KEN DECKER grew up in Indianapolis, received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue and then decided to go for a law degree in Washington, D.C. With all that education, he was able to become a patent attorney and work for Bendix Corporation in South Bend. That company was acquired by Allied Signal, which ultimately eliminated KEN'S position. He has been involved with law firms in South Bend ever since. Applications for patents have tripled in the last 15 years with a total of 7.5 million patents issued. He and his wife, Kitty, have two daughters. We are happy they chose to live in our community.

DICK RAHDERT introduced Mike Ryan, Professor of History at Purdue, who was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar in 1995/6. He described his studies in Barcelona, Spain as life altering. When asked, "Why do the Crusades resonate today?" he explained the pop culture reminders in school mascots and films. That was followed by a fast history lesson on what the Crusades really were, who were the people involved, and why did they fight? The clash of religions and cultures that took place in medieval times to get to the center of the known world - Jerusalem - causes tensions to this day.

Tim Hula, standing in for TIM PARSONS, introduced Joshua Cramer from Harrison College. He received a certificate and a travel mug with the 4-Way test to commemorate meeting with us.

Laura Olson, guest of LETA KELLEY; Kitty Decker, wife of KEN DECKER

Money Collectors: JOHN TROTT and SUSAN HENSON; Greeter: RALPH GANN and DAVE LUHMAN; Invocation: PAUL ZIEMER; Piano: HARLEY FREY; Song Leader: ARVID OLSON; Help with attendance and facilitating a smooth meeting JO WADE and TOM MORAN; Help with Ripples: BILL FULLER.

LINK OF THE WEEK:

This week's LINK relates to Mike Ryan's presentation. Sorry for the opening commercial.
Click to see the video.

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