Grapevine 12-16-2019 (Dec 17, 2019)

Today’s meeting was our Club Assembly, so that meant there were various topics discussed, and a great deal of “connection” among members as well! President Tom made the comment that he thought there might have been an “echo” in the room, as we had a meager turnout in comparison to past meetings. There were 25 members, plus one guest, the lovely Sharon Fredericks. Pres. Tom opened the meeting, as we joined him in saying The Pledge. Empowered by Jack’s melodious voice, we sang The Star-Spangled Banner. Alex prayed that The Good Lord would continue to bless us as we serve others. Laurie announced our guest, Sharon. Also led by a wonderful singer, John French, we sang “Congratulations” to our December Folks. Karen and Gerry each have an anniversary this month, and one of our newest members, Andy, has a birthday. Best wishes to each of you!

Patrice gave a synopsis of this morning’s Board Meeting. Here are the topics we covered:

The Secretary’s and Treasurer’s Reports were approved.
Pres. Tom gave a brief tutorial on the use of our website, which is naplesrotary.org. He encourages us to use the website to glean useful information such as calendar events, newsletters, photos, and The Grapevine. Tom strongly urges us to install the ClubRunner App on our cellphones, in order to keep abreast of individual membership data,which can be very useful at times. He added that if there were any questions or concerns, “He was only a phone call away”.
The 2019 Light Up Naples event was very successful in spite of the nasty weather! There were between 150-200 people at the Town Hall. The Committee will try to coordinate adjustments that need to be made for next year, one of them being more involvement from Luigi’s. An Abundance of thanks goes to Sherry and John for all their wonderful efforts in making this a fun and well-attended event!

Trinity Bells performing at Trinity Church Steps

Jack gave a review of Operation Santa. He, Sharon, and Kelly pooled their efforts this year to make this outreach very successful. Forty families were served. A huge “Thank You” is extended to Skip and Judy for all their efforts in chairing Operation Santa in the past!
In terms of meeting changes, The Board agreed that there would be no program on the 4^th Monday of each month, but rather, a time to socialize and connect. Beginning in January, we’ll meet at Hollerhorn every other month, for this meeting, which would be January, March, and May. At the end of the Rotary year, we’ll evaluate how this plan works. This will be included in the calendar as well.
We are looking at a new slate of officers for 2020-2021. Susan will be finished as Treasurer at the end of June, thus, a replacement is needed for her. This volunteer would need to have an acceptable background in accounting. We extend our sincere thanks to Susan, who has done an exemplary job as Treasurer these past years!
Naples Rotary has been chosen, as one out of five clubs, to serve on a discussion panel at the District Training Assembly in the Spring. Approximately five members would serve on the panel, and the topic would be “How we are able to attract and retain so many members”. Pres. Tom has expressed an interest in being on this panel. He gave us “pointers” on how to talk to others when they ask us about Rotary.
Membership Updates: Nardine Paquin will be inducted as a new member at the January 6^th meeting. New applicants, Holly and Tony Deusenbery were approved by the Board, and they, too, will be inducted as new members soon.
Skip is looking for a replacement for his role as coordinator of the Lucky Ducky Derby this Spring.

Tom noted that he has reached the halfway mark in his role as Naples Rotary President, and he is very appreciative of everyone’s support thus far!

Pres. Tom noted that are no meetings for 12/23, and 12/30 due to the Christmas Season, but we’ll resume regular meetings on January 6^th.

Pres. Tom and Pres.-Elect, Matt “took the reins”, as they were the leaders in today’s Club Assembly. Tom tapped our brains to come up with better ways in which we can connect with one another. Here are some ideas that were suggested:

Upon entering the meeting, pick a number, and that’s where you would sit.
Develop activities to build our membership community by pairing up with another member, and then sharing your ideas with the others.
Keep in mind, that as Rotarians, we should keep “The What”, “The How”, and “The Why” foremost in our minds as we partake in various Rotary activities.
Tom briefly reviewed the website, naplesrotary.org, reminding us that this is a wonderful way to keep connected. Through dates, events, pictures, bulletins, and idea exchanges, we are able to “keep in the loop”.

Tom also urged us to download the ClubRunner App on our phones as yet another way to keep connected.

Then it was Matt’s turn to “get the ball rolling”, as he handed out Holiday Bingo sheets to everyone! This fun “ice-breaker” forced us to move about, and get nine different members’ initials on each of the squares, which described a holiday activity. One had to get all nine squares, or pay a fine!!

Jack showed a picture of the elementary cafeteria tables laden with bags of Christmas gifts and plants for the Naples families served by Operation Santa. Jack and Sharon helped Kelly this year. Many thanks to Skip and Judy for all their work with OS in past years. Jack stated that 40 families were served in the Naples School District this year. He also thanked the students who were there on Saturday to help, as well as those members who made deliveries. A check for $500 was given to OS from the Naples Rotary. Tom and Michelle made deliveries to those in Nursing Homes in Canandaigua also.

Skip distributed beautifully-written Thank You Letters from the Third Graders, for us to peruse. They certainly seemed to enjoy receiving the dictionaries that were given them recently. John also noted that Sherry delivered 19 extra Rotary Calendars this weekend!

‘Twas now the time for Happy Bills and Fines! Jodi, and Diane had missed meetings, and John had missed the Board Meeting 9car trouble). There were a few “blank squares” also. All in all, we were a happy group for the following reasons: Light Up Naples, Operation Santa, The Christmas Party, Holiday Bingo, and The Bills’ winning streak. Jodi was pleased that River got a prominent part in the school play. Shanna appreciates our support of the Junior Robotics Team. Pres. Tom is at his halfway mark, and he’s going strong!

The 50-50 was at $218 today, and Deb’s Ticket, #422 was drawn. By gum, didn’t Deb pick the Ace of Hearts today!! Deb shared that her little “fixer-upper”, Sally, The Shed is becoming Sally, The Studio!

The Win-Win was from John. “The Night Before Christmas” was first published in 1823!

The Rotary Moment was a double one today! John was so glad to see so many show up for Light Up Naples, even though the weather was yucky! He was pleased with all the aspects of the event, from two Live Nativity Scenes, (one featuring our own Rotary Wise Men), to hayrides by Steve, to hearing the Trinity Bells, to the beautiful decorations, and to all the yummy cookies, especially Suzanne’s! Karen’s son, Joey, even became engaged on one of the hayrides!