Today’s Speaker: – St Vincent De Paul Society’s Financial Aid Office
Future Speakers:
September 19th – No Meeting
Whacha’ May Have Missed Last Week:
Rick Capozzi presented a very interesting program entitled “Preparing for an Active Shooter Survival Mindset”. Rick, who owns the Capozzi Group of Hollidaysburg, has created a seminar entitled “Survival Mindset” and his presentation to the club was a shortened version of that seminar. Rick began by stating that the chance of you becoming involved in a shootout scenario is very rare, probably equivalent to being struck by lightning multiple times. However….you still can be ready if such a situation arises. Observing the layout of any public room that you are in is a good start according to Rick. Knowing where the exits are, where fire extinguishers are located, and if and where any defibrillators may be found is a very good strategy. Fire extinguishers can also be used as a weapon by spraying the chemicals at the shooter or used to distract the perp to cover any retreat that you may need to employ. Rick also demonstrated how a belt can be used to secure a door and talked about how many common items such as coffee cups, chairs, etc. in a room could be used as a “weapon”. Rick said you have to understand the seriousness of these situations since the mindset of a shooter is that he or she knows that this will be their last day….they’re just not sure how many people that they can take with them! Being prepared for one of these events can make the difference in the survival rate of yourself and often times, others around you.
Rick noted that the U.S. Dept. of Justice has released statistics of recent active shooter scenarios showing the following:
- 70% of school active shooters are between the ages of 14 to 19 years old.
- 33 % of all school shootings are at faith-based institutions.
- 10% of mass shootings occur in churches
- 75% of shooters walk through the unlocked front doors of a building
- 98% of shootings occur in gun-free areas
Annually, Rick’s company provides one of their public seminars at the Blair County Convention Center but they can also provide a private seminar for your business or organization. The seminars are typically around 3 ½ – 7 hours in length, but can be modified to whatever you desire. For more information on their company and their seminars, visit them at SurvivalMindset.us
Guests of the Day:
…..Diane Carnell had two guests last week…..her husband Don, and her mother-In-law, Mary Carnell.
News of the Week:
…..Vice-President Kristen Zolnoski presided over the meeting for President Rachael and noted that she will be chairing our next Marianna’s hoagie sale. The delivery date is set for Tuesday October 24th. Kristen will have order forms available at tomorrow’s meeting.
…..Dean McKnight thanked fellow Ambucs Paul Dick, Dave Aikens, and John Lloyd 
for their work in building a wheelchair ramp in his garage to provide better access for his wife Elsie who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The materials for the ramp were purchased by Dean and in appreciation for the work that was done on his behalf, he presented our club with a donation of $500 to go towards our Amtryke fund. A very worthwhile project and a generous contribution to our Amtryke fund….a nice win for everyone involved.
…..The Irving Texas AMBUCS Chapter has asked all chapters to assist them by making donations to a fund set up to assist the Hurricane Harvey victims. They will use the funds to buy food, clothing, and supplies to help get these people back on their feet. Our club will be making a $500 donation and Treasurer Paul passed the hat among the members at our meeting last Tuesday. The members generously responded by donating an additional $552. Way to go Ambucs!
…..Grant Writer Dave Aikens announced that he has received word that his grant request to the Altoona Chamber of Commerce Leadership Blair County has been honored with a $1,000 donation to our Amtryke fund. Way to go Dave and thanks for all of the grant monies that you have secured for our Amtrykes!
…..Tony Miller again promoted the picnic social planned for Ed Farabaugh’s home on Saturday September 23rd at 6:30 PM. The club will be providing some food (which Tony has no idea as to what it will be yet) and he’s asking if attendees can provide a dessert. Remember to sign up this week to attend this fun evening.
…..No “33” scores this weekend….but there’s still Monday night football!
…..Our guest speaker, Rick Capozzi, pulled the winning raffle ticket of Dean McKnight. Dean’s card selection turned out to be the Four of Diamonds, not one of those always hiding Jokers! Better luck this week with the chance to take home a pot of around $80 by picking one of the Jokers out of the remaining 50 cards.
In Closing: The late comedian Mitch Hedberg was wonderful at one liners. Here are some of his gems:
- An escalator can never break….it can only become stairs.
- A burrito is a sleeping bag for ground beef.
- I find that a duck’s opinion of me is very much influenced by whether or not I have bread.
- If you’re flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.
- Is a Hippopotamus a Hippopotamus? Or is it just a really cool opotamus?
- When I was a boy, I laid in my twin-sized bed and wondered where my brother was.
- This shirt is ‘dry clean only’ – which means it’s dirty!
- A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer.