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Welcome to Morning Star!
MSR Rotarians:
Time is now to participate! Please see the information and links below for the Holiday Hope Chests program. Anyone who wishes to participate must return the boxes during the dates and times below to this year’s collection location.
“Where and when can I drop off my filled shoeboxes? This year our drop off location will be at 85 South Commerce Way in Bethlehem. The dates and times are below. When you submit the donor request form, you will indicate which time and date you hope to drop off your boxes. Tuesday, November 29th 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM Wednesday, November 30th 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM Thursday, December 1st 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM Friday, December 2nd 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM Saturday, December 3rd 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM”
If you are going to participate in the Holiday Hope Chests this year, please sign up on the Volunteer Center of Lehigh Valley website at https://www.volunteerlv.org/holiday-hope-chests-information.
Thank you to everyone who will bring “happiness in a shoebox” to many less fortunate children here in the Lehigh Valley during the holidays.
Yours in Rotary,
Rod
RODNEY L. SEIFERT
President, 2022-2023
Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club
Rotary International
District 7430
(201) 723-1882
Our Morning Star Rotary Foundation Chair, Tom Hartzell, provided a comprehensive update on The Rotary Foundation. Tom focused on District 7430 and Morning Star engagement.
See Club Foundation Presentation under DOWNLOADS on MSR website for a wealth of information. Be sure to click on the various slides for videos.
Tom highlighted how Morning Star has always been a strong supporter of the Foundation with over $485,000 donated over the life of MSR and our current complement of 44 Paul Harris recipients, many in multiple levels of participation. It is suggested you also see the District website and the District newsletter for continuing information.
From our "Women of Action" Team - food for thought--
The keynote speaker for Kenya Methodist Univeristy graduation was Rev. Dr. Jane Leach from The Methodist Theological College, Cambridge, UK. Her speech was printed in the program. She shares this
“Western models of education have the tendency to privilege individual achievement and to shape us as individuals that think that the privilege belongs to us. Whenever Western schooling has had an influence, we are all at a risk of this kind of thinking. African philosophies of life know better, though, that we are only who we are because of who others are and that whatever educational qualifications we have achieved we have not achieved them alone and they are not only for your own benefit but for the building up of the whole community. And those who have the privilege of having been to a university have received from the best that the universe has to offer and are invited to seek to make a universal difference.”
Our own "Women of Action" (Wendy, Sue, Janet and Holly) provided an update, via ZOOM from Kenya, on their travels, activities, thoughts and insights on their current mission in Kenya. See the Morning Star FaceBook site for great stories of their work in Isiolo!
Welcome home “Women of Action”!
After a long journey (15.5 hr flight) we are home in Bethlehem with our hearts full 
Full of love for the people of Kenya 
Full of gratitude to family and friends that supported the #BeTheGood fund. Full of appreciation for those that followed our stories on Facebook. Time to rest and get ready for the next steps to bring this global grant into reality. #WomenOfAction
Full of love for the people of Kenya Full of gratitude to family and friends that supported the #BeTheGood fund. Full of appreciation for those that followed our stories on Facebook. Time to rest and get ready for the next steps to bring this global grant into reality. #WomenOfActionThank you and congratulations on a wonderful journey! We look forward to hearing more of your experiences and continuing the work of the global grant!
MSR Rotarians…
Saturday’s “Salute the Troops” Concert honoring our veterans, both past and present, was a successful and very enjoyable event. The Allentown Band including soloist Chet Brown, the Lehigh Valley Men’s Chorale, and the music students from Northeast Middle School performances were fantastic.
At intermission, we presented a Paul Harris Fellow to Pat DiLuzio, the former Executive Director of Victory House, honoring him for his many years serving the needs of veterans in our area. Pat was not able to attend; however, current VH Executive Director, Tom Carson, accepted the recognition on his behalf.
A big MSR “Thank You” to Concert Chair, Ron Searfoss, Jean, Rodney and all the SST Concert Team. Kudos for a job well done.
Special thanks to all our concert sponsors, especially the major sponsors, Wind Creek Bethlehem, Embassy Bank, Working Dog Press, and Buckno Lisicky.
Because of all of our sponsors generosity, we are able to continue supporting Victory House of Lehigh Valley and will accomplish many of this year’s other charitable projects.
Thank you to Linda Mayger for promoting ShelterBox at the concert and to all MSR Rotarians who sold tickets, solicited sponsors, attended the concert, and those who volunteered to assist on concert day ensuring a successful event. Thank you all!
Proud to be a Morning Star Rotarian,
Rod
RODNEY L. SEIFERT
President, 2022-2023
Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club
Rotary International
District 7430
Every waving flag, hand covered heart, and deeply felt prayer, asking God to Bless America, is a declaration of thanks to all those who have served.
Veterans have shown, by example, what it truly means to belong to the land of the free and the home of the brave!
President Rod Seifert
Four members of the Rotary Club of Bethlehem Morning Star have traveled over 7,400 miles away to Isiolo County, Kenya for a boots-on-the-ground look at our Rotary Global Grant project. Wendy Ellsworth, Janet Kolepp, Susan Burnett and Holly Sachdev will visit Ngaremara, the center of Rotary's work to improve maternal and child health care. There they will meet with our project partners at the local Isiolo Rotary Club, along with the residents who will benefit from the improved facilities. Back in the United States, Donna Holton continues the planning and coordination of the project, which includes a safe reliable water supply, sanitation, solar energy, training for health workers, diagnostic equipment, and transportation. Together, these five remarkable ladies make up our "Women of Action" team.
Carol Ferguson is our District 7430 Polio Coordinator. Although unable to attend live due to a recent illness, POLIO may have been forgotten, but it's impact lives on. Post-Polio Syndrome continues to impact over 80% of survivors! The Pain and Disability from POLIO lasts a lifetime.
Carol referenced an excellent article from the Philadelphia Enquirer "We are Still Here". Many of us know of relatives and friends who have been and continue to be impacted.
Very concerning was latest information on cases in New York. Polio really has no cure and is spread by ingestion. Strongly suggested you contact your primary care physician and get boosters.
As more information becomes available we will post. Please be vigilant.
Morning Star Rotary celebrated Robin Metzler's achievement of Paul Harris +2!
Presenting were District Governor Len Gieseler with President Rod Siefert and Foundation Chair Tom Hartzell.
Congratulations Robin. Thank you for all you do for Rotary!
Wind Creek has been very happy to have Morning Star Rotary as one of the organizations benefiting from their Slot Voucher Donation Boxes located on the casino floor and by each exit. Slots customers receive slips to redeem their winnings but 'often times' simply drop them in the Donation Boxes.
Wind Creek vets 3 organizations each quarter to receive these customer donations. MSR had no idea of the dollar amount and our budget estimated $1,500 Total. We would have been grateful for any funding to help our programs. We are overwhelmed with the actual amounts:
Slots Voucher Donations from Wind Creek
$ 3,366.42 for July
$ 2,522.08 for Aug
$ 2,302.49 for Sep
$ 8,190.99 Total
Truly amazing, the other two recipients, Rotary Club of Bethlehem and Victory House Lehigh Valley also received the same benefits!
Our thanks and appreciation to Susan Stachowski, Community Relations and all the folks at Wind Creek for all their support to our communities!
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Hello Morning Star Rotarians!
I’m sharing this news from Gilbert Mato, the Rotary Club of Isiolo Project Manager of our joint Global Grant project. This week, District 9212 DG Azeb Asrat visited Isiolo. District 9212 covers 4 countries, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan.
We always knew The Isiolo Club are Rock Stars, but as large as their District is, it looks like their District leadership agrees with us.
Donna Holton
From Gilbert
“Hello Donna. The (DG) visit was amazing.
“They arrived late and we had to hurry through the program but it was amazing. We are the newest Club with the most projects in the District, and for that I got this pin. 😂😂 (See photo below.)
“She welcomed our partnership and asked us to write about it for the next issue of the DG Times, our district magazine, and she asked the team to expedite our qualification process so that she can authorize the grant.
“They stayed the whole weekend in our mother club, Marsibit, which is near us. She left today”
We had the honor of hosting Rotary District 7430 District Governor Len Gieseler and hearing more about the May 5-7, 2023 District Conference at the Tropicana in Atlantic City.
Our speaker last Thursday was Joyce Tannian focusing on water projects in the Amboseli Region in Kenya. Joyce had one of the most astounding openings we have ever experienced. Formerly, a professional opera singer for many years in NYC until 911 changed the world, she sang the full first verse of "How Great Thou Art" in the Kenyan dialect of the Amboseli Region. Thank you for an amazing experience.
Working Together for Change that Lasts
Founded in 2007 by Joyce Tannian of Newark, Delaware & Joseph Larasha of Kenya, Water is Life Kenya (WILK) is a IRS designated 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated empowering the Maasai people of Southern Kenya through providing access to clean water, improved resource management, & supporting the most vulnerable.
WILK’s success has come from the power of relationships. Supported by our streamlined US team, our strong team in Kenya has worked in partnership with local residents from the beginning, resulting in 25 clean water projects, 600 LAB graduates, & dozens of communities empowered throughout Kajiado County.
3 BIG THINGS WE DO - All driven by the need for water.
1.Water
2.Livestock as a Business (LAB)
3.Beaded Handicrafts
For more information see the WILK website.
Dianne Denison, welcome to Rotary! Our elevator speech must have been pretty effective because we met our newest member while riding up the elevator to our morning meeting. She joined our meeting to find out more, and well, the rest is history! Dianne, we look forward to serving our community with you.
Our appreciation goes out to Lehigh University Professor Wes Hiatt for discussing housing solutions through Zoom at our morning meeting. Prof. Hiatt is a designer and educator whose architecture studio and design courses align with his pedagogical interest in early-career learning and first principles of design. His research is concerned with how architects may participate in the politics of history, change, and identity through engagement with policies governing development and historic preservation. He has previously taught design studios at The Cooper Union, Yale University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Southern California.
Prof. Hiatt is a cofounder of Borough Works, a design and architecture studio in Brooklyn that works on a variety of project types in various scales and locations—from an Airstream trailer in California to a back-to-work space plan for City Parks Foundation in association with the non-profit group Design Advocates.
Have you been wondering what's being built across from the Promenade Shops? Capital Campaign Manager Rebecca McAtee from Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network gave us the scoop on this new state-of-the-art, 76-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital and how it will revolutionize treatment and recovery options for people with complex medical conditions, such as stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury and other serious injuries or illnesses. #HopeStartsHere and opens in 2023.
Morning Star is delighted to introduce the newest member, Patti Baltz Reiser.
A native of Bethlehem, Patti recently retired from a health career in histology. Welcome to Morning Star Rotary!
President Rod, among the goals for this year, included reinstituting meeting participation for members. Accordingly please find on the top right column of your bulletin Meeting Responsibilities. They are shown as follows:
SET-UP/BREAKDOWN - retrieve from hall closet and set-up banners, the bell, badges box, tickets for 50/50. End of meeting disassemble as needed and return to storage area in hall closet.
GREETER - greet members, visitors, guests as they arrive. Welcome to Morning Star Rotary. An excellent opportunity to meet and get to know your fellow Rotarians!
SGT@ ARMS - administers sign-in sheets, collects weekly meeting fees, tallies data and gives to Treasurer at end of meeting
50/50 - collect funds, distribute the tickets, hold the drawing and forward funds to Sgt@Arms
INVOCATION, PLEDGE & "5" WAY TEST - provide an appropriate invocation in accordance with the spirit of Rotary; lead the Pledge and our "5" Way Test
INTRODUCTIONS - obtain the sign-in sheet for visitors and guests from Sgt@Arms and perform the introductions. Hint: may be helpful to check names of folks before attempting to pronounce them!
A Sign-Up Sheet will be available at the registration table. You can also notify Robin Metzler rmetzler50@yahoo.com or Ron Searfoss rsearfos@ptd.net of your selection and the date.
Your name will appear in the bulletin prior to the applicable meeting under the Meeting Responsibilities. Your responsibility assignment will also appear at the end of that Bulletin as a reminder.
If any questions or suggestions, please feel free to reach out to Robin or myself. Thank you.
PA Playhouse and D7430 Rotary Rotaplast Committee
Present a very special Octoberfest performance of
Deathtrap
A thrilling, edge of your seat, murder mystery!
Saturday, Oct 15th, 2022 at 1:00 pm
Immediately following the show, we invite you for complementary beer, wine, and Octoberfest themed foods,
Along with talk back with the actors and director!
There will be raffle baskets, one-of-a-kind, hand-made Rotaplast quilt, and a 50/50 drawing
All tickets are $49 (plus $2 processing fee) and can be purchased through the PA Playhouse box office HERE
(click on “click her for tickets for our 2022 season”, then “Buy Tickets” next to “Deathtrap”
and then select the Oct 15th, 1 pm show) or by calling the PA Payhouse box office at 610-865-6665
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Rotary International’s District 7430 Rotaplast hands-on efforts to support medical missions in developing countries.
These missions provide pediatric cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries. For more information, check out their website here: Rotaplast
PLEASE BE A SUPPORTER: Would you like to donate a raffle basket? Sponsor food and drink?
Place an ad in the program? Please contact Susan Burnett: burnetts@rcn.com, 484-226-5254, or your nearest Rotaplast Committee Member.
Last Thursday Jennifer told us a "little" of who she is. Actually she was a Rotary Exchange student in Mexico which was quite the experience as she spoke no Spanish! Of interest was the significant Rotaract involvement in the community where she stayed. Her career path covered a variety of experiences with an ever increasing focus on higher education and building community service. Fortunately her successes, including her founding of a growing PR firm on the west coast, she returned to the Lehigh Valley. Being a very high energy person she and an avid cyclist she is the AVP of Alumni Relations at Lehigh University guiding the efforts for the 85,000+ alumni and numerous community activities.
Welcome Jennifer!
SPECIAL NOTE: President Rod was quite pleased to report that the meeting was attended by over 30+ Rotarians and 1 guest and 4 on zoom!
Presented below for easy reference and TOMA - Top Of Mind Awareness are the MSR Goals for 2022-23 as presented by President Rod. It's going to be a good year!
•Continue our generous individual contributions to The Rotary Foundation and realize 100% participation from our members (EREY & Sustaining Members)
•Meet our DDF reimbursement for our global grant
•Increase net membership by 5
•Increase member participation in our committees and projects
•Increase attendance (live or hybrid) at our weekly meetings
•Encourage members to move into leadership positions (BOD, Committee & Project Chairs)
•Expand Fundraising Opportunities
•Expand our reach throughout the City of Bethlehem
•Strengthen our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in order to celebrate each person’s contributions, advance equity, and create an inclusive culture where every member and participant knows they are valued.
•Reinstitute meeting participation for members (Greeters, Pledge,4-way Test, Invocation, Set-up, etc.)
•My Rotary Accounts (currently 54% of members have accounts)
•Complete our transition to updated Rotary branding
JUST a reminder - see the following link CLUBRUNNER MOBILE APP for a short video on the free phone app and all the information readily available to you right on your phone! Makes that little cell phone a very valuable tool for a gazillion of your Rotary needs! Enjoy! Give a yell if any questions.
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Service Above Self
301 Broadway
Bethlehem, PA 18015
United States of America