The early afternoon sun gradually made its way through the thick cloud cover we had earlier this morning, and it reminded us of the "Light" Ed Joseph exuded unto all.

We were warmly greeted by Bo this noon, before joining President Liz in saying The Pledge. Jack gave a poignant Invocation today, as he read a piece written by his and Sharon's friend, Julie, who described a myriad of ways that we can experience "Light". Jack went on to express how those of us who knew Ed Joseph also received a "Special Light" in having known him. Fellow (Honorary) Rotarian, Ed passed away suddenly over the weekend, and we are saddened by this news. Jack led us in singing "America, The Beautiful", and the harmony flowed throughout the room! We were a cozy group of Members today, as we numbered 19, along with our Guest, Sharon. Jill, John, and Sherry joined us on Zoom.

Pres. Liz had some announcements to share with us. * One can still register for the District Conference which is going to be held in April in Saratoga Springs. * Please let Liz or John know if you are interested in attending the Grant Management Seminar. * The Rotary Leadership Institute will be held in Johnson City in March, and in Victor in October. * The "Ski Weekend" for the Exchange Students will be this coming weekend. Volunteers are needed to help. * Liz made the "executive decision" to hold this month's Rotary Lite Meeting at her home! Liz and Clyde will provide the warm atmosphere, and we are asked to bring an hors d'oeuvre to share. Happy to report that no one objected to this idea! Rotary Lite will be on Wednesday, February 14th from 6-8 PM. * The Club Calendar is all set, up to April.

We sang hearty "Congratulations" to our February Stars who have birthdays this month. The group includes Bruce, John, Billy, Brenda, and Bo!

Our Program for today was supposed to have been about the Melanoma Education Foundation, featuring Steve Fine, who was to have joined us on Zoom. Steve, who is from Massachusetts, is the President and Founder of the M. E. F. Unfortunately, Steve could not be with us, therefore, we'll reschedule, and have him give his presentation at another time.

"When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade!", as the saying goes, and that's just what Liz did today to cleverly "fill up" our hour! She began by having Sue talk about the Trout Derby, which reminds us of Spring! Sue noted that the Trout Derby Committee has already gotten going, having met on Wednesday at Nancy's. Sue is glad to have Alan on board this year to help with the Derby. The Committee will be meeting again this week, on Wednesday, at Nancy's, at 6 PM. Sue will bring Sign-Up Sheets to next week's Meeting. We are encouraged to help at this event if we are able. In terms of donations, Sue noted that it's helpful to E-mail the businesses first. That helps with extending our thanks to them, later on. Perhaps a Brochure can be created to describe the Trout Derby and include the names of those who helped.

The Ace of Hearts was at $38.00 today. Pat's Ticket, #0841, was drawn, (by Jo, I think), and she drew the Ten of Spades from the pack. Bo and Skip explained how the Ace of Hearts originated. It had started out as a Fifty-Fifty.

Happy Bills and Rotary Reflections were next. Many of us had Ed Joseph on our minds, as we recalled his life of dedication and service to his family and community. Individually, here were some more reasons for Happy Bills. Clyde was glad to learn what the Red Cups were for (helping students). Skip thought that having "no Program" was a great Program! Judy shared that the Open Cupboard would be having a "Pop-Up Pantry" this afternoon. Jack has a new truck! Cindy is looking forward to the Chocolate Cake Contest this weekend at Vintage, Vines, and Valentines. Nancy claims that her new "meds" are working wonders for her, so far! Jo Anne appreciates life, and how her grandchildren have brought Albie and her so much joy.

With a bit of time to spare, Liz figured we'd all enjoy a few "Brain Teasers" from the "Who Am I?" jar. This segment of the Meeting certainly brought on a few chuckles and some speculation! For the first two, there were no takers. Bo, Cindy, and Clyde had been guessed as to who "worked in a prison for twelve years." Nancy, Karen, and Pat were guessed for "I love Rotary!" Then came, "I rode an elephant when I was five!" Cindy was the one, who said the Circus had come to her town when she was little! "I had flown a glider plane!" turned out to be Rose, who jokingly said that the birds were saying "Hello" to her, as she flew past! Also, there were no takers at today's Meeting for "I am fluent in three languages!" The "Who Am I?" portion of the Meetings has been a delightful way to get to know our Members, and to learn some things about them that we might not otherwise know!

Following the "Who Am I?" Guesswork, it was "Time For Trivia", and Liz had a few more tricky questions for us! The first was, "How many Rotarians are there in the world?" The answer to that one was just under 1.2 million. The Southernmost Rotary Club is in Antarctica! (You can't get any further south than that!) The Highest Rotary Club is found in Argentina at 4,480 meters. The Northernmost Rotary Club in the U.S.A. is found in Barrows, Alaska, while the Lowest Rotary Club in the U.S.A. is in California at 12.2 meters below sea level. Those were fun facts to toss about, and we all had our thinking caps on!

Our remembrances of Ed Joseph formed today's Rotary Moment, as we reflected upon a Life Well-Lived. Skip noted that Ed's Service will be at Bristol Springs Free Church, this Wednesday, February 7th, at 11 AM. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joy, Mike, and his entire family at this sad time.

As the Meeting came to a close, we recited The Four-Way Test, bearing in mind that we should always try to be "a light unto others", just as Ed was!