BULLETIN – April 9, 2025
By Bob Zamor
President Jon Robb opened the meeting and called on Carol August to lead us in the pledge, then Greeter Bill Taranowski offered our prayer. There were no volunteers to lead us in song.
BRAGS: Tom Miller met up with his daughter, Joceyln, at her job at the Atlantic Magazine and came across none other than Jeffery Goldberg, who took a break from his group chats with the Administration for a photo op. Our thanks to Jocelyn for her service to the Fourth Estate!
-Carol August bragged about the extraordinary work our elected Township Officials…..and did she mention she was just elected to that august body?
-Bill Taranowski bragged that, while returning from the Caribbean, he met his daughters in Washington DC and they took in the beauty of the Spring cherry blossoms.
-Ellen Young bragged about Carol August, who after being ‘t-boned’ in her Volvo this Sunday by a Hummer no less, she still made the effort to be with us today.
SPECIAL RECOGNITION: President Robb presented Ellen Young with a Certificate for achieving the Major Donor Level 3 status.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Patricia Bleck reminded us of our Community Service Project at Beacon Place this Saturday.
- Highway Clean-up is scheduled for 7am. On Saturday April 19th.
- There will be a Club Fellowship on the 5th Wednesday of April (April 30th) at Nirvana. Festivities will commence at 5pm. Stay tuned for an upcoming email.
FUN & FROLICS:
-Tom Miller, substituting for Dennis Kratohwil brought to our attention how important today is. After all, to name but a few, today is National Chicken Little Awareness Day, National Unicorn Day, Batan Day, Chinese Almond Cookie Day, POW Day, Mature Womens’ Day, Appomattax Day, and, Name Yourself Day.
Focusing on Name Yourself Day, Tom challenged all members to name themselves, write it on a sticky label and wear it for the rest of the day. If a member used that name for the rest of the day, Tom would pay his fine next week. Even renamed member “Otto NoBetter” was up to the challenge, but many were just as content to pay the fine and celebrate National Gin and Tonic Day.
PROGRAM: Today was a Club assembly with Howard Jaffe giving us a final report on our fundraiser. This year’s Second City Fundraiser raised more money than last year ($154,866 vs. $153,500) despite selling fewer tickets to the event and the loss of two sponsors. Howard attributed our success to the engagement of all the Club members, especially the contributions to our silent auction. In the last three years, our Second City event has grossed over $500k and netted over $400K for our local charities.
Going forward, Howard noted that half of our revenue came from our sponsors. It is critical that we continue to develop relations with our business community to grow our sponsorships. Howard asks all members to keep this in mind; it is a year-round effort. Contact Howard if you have any leads for possible sponsors! Secondly, we have to expand our reach in ticket sales. Sales have been decreasing and we need to reach beyond family and close friends…..this is a community event with community-wide benefit. Let’s reach out folks!
Howard then recognized Club members who put in the extra effort to make this a successful event; Tom Miller for our website and OneCause software, Rich Schoeneman for the silent auction, Tucker Olson and Charles Lesser for tickets and communications and Kim Smith for marketing and promotion. He also reminded us of the contribution of LHS for providing the site for gratis and their technical support in conducting the event.
The presentation then turned to the topic of what we do with the money we raise. The Club has established a Charitable Givings Committee comprised of the President, President-Elect, Committee Chair Steve Risley, Club Foundation Chair Howard Jaffe, and three ad hoc Club members. There are guidelines that must be followed. Recipients must be a 501(C)3 charity and must keep administrative costs to 30% or below of their budget. The Committee receives a budget which outlines how our money is spent. First there are reserves that are kept for Scholarships, International projects (including Global Grants, Shelter Box and others), Community Projects, and Sponsorships (to support local charity events while increasing Club exposure). Remaining funds are then distributed to those charities who make application. Often these are charities where our contribution is a meaningful portion of their budget.
Concluding his presentation, Howard received a standing ovation from a Club that recognizes and appreciated the Herculean effort he has made these last three years.
OUCH: Jim Laverdiere was introduced to The Wheel when his phone went off during the meeting.
RAFFLE:
-Daily: Babjak won $24.
-Progressive: With $611 in the pot and 31 card remaining, Harger drew the 9 of Clubs. ROLLOVER!
Next Week:
-Greeter & Prayer: Doug Fendon
-Fun & Frolics: Ron Lapins
-Program: Matt Gordon will talk about LifeSport and pickleball.
