•  This Tuesday (the 15th) marks our 45th anniversary as a Rotary Club.  We have been blessed with many fine members doing a lot of great community service through the years. Let's hope the next 45 are even more successful. What are our plans for our 50th? It's never to early to dream.
• Early bird Allen was the 1st to arrive, Sandy, Sherry and Mark1 completed the early vanguard. Rhonda, Paul, Pat and Brad1's arrival brought our attendance to 18.
• Dining options included hollow noodles in red sauce, chicken 'n rice, and the 3 K's (carrots, corn and cake). Mark1 got the server straightened out about the lack of salad.
• Wendell and Deisy are on the high seas counting their drink umbrellas. Lori was unaccounted for, but we're pretty sure she not on another cruise.
• Opening duties were performed by Cory, Fred and Bill who was thankful for post-election sunshine.
• Rick announced that he will be coordinating Dani's Rotary event calendar. Since she will be staying with the same family for her entire stay, it's important to expose her to other cultural/fun opportunities. If you are headed to dinner at your favorite restaurant or heading  across the county, keep her in mind when planning your activities. Rick will share the the exact procedure once he coordinates with Dani.
• Brad1 introduced his veteran guest Dave.
• Allen was fresh from two days of appraisal continuing education.
• Mark1 was busy recruiting for an outdoor "seminar" that sure looked like a golf outing.
• There was no shortage of post-election analysis. Chris1 is thinking about running for...?
• The container for the adopted family donations is making the rounds. Chris1 will give us the family specifics once he receives them.
• The Operation Blessing Turkey Fund is now at $192. Thursday (the 17th) will be the last opportunity to donate. Thanks for your generous support.
• Bill was attending an orientation session for the Winter Wonderland event Thursday evening. He will have more details this Thursday, along with a sign-up list.
• Mark 2 announced that there are only seven open slots for Salvation Army bell ringing. On December 5th we will be at the Wood River Wal-Mart from 6-8 PM. On the 10th we will be at the East Alton Shop 'N Save from 2-8PM. On the 22nd we will be at the Wood River Shop 'N Save from 6-8PM. The sign up sheet is now available. Please pay attention to where and when you are volunteering.
• The Christmas party sign-up list is now making the rounds. You have a choice of two entrees.
• SAA Bill recruited Mark1 as his lugmeister. After a joke that Rhonda loved, we were unable to celebrate a pony tailed birthday. Bill announced that our Backstopper collection raised about $100 (and Sherry did donate). The trivia answers covered these topics: Sesame Street, the Edmund Fitzgerald and Conway Twitty's rock 'n roll song. 
• Brad1 had the first opportunity (with Paul's help) to draw the joker. No luck. And then, after a wee bit of slight of hand, Sandy and Sherry won the $158 jackpot. Rick took the scratch-off. 
• That's all from here. Have a fine and dry weekend. 

6 INGREDIENTS FOR MEMBERSHIP GROWTH

By Quentin Wodon, a member of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., USA

Let’s admit it: achieving a high growth rate (negative or positive) is easier with a small club. Still, after more than five years of almost continuous decline in membership, my club was excited to report a 60 percent growth in membership from July to October. We had 18 members on 1 July. Now we have 29, with 11 new members inducted in the first trimester of the new Rotary year.

How did we do it? Let me share our recipe:

Ingredient 1: Less meetings, more service and public events. Rotary’s Council on Legislation has given a lot of freedom to clubs on how they organize their meetings. So we decided to reduce our regular meetings from four to two per month, which gives us more time for service work and organizing public events.

Ingredient 2: Better service opportunities. Many Rotarians are professionals and business leaders, yet most do not use their skills when they volunteer with their club. We changed that in our club by creating teams of Rotarians and non-Rotarians combining their skills to provide free advice to local nonprofits on the strategic issues they face. This is not only more interesting in terms of volunteer work, but it is also more impactful to create positive change in the community. To continue reading, link here http://bit.ly/2fAqQyL