Perhaps it was the damp, dreary dismal weather, or the thick-as-pea-soup fog that lingered in the Naples Valley all day, that caused a meager turnout for Monday Evening’s Rotary Meeting, but at least 20 Members ventured out into the dank night for our last Meeting of October. But, lo and behold, the sunshine finally did return to our “Little Piece of Heaven in the Hills” today, and Your Editor has been prompted to “pump out” this week’s missive!
As we entered The Redwood, we were greeted by Bo. After welcoming everyone to our Evening Meeting, President Bruce asked us to rise and join him in saying The Pledge. Our Song Leader, Jack, chose to lead us in singing “America, The Beautiful.” Pat gave The Invocation, giving thanks to Our Heavenly Father for all His Blessings, and also asked Him to help us be resilient in this time of change. We welcomed our Guest Speaker, John Edwards, who joined us for dinner. Jodi, Jo, Leah, Robin, and Brenda “joined” us on Face Book Live, as well. In addition to his warm welcome to Our Speaker, Pres. Bruce was also glad to see Clyde amongst the group!
Fellow Member, Rose gave a brief update on the progress of the Light Up Naples Committee. The Committee has met three times, thus far, and things are “falling into place” quite nicely! Our Chairperson Sherry has prepared a tentative agenda for the “Light Up Naples” Day, which is scheduled for Saturday, December 11th, from 5-8PM. There will be festivities, food, and music to suit the entire family! Much to our delight, former Members (and Friends) Andy and Marianna Beigel have agreed to be “Mr. and Mrs. Santa” again this year! We will have a Snow Globe Decorating Contest this year too! Anyone who wishes to volunteer and be a part of this Committee is most welcome, and he/she may contact Sherry if interested.
The “Santa Books” for our Annual Christmas Book Presentation to the Elementary Kids have arrived! Some of them are hardcover, and some are paperback, but the titles are intriguing, and the stories at each level (from 1-6) are sure to please the children! Budding Readers has graciously offered to provide books for the UPK and Kindergarten Kids. Thus, all our young readers will receive a book of their own to enjoy and cherish!
We joined Pres. Bruce in extending a warm welcome to John Edwards, this evening’s Program Presenter. John, who like Our Laurie, hails from Greenwood, New York, is part of the Ontario County Health Department, and he was here this evening to share with us a Covid 19 Update. Our Nation has been coping with Covid roughly since the onset of the Pandemic in early 2020. As we have acclimated to the changes that the Pandemic has rendered over this period of time, our main focus has been on the safety, health, and wellness of our families and loved ones. Part of this adjustment is being prepared, as John advised us, and our focus, as he put it, is “to mitigate the spread of Covid 19 in Ontario County.”
To protect ourselves, safety measures were strongly advised, such as frequent washing of hands, staying home, and avoiding large gatherings. In addition to our families, we’ve been encouraged to “look out” for elderly neighbors and friends, throughout this period as well.
Vaccines became available during the early part of 2021, and people were encouraged to receive them as a means of protection from Covid 19. John reported that 65% of Ontario County has been vaccinated. Historically, vaccines have helped! As a community, John said that Naples has been resilient, and that we need to work hard as a community to slow the spread of Covid 19. With the upcoming holidays, we need to be judicious.
It is important to make sure the training of doctors and nurses continues, since they are champions of our healthcare. John advised us that the wearing of a mask is important, (in places such as Wegman’s, for instance). He also strongly advised getting vaccinated, and to wary of large gatherings. John’s fluidity in his delivery was evident, as he has spoken to various groups over time. He concluded his talk with sage advice. “We need to be vigilant, and we need to take care!”
Here are the Happy Bills and Fines for this week. We were pleased to have John join us this evening, and to give us an update on the status of Covid. Sue had missed a Meeting. Cindy’s, John’s, and Tom’s cell phones rang during the Meeting. John F.’s sister was visiting, and he has been involved with the District Membership Committee Meeting. Jack applauded Blanche in being our own “thespian,” performing in a recent two and a half hour presentation at BVT!
Fifty-Fifty: Ticket #1868, that of Blanche, was selected. She drew the Nine of Hearts!
Win-Win: Kristin had a teaser for us this evening! What mammal has the strongest bite force? That would be the hungry, hungry hippo!
Tom had a light-hearted video to share with us tonight. It was entitled, “What Do Rotarians Do in Their Spare Time?” We all enjoyed watching a snippet of “Halloween at Hawks Landing”!!
Rotary Moment: October 24th was World Polio Day. Considering that date, John F. shared a video from the World Health Organization. The Global Polio Efforts, deserving of respect and gratitude, have resulted in there being only two cases of this dreaded disease in Pakistan and Afghanistan! “This is not the time for complacency”, we were told. “The last mile is the hardest mile, but together, we can make polio history!”
With his customary sincerity, President Bruce concluded this Evening’s Meeting with these heartfelt words: “Goodnight and God Bless!”
