September 17th Carolyn Schrader – AI for Good
Carolyn Schrader has been a member of our club for just over a year, sponsored by Dewey Whitton in July 2024. She moved to Salem after a very successful career in creating massive databases and managing the people who were managing risk for a one-trillion-dollar financial business unit.
In her “retirement” she has become a published author of two books – ChatGPT for Baby Boomers and ChatGPT for Job Hunters. Her work also contains other technical pieces, whimsical stories, and online newsletters.
She is a strong believer in the “power of artificial intelligence to create a brighter future—if we approach it thoughtfully, with our humanity and critical thinking intact.”
Program Chair – Renee Campbell
Meeting Location: Cedar Hall, Main Salem Alliance Building
President’s Message
September Bell Ringers: Share Your Joy and Celebrate Fellow Rotarians with Salem Rotary Foundation
September is bringing forth Bell Ringers in support of our own Salem Rotary Foundation. What has happened in your life in the past week that brought a smile to your face? What birthday, anniversary, retirement, or family announcement do you want to share with your fellow Rotarians? What action by a fellow Rotarian should you honor with a Bell Ringer? There are many other reasons to step forward with a Bell Ringer declaration. Go For It!! Use the link in this E-blast to get to this week’s Bell Ringer presenter Ron Keleman. Send Ron the details and then pay online using the link also found in this E-blast. Or bring the written information to the meeting on Wednesday and hand it to Ron and then step up to the pay station usually manned by Rus McCracken (SRF Treasurer) and pay the $20 Bell Ringer fee. We try our best to make it easy for each of you to participate in the fun of Bell Ringers.
I am excited that we will have a Student of the Month joining us this week. It will be the Student Body President of South Salem High School for the 2025-26 school year. The student presentations we receive are very enlightening and usually bring out some very special information and talents about our youth and what they plan to do during the current year as well as the future years of their lives.
After our South Salem High School student of the month and before all the Bell Ringers, we will feature a program about Artificial Intelligence (AI) brought to us by our own Carolyn Schrader. I don’t want to steal any of her thunder, but you should know that she has authored at least one book on the AI topic and it should be a very interesting presentation. AI seems to be the buzz around the business world and in everyday life. Key applications include predictive customer analytics, content generation, fraud detection, intelligent automation for back-office tasks, and smart resource management. Ultimately, AI helps companies improve efficiency, reduce costs, gain a competitive edge, and make better, faster, data-driven decisions. AI can help you find the right words to form better communication. As I prepare this message each week, I get help from AI as it attempts to complete the thoughts I start. AI also plays a role in daily life through features like Face ID on smartphones, personalized social media feeds, online shopping suggestions, and even the underlying technology for fraud prevention and personalized playlists. Although it can be very helpful, it can also be wrong and those instances are called hallucinations. Enough talk. I am looking forward to Carolyn’s presentation.
Be sure to order a lunch from Little Lois Café or Better Than Mamas and join us in Cedar Hall directly east of the Broadway Commons building. Parking can be found in any of the surrounding surface lots or there are some spaces on the street; it is free since we are outside of the downtown core area. See you on Wednesday!!
President Doug Parham
Rotary Club of Salem
2025-2026
