New Chamber Exec Briefs Gallipolis Rotary

President Chuck Clark offered kudos to the folks who helped with the Field of Hope Dinner while he was away.  Chuck is sorry he missed the special event and emphasized the importance of our club helping in our community.  Rotary is 'Service Above Self.'

 

President Chuck reminded members that next Tuesday there will NOT be a morning meeting.   We will be enjoying the last official meeting of this year with our annual Christmas Dinner/Ornament Exchange at the Ariel Theater stating at 6:30 and dinner at 7 pm.  Please remember to bring an ornament for our traditional ornament exchange.  Bring a bottle of wine if you would like to share.  Our next meeting will be January 7, 2014.  The first board meeting of 2014 wil be held right after that meeting.

 

One last reminder, be sure to give to The Rotary Foundation this year!   Remember, 'Every Rotarian, Every Year' and you can go online at Rotary.org or write a check to the club and deliver it to Treasurer Shawn Siders at the Ohio Valley Bank.  Margaret Evans offered up a "coin box" donation today for Rotary.

 

Pints for Polio--Chuck updated the club on our November promotion to "End Polio Now" which we ran at Courtside Grill.  Our club netted $157.00 for Rotary's Polio eradication efforts which is awesome for the three week promotion.  We should do it again!

 

Fellowship with Gordon--Gordon reminded everyone that December 7th was Pearl Harbor Day and Lydia Simon's birthday!  Lydia chose the 'mystery singer' to sing to her!  Margaret Evans did an excellent job singing Happy Birthday.  Thanks, Margaret!

 

Happy Buck$--Kevin offered a happy buck for his wife's recovery from foot surgery.  Chuck offered a happy buck for his return from his trip to Arizona. Gordon concluded Fellowship with his Words of Wisdom--"if you leave in fear, you die every day.  If you live fearlessly then you only die once."

Split-The-Pot--Today's STP was run by Kevin Dennis who was able to collect $21.  As a result we had $7 in the small pot.  Our winner today was Paul Koch who returned his winnings to our club foundation!  Thank you, Paul!  In the draw for the 'really big large pot of an undetermined amount somewhere over $100,' Paul drew the three of clubs and fined anyone who didn't over sleep today.

 

Program--Today's Program Chair, Marlin Rose, introduced our guest speaker, Michelle Miller, the new Executive Director of the Gallia County Chamber of Commerce.  Michelle offered some new highlights and changes she is bringing to the Chamber.  She anticipates a bit of a learning curve as she gets to know the local businesses and their needs.  The Chamber's Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, January 23, 2014.  The agenda for the annual event will be finalized and published in the next couple of weeks.  Our speaker indicated that Ohio's sales tax structure has recently changed and requires study.  Currently, there are 198 contacts for chamber businesses and she is working on defining the structures for membership, particularly those employed working from home. 

Michelle encouraged everyone involved in different events to continue to report those events to the local media.  It is essential to let people know who you are and what you do.  Email is often the best way to communicate to the Tribune and to the Gallia Hometown Herald.   Galliaherald@gmail.com.  Michelle founded the Hometown Herald two years ago and spoke about some of her experiences as editor of this web-based electronic news source.  She has turned this over to the Meigs Independent and is looking to be able to spend a little more time with her family in her new position.   

 

Our meeting was adjourned.