Guatemala Water Project

President Chuck Clark was back from Guatemala to lead the meeting today.  We had an excellent attendance this morning with 21 Rotarians present and Cathy Clark was our special guest.  VP Kevin Dennis provided our invocation.

 

President's Announcements--President Chuck welcomed everyone, noting Clyde will be a bit late.  Chuck also welcomed Stan who will be inducted as a new member today!  Please remember to give to the Rotary Foundation!  Our applications for District and Global Grants are evaluated on the basis of our club's giving to the Annual Fund of the Rotary Foundation.

 

Induction New Member-- President Chuck presided over the induction of our newest member, Stan Evans.  Jim Morrison assisted with the ceremony coverning the Object of Rotary.  Stan successfully read the Object of Rotary as a reminder to all nenbers as what we are about.  Chuck reminded how Rotary began and how the club's success depends on every member. It is important for small business owners to get involved in clubs like Rotary. Chuck presented Stan with his new member Red Badge and membership pin. Congratulations Stan and welcome to the club!!!

 

Special Presentation--President Chuck asked Vice President Kevin to step forward and explain to the club how he celebrates Wednesdays at this house.  Kevin makes Lattes for his family on Wednesdays so everyone calls it Latte-Wendesdays.  So in honor of keeping these appointments President Chuck presented Kevin with some special Guatemalan coffee beans from the Antigua producer, Vinca Philadefial.  This bag of Antigua coffee gave off a wonderful aroma!  Enjoy!

 

Club Fellowsship--Kevin took a moment to remind members of the upcoming town hall meeting presented by CPR, April 7, 6:30-9:00 at Elizabeth Chapel Church.  Our club will assist CPR in organizing the venue for the event.  This may involve setting up tables, chairs, etc and membership attendance points will be given for all who help out.

 
Member Moment--Kevin asked John Ellison to share today about his life and involvement in Rotary.  John has beena member since 1998 and is a past president. He grew up in a coal mining town in WV and graduated from Van High School. He went on to Marshall and then onto WVSOM and trained in the Cleveland area where he met his lovely wife Tammy. After some years in private practice in Marietta, John came to Holzer.  He is pleased to call Gallipolis home now after 20 years.

 

Split-The-Pot--Today's STP was run by Shana Booher, who grew our Small Pot to a respectable $9.00! Shana asked our  visitor, Cathy Clark, to draw out the winning ticket for today which was held by Margaret Evans!  Margaret asked the winnings be donated back to our local Club Endowment.  In the draw for the 'really big one of some unknown amount' Margaret drew the Two of Diamonds.  The pot is secure for yet another week!  The Foundation Fine was assessed against anyone who was not at the symphony Saturday evening!

 

Program--Today's program was offered by President Chuck and Clyde Evans who just returned from Guatemala and our  club's water project.  The country of Guatemala is 471 years old yesterday.  Chuck gave  us a brief update on the history, geography, society, foods and weather.  He next explained how our water project worked using a special Sawyer Point One filter connected to a common 5 gallon bucket. Many of the poor in Guatemala are the indigenous Mayans who do not have access to purified water, but use unpurified water from springs or a common community tap.  Guatemala is a beautiful country and is developing quickly but Rotary has an important role in this development.

Chuck wanted the club to know that working a project such as this is not an expensive  endeavor and lodgings can be arranged from $30-40 per night.  After two nights in Antigua he and Clyde journied to the town of Panajachel to work our project in conjunction with the local NGO, Mayan Familes.  This organization helped our club by organizing the recipients of the filters and a place to make the presentations.  The Mayan Families representative explained the use of the filters to the families and Chuck and Clyde assembled the filters. A total of 36 families were assisted by Gallipolis Rotary receiving the gift of pure water for their families.  Since many of these families are large, our District Grant of $1,000 combined with club funds of $1100 helped over 200 individuals who formerly had to access to clean water!  It was a great experience and a great step forward for our club.

 
Chuck put in a good word for the efforts of the Upper Arlington Rotary Club for their work in Guatemala.  They have established a trade school, elementry school, and one preschool in communities around Panahachel.  They are recipients of a large Global Grant for next year and there is a great opportunity for Gallipolis Rotary to assist in funding a kitchen for another preschool in the area.  Gallipolis Rotarians will be able to travel to Guatemala again and take part in establishing this school and feeding program with another $1,500 District Grant. 

 

Meeting adjourned.