Twenty Rotarians gathered this evening with our visitor, Sharon and our speakers, Jim Hooper and Jessie Middleton from 4-H Camp Bristol Hills. Sherry was our smiling greeter! John led us in the Pledge, Jack started America the Beautiful and John gave the invocation.

 

There were 88 golfers at the Camp O Tournament on Saturday. A good time was had by all including Frank and Sherry with the liquid refreshments. Clyde was proclaimed the clutch of the day! The non-golfers among us learned a new phrase: clutch = solid!

The Pawlak tournament is this Friday and our club will be well represented there as well.

 

The Gavel Dinner is coming up fast - two weeks from tonight at Brews & Brats. A Mexican Fiesta will be served. Please RSVP to Skip by Monday 6/19. We will celebrate outgoing President John and welcome President Liz! In the meantime, we will be voting on Paul Harris and Robert Allen Awards. Watch for those communications in your email.

 

We received a nice Thank You from Emily and Kaitlyn from Mercy Flight Central. They enjoyed visiting us!

 

June is Fellowship Month - John showed a short video on how Rotarians can find friends and service opportunities by joining specific Fellowship groups.

 

Rotary Lite will be this Wednesday, 6/14, 6pm at Middletown Tavern.

 

Jim Hooper began the program with some background on 4-H Camp Bristol Hills, which has been in existence since 1925. It is affiliated with Cornell Cooperative Extension and is a member of the American Camp Association. Each summer they run a variety of camp opportunities with a diverse culture of campers and staff. There are 3 day camp groups for different age ranges between kindergarten and 16 year olds. Resident camps run Sunday to Friday and are available for many age groups. Campers select which classes and activities they like. In addition there are specialty camps such as Master Camp, Adventure Camp, Young Women's Camp and WindWalker Camp. Leader-In-Training and Counselor-In-Training prepare campers for future roles in camp employment.

The Hilltop Fund uses public donations to help more youth to attend Camp Bristol Hills. Recent attendance is lower than pre-pandemic but is growing again as staff and space permits. They hope to have about 900 campers this year. 

Jessie spoke about her program in workforce development. She works with camp staff to recognize and enhance skills, knowledge and attitudes that will serve them in lifelong employment. Staff are provided feedback, goal setting, advancement opportunities which enhance retention and recruitment of staff for the future. This program has been recognized by national

4-H groups and workshops across the country are planned in the near future.  The affiliation with Cornell is of great value and youth development is a main focus of 4-H. 

 

Ace of Hearts is now $44. Steve J. had the winning number but drew the 10 of hearts. The pot continues to grow!  Happy Bills thanked our speakers, celebrated a good Grape Fest planning meeting and JoAnne and Albie's remembrance of John Brahm via a video where he explained the history of Bare Hill.

 

John's Rotary Moment commented on how the recent Strategic Planning process in Rotary has influenced his new leadership of the Open Cupboard's future plans. One learning experience can carry over to another project!

 

A parting reminder that Rotary Dues are due in July.

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson: People don't seem to realize that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character. 

 

We repeated the 4 Way Test and closed the meeting for the night. 

(Don't faint - I'm heading out of town and got this done early LOL!)