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SINGLE DIGITS ISSUE JANUARY 20, 2024
VOL. 4 NO.22
KYNDRA THANKS US
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
Your Eastender News is headingfor it's winter sabbatical. Back in early March. Until then...
On Thursday we met at the new Riverbend Family Ministries (RFM) building (it's nice!). (Anyone show up at Julia's? Be honest.) TammyI introduced Rachael Craddick, Fund Development Director, who made a presentation about RFM. But first, let's talk about lunch, and, more importantly, the lady who prepared it. A few months back Kyndra and Troy Green opened their Cajun restaurant in Upper Alton, Gumbo 2 Geaux, located in the former Dairy Queen building, 1808 Washington. Kyndra was one of our RHS scholarship students in 2010. She searched us out and hooked up with LoriP and told her she wanted to serve us lunch as payback for selecting her as a scholarship recipient. Mission accomplished. We sampled some red beans/rice and gumbo. It was delish. Kyndra made a few remarks talking about her personal journey. She observed that her customers are really nice, until you tell them that you don't have their favorite Cajun dish. It's gratifying to have one of our students become a small business success story. By the way, need a King Cake for Mardi Gras? Kyndra can bake you one. Now, back to our program with Rachael. RFM has nine different partners located in the shared facility providing free services to families in need. The new facility has allowed them to almost double the number if families served from 2022 to 2023, and to continue to grow. If you would like to become a sustaining member, keep this in mind, if BillP navigate the sign-up process, you can too. http://my-rfm.org
Upcoming Rotary service milestones-GeorgeT-52 years, TommieM-29, MarkV-26, ChrisH-17, JeanK-15, SandyS-10, SherryT-10 and RobinK-5. Thanks to all.
Members celebrating natal days over the next few weeks include-TylerL, PattiA, MarkS, VirgilM, ScottL and ErinP. Happy Birthday to you...
Early arrivals included LoriP, WendellR and BillP.
Opening duties were handled by BradP, PaulH and TammyI.
Did you know that SandyS had an ex who had nine, or more, lives? It's true.
MikeK was the solo slide right inner.
Post-nooners included MikeK, LeonardB and ChrisH.
LUNCH IS SERVED
LET'S TALK
ALL THINGS TRIVIAL
Jeff Bezos and others invested $74 million in a new internet search startup. What's it called?
A-Perplexity
B-Bewilderment
C-Curiosity
D-Nonplus
(Answer is found near the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Cheese lover's Day
Which state capital is named after the first chancellor of Germany?
Pierre
Bismarck
Montgomery
Hartford
North Dakota’s capital was originally named Edwinton in 1872, in honor of Edwin L. Johnson, a proponent of the Northern Pacific Railway which was being constructed there at the time. A year later, the city was renamed Bismarck after Otto von Bismarck, the founder and first chancellor of the German Empire. It’s the only state capital named after a foreign statesman. The name change was strategic: Local officials were hoping to attract both German investment in the nascent railway and German settlers to the area. The investment from Bismarck never transpired, but the region soon became prosperous when gold was discovered in the Black Hills. Miners flooded the Dakota region, while Bismarck stood at the center of freight shipping. In 1883, Bismarck became the Dakota Territory’s capital; when North and South Dakota split, it was officially named capital of North Dakota in 1889.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Make-Up and Banner newsletters
January 2012
JohnP provided the photos and content for an article about the WR club that appeared in the December District 6460 newsletter. One of the pix included participants in the club's Christmas ugly sweater contest-AlanaY, TommieM, JeanK and PattiA.
Recently retired MarkA was spreading his recently sprouted snowbird wings and heading to Tampa. Already enjoying the Orlando sunshine was MarkS.
JohnP indicated that members of the EA-WR HS Interact Club would soon be visiting a club meeting.
LoriP promised to serve as club president with the stipulation that Charlie Kunz would serve the previous term.
PattiA had the opportunity to claim the $402 50-50 WR jackpot while BradP was hoping to win the $118 EA pot of gold. Neither were successful.
The next WR Trivia Night was scheduled for February 4th.
JoeS, PaulH and RodC were off to the Sunshine State for a golf excursion.
AlanaY served as the meeting greeter.
JoeS announced that the sign-up sheet for the basketball tourney was making the rounds.
WendellR decided he was "Mr. Lucky" and kept both parts of his 50-50 ticket.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
DATELINE:RI
MAKING ROTARY
SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
By Tom Gump, Aide to the 2024-25 Rotary International President
Since the 2024 Rotary International Assembly in early January, participants at Rotary’s annual learning event for incoming leaders have been talking a lot about making our Rotary clubs “simply irresistible.” This term was used as the title of a 1988 song and a 1999 movie. In terms of Rotary, it was first used by Past District Governor Louisa Horn and recently championed by Stephanie Urchick, 2024-25 Rotary International president.
So what does “simply irresistible” mean in terms of an organization? According to Deloitte’s description of “The Simply Irresistible Organization,”TM an irresistible organization has five elements: (i) meaningful work, (ii) supportive management, (iii) a positive work environment, (iv) growth opportunities, and (v) trust in leadership. I truly believe that together, we can make Rotary an irresitible organization if our clubs provide these elements to our members.
Meaningful Work – No one joins a club to do nothing. Our members join for various reasons, but they all join to do something meaningful. This is true whether it be a traditional or virtual club and whether it focuses on local and/or international projects. We need to give our members purposeful opportunities, and we should change up these opportunities somewhat regularly so our members don’t get bored doing the same thing. How do you know which opportunities to provide? Give your members what they want by conducting a member satisfaction survey.
Supportive Management – Rotary International is improving in this area, with the Board of Directors just recently implementing three-year goals for its various paired zones. Goal setting and accountability are also happening at the district and club levels.
Rotary also invests in its leaders through various learning opportunites. Our zone coordinators receive these opportunities at the Global Support/Global Philanthropy Seminars. District governors-elect receive them at the International Assembly. Club presidents-elect receive them at Presidents-elect Training Seminars. Members receive them at district seminars and in Rotary’s Learning Center.
Positive Work Environment – Our organization’s Vision Statement starts with the words “Together, we.” Most people want to serve, but they want to serve with like-minded people with the same values. Of course, we have to ensure our members feel that they belong and that their opinions matter to other club members and leadership. Again, surveys would help here. If you implement some of the suggestions your surveys generate, people will feel that they’re being heard.
Rotary International does a good job of recognizing its members and other participants with awards of many types. But recognition also needs to happen at the club level. This recognition should not only be for financial giving, but also for things such as being a new member sponsor. To continue reading, link herehttps://rb.gy/llx7im
AND I QUOTE
"Many strokes, though with a little axe, hew down and fell the hardest-timber'd oak."-William Shakespeare
"Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer."-William S. Burroughs
"The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep."-E. Joseph Cossman
"Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three."-Joseph Heller, “Catch-22”
SMILE
How does the ocean say hello? It waves.
How do pigs do their homework? With a pigpen.
What do pigs use in the shower? Hogwash.
How do you fix a broken tomato? With tomato paste.
What’s the best way to plan a party in space? You planet.
What kind of tree fits in your hand? A palm tree.
What kind of witch goes to the beach? A sandwich.
What has four wheels and flies? A garbage truck.
Why did the sauna go to the doctor? It wasn’t feeling so hot.
Why did the owl quit its job? It didn’t give a hoot.
I used to be afraid of painting, but eventually I brushed it off.
Why don’t people play more hide-and-seek? Because good players are hard to find.
What did one eye say to the other? Between us, something smells.
When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar.
What did the hamburgers name their new baby? Patty.
BY THE NUMBERS
Peak dinnertime in America is 6:19 p.m., but it varies from a little after 5 p.m. to after 8 p.m., depending on the part of the country-U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day-Mayo Clinic
On average, companies are planning for salary increases of 4% in 2024-Willis Towers Watson
About 68% of parents of adult children have made or are currently making a financial sacrifice to help their kids financially-Bankrate
The average phone in America is used for around 2½ years-Statista
In 2022 shoppers returned 16.5% of items they purchased online and in stores, valued at nearly $817 billion and double the percentage of goods returned in 2019-National Retail Federation
(Trivia answer A)
Rotarian Code of Conduct
The following code of conduct has been adopted for the use of Rotarians:
As a Rotarian, I will
1-Act with integrity and high ethical standards in my personal and professional life
2-Deal fairly with others and treat them and their occupations with respect
3-Use my professional skills throughRotary to: mentor young people, help those with special needs, and improve people's quality of life in my community and in the world
4-Avoid behavior that reflects adversely on Rotary or other Rotarians
5-Help maintain a harassment-free environment in Rotary meetings, events, and activities, report any suspected harassment, and help ensure non-retaliation to those individuals that report harassment
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