|
Holiday traditions and fun were the theme of last Monday’s Moline Rotary Club social meeting.
.JPG)
Special guests included Mark Steele and his son James, the family of member Karla Steele, and the current host family for Japanese exchange student Tenfu Matsushita. Tenfu reported on his great weekend trip to Chicago with the Steeles, including visiting the amazing Mitsuwa Marketplace in Arlington Heights, an authentically Japanese market and food court, and exploring the fascinating Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
Steve Koelz hosted his daughter, Kris Koelz Kesterson as our guest, continuing a tradition of many years of Kris attending the Moline Rotary holiday meeting. And we again welcomed East Moline Rotarian Terry Westbrook.
Club Treasurer Deni McCarter reported on the current financial condition of the club, noting that the club is doing fiscally well at this point in the year. Deni also announced that member Kent Crippen has agreed to serve as the treasurer for the Moline Rotary Foundation.
Gary Francque reminded members of the 2017 Resolution Run, a 5K Run/Walk scheduled for New Years Day at 1:00pm to benefit Youth Hope the Moline youth center directed by member Mark Drake. Runners and volunteers are still needed. Visit www.cfyouthhope.org for more information.
Club fun master Geoff Manis kicked off the activities with a survey of the best and worst holiday traditions. Topics included the best & worst food dish at your holiday feast, the best and worst memories of the holiday, the best and worst gifts, and more. Members recalled their memories and told stories about their families’ traditions, and then each table shared some of the best from the group. Highlights included: JC Millman proposing to his wife on Christmas Eve, Jim Gale’s annual holiday family puzzles, and Tom Bracke’s family’s tradition of announcing a surprise holiday trip on Christmas morning. Best foods included many delicious holiday traditions, and it was agreed by many that the worst food must be “Lutefisk” the Norwegian / Swedish dish commonly referred to as “rotten fish”. Yuk!
After some great holiday memories were enjoyed it was time for the 2016 Holiday Gift Wrapping Contest. President Tim Smith, Sergeant at Arms Jim Nelson, and member Gary Francque were recruited to participate in tastefully wrapping a large gift box in the least amount of time. Despite Tim Smith’s distraction antics, the other two competitors gave a good effort, but President Smith prevailed with the most attractive gift wrap job! Gary Francque invited members to bring all of their holiday gifts to Tim’s house for a great gift wrap! Thank you Tim! (See more photos of our holiday meeting on www.molinerotary.org under Photo Albums / 2016 Meetings and Presenters.)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
|
