First month of presidency, DOWN! And you’re all still here, so thank you for that!
Here’s what’s up:
Lots of speaker suggestions - keep ‘em coming! Send me ideas for people in business or government, or just people doing interesting things. Or, we can try other meeting formats too. Email me when inspiration hits and we’ll keep adding your great ideas to the list!
About a dozen people signed up to help with Salute the Troops (supports Victory House and happens on 11/8) and the 5K (supports various Youth Programs and happens on 9/26) - thank you!! I hope everyone will participate in some way! Email me to sign up and/or to offer financial support.
Save the date for a visit from our DIstrict Governor, Jeremiah Sensenig. With respect for his travel schedule, we’ll have a morning meeting 11/5 with wine and cheese instead of coffee and eggs. Kidding! Just seeing if you’re still reading… But we will meet that first Thursday of the month in the morning and reschedule our Thirsty Thursday.
Daniel Meyer, a rising junior and geography major at James Madison University, spoke to our members virtually via Zoom on July 23, 2026 about his month-long study abroad program in Nepal this past summer. The group of 15 students and two professors split their time between the capital, Kathmandu, and the Tsum Valley near the border with Tibet. Daniel opened by noting that Nepal defied his expectation of a single, uniform culture. Within Kathmandu alone he encountered a mix of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, visiting the Buddha Stupa and the Swayambhu temple, both major pilgrimage sites, and observing how neighborhoods differed sharply in layout and architecture depending on which community had settled them.
After a week in the capital, the group traveled roughly ten hours by bus and jeep, then hiked about 60 miles into the Tsum Valley, staying in villages such as Chumling. Daniel described a rugged landscape of narrow terrain, cliffside roads without guardrails, and cantilever bridges bolted directly into rock. Villagers farmed small plots of barley, buckwheat, potatoes, and spinach largely for subsistence rather than sale, since importing food from the south is difficult given the terrain. He explained a local set of customs called the Shagia, which prohibits hunting, killing animals, and even honey extraction in order to preserve harmony with the environment, meaning any meat eaten by the group had to be carried in.
Daniel also touched on a road-building project moving slowly through the valley, noting tension between officials in Kathmandu and residents concerned about noise, dust, and disruption to religious sites, even though many villagers supported the eventual benefits of vehicle access. He answered audience questions on water quality, which required filtering due to local pathogens despite tasting fine, and on temperature, which ran in the 80s and humid in Kathmandu and varied more widely in the mountains. The talk closed with reflections on his broader travels through JMU's geography study abroad offerings and childhood interests in world geography that first sparked his passion for the field.
Thanks to all members who have already paid their dues. If you have not yet paid the dues for 2026-2027, please do so ASAP! Thank you!
Morning Star Rotary Secretary Val Walk has emailed the club’s 2026-27 club dues invoice to active members. Full details are in e-mail and attached invoice.
If you haven’t seen it, please check your junk/spam folder, and contact Rodney Conn at rodneyconn@icloud.com if you need the invoice resent.
Please pay either...
$260 for the full Rotary year 7/1/26-6/30/27
– or –
$130 for the first six months 7/1/26-12/31/26
Payment method options include:
Check payable to Morning Star Rotary. Give to Rodney Conn at a meeting, or mail it to Rodney's attention at 39 Cherokee Street, Emmaus, PA 18049
Cash. Give to Rodney Conn at a meeting.
Debit or Credit card. By June 30, on www.morningstarrotary.com, log in, then scroll down to Site Pages on the left, and click Pay Dues Online Here. The club uses PayPal to collect it, but you do NOT need a PayPal account; Your debit or credit card is fine. The estimated PayPal fee is added to the dues amount.
Zelle. Between July 1 and July 7 (so it hits the bank in the correct Rotary year).
Your prompt cooperation will be appreciated. The club will pay Rotary International in July and Rotary District 7430 soon after, and active members as of 6/30/26 are in the headcount for those invoices to the club.
Please contact Rodney Conn with any questions or comments.
Do you know about Raise for Rotary, The Rotary Foundation’s peer-to-peer fundraising tool? Since August 2020, Rotary members and our supporters have created more than 4,000 fundraising events to celebrate birthdays, athletic challenges, and other occasions. These fundraisers have generated over US$3.5 million for the PolioPlus Fund, World Fund, Disaster Response Fund, and areas of focus.
Raise for Rotary is celebrating its sixth anniversary with some exciting updates:
It’s migrating to a new platform and has an updated logo.
You can now download a donation report from your fundraising page to more easily track who donated and when.
If you’re fundraising for PolioPlus through physical activity, you can now track your activities on the exercise app Strava to share your progress with more people.
The features and benefits that have made Raise for Rotary successful aren’t changing:
It’s simple to use and share. Setting up a fundraising page is fast. You can support specific Rotary causes and easily share your fundraiser with others — especially on social media.
Donors can get recognition credit. Anyone who gives using the same email address they use for Rotary functions such as My Rotary will receive all applicable Rotary giving credit and recognition.
An organizer’s club is credited with donations from nonmembers. This recognizes the work of organizers and encourages them to seek support beyond their Rotary networks.
Lower fees mean we can do more. With our own platform, we have more flexibility and more of the funds you raise go directly toward Doing Good in the World.
Thank you for your support! No matter how you choose to fundraise, the donations you generate help our Foundation make an even bigger impact around the world.
Hanoverville Roadhouse
