July 31, 2014 – Meeting Roundup – Club Assembly
We’re back at the Holiday Inn this week and for the first time in many, many years, neither Pam nor Matt will be on hand to help serve us. Seems they got married and moved to Florida. Florida’s gain is our loss.
This week we will have President Chris Johnson’s first club assembly. A club assembly, as defined by Rotary International, is a meeting of the officers, directors, and committee chairmen of a club to coordinate and develop the program of Rotary within the club. Our club expands it to include all of our members. We now have five avenues of service as Rotary International has added a new one this year. They are Club Service, Community Service, Vocational Service, International Service, and, the new avenue, New Generations. Each of the committee chairs will tell us what their committee will be doing this year. We will also hear from the chairs of the various sub-committees. Among those are the Taste of the Panhandle, Memorial Day PolioPlus Pancake Breakfast, Buddy Ring Golf Tournament, Foundation, Membership and Retention, Programs, and Membership Roster. There are several other committees that we will hear from also.
President Chris will possibly share her vision for the direction she would like to see the club take. She will probably want to continue the path set by the past two presidents, both of whom were very active during their terms of office. Plus, she will probably want to add a few twists and refinements of her own.
If you are not on the board of directors, this is probably your greatest chance of providing input. Perhaps you have an idea of how to improve the golf tournament. You might have some input to provide on the Taste of the Panhandle fundraiser. You might have an objection to the way something is being done. Maybe you would just like to be able to participate in the club more. This is your chance. One thing I have learned in my 35 years as a Rotarian—nobody will EVER object to you volunteering to help the club. We have 134 members, but probably only a quarter of those do the actual work of the club. We should have 100% participation by all the members, not just a few of them. Please show you want to be part of the solution, not the problem, by showing up this week for this important meeting. It is important for all our members to try to attend. Now is the chance to have your voice heard, so speak up now or forever hold your peace.
And, who knows, there might even be desserts!
Homelessness
Fortunately, most of us have never experienced homelessness, but many in the Eastern Panhandle have. Elizabeth Granzow, a college-educated professional with a master’s degree, is one of those. She told us how the homeless lose possessions, dignity, and safety. Many of the homeless are families and it’s a struggle keeping the families together. The Faith Community Coalition for the Homeless is trying to help with the problems through the use of Projects for Assistance in Transition for the Homeless (PATH). They try to help with emergency hotel stays, sleeping bags, camping supplies, food, and other items.
For more information, or to volunteer, call 301=514-7870 or 240-405-6794.
Cogwheels
Answer to last week’s question:
The following subcommittees are recommended for vocational service:
Career Development
Vocation at Work
Vocational Awareness
Vocational Awards
Other subcommittees may be substituted or added, according to local needs.
This week’s question:
We are all aware RI President Gary Huang is coming to our district on August 4th in Greencastle. Who was the most famous Rotarian to visit our district and our club?
Dawn Brown, a Senior Sales Agent for Transamerica and founder of Family Charities of Berkeley County, was a guest of Mike Hornby. Sara Koontz brought Amy Castle, Marketing Coordinator for Shenandoah Community Health. Chrissy Kallas, who works for Allstate as an agent for Greg Smith, was a guest of Greg.
There will be a meeting of the Membership Committee at Ruby Tuesday at 11:30 this Wednesday, July 30th. If you are a member, or want to be a member, be sure to show up for this meeting.
There will be a memorial service for Roger Lewis on Wednesday, July 30th at 2pm at Trinity Episcopal Church at the corner of King St. and College St. There will probably be a large turnout, so you might want to get there early.
We still need volunteers (and aprons) for August 9th for the Youth Fair. Contact Berniece Collis for details and volunteering.
The Taste of the Panhandle will be on January 10, 2015. It’s not too early to start making plans for Martinsburg’s premier social event and our club’s biggest fundraiser. We already have a commitment from the Purple Iris to be at the event. The committee will be looking for sponsors and vendors, so see what you can do to help.
The United Way Day of Caring project for this year is to repaint the dining room at Berkeley Senior Services. This would be an afternoon project as the room is in use before then. Let Kathy Mason know if you can help.
Our exchange student, Clara Opdebeeck, will be arriving soon from Arlon, Luxembourg, Belgium. She will be staying with Program Chair Brian Joliff and his family. Please consider including her in your outings.
“Arlon, Belgium” by Jean-Pol GRANDMONT – Own work. / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Pam Curtis could not locate the Queen of Hearts, so she will sell 50/50 tickets this week.