"It was a full house on Monday night!" reported Blanche, as she summed up our Evening Meeting at The Redwood on the Rotary Face Book Page. And, indeed, the restaurant was filled with Members and Guests anxious to hear the excellent Program given by Carrie, Skip, and Frank!

President-Elect Karen welcomed us to the Meeting, as she prompted us to rise for The Pledge. Karen is filling in for President Liz, who, along with Clyde, is visiting family in Hawaii for a few weeks. Jack led us in singing "You're A Grand Old Flag", while David then shared his Words of Wisdom, contending that Adversity can counteract Complacency in meaningful ways.

We had been warmly greeted by Wayne, before finding available seats in a very crowded room filled with many Attendees! There were Thirty-six Members in total, with Liz and Clyde joining us on Zoom. Wayne welcomed and introduced our twelve Guests! Joining us tonight were Aimee, Kathy, Kristen, Justin, Paul, Lanny, Sharon, Kathleen, Gia, Leandra, Graycen, and Sawyer! This Evening's Program was about the Honor Flight, recently experienced by Carrie, Skip, and Frank and Shannon. Blanche had the Rotary Moment for us tonight.

PE Karen had a few brief Announcements to share before the Program began. This year, the Eastern Cities Dinner has been renamed the Eastern Cities Fellowship Reception, and it was being held at the Strong Museum of Play on Tuesday, November 14th. Eight Members from the Naples Rotary Club were planning on attending. The format for this year's Eastern Cities "Dinner" was rearranged to be more affordable, yet just as enjoyable. Karen then reviewed the Club Calendar for the next few weeks, as well.

How does one define Honor? The dictionary defines Honor as "having high public esteem, credit, fame , or glory, and having an exemplary sense of personal moral standards and conduct". There are two of our Naples Rotary Members who represent Honor at its highest level, and they are Frank and Skip, who had recently been a part of the 80th Honor Flight Mission out of Rochester. Skip's devoted daughter, Carrie, gave an extraordinary account of their experience, as she accompanied Her Dad on this very Special Mission...

"Here we are!" exclaimed Carrie, as she began to tell us about the Honor Flight. Carrie served as Skip's Guardian, while son, Shannon served as Frank's Guardian, and although it was just an overnight trip to Washington D.C., the memories from this trip will surely last a lifetime!

We learned a little bit about the history of the Honor Flight, as Carrie told us that the first HFM was back in 2005 in Springfield, Ohio. In the Spring 0r 2008, Rochester became a "Hub". In July of 2019, Carrie began the process, including applying on-line, getting scheduled, and verifying phone calls. Her ardent efforts came to fruition when this Fall, the "Foursome" boarded their early morning flight to Washington D.C. Flanked in their orange shirts, we couldn't help but display our mutual pride in these folks, and we sat back, and listened to Carrie describe their extraordinary adventure! 

Not only was Carrie eloquent, but she was extremely well-prepared, as she included pictures of all the famous places they had visited while in D.C. These places of importance included the World War II Memorial, the Viet Nam and Korean War Memorial(s), the Washington and Lincoln Memorial(s), the FDR Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Iwo Jima Marine Corps Memorial, Arlington Cemetary, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which has been guarded for 100 years. As we could imagine, and came to understand, many emotions were felt and displayed during this memorable visit.

Frank's and Skip's "Welcome Home" was comprised of Patriot Guard Riders, tears of joy, and the shaking of hands, not to mention a Reception where Channel 13's Anchorman (and Rochester Rotarian), Don Alhart spoke!

Our Heroes had received letters from our Naples Students, and along with those, each Vet had a "Highlight" to share with us. For Frank, it was the clapping at the Concourse in Maryland that he found "humbling". For Skip, it was being at Arlington Cemetery, and "having Carrie there". It was at this point that many of us had tears of gratitude in our eyes as we gave our Hometown Heroes a standing ovation! Thank you, Carrie and Shannon, for being so devoted to Your Dads, and thank you, Frank and Skip for your service!!

It continued to be a "stellar" evening, as we moved on to the Ace of Hearts! Nancy's Ticket, #1669, was selected, and Nancy hit the jackpot! She drew the Ace of Hearts and collected the sum of $480!! Congratulations to Nancy on your win!!

LUN Update: Rose noted that plans are progressing nicely. The selling of the Discs has begun, and the selling sites are the Apothecary, Artizann's, Caruso's and Rennoldson's. The good news is that there will be Gingerbread Houses (for display only) at the Naples Library, and there will be a Live Nativity at the Baptist Church.

The Happy Bills were at their peak tonight, in appreciation and admiration of Skip and Frank!

Blanche capped off the evening by sharing a Perfect Rotary Moment. Delving into the Archives, she shared a picture of our Nancy when she was installed as Naples Rotary's First Female President! Such an honor!

We closed the evening, as we joined Karen in reciting The Four-Way Test. 

Hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy some of this sunshine we've been having! See you Monday!