DAUGHTERS’ DAY DRAWS BIG CROWD
Meeting of December 20, 2022
Reported by Steve Heath
What do EMMA BENNETT, MARGARET TEICHERT and MARIE and KIARA MCVEIGH have in common? (Besides being among the more than 100 Rotarians, family members and guests who turned out December 20th for our annual DAUGHTERS’ DAY holiday celebration.)
The answer: They received our traditional special recognition (and bouquets of holiday flowers) for being the youngest attendee, having attended the most Daughters’ Days or having traveled the farthest to attend.
For MARGARET, daughter of Past-President FRED TEICHERT, it was her 43rd Daughters’ Day—the most of any daughters present on Tuesday. At the other end of the spectrum, one-year-old EMMA, great-granddaughter of ART and KIEFIE BREUER, made her Daughters’ Day debut, and was the youngest in the room. And MARIE (5) and KIARA (3), granddaughters of Past-President DAN MCVEIGH, had journeyed the farthest, 5,888 miles from their home in Barcelona, Spain.
Tuesday’s celebration followed our traditional Daughters’ Day format, with the (grand)daughters taking over meeting management after brief remarks from President LINDA GEERY.ISABELLE JACKSON served as President for the Day. A 7th-grader at Sacred Heart Parish School, the 12-year-old did an outstanding job—maintaining the precedent set by her grandfather, Past-President JIM LEET. Joining Isabelle at the head table were LIBBY PAVELCHIK, AVA WHITE and EVELYN MARSHALL.
LIBBY, a junior at Mesa Verde High School, provided our Thought for the Day. The granddaughter of ROY ALEXANDER, said, “This thought for the day is about being grateful. Thank you for our relationships with family and friends that nurture and strengthen us. Thank you for the material goods that serve our daily needs, food, shelter, education, transportation and employment. Thank you for the joys of the year, the experiences that reminded us of life’s goodness. Thank you for the year’s challenges that gave us opportunities for growth and new perspective. May we always be good stewards of the gifts we have and offer love to the world.”EVELYN MARSHALL, granddaughter of NORM MARSHALL, led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance. She is a 4th-grader at H Clarke Powers school. AVA WHITE, granddaughter of TED WHITE, and a 6th-grader at Elliot Ranch Elementary School, served as Sergeant-at-Arms.
CLAIRE JACKSON, granddaughter of PP JIM LEET and a 3rd-grader at Sacred Heart Parish School, and PENELOPE MARSHALL, granddaughter of NORM MARSHALL, and a 2nd-grade at H Clarke Powers School, served as Greeters. LORETTA ZUIDEMA and AVERY CANUP, both great-granddaughters of KIEFIE and ART BREUER, were our Elves. LORETTA is a 2nd-grader at Maranatha Christian School in San Diego, and AVERY is a 1st-grader at American River Collegiate Academy in Orangevale. RACHEL ADAMS-LEE, daughter-in-law of CLAYTON LEE, sang the National Anthem.
JAMIE FURLONG and JOHN SWENTOWSKY conspired to provide five minutes of holiday mirth. JAMIE bravely delivered the jokes and puns, which elicited almost as many groans as chuckles, but those of us who know JOHN quickly deduced the identity of her “ghost writer.” And NIKKI WARDLAW helped keep the crowd entertained with table-top activities such as a trivia quiz and holiday word scramble.
Also keeping everyone entertained were the ROTARY ROCKERS. JOHN MCINTYRE, KEVIN SMITH-FAGAN, JEFF STONE, SHIRLEE TULLY, LATOYA WONG and KERRY WOOD provided a selection of holiday songs. Likewise, ELFRENA FOORD played several Christmas carols on the piano as guest arrived.
PP JIM LEET and NIKKI WARDLAW were the organizers of this year’s Daughters’ Day. They were assisted by KATHE NATHAN, BARBARA CLEGG and STEVE HEATH.
CLUB ANNOUNCEMENTS
JOHN SWENTOWSKY is still looking for a few more volunteers to help prepare and serve lunch at Loaves and Fishes next Thursday (December 29th). Volunteers are needed for both the 7:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. shifts. If you can help out, contact JOHN at swentowsky@comcast.net.
NEXT MEETING – SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, January 10, when our guest speaker will be AMANDA RAY, Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. As always, we will be at the Annunciation Greek Church, 600 Alhambra Boulevard. Be sure to watch for the email with the registration link—and bring a friend/prospective club member!
THANKS, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM YOUR ROTARY STAFF!
PHOTO GALLERY (Courtesy of John Swentowsky)
