Wow! What a great meeting we had today! I want to thank everyone for all your kind wishes. It sure is great to be back, and to see everyone! I want to thank “My Trusty Assistant” for covering for me last week. He did a great job on the weekly bulletin, being both informative and concise. (Perhaps I could take a lesson from this type of reporting, and not be so flowery!!) There is much to report from today’s meeting, so thanks for bearing with me!
As 12:00 drew near, Pres. Tom opened the meeting, and we rose to join him in saying The Pledge. Bruce M. gave The Blessing, noting that the strength of the club stems from our being connected to each other, and to others. In addition to the 27 members attending today’s online meeting, we were honored to have some guests of distinction with us. We welcomed DG Dave Hannan, along with DGE Linda Kohl. Added to them, were Kim Torpey, Kim Sparky, and our sweet Hjanne. Today’s program, featuring our own Jodi, was about the Walk of Life.
Communications: There was a special reason that DG Dave was with us today. The Naples Rotary Club has been awarded the RI President’s Citation for 2019-2020! Governor Dave explained that our club has received this special honor, as we have excelled in meeting some of the major goals of Rotary, which includes our activities, uniting people, taking action, and increasing membership. The award will be presented later in the Summer. There’s always a silver lining to any cloud!
Andy was asked to give a brief capsule on the Rotary Responders. After explaining its purpose, Andy noted that people are gradually starting to feel safer, and the calls for help have diminished lately. The positive outcome has been that many people have been helped, new relationships have formed, and confidence and trust has been established.
Club Calendar: PE Matt, (also now known as Dr. Frahm), gave an overview on the remaining programs for June. Today, Jodi was to discuss the new format for the Walk of Life. Next week, we’ll hear from Julie Sherwood, and she will talk about engaging reporting.
Gavel Dinner: The Dinner is set to take place on June 29th at Brew and Brats. Skip said that checks are starting to come in. The cost is 36.00 per person. At least 30 people are needed to make this be a success. We’ll be “treated” to a delicious meal, again this year, by Jane Russell, from Around The Corner Catering. We’ll truly be all together for this event, with all safe practices being observed, of course!
Chicken Barbeque: This will take place on July 11th, at the barn next to Crosby’s. The Grove Boys will be doing the catering. My mouth is watering already, thinking about it!
Today’s program, The Walk of Life “Reimagined”, presented by our Jodi, gave reassurance to us all! “The show will go on”, as they say, and this will be the 4th year for us to hold this event. Things will just be done in just a different way this year, due to the pandemic, yet these current circumstances tap into our resourcefulness. The WOL benefits the Margery Coughlin Pawluk Cancer Foundation and the Naples Hospeace House. In the past three years, 48,000 has been raised, and it is our hope that our beneficiaries will continue to profit from our efforts. The events leading up to, and including the WOL will be spread out, in safe ways, over the months of July and August. Many of the events that we have come to know and enjoy will still take place, only they will be conducted in safe and innovative ways. John F. added that Sherry has created a website for the Naples Rotary WOL, including a homepage that features the events, some of which are currently “works in progress”. There will be a “store” where one can buy apparel, such as WOL T-shirts. In terms of donations, one can channel his/her monetary support through Pay-Pal, and of course, donation cans will be scattered throughout the community as well. Jodi noted that help will be needed in securing donations, (from area businesses), and in being on hand at various events. Judy shared that the Naples Hospeace House is very near and dear to her family, as they took such good care of Our Dear Marian. Jodi expressed her thanks to some area businesses/folks who have continued to show their support, such as Chris Abraham, Lynnie Lou’s, Luigi’s, and Holly and Tony at Reservoir Creek. Jodi thanked Sherry for putting together the website. She concluded with a big “thank you” to everyone for “being able to transform”. Our thanks to you, Jodi, for all that you have done! We have much to look forward to!
The combined Bills and Fines really “poured in” today! We truly enjoyed Jodi’s program, and her positivity. We liked having DG Dave and DGE Linda with us. We’re proud of our Citation. We’re proud of our Matt for defending his dissertation, and for receiving his Doctorate. We’re glad to see things starting to slowly reopen, such as Brew and Brats! Our outgoing Exchange Student, Aren, will be home in July, noted Carrie. I think we’re all looking forward to the Gavel Dinner, and being together, as well!
Rotary Moments: Jodi had a very vivid dream that some of us were riding around, and we were looking for the NCS Graduation Ceremony. I think, in her dream, we found it! This past Summer, Marty traveled out west, visiting Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver. He noted that the Amphitheater was dedicated on 6/15/41. This date coincided with the RI Convention, which was taking place in Denver, at this same time! Amazing!
I’ll conclude with a positive comment from Pres. Tom, which he added after Jodi’s presentation today. “We are healthy, and vibrant, and caring”, and this is why Naples Rotary Club is so special!
