A few new tidbits about Richmond history...

Many club members are well-versed in Richmond and it's history, but historians and authors Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi shared some new stories about our cities past at our June 24 meeting.
Smith and Dementi, who have co-authored two books together, opened with stories from their latest book about the hills of Richmond. The legend is that Richmond, much like Rome, is built on seven hills. While the authors could only find one map outlining only seven hills in our city and had trouble documenting the legends origin though noted historian Douglas Freeman traced it to a poem in the Dispatch newspaper.
They talked about Sheep Hill, which no longer exists, was home to Richmond's first baseball stadium. It now stands as a parking lot at Clay and Lombardy streets.
Also, Church Hill was where members of the Tri-State gang, a 1930's organized crime outfit, were arrested after a tip to the city newspaper.
No one was quite sure where Chimborazo Hill got its name either, but Smith was able to trace the name back to a large mountain in the Andes. How that name got stuck to a 200-foot hill in Richmond, our speaker did not know.
Smith and Dementi also shared photos and told stories from the first book, "The Songlines of Richmond."
There was a photo of Johnson's Happy Pals, a noted, local jazz group, after they won a competition against the likes of Duke Ellington.
He also shared a story of their research that found maybe Elvis got his start in Richmond. Using microfilm at the Library of Virginia, they found a handbill for a show for "one night only" at the Mosque that featured Hank Snow as the headliner and Elvis Presley as an opening act.
They also uncovered "one of the best horses of the 19th century" at the Bullfield plantation. They discovered "Planet" who in the 1850's competed in 31 races and won 27 times and finished second the other four.
Their last photo and story consisted of the 1968 Tuckahoe Little League all-star team who went to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. before losing in the final game to Japan 1-0.

Dr. Christine Browning talks to the club about heart health

Dr. Chrstine Browning informed the club at our June 14 meeting of different statistics and ways to improve your heart health, the latest technology in the cardiology world and important components of the recently passed health care legislation.
Two of the biggest innovations said Browning, a cardiologist with the Richmond Cardiology Association, are the Da Vinci robotics for minimially invasive surgery which allows patients to heal faster and th ventricular assistance device which is a progression of an artifical heart.
While cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer in the US, two-thirds are the deaths are preventable, she said. For example, a 12 point drop in blood pressure can lower your chance of stroke by 37 percent and of heart disease 25 percent.
While there are uncontrollable risks such as age (over 55) and family history (only direct relatives such as mother, father, brothers and sisters), there are many people can control such as obesity, smoking and high blood pressure.
Browning, a Hanover native who received all of her education at VCU, said there are five important steps to take to improve your heart health are to 1) "get moving" with 30 minutes of exercise, five times a week, 2) quit smoking, 3) know your numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol), 4) follow a healthy diet and 5) say no to salt.
Browning also discusses some of the pros and cons of the health care legislation and some of the reforms that were taking place prior to the bill's passage. Those items include electronic medical records, pay-for-performance with Medicare and other improved techologies. The benefits of the new health care bill includes coverage for 32 million uninsured Americans, Medicaid coverage to 133% of the poverty level, no denials for pre-existing conditions and coverage for young adults on their parents plan to age 26. The pitfalls, she said, are a lack of limits on cost containment, administrative costs, tort reform and end-of-life care. Also, there is no incentive for a healthy lifestyle.
Browning ended her talk with the main theme which is that cardiovascular disease is prventable, prevention needs to start early and that doctors should do their part for community outreach and education.

Kiwanians in the News

Our own native Englishman, Tony Pelling, shared his thoughts about the upcoming World Cup match between the U.S. and England in today's Times-Dispatch sports section. He goes on to explain how much more passionate English fans are about the World Cup than their American counter parts, which was the theme of the article.

Here is a link to that story: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/professional/professional_soccer/article/WCUP10_20100609-222804/350192

This is not Tony's first appearance in the T-D sports section. He explained to our club back in October the Flying Squirrel has a long history in Virginia and makes a very relevant selection as the mascot of Richmond's new baseball team. Due to the curiosity in having the Flying Squirrels as a nickname, the Times-Dispatch picked up Tony's trivia as a neat piece of history.

Here is a link to that story: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sports/minors/minors_baseball/article/BASE21_20091020-221603/300581

VP of Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation our June 7 speaker

Chuck Brady, vice president of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and a past member of our club, spoke to the work the foundation is doing nationwide and here in Richmond.
Named in honor of the Baltimore Orioles manager after his passing in 2001, it was established to use baseball and softball as a means to teach life lessons to underprivileged youth and has assisted 700,000 children in 48 states. The foundation's goal, borrowing a quote from Billy Ripken, is "not to create major league players, but major league people."
Locally, Brady said the foundation is working with the Boys and Girls Club to build a state of the art youth development facility in the Bainbridge area of South Richmond. The facility will have a turf field and be one of the nicest athletic facilities in the area and hopes to break ground in the fall.
"It will be the nicest, safest, positive place to play sports outdoors," he said. He also said Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. would make an appearance at its opening.
Brady said the organization works with children to teach them life lessons, but most importantly about the need to delay immediate gratification. For example, dropping out of school or breaking into homes are bad decisions and how those choices can impact your future.
Another program the foundling is involved in is Badges for Baseball which brings together law enforcement officers and children from tougher environments on the baseball field as a means to build trust between the two and to help teach life lessons.

June 7 Announcements

Several announcements were made at our meeting today for upcoming events.

- President Tim Sexton asked members to save Kiwanis magazines for use in membership packets.
- Club members were asked to volunteer July 17 at the Virginia Historical Society from 10 to 5 for their annual family open house., which brings in 2,000 people a year. Members are needed for two-hour shifts and will be needed in a variety of capacities. Contact Jim Irby for more details.
- Two inter-clubs were announced: Friday, June 11 with the Tuckahoe Club, 7 am at Southern States and Thursday, June 24 with the Midlothian Club, 7:30 am at the Martin's on Midlothian Turnpike near Huguenot. Contact Art Hunt for more details.
- Save the date: William Byrd Community House summer carnival is Friday, August 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Two club scholarships awarded

As part of our Sponsored Youth Day, the Kiwanis Club of Richmond was pleased to present scholarships to two Richmond-area seniors.
The Key Club scholarship went to Calvesha Lewis (left), president of the Thomas Jefferson High School Key Club. She lead a project this year that raised more than $700 for Haiti relief. Lewis was described as one "who spends a lot of time looking after others more than herself." She plans to attend Virginia State University and major in psychology and minor in education. The scholarship is worth $1,500. She is pictured with Club President Tim Sexton, Sponsored Youth Day organizer Reaves Louthan, Matt Zipperer, faculty advisor to the TJ club.
The Zuppa scholarship, named in honor or a past treasurer of our club, went to Benedictine student Matthew Shutt (right). A member of the Key Club and an Eagle Scout, he is planning on majoring in engineering at Virginia Tech. The scholarship is worth $1,400 a year for four years. He is joined by Kiwanian Jim Donohue in his photo.

VCU CKI Past President gives update

As part of our June 1 Sponsored Youth Day, VCU CKI Past President Ryan White gave an update on the progress of his club. He said that the club set new records by increasing membership this year from 30 to 50 members while volunteering 1,300 service hours this year. White also was able to report that he felt that there was an improved relationship with their Key Club at Varina High School and more of a connection with the Kiwanis Club of Richmond, their sponsor. He said the VCU CKI club participated in activities this year that benefitted ElderHomes, the SPCA, the Richmond Marathon and Church Hill Activities and Tutoring.

Ann Loomis our May 24 speaker

Ann Loomis, director of federal public policy for Dominion Virginia Power, was our lunch speaker on May 24 and spoke to the different climate change legislation currently before Congress. During her presentation, the Alexandria-resident gave summaries of the the major bills in Congress including the Waxman-Markey, Bingaman and Kerry-Lieberman legislation. She said that "cap and trade" is the preferred method to the environmental community because it provides more accountability, whereas a tax alone would not be enough to encourage change. Loomis said that Congress would like to have an agreement before December, but personally does not believe there is enough of an agreement to get that done. However, if there is no Congressional action a bipartisan bill restricting EPA authority to regulate greenhouse gases is also a possibility.