Our first meeting of August was very well attended!

There were 23 Naples Rotarians gathered with 6 guests.

Frank was, as usual, our cheerful greeter!

 

President Jack led the Pledge and we sang God Bless America. Good Morning inspiration: The most beautiful thing you can do today? Make someone feel like they matter. Not with money or fame, but with your heart.

 

Frank introduced our guests: from Foodlink - Elisha Mykins, Cariysa Powell and Brandy Madera; the Almekinder family - our speaker Eliza, brother Liam, dad Seth and mom Annie; and Vero Beach (and summer Naples) Rotarian - Chip.

 

August is Rotary Membership and New Club month. August birthdays are Liz Yee, Jane Schenk, David Dial, Jo Anne Alliet, Karen Schenk and Wayne Buchar. Anniversary celebrations are for Bo and Patrice Lysell  (45yrs) and Shanna and David Williams (30yrs).

Congrats were sung to all!

 

Announcements: Dues are due * Camp O starts next week! Set-up is 8/10 from 12-2pm. 2-3 volunteers and a truck are needed. That afternoon at 5 pm is a remembrance for Betty Zillmann and Tone Robinson at Camp. The Carnival is 8/17 from 12-2pm. Craig and Kristin are helping with the game. All are welcome! On Tuesday, 8/19 Frank, Kathleen and Cindy are going to lunch at Camp O. Please let us know if you'd like to join us to carpool or caravan. * We received a Thank You from Jake Betrus for the Brad Clawson Scholarship he received at graduation.

 

Marty is our Rotary Youth Exchange Country Officer for Brazil. He is responsible for coordinating communication prior to and during a youth exchange there. He introduced Eliza to speak about her year there. She left last August 4th and returned home just before NHS graduation. She graduated early from NHS in June 2024. Her stay in Brazil included 4 host families. Because of the opposite climate there, she arrived in their winter. Prom was one of the first events and school ended in December. Sports were not school based but were organized by town. Volleyball was popular and soccer was for boys only. School went from 7:30am until 1pm followed by lunch at home. Her school was Catholic with daily religion classes and uniforms. The towns she lived in were small cities similar to Canandaigua and Victor. The area was in southern Brazil and was beautiful with German and Italian influences. Her Rotary group was about 34 students and they had weekly events. Her second host family was Giovanna's, who stayed with her family here in Naples the previous year. Eliza cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for them and celebrated Christmas there while the Almekinders visited.  They all visited Rio De Janeiro at New Years and explored all the tourist sites. Soccer was a BIG part of life for Gi's family!

Over the summer, Eliza went to a boy scout camp on a horse racing farm. She did a lot of outreach and speaking about Rotary during that time. During time with her third host family she traveled with Rotary students to the Amazon area for 10 days. They slept in hammocks on a boat with hiking, swimming, sight seeing animal and forests. Her last home was for two weeks. The mom was a active Rotarian and dad was a great cook who cooked on a coal BBQ inside their home. Two of the family's three kids were away on youth exchange at the same time.

Eliza thanked Naples Rotary for the opportunity of her wonderful experiences in Brazil!

 

JoAnne and John gave an update on the Naples Grape Festival plans. It's only 55 days away on 9/27 and 9/28! Volunteer sign-up lists will be coming on 8/25. Set-up happens early in NGF week from 9/22-9/26. Beverage Garden staff and Floaters are needed. The merchandise tent and grape pie contest are run by the Naples Historical Society. A pie making class will be held on 9/13 at Trinity's kitchen. The vendors and crafters are filled up with some on the waiting list. Music schedule is set thanks to Mike Joseph. JoAnne gave a tribute to our local winemakers, John Brahm and Tim Moore, who contributed immensely to the success of the Beverage Garden, which is named in their memory. There is a newly added electric supply at the high school parking lot which will impact the profit this year but was needed for safety. It will enhance the future of the festival. In addition, we are working toward 4 temporary WiFi towers at the Memorial Town Hall to provide reliable service for Rotarians, vendors and visitors.

 

The Ace of Hearts was $73 today. Ticket #9008 was Laurie's. She chose the Ace of Diamonds.

Happy Bills were given for Eliza's great presentation, info on Brazil and beautiful photos. Some wondered when she would give tours there! Seth and Annie were appreciated for their wonderful parenting. Hospeace House had a very successful fundraiser at the Mulligan Disc Golf event. We are happy for the Foodlink friends joining us today. Naples Open Cupboard Pantry pop-up is this afternoon.

 

The gathering was concluded with the Four Way Test and Jack adjourned with the bell at 1:19pm.