Today was our first meeting for the month of November, and as President Matt exclaimed, “It seemed more like the first meeting of February!’ Overnight, we went from Autumn to Winter, as we awoke to a blanket of freshly-fallen snow this morning! Although Bo refers to this as “mold”, it seems preferable to call it “fertilizer for the grass”, as Jack’s Dad would’ve said! We pressed on, as we joined Matt in saying The Pledge. Bruce M. gave The Blessing. He thanked Our Heavenly Father for this season of gratitude, and indeed, this is a time when we can share our gifts with others. Twenty-five members gathered safely for the noon meeting. Brenda and Susan joined us on Face Book Live. On today’s agenda was the Club Assembly.

Matt extended warm greetings to our Face Book Friends who were “tuning in” to join us today. As it was the first meeting of a new month, we noted the November Birthdays and Anniversaries. We extended hearty “Congratulations” to Nancy, Nardine, Mike, and Susan for their birthdays, and best wishes to Donna and Bruce for their anniversary. 

From the Mailbox: We received a letter from the Naples Council of Churches, thanking us for our support of the Naples Open Cupboard.

From the Literacy Team: The books that were ordered from Book Depot, for our first through sixth grades, (for Christmas), have arrived! Patrice showed a sample of each of the titles to the membership. The selections seem enticing, in fact, three of the titles are in hardcover format! Many thanks to Laurie and Shanna for their excellent help, as well! Budding Readers has graciously funded the books for the UPK and Kindergarteners again this year, for which we are very grateful. Many thanks to Laurie for her wonderful help in choosing two great titles for our “youngest readers”! The books will again be distributed this year to the children, but we will wait from directives from Matt, and the school, as to how this shall be done.

World Polio Day: John reported on the Naples Rotary Club’s observance of World Polio Day, which was held at Brew and Brats on October 28^th. There were 14 in attendance, at this event, and we viewed an excellent video telling of all the accomplishments that have been made to help end polio. We are very close to the eradication of this virus! The Naples Rotary Club was one of two clubs in District 7120 to hold a WPD observance, John told us. Checks that would be donated to this cause can be mailed to Susan. Many thanks to John and Sherry for hosting this event!

Grape Fest Update: Mike J, had recently checked in with Donna. He had, with him, a check from the Grape Fest in the amount of $3712.50! Mike gave kudos to Donna for all she has done in this capacity, as chair of the GF; this being her 15^th year! He shared a quick “Rotary Moment”, reminiscing of how when his band played last one year, and with it being so hot, only four parents remained to watch and listen!

New Member: Recently, Micah Moore became a new member of Naples Rotary, having been sponsored by Skip. Pres. Matt thought that today was an opportune time for us to learn a “little bit more” from this Moore!

Micah began by thanking Skip for being his sponsor. Micah’s family history is woven into this area. His Mom, Sarah, was a Widmer, and his father and grandfather had been in the Naples Rotary. He is married to Leandra, and they have a little boy named Grayson, who is nearly two. Having attended NCS, Micah played soccer under the leadership of Coach Gary Schenk. His undergrad work was involved with Environmental Science, and after having done some extensive traveling and research, he earned his Master’s Degree in Biology at St. John Fisher.

He enjoyed his involvement with the students, as he did some subbing and coaching at NCS. His “Summer Job” was at Hazlitt’s Winery, where he “wore many hats”, as we were told. He eventually became a part of the Moore Financial Group, having learned about the business from his Dad, David. Micah wanted to become more involved with the Naples Community, and he felt that Rotary was “a good direction”. He recalls the events at Hazlitt’s being very memorable. His wife was his boss at the time, and Micah jokingly said that she still is!! Our warmest welcome goes to you, Micah! We are pleased to have you be a part of our club!

Pres. Matt, along with the rest of us, thanked Blanche for the amazing and awesome program she presented to the membership last week. The suggestion was made that we do a film about the current members in Rotary. Now that is something to think about! We could become a part of Naples Rotary’s history!

Now it was time for the Club Assembly, and as is customary for Pres. Matt, he used his ingenuity to start the discussion, using a hypothetical “story”. The story unravels, (as a prompting question), telling of two shoe salesmen who were sent to a far-off land to sell shoes. One returned with the lament that they didn’t wear shoes in that land, so selling shoes would be of no use. The other salesman, however, returned in jubilation, claiming because they didn’t wear shoes, it was an opportunity to sell! It was on this note that Matt asked us to reflect upon how our Rotary Club has been proactive and positive during these last few months of Covid 19. What have we learned about our club during these last 7-8 months?  A great discussion followed. Our responses were profound, and here they are…

• Our club has been resilient. We have continued to meet virtually and in-person. The events such as the Walk of Life and the Lucky Ducky Derby still took place, with some creativity in mind.
• Our club has been connective. We have continued to keep in touch via Zoom and Face Book Live. We have “come back carefully”, thanks to Laurie, Nancy, Shanna, and Bruce M.
• Our club shows empathy. Thanks to Andy, Marianna, and Steve for organizing the Rotary Responders to help the Naples Community, (with grocery shopping etc.), during the onset of Covid 19.
• Our club has been steadfast. Our membership has continued to grow during these challenging times.
• Our club has maintained a positive outlook. During these “quarantine weary times”, we have kept our sense of humor.
• Our club has been generous. The Happy Bills and Fines have been overwhelming, exemplifying our generosity and kindness during these times.
• Our club is growing! New members have been added for which we are so grateful! New members add vitality and diversity to the club.
• Our club is supportive. We have been encouraging to new businesses, such as Caruso’s Café, which has been a great addition to the Naples Community.
• Our club has heart and soul. This feeling can be evidenced by the comradeship we share. We’ve added new members, and we continue to have scintillating programs each week. The speakers have been inspirational!
• Our club has great leadership. Over the past few years, the Naples Rotary Club has flourished under the direction of vibrant leaders, who have had great vision for the well-being and future of the club.
• Our club reaches out to the community. The Naples Rotary continues to help the Naples Community in many ways, throughout the year.
• Our club is unique. Though we are from a small community, many great things have been accomplished through various small acts of kindness within our club, and it is these little acts of kindness and service that make all the difference!

Jodi asked us to be thinking of some ideas for Thanksgiving, since the traditional Thanksgiving Community Dinner at St. Januarius won’t take place this year. She is hoping that Caruso’s Café can help out in some way. We will be giving this idea plenty of thought, in hopes that something can be done to provide a Thanksgiving meal for those in need, as well as others.

Operation Santa: Matt informed us that he will be talking to Kelly VandeSande, (Elementary School Nurse, and Operation Santa Chair). We will still be involved with Operation Santa this year, but things, of course, will look different. We will be getting more updates, in the near future, on this annual endeavor.

Happy Bills and Fines: As Laurie pointed out, the Happy Bills have been so plentiful these past few months, and today was no different! The offerings poured in for several reasons. We enjoyed the Club Assembly. Micah’s “Bio” was very much appreciated. We looked back, with appreciation, on Blanche’s program last week. We are grateful for the leadership Matt is providing too! John noted that Rose provided some great music with the Stid Hill Stompers over the weekend at Brew and Brats. Alex’s cell phone rang. Pres. Matt has a new set of wheels!

Rotary Moment: Skip said that the dictionaries will be distributed to the kids soon, with a smaller number of Rotarians on board to help this year. He had a sample of the 2021 Rotary Calendar with him. (There was no room for a picture on the cover this year, because we had so many businesses advertised!) Many thanks to Sherry and Frank, and Skip and Judy for these great results!

Finally, in closing, Pres. Matt reminded us to “hop on, to reserve a table” for next week’s Evening Meeting. We will enjoy some wine tasting, hosted by our own John French! Why not make your reservation soon? Take care all, and we’ll see you then!