"Welcome to a brand-new Rotary Year!" chimed our New Club President, Liz, as she proclaimed that this Rotary Year, 2023-2024, was the year to "Create Hope in the World"! She beamed gratefully, as she gazed at the nice turnout of Members and Guests that surrounded her this past Monday Evening.

Pres. Liz began her first Meeting with a request to join her in saying The Pledge. IPP John, in his Invocation, prayed that we would be able to continue with the wonderful work that we do in this New Rotary Year. Jack chose "God Bless America" to lead us in song. Judy and Skip were our friendly Greeters, and our "Rotary Moment" would be provided by Raul. We were pleased to have so many Members and Guests join us this evening! We enjoyed the company of fellow Members, who numbered 28, (Cindy was on Zoom), and we welcomed Guests, Rich, the new Director of BVT, Raul, our recent Exchange Student, and Sharon, our ever-faithful attendee!

There were announcements, updates, and mail that were shared with us. The Club Health Check would be presented this evening, on-line. Responding to this questionnaire does not take long, yet it is very beneficial to the progress of the Club, and it gives our New President, Liz some added direction in leading our club in the coming year. Liz prompted us to take a few minutes to respond to this fairly brief survey.

We received a note of appreciation from the Camp O. Crew, thanking us for our support and sponsorship of the Annual Camp O. "Play For The Children" Golf Tournament held recently.

A letter of acknowledgement and thanks came from Naples Central School. Included in this missive were the recipients of this year's Rotary-Sponsored Awards. Charlie Grove received the Brad Clawson Memorial Award. Madison Buck received the Duane Schultz Memorial Award. Brynn Davis received the Bruce Clawson "Service Above Self" Award. Taylor Dittman received the Tony Long Memorial Award. All four awards are sponsored by the Naples NY Rotary Club, and it is our desire to invite these promising young people to a future Meeting, so they can share with us their future goals and aspirations.

It is the plan of Pres. Liz to host a "Recruitment Social" in the near future, whereby we can (hopefully) draw in some potential new members. The plan would be to host a relaxed evening event, at a nearby location, with light refreshments, and a design whereby we could tell visitors about Naples NY Rotary. The ultimate goal would be to invite visitors (who are interested) to examine Rotary, and to possibly think about becoming Naples Rotary Members themselves.

Liz presented this year's List of Board Members for 2023-2024. There will be a Board Meeting this coming Monday, July 17th at 10:30 AM. This Wednesday, July 12th, there will be a Rotary Lite Meeting at the Naples Firehall at 6 PM. DG Julie Carney will be our guest speaker at our Noon Meeting next Monday, July 17th.

Liz gave an update on our fellow Member, Clyde. He is having dialysis 3 times a week. Liz remarked on what an amazing (Naples) community we have, and that Clyde is doing okay thus far.

We celebrated and noted the July Birthdays and Anniversaries next. July Birthdays include Alex and Sandra, while the July Anniversaries are observed by John and Sherry, Jack and Sharon, and Mark and Jodi. Led by Jack, we sang a round of heartfelt "Congratulations" to all. (Speaking of Alex, Jack and Sharon let us know that Alex was doing well!)

Rose let us know that the Rochester Rotary is preparing a Float for the Pride Parade. For those who are interested, they can meet this Saturday to help.

Our Program was "two-fold" this evening, and Rose graciously introduced our first speaker, Rich Amelius. Rich, a warm and friendly fellow, is the New Director of the BVT, and he told us a little bit about his background, his experience, and his hopes for the future of BVT. Rich, who serves as the Director of BVT, and who has been a Choreographer, has had a rich and impressive background. He informed us that the second play in this Summer's Series is currently running, and it is gaining momentum! Next Thursday, "Little Women" will be featured, and the play involves 10 actors! (Only about 15 actors can fit on the BVT stage.) Rich noted that the building itself turns 100 this year, and that, in itself, is quite a benchmark! An "Audience Poll" is being conducted in an effort to glean the kinds of things (theatrically) that people would like to see. When asked by Rose what some of the current challenges were, Rich responded that the "age gap" in audiences was a concern. The priority of the BVT is to have a variety in their viewing audience, and that "heralding young people" was of utmost importance. Rich added that people are delighted with Naples' warmth. beauty, and friendliness, and that super talented people are coming in! A "Win-Win" situation is in the works, as the BVT will be getting the NCS Auditorium seats, (due to NCS Auditorium renovations), and NCS Musicals will use the BVT space in the meantime! When asked about his "best memory", Rich reminisced about having played five times in "Cabaret"! He also recollected great memories from "Jesus Christ, Superstar"! He remembers there having been incredible vocal performances!

Jo Anne was our next presenter this evening, and she had a Naples Grape Fest Update to share with the Membership. Jo Anne presented a Power Point Summary on the progress of the Grape Fest thus far, but it was also helpful to have a "hard copy" on hand, which made her overview very easy to follow. "We are about 101.55 per cent filled!" Jo Anne enthusiastically reported. There is a plethora of Artisans and Food Vendors "lined up", along with Musical Performances, and the "Beverage Garden", which should ensure a successful Grape Fest Weekend! Jo Anne expressed her sincere thanks to Superintendent Kevin Swartz, Jim Del Gatto, and Shawn Mason (from Naples Central School) for all their help, as well as the many volunteers from Naples Rotary, who typically offer their services at this busy time. Plans for the Grape Fest 2023 are progressing well!

Regarding the Ace of Hearts tonight, Guest, Rich was asked to pick the Winning Ticket. It turned out to be #6549, which belonged to Jack. Jack drew the Nine of Spades.

There were plenty of reasons for all the Happy Bills that were given this evening! The Members appreciated Rich's Presentation, and we are grateful for the cultural advantage that the BVT brings to our community. Jack and John were pleased to have Anniversaries this month. Nancy had been to a Rotary Meeting at Red Creek. Karen's Granddaughter had graduated, and Karen, herself, had recently enjoyed a trip to the Adirondacks. Bruce's Musical Career is "taking off" as he has had several Gigs lately! Judy is enjoying being a "Retiree" these days, and she and Skip are very proud of Grandson, Charlie! Blanche was pleased about The Cleveland House, and its impact on our local history. Frank has a new car! Marty and Jill were thankful that Raul had been with us this past year, and they noted that our next Exchange Student will be Giovanna, from Brazil! Liz is enjoying Golf and Euchre these days in all of her "spare time"! Pat is enjoying Golf with the "Rotary Girls", Liz, Jo, and Sue!

The Rotary Moment was appropriately provided by Raul this evening! Raul will be leaving us this coming Saturday to return to his homeland in Spain, but before embarking on his journey home, he wanted to leave us with this sweet message! He thanked us for everything, and he told us that this past year has been "an incredible experience". We were delighted to learn that he plans to come back sometime!

Liz concluded tonight's Meeting by having us recite The Four-Way Test. Next week, DG Julie Carney will join us for our Noon Meeting, and no doubt, she will tell us about her plans and goals for this New Rotary Year,

Please keep our Fellow Member, Clyde in your thoughts, as he navigates some health issues. Also, please keep Fellow Member, Cindy in your thoughts. as she recently had a leg injury. Health and healing are wished for both these fine folks! See you Monday at noon!