We had a great turnout today for our noon gathering! There were 23 Naples Rotarians with 7 guests greeted by our smiling Frank.

 

Past President Liz, standing in for Jack who was at a golf tournament, began the meeting with the bell, followed by the Pledge and God Bless America. 

Liz shared the highlights of the morning's Board Meeting:

We are planning to place a Peace Pole in Naples this fall. This is a District 7120 project that we want to join. * The District Golf Tournament is in September at Reservoir Creek. Golfers and volunteers are wanted. * The Gavel/Changeover Dinner is June 30th at Brew & Brats. RSVP to John's email or let Skip know. Zeffy can be used for payments. * Club Awards will be given at the dinner. If anyone has a suggestion of a community member for the Paul Harris Award, call John by Wednesday. * Rotary International is seeking Clubs to host an Armenian Youth Exchange choir this fall. We will offer to participate. * We will be working on a booklet for new members, that outlines how Naples Rotary works. Chip suggested a Chicago Rotary template for it. * We still need a program coordinator to relieve Liz who has been doing it for a long time. Let her know of any ideas you have for the coming Rotary year. * We lost a number of the "grapes" from the Derby in Naples Creek. The water level was high and many were not caught in the nets at the Digger. We're hoping to get a kayak group together to look for them and add a creek-wide net downstream next year.

 

Frank announced our guests today: Anna Yang (our Exchange student who will be here through July), Chip Weismiller, Jeff and Renee Caron, Deborah Wilbur and Rick Hawks from Ontario Children's Foundation and most importantly, Kathleen Duserick.

 

Our program today was about the Ontario Children's Foundation. Rick Hawks, president of the Trustees, gave us the history of the organization. It was founded in 1863 as the orphan asylum. The Naples community had a large role in its history. William Clark came to Naples in 1789 with his wife, 10 children and 4 step-children. One of those was Myron Clark who grew up here, eventually becoming sheriff in Canandaigua, President of the City Board, State Senator and NYS Governor. Myron encouraged Dr. George Cook to found the 2nd insane asylum in NYS in Canandaigua called Brigham Hall. It was located near the current Thompson Hospital. Dr. Cook's wife, Caroline, realized there were many children orphaned or partially orphaned by the Civil War who needed a place to live in Ontario County. The Children's Home was founded then and remained until the early 1900's when Ontario County Social Services took over.

Deborah Wilbur is the President of the Foundation. She described the current organization as a 24 member Board of Managers who decide on how the Foundation distributes its funds. There are 3 committees:  Education, Special Projects and Health. Education funds college loans, scholarships and soon will help students pursue post high school vocational training. Special Projects includes funds for day care, Boys and Girls clubs, YMCA, 4H camp as well as providing beds and clothing to families through school nurse recommendations. Health funds fill children's needs that families or insurance can't provide for medical equipment, medicines, etc. The Capital Campaign contributes to Family Promise of Ontario Co, Motion Junction playground, Naples Youth Corp, baseball fields, High School senior trips, YMCA playgrounds and childcare centers. The endowment is currently $5.5 million given over many years by benefactors. The goal is to donate 5% each year. College students repay their loans and often donate more in gratitude of how the program helped them succeed.

Kris Saucke is a member of the Board and would assist in communicating any needs we have here in Naples.

 

The Ace of Hearts was $545 and down to 3 cards! Sharon had #968 and selected the King of Diamonds. If there is not a winner next week with 2 cards, the money will go to the Club administrative account and we will start over with the whole deck! Good luck everyone!

 

Many Happy Bills were given for the inspirational program, Camp O golf tournament fun, our guests, Bruce helping at Camp O, Happy Anniversary to Frank and Kathleen, Cindy's vacation, appreciation for the work the Children's Foundation does and Kathleen's valued involvement when she was a counselor at NCS. 

 

Rotary Moments from Sharon came from Bo and Patrice on their way to the RI Conference in Calgary with the RV Fellowship. There are 30 couples heading into Canada with 56 expected at the Conference. John's Rotary Moment was the original donation to Naples Rotary Foundation funds that contributed to the upgrade of the pottery building at Camp O. We are also one of 4 Clubs that received approval for grants that help Camp O this year. Liz's Rotary Moment was a photo at Hole 12 of the Camp O golf where Bruce shared shots with a foursome of golfers. 

 

We shared the Four Way Test and Liz adjourned the meeting. Have a great week!

 

Correction to last week's Grapevine:

Nancy responded that she started her banking career at Security Trust Company, not CNB.