All members are reminded to register on the Lynn Rotary website ( www.lynnrotary.org ) for next week's meeting.  Since guests could be coming, we need to give the Porthole an accurate count.  We also have to give the Fire Department an accurate count of those attending the course, so that they have the right amount of instructors available.  The event registration is on the front page of the website.  If you do not remember your ID or password, you can register as a guest.  You can also email me and I will register you.  The CPR Course information is listed below.

One of the high school students sponsored by the Lynn Club addressed the Club recently and presented how RYLA training and involvement had changed her life.  Rachael Bavaro, a senior at Lynn English  High School spoke to the members how her experience in RYLA was life changing for her.  She spoke of how she learned to work with many kinds of different people and accomplish a goal they all shared.  She felt that this collaboration not only helped her to work with others, but to accomplish important things.  This principle of leadership will stay with her for her life and she was thankful for the opportunity to have the experience.  Rachael will be attending Arcadia Union College in Pennsylvania next year.  She attended RYLA training last summer for a 3 day session at Camp Rotary and has served as a Senior Facilitator during her senior year.

 

Members were impressed with her presence and her presentation, and were pleased that sponsorship of such students was so worthwhile.

A presentation was made regarding a show, Shen Yun, which is designed to reclaim the cultural heritage of China.  The presentation was made by Bob Gaudreau, who is a volunteer for the organization that presents the show.  Bob was a worker for a theater in which Shen Yun was presented and was so impressed with the show that he has become a volunteer to spread the word about the show.  He believes in the show not only because of the beauty and artistry of the show, but because the show presents authentic Chinese culture that cannot be shown in China today.  Under the current communist regime in China, much of traditional Chinese culture has been destroyed.  This show is dedicated to reviving that traditional culture.

 

The costumes and dance are elegant, very skilled and often athletic.  Each Shen Yun show which tours is accompanied by a live orchestra which uses ancient Chinese instruments to lead the melody on top of a full orchestra.  The show uses legends, myths, and heroes of literary classics to move through varioud dynasties and regions of China.  The stage is full of energy and color, and when accompanied by battle drums and soaring voices, it brings the audience to the world of long ago China.