Donna Parcell of the Church of the Brethren was our guest speaker on September 6. Donna was here representing a project that her denomination supports in Nigeria. The denomination maintains hundreds of parishes and pastors in Brethren Congregations. In 2009 the Boko Haram began attacking churches and villages in the Northeastern sector in an attempt to destroy all Western influences. Many villages and churches were burned and 100,000 members and hundreds of pastors and parishes were forced to flee for their lives.  The Boko Harem promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram" or forbidden to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society. More recently the Nigerian government military has stepped in and challenged the Boko Haram and is trying to drive them from the country. We applaud the courage of the people and the Brethern Church in their continuing work amongst the dangers of armed attacks and ignorance.

 

 

Liz Wanamaker spoke to the Club on August 8, 2017 as the winner of the Harleysville Rotary Four-Way Test Essay Contest. She read her excellent award winning essay and then told us a little about herself and her future plans. We congratulated Liz on her accomplishments and wished her well in her future endeavors.

 

Harleysville Rotary celebrated the new Rotary Year with a changeover ceremony that inducted new President Dean Shollenberger. Dean was presented with his badge of office by Shushma and Shushma received a custom made plaque celebrating the completion of her very successful year in office. Congratulations to two great Rotarians.

 

 

Len Ruth, a Charter Member of the Harleysville Rotary Club, gave a new classification speech today to fellow members of the Club. Len told of how he got interested in heavy equipment while in high school as he watched the Northeast Extension being built. At night he would ride his bike on the pike before it was open to the public. That interest led him into several construction jobs until he finally took the plunge and started his own very successful construction company that specialized in foundations. Len is now retired but still own his building which he leases out to other companies. Len has been an outstanding and dedicated Rotarian and seldom misses a meeting.

 

 

Sandra Phifer gave her Classification Talk today and explained how she ended up being a professional photographer after starting our her career as a computer programmer. Having taken some detours along the way she finally discovered her passion and has made photography her vocation. Part of that trip included a great love of Corvettes and she proudly owns a very low mileage classic which you will only see on a perfect weather day. We are proud to have Sandy as an active member of the Harleysville Rotary.

 

Dwayne Gilliard of the Indian Creek Foundation joined our meeting on April 28 to help finalize Harleysville Rotary's agreement to partner in ICF's Adopt-A-Home Program. The Club pledged to adopt a group home in Harleysville in which we will take responsibility for properly maintaining the building that is home to a number of Indian Creek's clients. Our responsibility will be both inside and out and will include landscaping chores, painting, and minor repairs to the interior as needed. Rotary Members will volunteer their time as necessary on a ongoing basis. 

 

Our guests on this morning were part of a team of college students who gave up half of their winter break to serve others. In January of this year, sixteen college students from East Stroudsburg and West Chester Universities left for the small town of Windsor, NC to help rebuild homes that were destroyed in a hurricane last October 16. They tackled a mobile home and a ranch style home, both of which were completely flooded. Shown here (from left to right) are Pat White, Introducer; Ed Los and Elena Navarro, both students at West Chester; Shushma Patel, Harleysville Club President; and Rick Stevenson, Member of the West Chester Rotary Club and a supervisor on the trip. Wonderful work by wonderful people.

 

Jennifer King from the Penn Foundation (seen on left with Shushma Patel, Rotary President) joined us for breakfast to talk about Camp Mariposa. This camp is jointly sponsored by the Penn Foundation and the Moyer Foundation and serves to provide a respite for children who live in households where there is substance abuse. Jen talked about the program where kids are educated on problem solving and self-care strategies to better cope with their personal situations. This is a non-profit organization for children ages 9 - 12. Jennifer was presented with a check for $100 to assist in the program.

 

The lucky winner of the Rotary Club weekly 50/50 drawing was Len Walters. Today's prize was over $100. Congratulations, Lennie!

 

Cynthia Link, the first female Supervisor of Graterford Prison, was our guest speaker for breakfast on January 18. She got us up to date on current programs at the correctional facility and the time table for the opening of the new prison facility early this year. There have been many changes and improvements to operations but challenges still remain. When the new prison opens, there will be an area for the women from other correctional facilities who were originally from the Philadelphia area and who are now transitioning to release and parole. Cynthia delivered a very informative talk and generated an interesting discussion.