Wow! It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood! The Naples valley was all sunshine and warmth in multiple ways as we gathered at The Redwood this evening. Judy Miller welcomed us all - 20 Rotarians and 6 guests.

 

President Jack rang the bell at 6:05 pm as we rose for the Pledge. Our song was America the Beautiful. Our inspiration was from Winston Churchill - "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

 

Our guests tonight were Michelle and Brendan Halloran, Kathleen Duserick, Al Voss, Grady Grove and exchange student Hikaru from Japan. 

 

Announcements: Sue Dominick and Brenda Keith have been hospitalized this past week. Sue came home today and Brenda has been transferred to the Highlands of Brighton for rehab. Sue's address is 8167 Feather St. Brenda is PO Box 125. Please keep them in your thoughts. * The District Learning Assembly is April 11th in Waterloo. It's a good free opportunity to learn more about Rotary and all are welcome. The District Conference is May 1-3 at Holiday Valley. Info on both is found on the District 7120 website. * A Hospeace House fundraiser, Monte Carlo Night, is on Saturday, April 18. Jo has tickets. Please share their FB posts to your friends list! *  March is Rotary Water, Hygiene and Sanitation month. * We shared the list of March birthdays and sang to the honorees who we missed last week. 

 

Highlights from the Board Meeting today:

* Approved $200 donation to Rotex Polar Plunge
* As a platinum sponsor of Hospeace House Monte Carlo Night fundraiser, we have 4 free tickets to attend. Please see Jack if interested in using them.

*We will explore applying for a District Grant for a GAGA pit as requested by the NCS Elementary Student Council.
* We are finalizing locations throughout the village/town for two Peace Poles and seven Memorial Benches.

* Plans for the Rainbow Trout Derby and Naples Grape Festival are progressing well.

 

Our guest speaker today was Brendan Halloran, who with wife Michelle, owns Plenty the Bakery and Kimchenius Kimchi. They have been working hard to renovate Bob's N Ruth's into Plenty the Diner! It's been a huge project since they acquired the property in February 2025. They first rehabbed the back prep area and progressed to the front diner and kitchen. Almost all of the electric, plumbing and HVAC was replaced along with the roof! The kitchen required total rehab. The diner area will have new flooring, counter and furniture soon. They hope to start hiring and to open the ice cream and take away windows 11am - 9pm in May! Plenty the Diner with bakery will be open Wed - Mon, 7am -4pm to start. They will continue the bakery on Rt 64 too. They also plan to renovate the dining room area for event and meeting space and develop an internship culinary program. Their mission is to support local food suppliers while providing high quality products and preserving the iconic Naples landmark! Congrats and we can't wait for it to open!

 

The Ace of Hearts grew to $137 tonight. Judy Miller had the magic number 9674. She chose the Queen of Hearts! SO close!

Happy Bills were given for the great presentation from Brendan and Michelle. Our caring thoughts are with Sue, Brenda and Kathleen. Today is Carrie's birthday. Grady is home this week, Charlie next week and then she has her school break. Carrie, sister Aimee and Judy will all attend PELS training for incoming Rotary Presidents in  Syracuse - a real family weekend! The high school musical Addams Family was a big success - kudos to all the stars and supporters! Many are happy to have a Plenty bakery coming closer to home!

 

Hikaru shared his events of the past week. Carrie's Rotary Moment announced that Carly Waltman, last year's RYLA student, was given a Superintendent's Award. She wrote an essay about her Interact experiences and how RYLA changed her life.

The cross at Rose Ridge Cemetery is now visible from town after the trees were removed below it. We will do a clean up there on March 26th (and/or 27th if needed) starting at 9 am prior to Easter on April 5th.

Al Voss spoke about the VFW flag pole project of Eagle Scout Aaron Hall. Donations are needed for the cost of lumber for a staircase. Naples Rotary is giving $500.

 

Jack closed the meeting after reciting the Four Way Test and ringing the bell. Have a good week everyone!