Charter Date: June 22, 1995

Club Number: 30893 District 2450

Rotary International

2008—2009Officers President George Beyrouti President Elect Edouard Rassie Vice President Nabil Challah Secretary Lina Shair Treasurer Tony Saber Sergeant-At-Arms PP Subhi Jarudi Directors IPP Raouf Malak RT Habib Saba District Governor Zakaria El Shafei RI President D.K. Lee

Club Contact Information Tel: +961 1 570888 Fax: +961 1 566256

Mobile: +961 3 771487 E-mail: bcrc@cyberia.net.lb

www.rcbclebanon.org

Prepared By: Club Assistant Annie Sapsezian

Edited By: Asaad Salhab

MarhabaMarhabaMarhaba Rotary Club of Beirut Cosmopolitan Monthly Bulletin Volume 6—Issue No. 158—April, May , June 2009

Meeting every Tuesday @ 7 PM ● Vendome Hotel ● Ain El Mraisseh, Beirut ● Tel: + 961 1 369280

Handover of 2 PCs to St. Antoine Dispensary

On April 15, 2009, members of RC Beirut Cosmopolitan participated in the hand over ceremony of 2 personal computers and a printer to St. Antoine Dispensary in Roueissat el Jdeideh. The handover took place in the presence of the director of the center, Sister Hanan Youssef, PP Fahed Assaf, VP Nabil Challah and RT Habib Saba St. Antoine Dispensary is located in an area where 3000 families with low incomes live. The dispensary serves 80 patients per day, over 60% of them are children, by providing free of charge medical services in the field of family medicine, pediatric, ophthalmology and dental care. The dispensary has been operating without any computers since its startup, RCBC service projects committee identified their urgent need and of-fered two computers and a printer assisting them to serve better their surroundings.

Dr. Armand Phares “Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products” - April 07, 2009

Dr. Armand Phares, President of the Syndicate of Pharmaceutical Im-porters, was invited to a dinner meeting at Le Vendome Hotel to pre-sent the Rotarians, their spouses and guests about the “Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products in Lebanon.”

Dr. Phares addressed in his presentation the issue of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in Lebanon and explained how the legal framework in Lebanon functions as well as the regulations set by the Minis-try of Health that prevent the distribution of such products in the market. The Ministry of Health screens the identity of the medicine, the identity of the manufacturer, the importers and the distributors prior to any sale of the product. When a new drug is to be introduced to the market for the first time, there are unbreakable steps to undergo to ensure pa-tients’ safety as it is legally issued to the public. For each and every step there is an aspect of responsi-bility from the producer towards the citizen. Leba-nese Pharmaceutical Importers Association (LPIA)

was founded in 1948 and is composed of 37 pharmaceutical establish-ments and it is in charge of registration, pricing, classification, patent protection, identification, and traceability of pharmaceutical products. The Ministry of Health controls the medicine market through customs, pharmacy owners, and intensively monitoring the pharmacies to locate, arrest, and judge counterfeit dealers.

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RC Byblos and RCBC meet Me. Alexandre Najjar “Culture through Reading” – April 15, 09

A joint meeting between RCBC and RC Byblos was held at Edde Sands where Me. Alexandre Najjar lectured about a topic of high interest - “Culture through Reading” Me. Alexandre Najjar, the guest speaker of the evening, explained that the author is also an important reader, since he practices his most in selecting the words and expressing his emotions only through reading. Me. Najjar added that human beings are not born readers, yet they learn how to be-come one. The secret lies in changing the desire of reading into a motive and accordingly the book will be the everlasting friend. We are all encour-aged to read because reading is vital to have a better understanding of our-selves and others; it enlightens our soul and assists us in developing to be more thoughtful, constructive contributors to a democratic and cohesive so-ciety. Reading books is challenged by the marvelous technology advances and the vast spread of electronic games and other similar entertainments; therefore, it is the right time to take necessary actions to encourage reading by increasing the number of public and private libraries and increase awareness via different media. The lecture was followed by a fabulous dinner with a musical recital turning the night into a suc-cessful memorable event in the history of both clubs.

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H.E. Mrs. Michele Sison “US Policy in ME and in Lebanon” – April 28, 2009

The Rotary Club of Beirut Cosmopolitan had the honor of welcoming HE Mrs. Michel Sison, Ambassador of the US to Lebanon at a gala dinner held at “Le Vendome” hotel. Ambassador Sison was the keynote speaker of the evening and shared with the Rotarians and guests valuable information about the US foreign policy in the ME and in Lebanon.

Pinning Ceremony – April 28, 2009 RCBC celebrated as well the induction of new member, Ms. Giselle Abouchahine. She was sponsored by PP Gladys Younes. It was a great honor to conduct the cere-mony in the presence of DGR Ronald Farra who pinned the new Rotarian. RT Abou-chahine is an interior architect and professor at both Balamand University and Academie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts (ALBA).

Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour “Towards Dialogue and Peace” – May 19, 2009

Rev. Dr. Riad Jarjour, president and acting director of FDCD, was the guest speaker of the meeting on May 19, 2009, at Le Vendome Hotel. He introduced the FDCD organization which stands for Forum for Development, Culture, & Dialogue. They foresee “life in abundance” based on certain values like justice, equality, human dignity, social responsibility and dialogue at all levels of society, mainly focusing on marginalized and demoralized communities.

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Rev Dr Riad Jarjour is a founding member of the Arab Group for Christian-Muslim Dialogue which was estab-lished in May 1995 and included intellectuals, clergies and concerned individuals from Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. They were all gathered to address issues of coexistence, citizenship, and fostering the mutual understanding be-tween Muslims and Christians through all over the world.

Jean-Paul Chami from FDCD

Tonnie Choueiri from FDCD

Dr. Jacques Mokhbat “Infectious Diseases in general and Swine Flu in particular” - May 26, 2009

RCBC members were glad to meet with Dr. Jacques Mokhbat, professor at Lebanese University in the faculty of medical sciences, who was the guest speaker of the evening and talked about a topic of great concern to all, “Infectious Diseases and Swine Flu.” Dr. Mokhbat showed and explained the nature and structure of influenza virus. Swine flu is classified as an epidemic disease which means it causes serious outbreaks in a single community, population, or region, yet there is the fear that the swine flu will become a major global pan-demic in the winter affecting hundreds of thousands across many coun-tries. Global pandemic cases appeared three times in the 20th century and the worst one killed 20 to 40 million people. Influenza spreads easily from one person to another through coughing and sneezing and is trans-mitted as well through touching an infected person or surface contaminated with the virus and then touching your own or others’ face; in such a way, one person can transmit the virus to a very large number of individuals. By May 11, 2009, 2600 cases were confirmed in 44 states in the USA. He assured that Lebanon till now is able to control and quarantine the infected passengers coming from abroad. Yet, the chal-lenge that scientists are concerned about is the possible changes of the virus that it undergoes when it spreads to the southern hemisphere and to other countries that have poultry virus; the re-assortment of different viruses and their behavior can never be predicted.

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Mr. Maxim Chaaya “There is an Everest for Everyone” - June 16, 2009

RCBC members welcomed the Corporate Ambassador of Bank Audi, Mr. Maxim Chaaya, to a din-ner meeting where he shared with them his experience reaching the summit of Mt. Everest and completing the Seven Summits challenge. Mr. Chaaya displayed a short documentary to the members and guests showing them how he ac-complished his long and challenging journey. He explained that summiting was not an easy mission yet he returned safe to his family, and now he recognizes the inner changes that he underwent af-ter climbing the mountain. He admitted that he became more thankful of all those blessings that we sometimes take for granted in our daily lives. The lecture ended as Mr. Chaaya noted that there is an Everest for Everyone. We are all entitled to dream. “It doesn't have to be climbing a mountain, or even a physical activity, but that there is a place for those who dare to dream, and dreams can come true with determination, hard work and perseverance.” Mr. Maxim Chaaya is: - The first Lebanese to climb Mount Everest May 15 2006. - The first Lebanese to complete the Seven Summits in May 2006. - The first Lebanese and first Arab to complete the Three Poles Challenge on April 25 2009 - The first Lebanese, first Arab, and only the 12th person in history (worldwide) to complete the Explorers Grand Slam April 2009.

Mr. Serge Yazigi “Culture and Urbanism at the track of Zokak El Blat” - June 23, 2009

Mr. Serge Yazigi, architect and urbanist, was invited to talk to RCBC members about “Culture and Urbanism at the track of Zokak El Blat”.

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The members were introduced to the project of Zokak El Blat, an area in Beirut which was historically known to be the address of luxury and wealth in its neighborhood. Zokak El Blat was selected as pilot project mainly due to its cul-tural grid and its high level of connectivity with other areas. The project aims at preserving this district and renovating it to firm the sense of connection with its heritage. The area will be turned into a key cultural landmark. This project is part of ARCHIMEDES program (Actions to Regenerate Cities and Help Innovative Mediterranean Economic Development Enhancing Sustain-ability) which will enhance the quality of life in the area and create an environ-ment for local economic development while conserving the cultural legacy. The project is in collaboration with the Beirut Municipality and the Ministry of Culture.

RCBC Short News...

RC Presidents meet President of the Republic General Michel Sleiman (April 06, 2009)

PP Tony Asfour lectures about “Reseau des Entre-preneurs Solidaires” and RT Bob Macgregor about

“Global Crisis—Greed vs Service above Self” (April 21, 2009)

During the dinner which was organized by RC Beyrouth in the honor of PP Riad Saade, who was the founding presi-dent of RCBC, on April 27, 2009, P George Beyrouti con-gratulated the latter and appreciated his dedication to Rotary and his valuable contribution to the establishment of the club which was chartered on June 21, 1995.

RCBC welcomed RT Bashar Asfour from RC Amman West and the two ambassadorial scholars, Rachel and Christina Asfour who introduced them-selves to the club on May 12, 2009

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On May 19, 2009, Rima Abou Mrad thanked RCBC members for choosing her as Rotary Ambassadorial in 2006-2007 and for their continuous support. She said, “It was a great privi-lege for me to represent the Beirut Cosmopolitan Rotary Club, District 2450, and Lebanon during my stay in North America.”

GRSP Scholar, Tony Yaacoub has been selected “Student of the Year” for his outstanding perform-ance. He spoke to RCBC about his one year experi-

ence in Georgia on June 02, 2009.

P George Beyrouti participated in the 73rd District Conference in Egypt where he received 5 District Awards

Myriam Dib made a presentation to the members about her experience in France as she was spon-

sored by RCBC to participate in RYLA France 2008-2009

Members’ Happy Moments ☺ Happy Birthday to PP Joe Boulos (April 02), PE Edouard Rassie (May 02), RT Tony As-four (May 28), P George Beyrouti (June 13), RT Azmi Hajjaj (June 26) and RT Ghaleb Mahmassani (June 28); RCBC is wishing you great happiness, a joy that never ends.

Congratulations to PP Pierre Azar and Mrs. Nicole Khoury who got married on June 19, 2009, at Edde Sands.

You have chosen each other above all the rest To share your love and laughter to live life at its best May you always fill each other’s lives with LOVE