Today, Rob presided over our meeting with 17 members present at Cafe Spiga. It was a special day in that our guest speaker was District Governor Mary Ellen ("Mel") Ellwood. We also had as a guest (friend of Eric and Saranto) a prospective club member, Ken Milau, of Port Jefferson.
Jen reminded us that our Annual Fall Clean-Up at Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck will take place on Sunday, November 14th from 9 AM to noon. Continental breakfast will be served from 8 AM to 9 AM and Lunch will be served from 12:15 PM to 1 PM. All of the work will be done outdoors. Jen is looking for volunteers to perform important functions, including breakfast set up/clean up, group (field) supervisors, photographers, and lunch set up/cooking/cleanup helpers. She may also still be seeking meal item donations. Contact Jen (516-383-3456 or willsbasselectric@yahoo.com ) to let her know if/when/how you are available to help out.
Yvette reported that the Hope Children's Fund 17th Annual Bi-Continental 5K went well both in Port Jeff Station and Meru, Kenya. It was a beautiful day weather-wise in both places. Here, we had a group of around 30 participants- including Debbie- on the Greenway. (Still others are running the 5 K virtually, on their own time and at their preferred places through the 23rd.) In Meru, hundreds of folks participated in the event, including most of the orphans from the Jerusha Mwiraria Hope Children's Home, the staff, school friends, and neighbors. For the 16th time in a row, the Kenyans won the competition. A good time was had by all- and a couple of thousand dollars were raised to help pay school tuitions for next term.
Pat invites you to join him on Sunday, October 31st, 9AM to noon at the Chandler Estate Park for the installation of the 3 benches that we purchased- and of the fencing that will be put up to prevent erosion along the shoreline.
Please keep Bill Jaeger in your prayers as he undergoes several surgeries in the next few days. He has been battling bladder cancer- the result of exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam.
Rob invites all members to attend the Executive Board Meeting via Zoom this Friday, October 22nd at 8 AM.
Kindly let him know in advance that you'll attend so that he can send you the Zoom link.
Kindly let him know in advance that you'll attend so that he can send you the Zoom link.
Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck is resuming The Spooky Walk this year. The remaining dates for the event are October 22nd and 23rd. This is the camp's largest annual fundraiser.
Kim invites members to send her info regarding upcoming events/news (or corrections) to be published in Harbor Light's upcoming issues. Contact her at kzettwoch@portjefflibrary.org .
Rob re-introduced DG Mel Ellwood, Riverhead Rotarian (formerly ADG from Rocky Point), who reviewed with us RI's and the District's plans and expectations for the current Rotary year. This year's RI President is Shekhar Mehta from Calcutta, India, while the President-elect is Jennifer Jones from Ontario, Canada. This year's biggest Rotary challenge: adding new members, especially younger ones. While, membership numbers have fallen off around the world, many clubs have seen the start-up of satellites, which often meet earlier or later than their parent clubs; and meetings may be briefer and more social, since they are not at meal times. Some clubs have also created a special class of "associate members", who perhaps pay less dues. Mel suggested that we publicize our service projects well, as these often bring in new members. The more we publicize what we do, the more the public learns how interesting/rewarding it is to be a Rotarian, ie., local clubs gain newspaper coverage about the turkey dinners they donate at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, and this appeals to readers who might want to also serve the underserved in our community. August is Membership Month, and Mel expects our District to add 100 new members by the end of the year. She also reminded us that the District has much money saved up to offer clubs to help pay for projects that aid the community. Mel announced that District Leadership Meetings- held in Plainview because it's approximately midway between Brooklyn and Montauk- are not just for club officers. All Rotarians are invited to attend. Each meeting is a great learning experience. The next meeting's theme will be The Rotary Foundation. Did you know that $90,000 came back to the District's clubs and that $45,000 was given out as grants? (All grant requests, from a few hundred dollars in value to a few thousand dollars, were given out.) On November 14th (the day of our Camp Cleanup), the Foundation Luncheon will take place from noon to 4 PM at The Coral House in Baldwin. Look up the details on the District website. Any Foundation money not given out by a certain date goes back to The Foundation. Sample grants that have been made went to purchase multi-purpose dictionaries for a school or books on kindness or anti-bullying read and distributed to elementary school students; or free dental clinics provided for youngsters. Mel next spoke of the Gift of Life programs (ie., emergency relief in Haiti) that are ongoing. She invites us to let her know if there is anything she can do to help us with our projects. Mel also invites all members to join her at the District Conference: a 2-day Royal Caribbean cruise to Bermuda beginning on May 21st. The price of the cruise is based on 2 people; a drink package is available; this event must be paid in full by February 14, 2022. The District website will provide the complete information- so check it out. Two more pieces of information: The Friendship Exchange, led by Rose Quaranta, should take place by next year; and $20,000 has been set aside for RYLA activities.
Jen was a great Sergeant! Our coffers increased by many dollars as she asked questions about special dates, national holidays (ie., today is Nat'l. Friends Day), benefits of being in Rotary, and about Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck. More dollars were collected for happy and sad reasons. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Jen, who just celebrated hers, and "Happy Anniversary" to Rob, to celebrate his special event. (Do you wonder what DG Mel thought of our club choir?)
Here's to a healthy, happy week- and make it a productive one!
See ya next Tuesday! :)
Service Above Self
Mt. Sinai, NY 11766
United States of America