Happy Second Day of Spring, Everyone! Though we were teased a bit over the weekend with unusually warm temperatures, nevertheless, the sun came out today to remind us that the promises that Spring holds for us are not too far away!

Already, there were 11 Members who had arrived earlier for the Board Meeting, and adding in a few more, it brought our total to 22, including our guests, and on-line participants.

We gathered cozily at Brew and Brats in the side room. where warmth abounded, not only from the "hearth", but from our camaraderie, as well. We joined Pres. Bruce in saying The Pledge. Jack chose "America, The Beautiful" to lead us in song. Jo Anne gave The Invocation with inspiring words of encouragement. "Good Afternoon, God", she began. She prayed for peace and healing among us all, including our Ukrainian Neighbors. She asked that The Lord guide us and protect us as we aim to serve others. Her eloquence was very moving, indeed! Included in today's attendance, were two guests. We welcomed Petra Page-Mann, as our guest speaker, and the new Naples School Superintendent, Kevin Schwartz, who joined us on-line. Our Greeter was Sherry, Petra's Program was about Fruition Seeds, and Laurie provided the Rotary Moment.

Pres. Bruce asked Pat to give a summary of today's Board Meeting. Here are the items that were covered.

The Secretary's and Treasurer's Reports were approved.

Jack talked about the Harris Cup Golf Tournament, which is slated for May 20th. With this being a new Fundraiser, our goal is threefold. We hope to create an event that will bring many people together and build friendships. We hope to introduce people to Reservoir Creek Golf Course if they haven't had that experience yet. We hope to create a new fundraiser in holding this event. The Board decided to use 50% of the funds raised to help the Naples Angels, and to use the other 50% to help with Club goals and expenses. This event will be addressed further at the District Assembly. 

John had many items to share with the Board. The Camp O. Golf Tournament will be June 11th at Silver Creek Golf Course in Waterloo. The typical cost to the Club is $400 to have a Team. The Board voted to add an additional $100 to sponsor a hole as well. We'll ask Club Members who would like to participate. The cost for just attending the dinner afterward is $25.

We talked about updating the Club Brochure, as we need to add more current information. "Naples New York Rotary Club" is the moniker that we will officially use consistently in all areas. 

There was discussion about updating the information found in Club Runner. The Marketing Team of Bo, Tom, and Sherry was approved to take charge of the updating. Those wishing to do so, can funnel information to this Committee.

The Membership Application is going to be updated also. The birthdays of potential members will only include the day and month, not the year. This seems to be less intrusive, as decided by the Board. Jack has offered to edit this.

We still have some glass mugs at the Redwood to offer as a gift to our guest speakers. We will continue to use these when we return to the Redwood for our Meetings.

We hope to "reach out" to our Members who have not been to Meetings lately. We will try to send them a note, or give them a phone call to touch base with them, and give them encouragement.

We hope to get the Interact Students involved at many of our upcoming events. This will be a way to introduce these young people to Rotary.

The 2nd Watershed Clean-Up is set for April 23rd. Jack is going to talk to Chris Didion to glean further information and insight. We might want to "branch out" this year.

We will honor Rotarians Joan Slating, Joyce Doran, Marian Clawson, and Walt Zerrahn at the Memorial at the District Conference this year.

Sherry and Patrice will assemble a Board Display (featuring things Naples Rotary has done) to bring to the District Conference this year in Oswego.

We hope to continue with Hybrid Meetings, an

d John will continue with Zoom to keep members within the loop.

John and Jack plan to talk with Kirsten and others at the Redwood to see about returning there for our Meetings. Implementing better bandwidth at this location is of concern. Pres. Bruce has offered to continue with the technology component after July.

We will have a Club Assembly at the April 4th Meeting.

The deadline for voting for the Robert Allen Candidate is April 1st. The Award will be given at the Spring Dinner the evening of April 25th.

Here is the latest from Tom regarding the Grape Festival. "$2 For '22" is the kick-off Fundraising Campaign that will help make some of the exciting events that are planned for this year's Grape Fest happen! A special Venmo Account has been set up to make donations easier, but checks are welcome too. Just $2 (or more) from each of us will help to make this vision happen! Tom provided each of us with a Schedule of Events for our perusal. We can keep this on our fridges for quick referral! Thanks, Tom for all your hard work!

Skip announced that the Spring Dinner will be April 25th at the VFW. He will have the menu for us next week.

Be sure to sign up to help at the Trout Derby if you are able. Sherry has put the link to the Google Doc. on Outlook, and there are slots left. The times are 3 hours or less.

The Great Grape Race, spearheaded by Marty and Jill, is slated for May 14th. More information is to follow!

We were honored to have Petra Page-Mann, from Fruition Seeds, join us today, as she helped us welcome Spring in sharing her passion for growing seeds of all varieties. The theme, "Growing Our Gardens, Growing Ourselves" was threaded throughout her talk. Her words flowed from her lips as softly as a warm Summer breeze, as we were transcended to a season where gardens are lush with vegetables and flowers! 

Petra reminisced about how she and her sister, as children, feasted on berries their dad had grown. Watching the blossoms turn into berries was a magical experience for her, and she felt nourished! In her father's garden on West Gulick Road, there were tomatoes and beans as well, and they all started from a single seed! "Those seeds produced many gifts", Petra recalled. 

"The seeds are heirlooms of tomorrow!" exclaimed Petra, and with that, she added that Fruition Seeds (which began in 2012), is celebrating its 10th Anniversary! A seed could be compared to an "ancestor", as it is the start of abundance we were told, and Petra feels much joy in growing these seeds, for they yield not only abundance, but reciprocity!

As she passed a small bottle of beans around, Petra urged us each to take one to try growing at home. Garden Planning means creating one's garden to be more than just one's own. Petra compared this to Rotary in how we "take care" of our brothers both near and far. "We perpetuate people, time, and places with our seeds", said she. Perhaps "our seed" in Rotary is Service Above Self!

Petra and her husband, Matt planted lots of daffodils last Fall, and she invited us to come and pick a bouquet when they are in bloom. How generous of her! To visit their Farm, stop by on the weekends (Saturday-Sunday) from 10-12 this Spring! In growing a garden, Petra compared this to teaching a man to fish...it will feed him for a lifetime!

It came as no surprise that many Happy Bills signified our sincere appreciation for Petra, and the work that she does. As Jack pointed out, she doesn't need to work on the passion she has for her work!! Other Happy Bills included Rose, for the Music Fest, and John, for the PETS Training this past weekend.

A family shares, cares, and burden bears, and it is with this thought in mind that Laurie gave her poignant Rotary Moment this noon. Naples Elementary and her co-workers had been Laurie's "School Family" for 36 years until she retired in 2015. Laurie joined our "Rotary Family" in September of 2015, and she has endeared herself to us in many ways. Among the peaks, there have been some valleys for Laurie, however, such as a few bouts with breast cancer. Losing her Dear Son, Justin last Fall was the deepest valley of all, yet Laurie said that her Rotary Family has wrapped her in love, and it has helped her broken heart to mend. Now, as Laurie faces further health challenges, let us continue to keep her in our care, and in our prayers!

Hopefully, we'll get some more warm days, which should inspire the buds to slowly appear! We have some nice events coming in April which we can look forward to, also! Take care, and have a good week!

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