Eleven Rotarians, family and friends got on their bikes for a ride along the Elizabeth River Trail on Indigenous Peoples Day. The pop-up social was organized by Kelly Stefano and included happy hour at the Orapax Restaurant and Bar where more Rotarians joined in the fun. Leaders Making a Difference at Home & Abroad
Eleven Rotarians, family and friends got on their bikes for a ride along the Elizabeth River Trail on Indigenous Peoples Day. The pop-up social was organized by Kelly Stefano and included happy hour at the Orapax Restaurant and Bar where more Rotarians joined in the fun. 
A lot is going on in the City of Norfolk, and City Manager Chip Filer hit the highlights and answered an array of questions at the October 12 Rotary Club of Norfolk meeting. He was introduced by new Rotarian Amanda Workman, who joined the city budget office about the same time Filer came on board in September 2019 from Old Dominion University. Here are some of the main points Filer made during his talk and Q&A session:
- The city expects to receive $152 million from the federal American Rescue Funds program designed to help with pandemic relief. The funds come with lots of strings attached but will help with needed projects and the city budget. He is hopeful the federal infrastructure bill will pass and provide more needed funding for the city.
- Some federal rescue funds may be used for Chrysler Hall's much-delayed $30 million renovations. This will fix backstage issues that will prevent shows like "Lion King" and "Hamilton" from coming to the city's aging theater. The renovate will add additional aisles to make it easier for patrons to access their seats.
- Norfolk is ahead of many cities with its coastal risk management plan. It includes costly plans for a downtown flood wall to run from Harbor Park to the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters near Colley Avenue. Plans also call for a surge barrier on the Lafayette River to run from Terminal Boulevard to West Ghent. Filer predicts these measures could save 40% of the city that is prone to flooding. While federal infrastructure funds could help pay for these projects, the city would have to come up with a 35% match.
- The city continues to work to speed up economic recovery for businesses and citizens. One example is the "Streateries" Program, which helps restaurants create permanent outdoor dining spaces.
- The casino coming to the downtown waterfront will be one of the biggest projects the city has ever had. The casino project near Harbor Park is moving slowly while waiting for the state to issue a gaming license.
- There are three proposals to redevelop the Military Circle area, which is on the highest land in the city. Two proposals include building an arena and one includes an amphitheater. Housing is also part of all three plans, which are on the city website for review. The city is working with the Virginia Department of Transportation and Hampton Roads Transit to address future traffic issues in the redeveloped area. Expanding Light Rail to the area is a possibility.
- Filer believes increased housing will encourage more families to live in Norfolk, which has an abundance of childless young professionals and retired empty nesters.
- Redeveloping MacArthur Center is complicated due to the financial structure of the mall. The city owns the land under it but not the mall.
- Related to downtown issues, parking is going to stay on Boush Street, and the city has not been able to attract a grocery store downtown despite growth in residents.
- Norfolk's aging water pipes have been upgraded over the years and the city continues to look for funding to do even more to keep drinking water safe. Filer is happy Norfolk's water is ranked No. 1 in Virginia for its taste.
- Filer thanked First Presbyterian Church and its pastor, Jim Wood, for housing homeless people nightly for eight months while the city figured out solutions. The city has purchased a motel on Tidewater Drive for homeless housing and has RFPs out for redeveloping the old Greyhound Bus Station, which was a temporary tent home for people during spring and summer.
- The city is working to rehire staff for its libraries and is increasing hours of operation. It is also resurfacing tennis courts and trying to restore recreation programs halted during the pandemic.
- The park and flood control project going on in Chesterfield Heights and Grandy Village will be a model for dealing with flooding and making waterways more accessible to residents.
Business Meeting
- We welcomed two guests -- Dr. Randall Garrett, a former Rotarian and a guest of Brian McGuire, and Roberto Westbrook of Atlantic Coast Mortgage, a guest of Laurie Harrison.
- President Michael noted that a kidney stone sent Lorna Cochrane to the hospital after she played a round of golf. She is home and doing better.
- Sigur Whitaker was surprised to have no notes to write thanking Rotarians for their donations to the Rotary International Foundation since none were made in the last few months. Our club's goal is $22,000 for the year with only $4,361 donated to the RI foundation far. Our club has raised as much as nearly $29,000 in a single year for the Foundation, which funds projects globally and in our area. Donations can be made online or by check.
- Informal votes showed members interested in a Portsmouth ghost tour and having an evening holiday social in December.
- Rotarians are needed to help with foodbank packaging on October 15.
- Sally Hartman received a check for $799 for winning the big pot in the club raffle. She then managed to have the winning ticket for the daily pot of $17 for the meeting raffle.
- 22 bike riders enjoyed the Elizabeth River Trail ride and happy hour on Indigenous People Day. Kelly Stefanko organized the social.
Happy bucks:
- Alan Nelson for his trip to Paris and his 61st reunion of his Port Arthur, Texas class. His most famous classmate was the late singer Janis Joplin.
- Sally Hartman celebrated her and Ron's 39th wedding anniversary.
- Chris Bugg was happy about having covered parking at Scope on a rainy day.
A book in our speaker's name was donated to Fairlawn Elementary School.
The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia has two mobile markets which are buses outfitted to be a mobile grocery. One of the mobile markets was funded by Virginia Beach and it goes to the seaside city four or five days a week to areas with food insecurity. The second mobile market serves Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, and Suffolk. Foodbank volunteer Danielle joined Rotarians Sigur Whitaker and Tom Ambler to load the mobile market for its trip to Virginia Beach.
Those who shop at the mobile market have a bountiful choice of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini squash, eggplant, onions and green and red peppers; fruits including peaches, plums and grapes; and sweet and white potatoes. The mobile market also has a chilled area for meats and milk as well as some staples including spaghetti, spaghetti sauce and peanut butter.
Norfolk Rotary has picked up trash at city parks and in the Ward's Corner neighborhood. On Saturday, we branched out to pick up trash along the entrance and exit ramps to/from I-64 at Little Creek. Special rules apply to this trash pickup. We were required to have a permit to pick up the trash and to have it with us in case we were stopped by the police. Additionally, we wore bright vests to ensure that we were clearly visible.
As with most trash pick up activities, we got the assorted cans, beer and liquor bottles, paper and plastic cups and bags, and pizza boxes. What was unusual was the other assorted things we gathered such as car parts, plumbing supplies, cardboard signs and metal. In total, we picked up 16 large trash bags and 30 pounds of other items.
Did you know that 2 in 5 children in South Hampton Roads live in poverty? That is 147,698 children -- enough to fill 2,954 school buses. Our September 7 Rotary speaker, Trish O'Brien, highlighted ways the nonprofit she heads works to improve the lives of area children living with lower-income families. Trish is president and CEO of Children's Health Investment Program of South Hampton Roads (CHIP). Her Chesapeake-based organization works with 358 families of young children in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach. In October, it will expand its work to Suffolk. Trish thanked the Rotary Club of Norfolk for its recent grant that paid for blood pressure cuffs to help new mothers diagnosed with high blood pressure monitor their pressure.
CHIP's services include providing visiting nurses to help expectant mothers and those with young children. The nurses teach effective parenting and help ensure that children are born healthy, regularly see a healthcare provider, and get any extra care and services needed. CHIP's goals are to help families become self-sufficient and for children to meet development milestones so they enter kindergarten ready to succeed.
CHIP program includes one that provided 2,400 desks for area students forced to learn at home during the pandemic. That program involved a partnership with Premier Millworks, whose employees volunteered to build the desks before and after their regular shifts. This effort attracted a surprise $20,000 grant for CHIP from TV's Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe. Sleep Tight Hampton Roads is another CHIP program that strives to reduce our region's high rate of infant mortality by educating parents on safe infant sleep and providing cribs. Trish reported that 36 infants die each year in the region because they do not sleep alone, in a crib, and on their backs. Early in the pandemic, CHIP also delivered food and hard-to-find paper goods to families that lacked transportation to go hunting for them.
Our club honored our speaker by donating a book with her name in it to Jacox Elementary. It is "The Ugly Duckling" in tribute to CHIP's big rubber duck race fundraiser.
Meeting Highlights
- We welcomed new member Amanda Workman, who is sponsored by Kelly Stefanko and mentored by Amanda's fellow University of North Carolina Tarheel, Sigur Whitaker. Amanda works for the City of Norfolk in its budget office. She is a legacy Rotarian whose father has been president of his Burlington, N.C. club.
- President Michael shares the results of the recent voting for our meeting venue. In the final count, Scope was the winner with 35 first-place votes. Norfolk Yacht & Country Club had 26 votes and the Town Point Club 17 votes.
- Growlfest last Saturday was a big success. Board member Chris Bugg, who organized our club's volunteers, thanked all the helpers and especially Lauren LaBonte for stepping up as the event day zoo boss. President Michael, a first-time Growlfest attendee, was wowed by the event and enjoyed the hours he spent on the bench visiting with fellow Rotarian Joe Massey waiting to distribute beer glasses.
- Dues are past due, and 39 members still need to pay and should do so soon.
- We met our new bookkeeper, Robin Bailey.
- We learned that Rotarian of the Day Rachel Bellis, who works for PETA, loves Chihuahuas, watches Spanish soap operas to keep up her Spanish language skills, has lived in Spain and Mexico, and likes to end her day with a glass of wine.
- Sally Hartman bought the winning ticket for the daily raffle. She also won the big pot by drawing the right queen from the card deck. Her daily winnings were $30, which she gave to our speaker to support CHIP. Her big winnings will be $799. Linwood Beckner kindly added $1 to her winnings so she would have an even $800.
Fines & Happy Bucks Paid
- Joe Massey for his phone ringing and our new member Amanda even though she did not go to his alma mater, Duke University.
- Marilyn Gowan for her and her husband celebrating their 37th wedding anniversary in the Blue Ridge Mountains and for Duke's recent football win.
- Sigur Whitaker for new member Amanda Workman, her fellow Tarheel.
- Chip Vogan for the three Barbaras who served beer at Growlfest as a team -- Barbara Lipskis, Barbara Kiley, and Barbara Vogan.
- Barbara Lifland for not volunteering with the Barbaras because she was on a trip to Colorado for hiking and seeing family.
- Chris Bugg for our new member, his 25th Naval Academy class reunion, and a successful Growlfest.
- Tom Ambler for his 50th high school reunion.
- Sally Hartman for new members Lauren LaBonte and Chris Bugg stepping up to make Growlfest a success.
- Dianna Starkey for her youngest son heading off to Los Angeles to start his career and her oldest son graduating from Duke.
- Jeff Wells for his wife taking him sailing at Nauticus, all the photos he took at Growlfest, and for his neighbors giving his mother-in-law in hospice a barbecue and Frank Sinatra karaoke night.
- Jim Kitz for the undefeated Army football team.
- Bill LeHew for the Hampden-Sydney hall of fame inductees and his University of Medical School 60th class reunion finally happening.
- John Cameron for his Civil War book being published with something in it to irritate everyone.
- Michael Desplaines for the time spent visiting with Joe Massey at Growlfest, getting to go to the Washington game and have his team win, and for his happiness for the return to meetings of Rotarians Stephen Kirkland and Konner Pritchard.
Norfolk, VA 23510
United States of America