We had a nice crowd of twenty-six Naples Rotarians and one guest tonight at the Redwood for our last gathering of April.

 

Jack brought us to our feet for the Pledge followed by God Bless America. His words of Rotary inspiration were: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others".

 

Cindy introduced our guest who came to the Meet and Greet last Thursday.  Bill Stopka grew up in Naples and returned here a couple years ago and is applying to be a member of Rotary!

 

The first order of business tonight was a membership vote to approve the updated Bylaws for 2026. Marty motioned to approve and Frank seconded. Discussion of important changes followed: the date for paying dues has been changed to June 1 and December 1. This was needed to facilitate payments of per capita dues to Rotary International based on the number of club members on July 1 and January 1. The vote passed unanimously.

 

Announcements: The Great Grape Derby is happening on May 9th. Carrie (filling in for Judy and Skip) has paper tickets available, they are also online by Zeffy. *

Carrie also shared that Skip is in FFTH after surgery on Friday. Cards, calls and prayers are very welcome. * The Memorial Day Parade is May 25th. Details TBD. *

Watkinstown Celebration of our town's founding in 1789 takes place on Saturday, June 6th from 11-4. It's part of our America 250 plans! Naples was originally named for Capt. Nathan Watkins, one of the original settlers. The town center was located in the park by Fairview cemetery. Businesses surrounding the park and Naples organizations will have activities, food, music and historic information there. The Cleveland House Museum will be open. * The Finger Lakes Chorale has two concerts in Canandaigua: May 9th at St. Mary's Church at 7:30pm and May 10th at the Congregational Church at 3pm. Our friends, Alan Braun and Rose Hogan will be singing. * Bruce's 86th birthday is tomorrow!

 

Our program today was memories from Jane Schenk! Jack and Sharon visited her recently and came home with boxes of Rotary archives. Included are many photos and written remembrances of Naples Rotary over the years. Jane inherited the collection from prior historian Bill Vierhile. Jack showed some of the photos.

Naples Rotary Club began on February 10, 1939 and was officially chartered on May 1, 1939, sponsored by the Canandaigua Rotary. There were 20 men including 7 officers. Dues were $15 and the budget totaled $315. Meetings took place at the Naples Hotel every Monday at 12:05pm. In June 1945, Naples sponsored a club starting in Prattsburgh. Some of the early activities included a Baby Fund for new children of members, a rural relations committee to benefit local farmers, tons of clothing collected for displaced families in Europe during WW II and many letters to soldiers during the war. They sponsored the Cub Scout soap box derby, milk for Naples school children and a shelter at the ice skating rink. By 1950 the budget was up to $1081. In 1955, the 50th anniversary of Rotary International, Naples sent letters to other clubs and received many replies from around the world. By 1959-1960, the club budget was $1457 and fundraising began with a pancake dinner that earned $466. Jane mentioned the humor brought to each meeting by president Peggy Peters and Odell Scott in 1999-2000. Jane has been hospitalized recently and is now receiving hospice care at home. She is in good spirits and would welcome visitors and calls. She always enjoys a glass of Riesling with friends!

 

The Ace of Hearts was at $64 tonight. Bo had ticket #9997. He pulled the Jack of Hearts!

 

Happy Bills were given for the upcoming District Conference this weekend at Holiday Valley. A hardy foursome of Jack, Sharon, Bo and Patrice will be playing golf at 9am on Saturday! * Cindy was happy to have the Bylaws completed and approved. * We welcomed Bill to our meeting tonight. * We are all keeping Jane and Skip in our thoughts. * Bo and Pat celebrated their granddaughter's birthday last week. * The elementary students liked the Arbor Day trees we gave them. 300 went to Naples and 220 to Prattsburgh. * Sharon enjoyed seeing Jane's son Christopher who was in her first class at Naples elementary.

 

Jack continued the meeting with a review of our club goals for the 2025-2026 year. We have achieved 18 of 21 goals so far, with a couple months to go this Rotary year. We have met goals for membership numbers, service participation, social activities, service projects, new members, online presence, website and bylaws. We met attendance at leadership training, conferences, RYLA and Interact. Still to come are donations to RI and Polio Plus funds. Overall, it's a great showing for our efforts in our community and our world!

 

Rotary Moments included packaging the trees for Arbor Day. The Italian Rotarians who visited last week very much enjoyed their short stay with us in Naples. The Youth Exchange student, Nicole, that stayed with Jack and Sharon many years ago is planning to visit here this summer so we will all get to meet her!

 

Jack closed the meeting with the Four Way Test and we adjourned at 7:05pm. Have a great week!