There were 23 Naples Rotarians enjoying a gathering this evening at the Redwood. Autumn chill was in the air! Frank greeted us and we had one visitor - our speaker, Sean Sullivan.

 

President Jack started us off with the Pledge and God Bless America. His inspiration was: "Every day focus on your purpose. Remember why you do what you do. We don't get burned out because of what we do. We get burned out because we forget why we do it." 

 

Announcements: Camp O annual dinner is 10/24 in Geneva. The clean-up at Camp Whitman is 10/25 at 9 am. Frank has dinner and raffle tickets. * Our first Light Up Naples (LUN) meeting was last week. We are in need of additional volunteers for this annual wonderful community event. The next meeting is on Wednesday,  October 22 at 6 pm at Jo Anne's house, 174 South Main St. Hope to see you there! * The Board meeting earlier today focused on the budget for this Rotary year. We are in good financial position even before the addition of the 2025 Grape Festival funds. The budget is similar to last year and was passed by the Board. David will be sending out checks to causes we support in local, regional and global areas.

 

This month's celebrations are birthdays for Tim and Marty plus Bill and Carrie's 23rd anniversary today!

 

Sean Sullivan shared updates on Naples Economic and Community Development in the Village. He is a Village Board member since 2018 and has been reelected since then. Sean is originally from Pennsylvania and moved here when his wife accepted a professor position at FLCC. Their kids were young and they fell for the feel of Naples life. Sean has been on the board of BVT, a green community committee and was recruited to the village board. Community development was and is still focused on tourism but has broadened to enhancing the downtown area (eg. Tunes in Town, etc.) as well as grant writing for infrastructure improvement projects. They are currently applying for Round 3 of NY Forward grants. The grant would help with upgrades to the Memorial Town Hall, first floor businesses with upstairs housing and bringing a medical facility to Main St.

Naples has not had a Chamber of Commerce but Explore Naples NY was formed in 2019 to fill that need. It focuses on tourism as well as bringing in business. An area of tourism that has come to the forefront recently is improving the many hiking trails in our region. The Trail Collective is developing a master plan of trails for running and biking including the former West Hill Preserve, now called Hickory Ridge on Seman Road. The phase 2 of the village sewer project will begin shortly with construction ongoing for 2 years. Grant approval will help the 2022 water main installation  continue with distribution line replacement to village homes. The old pharmacy building could be used for a blood draw station and possibly a dialysis facility. Exciting things are coming to the Naples community!

 

The Ace of Hearts was $201. Liz Bailey had ticket 9414 but pulled the Queen of Clubs.

Happy Bills went to Sean's program, thanks to great committee volunteers, Bill and Carrie's anniversary, Charlie home for the weekend and Jo Anne's granddaughter's engagement. John thanked those who helped with the NOC pop-up last week and is happy for a successful move of NOC to their new location at 24 Mill Street. David shared that Artizann's mortgage is paid off in just 5 years of business!

 

Rotary moments: Nancy received a certificate from Celebrate Naples for volunteering all over Naples for so many years! "Naples would not be the same without her!" * John gave a talk to Interact students about polio. Twenty-six students had standing room only and want to help with Rotary Polio Day this month. Carrie shared a photo of John as a Cub Scout! * Doc Wayne shared news of a fundraiser held at his dental office during the Grape Fest weekend. It was done in memory of his former wife, Judy Chanler. They met when he was a dental student and she a dental assistant. She had devoted many years in St. Louis to providing dental care for underprivileged children. The funds will continue that legacy.

 

We closed the meeting with the Four Way Test and adjourned early to get everyone home to watch:

Go Bills!