From President Scot

First things first...THANK YOU to all who have already made your reservations for Bids 4 Kids, Saturday, May 14.  We have commitments for 20 tables.  This is terrific!  But, I know there is still room under the Big Tent that will be our venue for this year's gala event.  Kathy and I have invited 8 non-Rotarians to join us at our table for this great evening.  Please consider who you could invite and bring with you to this wonderful evening of great fellowship, amazing food, fabulous wine, and a rare opportunity to bid on some amazing auction items.  Get those reservations in this week.  Thanks.

Second, speaking of auction items, I hope you have been visiting www.bidsforkidsauction.com often. (I want to know who keeps out-bidding me on some items...such presidential treatment...)

Finally, I want to thank Jeff vonKaenel for helping us all focus on the everyday Hero's that surround us.  The meeting on Monday prompted one of our members to share with me the following story...that I imagine has been repeated in many, many Rotarians homes over the years.

“The other evening, my three-year-old daughter was industriously packing up a bunch of her toys into a bag. When I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was preparing for a meeting. I asked what kind of meeting she was planning to attend, and she responded very seriously, "It's a pro bono meeting." I told her I was very proud of her for doing pro bono work and volunteering her time to help someone who needed it. She asked me if when she grew up we could do pro bono work together. I assured her that we wouldn't have to wait until she grows up.

Interestingly, one of the things I wanted to accomplish out of my work with the [non-profit agency] was to model for my daughter the importance of being responsible for the people in our community and taking whatever action we could to make other people's lives better. We've had many talks about the pro bono work I'm doing, so it was nice to see it coming back at me unprompted, and in a context she understood. Mission accomplished--or at least started!”

I hope every one of you "heroes" has a terrific week.  Don't forget to get your Bids 4 Kids reservations in this week.  I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.