/97; Tony McConnell 7/ 14/97.
Did you know?
- 7% of Americans claim they never bathe
- The tape measure was patented in 1868
- A turtle’s shell is sensitive enough to feel a twig brush over it
- All Japanese words end in either a vowel or an “n”
- NECCO wafers is the oldest candy and has been sold since 1847
- The temperature of milk inside the cow is 101 degrees Fahrenheit
Buzz 6/27/11
Vol. 148
This Week: Although we had a small crowd this week, we discussed several matters, most importantly, the importance of increasing membership. The membership committee will be meeting and discussing a couple of very good ideas brought up by members. We will go over these ideas at our next meeting. We want to be able to continue to help children in our community so it is important to continue to grow. Why don’t we all try to bring a friend to a meeting and show them how we help families and have fun while doing it?
Next Week: Next week is a holiday, so we will not be meeting. The board meeting will be July 11th. Hope to see you then since we had a lot to discuss and plan regarding the 80th birthday celebration.
Bingo: Last week we made $843. This week is the Vannoy team. Ted’s angels left our tiaras for your team to wear, Tommy. And no, you can’t take them home!
50/50: Richard McClein’s name was drawn and no, he didn’t win the $505 pot!
Notes: Invitations will be going out for our 80th birthday party soon… The ad for the papers is being developed and it sounds like it will be nice!

The 4th of July parade is Saturday. Richard has donated his pontoon boat to use as the float. Please come to the old June Walker building on Saturday morning to help decorate between 8am-930am. We also need members/kids to ride and throw candy. Please come to help if you can!
We may have to go back to 3 teams as we are losing bingo team members. CJ says he would like to nominate Kevin to be on a bingo team since Kevin was not present to defend himself! haha! If anyone would really like to step up and be on a team and work bingo once a month, we could use the help!
We will be losing two members this month. Mike B and Walt are unable to remain members at this time. Hopefully, they can come back soon!
Tom has also notified Tony that he is unable to assume the duties of secretary next year. If anyone is interested, please contact Ted or Tony.
Birthdays: NL Prather 7/9
Anniversaries: Ted and Mary Ellen McConnell 7/7/73
Kiwanis Anniversaries: Forrest Hamm 7/1/02; Jere McConnell 7/5/91; Alex McFarland (given his badge and hat as Jr. member on) 7/5/10; Eddie Ayers 7/7/97.
Quote: “The real democratic American idea is, not that every man shall be on a level with every other man, but that every man shall have liberty to be what God made him, without hinderance.” -Henry Ward Beecher

Did you know?:
- Jimmy Carter was the first president born in a hospital
- Gerald Ford was the only man that was president and vice president and never elected to either post
- The first president to ride in a car was William McKinley
- Aproximately 1/3rd of all the land in the US is owned by the Federal government
- The United States of America is the greatest country in the history of man
-have a great 4th of July all! ~smrn
Buzz 6/20/11
Vol. 147

This Week: Instead of a program this week, we discussed preparations and planned for our Kiwanis 80th birthday party. We have decided to hold it on July 30th from 5-8pm at the United Community Bank Pavillion. More information to come…
50/50: John’s number was drawn for the 3rd week in a row! However, he still didn’t win the $493 pot! Sorry John!
Bingo: Last week was a sad bingo week with only $497 made. This week is the Angels; maybe we can do better?
Notes: Please keep our pal, Ron Beckey in your prayers. He has been hospitalized to have cancer (throat?) removed. Hurry and get well Ron; we miss you!
The 4th of July parade is Saturday, the 2nd and so far only 2 members have stepped up to be in it! Tony and Ted will carry the banner. If enough people can help, we can get a float together. Please contact one of them if you can help.
I really need some older Kiwanis pictures/stories/items for the 80th celebration. I will put these posters/banners together, but I need more. Please let me know what you have or can come up with. Thanks!
Birthdays: Mike Maginn 6/25; Pete Folger 6/26; Steven Miracle 6/28.
Anniversaries: Ron and Patty Beckey 6/21.
Quote: Something we don’t hear much… “I hate to agree with Kevin…” ~Tommy Vannoy and “I might be wrong, but…” ~Kevin Panter We may never hear these again!
Did you Know?
- Hedgehog urine was once believed to cure baldness
- A tiger can cover about 30 feet in a single stride
- It costs 8/10 of a cent to mint a penny
- In 1912 the Giants and yankees played a charity game to raise money for Titanic Survivors
- What is the easternmost capital city in the US? Augusta, Maine
Have a great week all! ~sm