Port Jefferson Rotary (June 14, 2016) (Jun 15, 2016)

News of the Meeting of June 14th:

Posted by Yvette Hohler on Jun 14, 2016

Today was an OPEN CUPBOARD COLLECTION DAY. THANK YOU, donors, and thank you Dennis for delivering the goods to their destination.

This was also a CLUB ASSEMBLY DAY- an opportunity to begin planning for the new Rotary year.

Dennis reminded us that we'll be losing some of our very valuable members soon and will need energetic, dedicated replacements who can take over their important Rotary duties. Susan, our Club Secretary/Club Service leader, will train willing members to head -in her absence- our Raffle Sales, Backpack Project, Christmas Gift Wrapping, Christmas Tree Decorating activities, and plan future Past President's Dinners and other hands-on events. Ed will train a member or members to become club representative to Gift of Life, Club Membership Chair, ESSEX rep, and records keeper/check writer for many of our projects. Do we have volunteers?

We also need members to remember to bring their Open Cupboard donations on the designated Collection Days. All are reminded that if you are unable to attend a Collection Day meeting, you can drop off your goods yourself at The Open Cupboard or give them to a member who will be attending the meeting. (If you'd like to be reimbursed for your purchases, give your sales receipts to Ed.)

Regarding meeting attendance: much discussion led to good suggestions proposed. New RI rules apparently allow for clubs to be creative/more relaxed about meeting numbers and schedules, with at least 2 meetings per month considered to be desireable. Among our member suggestions: alternate evening meetings beginning at 6 or 6:30 PM perhaps twice a month (where members could choose to dine or not dine, drink or not drink) with luncheon meetings (ie., 1st and 3rd week of the month would be lunch meetings and 2nd and 4th meetings would be at dinner time); plan to have "no meal" meetings occasionally at a local library, bank, or the like. Apparently, our best attendance occurs when we're honoring students or welcoming effective speakers who treat popular topics. Archana will work on a survey and send it to our members asking which meeting format might most likely improve their attendance. The survey will probably ask if members would prefer to keep meetings as they are, go to a 2-dinner & 2-lunch format per month, or go to evening meetings only (with probably Monday or Tuesday evenings offered). All members will be asked to respond to the survey in a timely manner so that if/when change is prefered, arrangements can be made in an efficient manner.

ANNOUNCEMENTS/REMINDERS: There's still $217 in the pot waiting to be won. YOU could win it. Next opportunity: our June 28th luncheon at Cafe Spiga. REMEMBER: next Tuesday, 6/21, WE WILL NOT MEET. Instead, our weekly meeting will take place on Thursday, 6/23 , at Mather Hospital, beginning at 6 PM. The cost of dinner will be $20 for club members. Guests (including spouses/significant others) are welcome to attend and will dine at no cost. Beer & wine will be included with the meal. Kindly RSVP to Archana or Nancy prior to the 23rd so that Mather's chef will know how much food to prepare. The guest speaker will be Dr. Peter Ottavio. Archana reminded us that the new Rotary year begins July 1st, and that registration for the 2017 RI Convention in Atlanta is now open, with special rates available for early registrants. Our Habitat Build date is Saturday, July 16th and will run from morning to mid-afternoon. Members are invited to take part along with family & friends. The cost will be $100 (for members: $50 paid by the club and $50 by the participant). Place, time, and instructions TBA. You should have received by email a request from Archana asking you to update your personal information and return this to her a.s.a.p. Contact Archana if you have questions. Raffle-Selling Time is NOW!!! How many tickets have you sold? Our 2016 Past President's Dinner & Raffle Drawing will take place on September 22nd (SAVE THAT DATE!)at Carnival Restaurant in Port Jeff Station. Ed shared with us Thank You Notes from some of our donation recipients including from the Open Door Exchange (monies were used to purchase mattresses) and from the PJ Schools' Royals Fun Run, the proceeds of which help fund teacher project grants. Ed is also looking for a volunteer to accompany him to the DG's Installation Dinner on 6/23 in Roslyn. (See info about this event below.) Contact him if you're interested. Archana presented our annual scholarship to Comsewogue High School's graduating recipient. Meanwhile, Dennis spoke of a Thank You Note received from PJHS senior scholarship winner Jennifer Gray. We'll get to meet all of our scholarship winners at upcoming meetings. (We can look forward to welcoming scholarship recipient Calla Kelly-Renda on 7/19.) Dennis will present our Most Motivated Student of the Year Award ($300) on 6/23 at the Middle School's Moving Up Day Ceremony. Joan Elliott is sending out invitations to meet the visiting exchange team from Australia at a party on 7/10. . MJ Fitzgerald,our incoming DG, invites you to her Installation Dinner on June 23rd at 6:30PM at Royalton Mansion in Roslyn Heights. The cost will be $85 p/p. Please let Archana or Ed know if you're interested in attending.

***Please visit our club's Face Book Page and Like it. Debbie posted many photos taken at Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck. Who do you recognize?

If you missed today's meeting, kindly inform Yvette about make-ups in a timely fashion.