The skies were grey with a bit of moisture, but no snow or ice, and the atmosphere inside the gaily-decked Wakonda Club was warm and friendly as we gathered for our annual Rotary Holiday Luncheon. The place was packed, as the saying goes, with Rotarians, their spouses, friends and others on hand for a very good buffet, with eggnog ahead of time for those who chose to partake. At the right time, President Shawn Mullen rang the bell, got our attention, and asked Matt Mardis-LeCroy to offer a few words of inspiration, which he very thoughtfully did, and followed up with the pledge to the flag, the Four Way Test, then invited us to greet one another, which we did with both enthusiasm and perseverance. President Shawn got us back under control and moved on to one of the highlights of the Rotary year, recognizing those with various numbers of years of perfect attendance. Rees Jones tops this list with 43 years! President Shawn then recognized those who have become Paul Harris Fellows this year and also those who have added to the number of those fellowships they have underwritten.
President Shawn then asked President-elect Don Flannery to momentarily preside while he stepped away, for reasons we saw later, and Don very ably reminded us of the annual Polio Night at the Wolves hockey game on Saturday, Feb. 2 and our need to sign up to either attend or help someone else do so, with the proceeds going to the RI Foundation’s Polio eradication efforts. We’re close to success in that regard but still need to pursue it to completion, when polio is no more. President-elect Don also announced an event that sounds like a real winner, the annual February Fling, hosted by his wife and him on Friday, Feb. 8. There will be more information to come, but it looks like a fun evening with really good entertainment and lots of Rotary fellowship. Moving on, Don asked John Cortesio to introduce our program for the day. In his introduction, John told us about the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble, led into the room by our own President Shawn Mullen, a long-time member. Its twenty-some singers, under the direction of Tim McMillin, certainly lived up to their excellent reputation in Des Moines and central Iowa, favoring us with a very special concert of Christmas-oriented music, ranging from sacred music of the past several centuries to closing with a couple of more light-hearted numbers that we all know, Jingle Bells and Deck The Halls. A wonderful presentation which we recognized with a standing ovation when completed.
It was another most enjoyable Rotary Holiday Party, to which the Vocal Arts Ensemble added so much, and we truly appreciate Tim McMillin and all of its members sharing their talents and taking the time to come be with us.