(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
SIGN ME UP ISSUE SEPTEMBER 23, 2023
VOL. 4 NO.12
GROWTH ASSOCIATION AWARD
NEWS-NOTES-NONSENSE
In case you missed it, our club was featured in the recent edition of the Growth Associations newsletter. A very nice plug for us. Here's the link to take a lookhttps://rb.gy/rq0gb
Thursday's guest speaker was Sherry Gilleland who gave us an overview of her Dream Home project. It began 14 years ago with a goal of filling a trolley with Christmas gifts that would be given to local children in need. It has grown each year. Last year the organization received donations that filled a local church. Items now include non-perishable food, personal care items as well as holiday gifts. The non-profit501(c)(3) also conducts fund raisers and accepts cash donations that are distributed throughout the year to those in need.
Early arrivals included BradP (who wanted to see exactly when AllenH arrives)and LoriP.
The slide right in crew included WendellR, LeonardB, DaveA, PaulH and MarkV. GeorgeM and ChrisH were foiled in their attempt by an empty entree chaffing dish.
Former WR and EA member Andy Ambrose joined us on Thursday. He is visiting some MadCo clubs to find out what events/fundraisers each club is hosting. He is also sharing some of the success stories from his current club CMC (Collinsville, Maryville Caseyville). Andy also noted that his club has informally adopted #5 on the 4-Way Test-Is it fun?
Our Chili Supper will be held on Friday October 13th @ RHS. MarkSm reported that the sign-up sheet is now circulating and he's received several sales $$. Note this change in our SOP-The MadCo Health Department has nixed the serving of home made desserts. Mark suggests that everyone donate a high quality commercially prepared dessert for us to serve that evening. Please bring your dessert in the commercial packaging.
SandyS indicated that SherryT is currently kicking around the Smokey Mountains in Eastern Tennessee.
JohnP arrived with the old WR meeting sign in tow. It needs a new home after four years in John's garage.
Opening duties were handled by JoeS and MarkV.
21 members enjoyed the Bat Out of Hell Meatloaf, whipped taters, steamed baby carrots, salad and lemon mini-cakes.
SAA Patti, with an assist bylugmeister SandyS, collected several $'s due to our 50% fail rate on the music trivia Q's. We attempted to sing the birthday song for BradL. Our effort was pathetic, or worse. LeonardB had a Happy Fine.
@12:27 JohnP arrived with his sign. Arriving earlier wereTylerL, ChrisH, GeorgeM and MarkV.
$116 awaits next week's lucky 50-50 ticket purchasers. You can thank GeorgeM and LeonardB for your potential success with the dwindling deck. JohnP won the scratch-off.
Ciao! Have a fine & dry weekend.
Au revoir!
THE SIGN GUY
POST-MEETING CHATTER
ALL THINGS TRIVIAL
A stolen Van Gogh was turned over to an art detective in a bag-from which store?
A-Walmart
B-Aldi
C-Ikea
D-Tractor Supply
(Answer is found near the end of the newsletter)
Today is National Pecan Cookie Day
Where are you if you're visiting the "Natural State"?
Alaska
Colorado
Tennessee
Arkansas
Arkansas has had several nicknames over the years, but it wasn’t until 1923 that the state adopted its first official nickname: the "Wonder State." However, it failed to catch on. Aiming to promote economic development in the 1940s, a group of state businessmen lobbied for a new nickname, "Land of Opportunity," which even appeared on state license plates. But in the 1980s, another nickname caught on, the "Natural State," which was geared towards tourists. It described Arkansas' "unsurpassed scenery, clear lakes, free-flowing streams, magnificent rivers, meandering bayous, delta bottomlands, forested mountains and abundant fish and wildlife," according to the legislation which made the nickname official in 1995.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES
Sourced from the Make-Up and Banner newsletters
September 2012
Club officers included: LoriP, GeorgeM, CoryG and GeorgeT.
The WR club hosted the recent quad-club meeting at Belk Park with Rotarians from the host club, EA, Bethalto and Riverbend clubs in attendance. DG Suzanne Ellerbrock was our keynote speaker. $900 was raised in support of the Oasis Women's Center. The 50-50 sales crew included AlanaY, DonnaK and JeanK. PaulH and RickH handled the SAA duties. Happy Fines were paid by TommieM,MikeK and PaulG.
In the EA weekly meeting ErinP indicated that she would soon be looking for scholarship interviewers. MarkSp missed the opportunity to claim the 50-50 jackpot.
Volunteers were still needed for the Adopt A Highway and Punt, Pass and Kick events to be held on September 29th in WR. ScottL was in charge of the punters, passers and kickers.
PHOTOS OF THE WEEK
Service Companion Club Grows Membership
By Alex Johnson, Rotary Club of Plano West, Texas, USA, and Rotary Coordinator Zone 25B & 29
As I stepped into my role as president of the Plano West Rotary Club on a scorching summer day in 2020, I was faced with a daunting challenge. The club had been steadily losing members for a decade and had only 21 left. What’s more, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced us into lockdown, rendering most plans and strategies useless. But I wasn’t one to back down, I had a vision for turning things around.
I felt the best way to gain more members was to focus on service. We used Rotary’s Action Plan to create a plan of attack and get members involved in satisfying service. We organized multiple small but meaningful service projects each month, and every month we increased our impact. We kept asking people to lend a hand so we could expand our reach. In this manner, we increased our ability to adapt.
Through this method we accomplished 81 projects in a single year. Four new members were inducted every month. By enhancing participant engagement, we turned volunteers into a part of Rotary and kept helping our community.
Companion club model
We also created a new service-focused club model that was designed to allow people to join us in making a difference in our community without the obligation of weekly meetings and high dues. This model was appealing to certain members of our club, and so we made it a companion club that is part of our membership but separate, much like a satellite club.
A service-based companion club model tripled membership within a year.
It’s been an amazing transformation. Within the first year, the club tripled its membership to 63. Even more exciting, women became a majority, and we grew more racially diverse. Our median age also decreased by 17 years. To continue reading, link herehttps://bitly.ws/VamU
.png)
