NOV 3 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

President’s Message November 6

It’s another service oriented week for Morning Star – highlighted by our annual Salute the Troops Concert this Sunday, November 9. Chairperson Gary Hartney encourages all of us to sell our tickets to maximize event revenue and fill the auditorium. Tickets will also be available at the door. Gary and Jean Searfoss finished the program book – thanks to all who signed up sponsors and sponsored ads or other recognitions. Gary will be lining up a few more volunteers to arrive early on Sunday. But, other than that, we are ready to have a fantastic concert / fund raiser on behalf of Victory House!

The Dictionary Project is continuing with Rotarians distributing the dictionaries to the third graders. (See story below.) If you are involved in the distribution part of the project, take some pictures to document how Morning Star is supporting the Rotary Foundation’s emphasis on “Education and Basic Literacy”.

Our Thursday October 30 program about “Information Literacy Outreach” was presented by Terese Heidenwolf of Lafayette College. As the Associate Director for Research and Instructional Services, Terese assists students, faculty and public users of Lafayette’s Skillman library to find the information they seek.  Terese informed us of the emerging trend in colleges to start freshman off with a seminar class that includes instruction on how to do college level research. If interested in learning more about information literacy, Terese recommends visiting www.projectinfolit.org.

Last week, we were visited by Eileen Dunn’s daughter-in-law Nancy Li. Nancy told us she likes America so much that she is sending Eileen’s son back to Beijing and staying here herself!

Please put the following MSR events on your calendars and find more details on our MSR website:

• Rotary Leadership Institute this Saturday November 8 in Wilkes-Barre. So far, Searfosses, Kolepps, Cheryl Baker, Iryna Levytska and Alex Shnaydruk are registered. All Rotarians are encouraged to further their Rotary training.
• Salute the Troops Concert on Sunday November 9. Be there! Bring your friends and ticket money / unsold tickets.
• Thanksgiving Joint Meeting at noon on Wednesday November 19 with the Bethlehem Rotary Club at Moravian Village. Have lunch with our fellow Rotarians from the Lehigh Valley and hear an inspirational talk. (See story below.) Signup this Thursday to provide RSVP’s to the organizers. (FYI: We will still have our normal MSR meeting on Thursday November 20.)
• Salvation Army Bell Ringing: Stay tuned for announcement from Mike Long on exact timing and signups.
• MSR Holiday Party: Reserve Saturday evening January 3 for our holiday gathering / pot luck hosted by the Fellowship Committee at the Long’s house.

Our upcoming Thursday meeting will feature Dave Cincera with his ‘reclassification talk’. Dave is a Past President of Morning Star Rotary and will regale us with tales from “back in the day” and "the wonders of joint replacements". We look forward to hearing from Dave.

Don’t forget to invite prospective members to help meet our 2014-2015 objective of increasing net membership by five.  If “Every Member Brings a Prospective Member”, we’ll exceed the target.

If you are visiting Bethlehem or our website or want to learn more about Bethlehem Morning Star or Rotary International, please contact Tom Kolepp via email at tkolepp@gmail.com or via mobile phone at 484-241-1251.

Let's continue to "Light Up Rotary" this week at our Salute the Troops concert! Regards. President Tom