Grapevine – September 23, 2021
Greeter – New member, Jennifer Smith was the greeter this week and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, Four-Way Test, and invocation.
Guests – No Guests
Club Business/Announcements:
- Shelter box initiative: right now, Rotary clubs are sending Shelter Boxes to Haiti. We set sponsoring one Shelter Box as a goal for this year, Pete is our Shelter Box point person.
- We are cooking and serving at the Apple Harvest Pancake Breakfast on October 16th and 17th. We are looking for volunteers for that.
- Berniece has been working on the dictionary project. The books are being delivered this week!
- Faith Christian’s Interact club is looking for seventeen people who are willing to donate a case of twenty-four bottles of the twelve to sixteen-ounce size of water bottles for a community service project. Please bring in a case of water this Thursday. Thanks!
- ESSEX is starting to plan for inbound and outbound exchange students for next year.
- Rob Lowe is seeking volunteers to join the new Pickleball Tournament Fundraising Committee. Please consider this and get with him for more information.
Student Guests
- Our student guests this week were Rachel Allen, Hopelynn Phipps, and Farah Oleiwi from Faith Christian Academy and were introduced by Jennifer Stanley.
Program
Lee Dean, Field Representative for the WV Secretary of State’s Office, was our speaker. In addition to his work in state government, Lee is an accomplished actor, singer, and musician. He has been seen throughout the tri-state area as the lead in numerous theatre productions, dinner theater and solo performances. Over the last several years, Lee Dean has earned acclaim for his portrayal of legendary performers like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. When WV Secretary of State Mac Warner wanted to bring history alive to enhance West Virginia’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 26th Amendment, he reached out to Lee Dean. West Virginia played a unique leadership role in the passage of the 26th Amendment – the Amendment that reduced the voting age from 21 to 18. It was United States Senator Jennings Randolph of West Virginia who led the 29-year effort (1942 to 1971) to see the Amendment finally pass Congress in March of 1971. In honor of Senator Randolph’s determination to get young people involved in the voting process, the Secretary of State’s office has created the Jennings Randolph Award. This award is given to high schools that have at least 85 percent of eligible students registered to vote. Some exemptions may apply.
Upcoming Programs:
- Sept 30 – New & Old Member Bios (You won’t want to miss this!!!)
- Oct 7 – Scotty Pereschuk, Columbia Cares Medical Marijuana
- Oct 14 – Mike Laing, Berkeley County Judicial Center Courthouse Marshalls
- Oct 21 – Zack Walburn, Storm Water Management and the “Rain Tax”
- Oct 28 – Jim Ouellet, Berkeley County Water Supply History and Future
50/50
- Sandy Hamilton sold tickets this week. Sharon Novak’s ticket was drawn, and she did not choose the winning card. She will sell tickets next week.
Community Announcements:
- October 9th is the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, located at War Memorial Park. Registration from 8 AM – 9 AM, walk starts at 9:30. My Team is Jones Pride. Please walk with me or donate to this great cause.
- October 13th will be the Girl Scouts Women of Distinction luncheon.
- October 23rd join Mainstreet Martinsburg as they have the first State Food Truck Festival