ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Ken announced he had received notification SGR has met its obligation to the Guatemalan stove project, which also included some hospital equipment, as well. He also noted there is potential in the future for additional support to families in Guatemala and encouraged members to consider a continuation of this project.
President Ken noted receipt of the membership report which shows SGR has a current membership of 78 active and 4 honorary members. Although SGR has seen some substantial drop in membership, the club is beginning to grow once again. In comparison, other local clubs have maintained level growth including Red Rock Rotary which has a current total of 40 members; Hurricane has 16, and Dixie Sunrise has 34. The state’s fastest growing club is American Fork.
President Ken also announced the recent passing of Don Taylor, a former member of SGR, at the age of 92.
A final announcement was the recent decision of the board of trustees to cancel the 2009 Dixie Rotary Bowl due to the significant shortfall in funding, which has resulted over the past several years, in a financial drain on the DRB foundation’s endowment fund. According to Ken, the event needs a minimum of $90,000 to be successful and to date, sponsorships have resulted in less than $40,000. President Ken assured members the DRB board would continue to pursue a positive outcome next year or would consider other options.
PROGRAM: Dave Clark, Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, shared his experiences and thoughts on the current economic situation and its impact on Utah’s taxpayers and human service programs. According to the speaker, the House revenue estimating committee has indicated tax revenues will be $300 million below expectations. Rotarian Dave Clark indicated the state will have a projected shortfall of $1.8 billion in 2010 despite all attempts to cut the budget in every conceivable way. He noted the Legislature was successful in taking back approximately $220 million from 53 agencies which had not spent their state funding - but "there are no good choices in 2009 because we are operating the state at the same level as we were in 2007 . . . and we have a $700 million shortfall in meeting our future expenditures!" 
According to Clark, the state has the option to spend down up to half of the "rainy day" fund, and legislators are considering the possibility of bringing back the tax on food, "but its only a one time fix!"On the subject of the nation's current health care debate, Clark said our existing system of health care, if left unchecked and unreformed, will require 100% of our paychecks within 18.6 years.
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