Twenty-six Naples Rotarians gathered at the Redwood for our last October evening meeting. Frank greeted everyone including our speaker Liz Searle, Naples Historical Society President Trish Lambiase and exchange student Uryu Yoshino from Japan.

 

President Karen led the Pledge followed by Jack leading the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Patrice shared a sweet poem for the Invocation entitled "Change" referencing the colors of the trees, the fallen leaves nourishing the ground and our need to respond to others, adapting to changes we encounter.

 

Announcements: The Light Up Naples committee meets at Rose's house Tuesday evening at 6 pm. * The Camp Onseyawa Dinner is Saturday evening in Geneva. If you want to get in on raffle tickets, please get in touch with Frank.

 

John's final report on the Naples Grape Fest began with a huge THANK YOU for all the fellowship and laughs that made the festival a success. Overall, it was pretty stress free despite a rainy Saturday. Appreciation goes to collaboration with NHS, Mike Joseph for music, Marty promoting the 50-50, all who worked in the Beverage Garden - especially Skip and Judy for leading it. Also kudos to Interact students, Nancy the Queen of the Porch, David's Quick Books expertise and Cindy for doing the committee minutes. Most of all Thanks to Jo Anne for her organization and leadership! Goals for 2025 include improving wi-fi for the card readers. John showed slides of the past year's and 2024 profits from each of the sources. The end result was a record distribution for both organizations: $28,530 to each!

John presented the checks to Trish and Karen.

Trish shared her Thanks to Rotary and NHS for the success of the Festival. There are still some long sleeve shirts and a few hoodies available at 30% off. They can be purchased on Thursdays from 1-3 pm at Morgan Hose Building. She then shared a photo of the Hungry for History sign which celebrates the Naples Grape Pie. It will be installed in front of Memorial Town Hall this fall with an official unveiling in the spring. Another sign to be erected in the park will describe the history of the Memorial Town Hall. 

Jo Anne also gave her Thanks for all who participated in making the festival a success and for putting up with her OCD.

 

Our program was given by Liz Searle, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers Ontario - Yates, Inc. (LVOY) She and John have been friends since they were band geeks in high school. The Mission of LVOY is to provide adults the literacy skills needed to reach their full potential as individuals, parents, workers and citizens. They have tutors who provide student-centered learning customized to the needs of each student. Literacy Volunteers of America was founded in 1962 in Syracuse by Ruth Colvin. The Geneva office opened in 1967, Canandaigua office opened in 1969 and the Yates County program was added in Penn Yan in 1979. Ruth Colvin passed away this past August at age 107.

More than 48 million adults in the US cannot read above third-grade level. LVOY works with native English speakers and foreign language speakers one-on-one and in group classes in public settings like libraries and diners. Initial and progress assessments help guide the teaching. Many learners are seeking a GED, citizenship exam prep, driver's licenses or better employment. They also provide social services assessments. LVOY is a non-profit, funding comes from grants, fundraisers and other donations. Tutors are needed! Email them at INFO@LVOY.ORG to learn more. The website is: WWW.LVOY.ORG.

 

The Ace of Hearts was $68. Carrie had #5968 but selected the Queen of Hearts.

Happy Bills celebrated Liz's program, Jo Anne and the Grape Fest success, the Bills win, Yankees in the World Series, Naples boys and girls soccer teams and cross country team, the beginning of bell choir season. Also  in mind are our friends facing medical concerns. The dead mouse that Marty found in the bottom of the donation box was named "John Jr." in honor of he who forget to mention its presence. Nancy also spoke of the wet money at the Grape Fest that Jo Anne washed and dried! Mention was made of the literacy book box at the Elementary School that needs renovation or removal.

 

Karen rang the bell at 6:45 to adjourn the meeting.