WHAT A YEAR IT HAS BEEN... IN SO MANY WAYS
San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain throws a perfect game retiring all 27 Houston Astros batters, a first in the 129 history of the club franchise, American skier Lindsey Vonn chalks up over fifty circuit victories clinching the overall 2012 Women’s World Cup, Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (the king of clay) wins the French Open for an unprecedented 7th time making history, Webb Simpson (out of nowhere almost) wins golf’s US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, the Heat darn near sweeps the NBA Championship , iconic mountaineer Conrad Anker tops out on Everest a month ago without supplemental oxygen , a first for him as he joins just a handful accomplishing the same feat, world solo free climber Alex Honnold breaks the record (by 13 minutes) for climbing the nose of EL Capitan in Yosemite a week ago in just 2:23 minutes, the Cal Bears didn’t fare so well but at least they now have a newly renovated Memorial Stadium this year… and we had a blast in the Club in so many ways this Rotary year!
Well, let’s just keep it rolling…a year is but a flash in the pan in the life of Rotary, but collectively the respective years of service yield great strides towards improving our planetary existence… so…let’s keep it up… not blink an eye and continue with the remarkable work under the leadership of our faithful President Elect Peter Dannenfelser II!
You built, repaired, restored and gave water wells, computer labs, hygiene and literacy programs, schools, wheelchairs, teeth, polio inoculations, dictionaries, medication, mentorships, scholarships, a chance, opportunity and so much more to so many deserving souls less fortunate than ourselves in their course and life destiny this past year.
Thank you for your untiring and continued commitment to each of the respective and many different projects you sponsored locally, regionally and worldwide.
A very special thanks to our staff, Hal Shipley, Cindy Pringle and Alex Seppala for their tremendous support this past year in keeping us all on the straight and narrow.
A well oiled machine we are, but not unlike any machine… it needs fuel to run.
Our fuel is MEMBERSHIP and if we each take the initiative to sponsor just one (1) new member in the next 365 days we again will have made tremendous strides.
Speaking of new members, we welcome to the Club Drexel University’s David Stewart (please see his bio below in this The Pulse). We are sorry Stuart Nelson departs our ranks and as always, Stuart, we welcome you back as the occasion may avail itself in the future.
Two new Honorary Members were recognized at the meeting (two of my favorite people in the whole world!) Read all about them and so much more in this week’s meeting recap below in this The Pulse.
Many thanks to this week’s meeting sponsor Christopher Johnson, to hiking explorer Liz McClatchy in recognition of her newly sponsored member Kelly Huffman, to Carolyn Carr celebrating cancer free for five years, to exploring mountaineer Bob Gaines in recognition of this Rotary year, and to Couch Potatoes Jim Phillips and Herb Rodebaugh in recognition of their sponsorship into the Club twenty years ago of yours truly. A most generous day and year to boot.
It has been an honor and privilege to serve you. Your support and achievements were nothing short of remarkable!
Keep striving for those summits! We are dark next week in honor of our nation’s independence. Then on July 9th we are at the Doubletree, for the installation ceremony of your 2012-2013 Club President, Peter Dannenfelser II!
Ken Noack, Jr.
(Photography by Tia Gemmell)