Pres. Sue's Jan. 22 Message

Wasn't it great to meet our new exchange student last week, Retief van der Lingen from South Africa? And Debra Lamb's presentation on Lehigh Valley Children's Centers showed that our club's grant is very well used indeed.

It is hard for me to sit still and write this – I am soooo excited about BOWLING this weekend!!!

We have 27 bowlers for this Saturday, 7-9 pm at Hampton Lanes in Northampton … I think that might be a record! (Never mind that it is only our second year, it’s still a record and I’ll take it.)

I am also really excited because this week is one of my FAVORITE meetings! This week we thank all the folks who SPONSORED the 5K/10K RACE and we give SPECIAL OLYMPICS their GREAT BIG CHECK!

AND … it gets even better! Thrivent is coming! Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has been financially supporting our race for 7 years and they have never, ever let us thank them in person before. This week they are FINALLY coming, and I cannot wait to meet them. So I hope you will come too, and help show them what Rotary is all about.

Birthdays this week, too! If your birthday is in January, we will be celebrating you this week. So don't forget to come and collect your birthday treat! (I hear Marianne is handing out apples this month!)

It's already time to start thinking about the NEXT ROTARY YEAR!

On March 1-2, Jean Searfoss and Marianne Aronson will be heading off to PETS – that is President Elect Training Seminar. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is an action-packed, fun-filled two days of training for Assistant Governors and incoming Presidents. Jean will be asking about next year’s Committee Chairs before then. Yes, ALREADY! So if there is an area of the club that you would like to serve or have been dying to serve, now is the time to let her know before she calls you … because she will be calling you. Or at least, now is the time to start thinking about how you might serve the club and Rotary, and any ideas for projects or fellowship events you may have. Any why wait until next year – you can always practice on this year.

POLIO ERADICATION UPDATE

Time Magazine has been running an interesting series of articles on the fight against Polio. They are now available on our website on the News section.

4-Way Rotary Test SPEECH CONTEST

We are still looking for contestants for our Speech contest. If anyone knows the debate coach or drama teacher at any of the local high schools, (other than Freedom, we have that one covered), please let Ben Tenaglia know. If you know of other ways to get info out to high school students via school contacts, traditional media, or social media, that would also be very helpful.

See you Thursday!

Cheers, Susan