A really good cause

What would you do for a good cause?

I mean, a really good cause.

Good-hearted people do amazing things all the time to raise money for charities. They bowl, they dance, they walk, they rock in rocking chairs. You name it, they do it.

And if they sacrifice a little dignity along the way, so be it. Being a little less stuffy and a little less full of ourselves is part of what makes that sort of charitable effort worthwhile.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Next Sunday, I take a pie in the face for a good cause.

A really good cause.

Not only that, eleven other friends of mine are prepared to do the same thing for the same cause.

Let me explain, or try to.

I'm a member of the Portland Rotary Club. Rotary is one of those service clubs like the Lions and Optimists and Kiwanians that does a great deal of good work, usually outside the public eye.

In fact, it's safe to say that service clubs and sororities and lodges are essential to the glue that holds communities together. They're the groups - from the Delts to the Moose, from the Elks to Tri Kappa - that provide scholarships, fund charitable giving, and make countless things happen.

Their very existence is a vote of confidence in the future of our community and our neighborhoods. They represent the essence of paying-it-forward, of giving back.

If you're not involved in one, you should be. You will be a better person for it.

In my case, it's Rotary.

And in my case, the good cause - the really good cause - is the eradication of polio.

Folks under a certain age don't think much about polio. But during my childhood, it was a fact of life, a very scary fact of life.

Jay County suffered through a severe epidemic of the disease in 1949, when I was still an infant and no one knew how the disease was transmitted or what caused it. As an elementary school student, I walked with classmates to Jay County Hospital to receive the first vaccine.

All my life growing up here, I have known those who suffered from polio. The old term would have been "polio victims," but these people were too tough, too strong, and too determined to be considered anyone's victims.

Still, the scars were there.

If you grew up in Jay County during a certain era, you knew polio. You knew those whose lives had been touched by the disease. You knew, also, that you were lucky, extremely lucky, to have avoided it.

That's why, I think, the Portland Rotary Club has responded so strongly to Rotary International's efforts to eradicate polio from the face of the earth.

The effort began back in 1985, and it continues today. When it began, there were something like 300,000 new cases of polio per year. Today, there are fewer than 1,500 per year and the disease is limited to four countries.

The effort at inoculating the world's children has been nothing short of remarkable, and I have to admit I'm proud that the local club has played a substantial role. Back in 1985, the club raised several thousand dollars, thanks in large part to a challenge gift from the late Lee G. Hall.

Three years ago, Rotary was given a challenge by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Raise $200 million and the Gates Foundation would kick in $355 million.

The goal for the Jay County club was $3,000 over three years. The club raised $6,400 the first year and has raised $2,300 so far this year. Only the Indianapolis Rotary Club has raised more for polio eradication, and no club has raised more per member.

Most of that has come out of the pockets of members, folks who grew up with polio all around them.

But this weekend, you get a chance to participate.

Rotarians have decided to take a pie in the face - to sacrifice an ounce of dignity - to help the cause.

Twelve Rotarians have agreed to be the target for pies in the face at Expo 2010 this weekend. Eight will be on the firing line on Saturday; four on Sunday.

There will be a silent auction, with all proceeds going toward polio eradication. High bidders get to unleash their inner Moe and deliver a pie to the face.

For the record, the 12 are: Former president of Portland Forge Charlie Freel, the Portland Foundation's Doug Inman, Wayne Blevins of Sertech Heating and Cooling, Jay County Chamber of Commerce executive Vickie Tague, Jay chamber president Scott Bollenbacher, candidate for Jay County prosecutor Wes Schemenaur, accountant Hannah Hughes, Jay County community developer Ami Huffman, investment adviser and Rotary president Mike Engels, city attorney Bill Hinkle, funeral director Don Spencer, and - oh, yeah - me. I'm scheduled for Sunday afternoon. What are you willing to bid?[[In-content Ad]]