|
Welcome to Morning Star!
Morning Star Rotarians:
I hope everyone enjoyed our recent Joint Meeting with the Rotary Club of Bethlehem. We were able to learn about the fantastic projects of both our clubs, enjoy socializing with our fellow city Rotarians, and hear from the Executive Director of the DaVinci Science Center regarding their plans for the future.
As we enter February, I want to let you know about recent club happenings and inform you about the numerous district activities coming up in the next few months. I hope many of our members will be able to attend and participate in these events.
Yours in Rotary,
President Rod
Come join us at the Rotary District 7430 Foundation Gala
Saturday, March 18, 2023
William Penn Inn
1017 DeKalb Pike
Gwynedd, PA 19436
Come for Foundation Support, fellowship, fun, silent auction, DJ and dancing…. And maybe some surprises!
YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SUPPORT OUR FOUNDATION!!
Bethlehem Morning Star achieved Gold Hero Club status!
Donations over $5000 this Rotary year.
Thanks to your club's generous donation, families around the world have received essential aid and technical assistance needed to rebuild damaged homes and lives.
This generosity is celebrated through our HERO program - thank you for being a ShelterBox HERO last Rotary year (2021-22).
ShelterBox HERO Clubs are foundational to our ability to respond when disaster strikes. To show our gratitude for your generous support, we are hosting an exclusive online Rotary Club HERO event on:
Saturday, February 11th, 2023
@ 9am PT/ 11am CT/ 12pm EDT
Register here https://tinyurl.com/2023heroevent
ShelterBox USA
OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTED FOR 2023-2024
Congratulations to our newly elected leaders and thank you for your service to Morning Star Rotary.
President: Betty Issacs (2023-24)
President-Elect: Rodney Conn (2024-25)
Secretary: Val Walk
Treasurer: Jean Searfoss
Past President: Rodney Seifert (2022-23)
Sergeant-at-Arms: Robin Metzler
Directors: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024
Sarabel Conn
Charlotte Hartmann-Hansen
Jim Santanasto
Directors: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2025
Jennifer Cunningham
Tom Hartzell
Robin Metzler
President of Melanoma Education Foundation
Addresses Morning Star Rotarians
The guest speaker at our January 26th club meeting was Steve Fine, the Founder and President of the Melanoma Education Foundation.
The organization's focus is on early self-detection and prevention of melanoma.
STEM-YEA Big Ticket Reverse Raffle 2023
July 2022, District 7430 hosted the first STEM-YEA Academy, and we look forward to an even larger class this year.
We can only Imagine and hope that we inspired the 41 intellectually curious of the students we served to pursue a STEM career.
The fundraising efforts of the 1st Annual STEM YEA Big Ticket Reverse Raffle 2022 raised $18,000 to fully fund two important academy line items.
a. Student Celebration Dinner/Awards for all 161 guests
b. Students consumable swag bag valued at $100 each
Last year we sold 100 tickets to the BTRR fundraising event, this year our goal is to sell 150 tickets to the 2nd Annual Big Ticket Reverse Raffle (BTRR).
In return, we will be able to give away more money and prizes and keep the tuition costs down for our clubs.
Congratulations to Marianne Aronson (4) and Wendy Ellsworth (2) on once again becoming Paul Harris Fellows! Your generosity helps The Rotary Foundation accomplish global goals!
Marianne lower left in Allentown Wendy middle right in North Carolina
MORNING MEETINGS ONLY:
IF the Bethlehem Area School District (BASD) CLOSES schools,
then the Morning Star Rotary meeting will be held ZOOM only, not in person.
If BASD just DELAYS school opening, our meeting will be HELD AS USUAL (zoom & in person),
UNLESS NOTIFICATION EMAILED FOR A ZOOM FORMAT FOR ALL.
Check online: BASDSCHOOLS.ORG/WEATHER or WFMZ.COM/WEATHER/STORMCENTER
Based on BASD assessments, a decision to delay the start of school or to close school is made by 5 AM!
Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering - Thank you Rotarians - and more... Our first night at the shelter this season was Friday 1/6/23. We served 60 guests a delicious dinner of lasagna, veggies, and brownies, and packed breakfasts to-go bags. Thanks to Lynn Milet, once again, for ordering and delivering delicious food from Voracious Deli, and to Bill Hunter, Susan Burnett, Janet Kolepp, and Holly Sachdev for serving and Tom Kolepp, our resident pro for dishwashing. Mike Long and Marianne Aronson stepped up to monitor the showers after a last minute cancellation. Two more items: Our next night at the shelter is Friday 2/10/23. At this time, we still need volunteers for our third night at the shelter Monday 3/20/2023. Please let me know if you want to join our merry crew. All the best, Ginny Wolkoff 610-533-8930  |
Please see the Meeting Responsibilities in the right column and volunteer to help for one of the slots.
Thank you.
Ron 610-504-1460 rsearfos@ptd.net
HAPPY NEW YEAR ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY!
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas/Happy Chanukah and are anxiously looking forward to the New Year. Please join your fellow MSR Rotarians and guests to ring in 2023 at our annual Holiday Party next Saturday, January 7, 2023 starting at 5:30 PM. Sheila and I will be hosting the party at our house at 723 Johnston Drive in North Bethlehem. There is adequate parking either in our driveway or on the street. Folks attending are asked to bring an appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert!!!
We look forward to seeing everyone for an enjoyable evening of food, drink, laughs, and conversation. There will be no First Thursday Happy Hour on January 5th. Mark your 2023 calendars and let the festivities begin!
Yours in Rotary!
President Rod
Fellow MSR Rotarians:
I hope everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and I know everyone is very busy this time of year with preparations for the upcoming holidays. I am writing to inform you about some important upcoming dates, projects, and campaigns for our club. I hope you can join us as we celebrate the holidays and continue to serve our community and the world in the New Year.
UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS
December 15, 2022- We will be meeting this week at Seven Sirens Brewing Company on the ground floor of the Flat Iron Building on the Broadway side, as our normal meeting room is unavailable due to its use for the Holiday Toy Drive. Our speaker will be Tom Carson, Executive Director of Victory House. We will also be presenting Tom with our donation to VH from the proceeds of the Salute the Troops Concert.
December 22, 2022 – Come join your fellow MS Rotarians as we ring in the holidays at our Annual Holiday Meeting at the Advent Moravian Church on Jacksonville Road in Hanover Township beginning at 7:30 AM. The Liberty High School A Cappella Choir will be performing along with our very own accordionist and song leader, Rick Santee. Family members and friends are welcome. Please RSVP to Val Walk at valerie.walk@rcn.com regarding the number of people (Member/Guests) who will be attending so we can have an accurate count for our caterer. We also need Rotarians to sponsor the breakfast of the performing students ($10 per student). Sign up forms will be available at this week’s meeting or contact Jean Searfoss at jsearfoss@cementemployers.com if you can sponsor a student(s). Rick has requested 8 MSR volunteers to stay following the meeting to clean up and reset the furniture. I hope everyone can join us for this festive annual event.
December 29, 2022 – NO MEETING * HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
January 7, 2023 – MARK YOUR 2023 CALENDARS! Plan to join your fellow MSR Rotarians as we ring in the New Year at our annual Holiday Party. There will be no First Thursday Social Meeting on January 5th. The party will be on Saturday evening beginning at 5:30 PM at Sheila and my house at 723 Johnston Drive in Bethlehem. I hope you can join us for good fellowship, food, and drink as we welcome in 2023.
January 12, 2023 – Regular Club Meeting PDG Cindy Hornaman - Global Projects in Zambia
January 18, 2023 – A joint meeting is being planned with the Bethlehem Rotary Club. This meeting will take place on Wednesday evening beginning at 5:30 PM in the Cohen Room at the Bethlehem Area Public Library on Church Street. Details about this event will be announced shortly. I hope many of our members will be able to attend this joint meeting with our fellow city Rotarians. There will be no regular club meeting on Thursday, January 19th.
January 26, 2023 – Regular Club Meeting
BETHLEHEM EMERGENCY SHELTER
This year, we will again be assisting at the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter (Christ UCC, 75 E. Market Street). The three dates for MSR are Friday, January 6, 2023, Friday, February 10, 2023, and Monday, March 20, 2023. We will be preparing meals and handling other activities those evenings. If you have not participated in the past, I encourage you to volunteer this year for this very important project. Please contact our MSR coordinator, Ginny Wolkoff at ginny4wolkoff@gmail.com for more information and to volunteer.
THE ROTARY FOUNDATION
I would like to remind all our members about our Rotary Foundation Campaign that was outlined by our Foundation Chair, Tom Hartzell at a recent club meeting, Historically, Morning Star Rotary members have been very generous in their support of the Rotary Foundation. If you have not contributed to the Foundation recently, I encourage you to consider making a donation this year. Morning Star Rotary will match your contribution with Foundation points up to $500…this means that if you give $500, the club will match the contribution with 500 points making you a Paul Harris Fellow. This is a wonderful opportunity to earn your first PHF or qualify for advanced PHF recognition. In addition, I have made a Presidential Challenge to pledge an additional $20 to the Foundation, above my normal contribution, for any member who makes a contribution this Rotary year who has not contributed in recent years. Without the support of the Foundation, we could not accomplish many of our local and global initiatives. I thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity.
Yours in Rotary,
Rod
RODNEY L. SEIFERT
President, 2022-2023
Bethlehem Morning Star Rotary Club
(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!
.
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.
.png)
Service Above Self
301 Broadway
Bethlehem, PA 18015
United States of America