Rotations 8-12-14
President Sigur Whitaker rang the bell right on time after wrapping up a preliminary meeting with District Governor Stephen Beer and our club’s board.
Eleanor Schoonover led us in music and started us off with No. 17, which wasn’t the same in all song books since some mysteriously had “Dixie” on that page. We rallied and those with the right No. 17 serenaded the rest of us with “Don’t Fence Me In”, followed by “Sing Out a Song of Rotary” and the second verse of “America the Beautiful.” We appreciated having our pianist Frank accompany us since we always sound better when he is at the keyboard. Barry Kesser led our invocation.
The School of the week: Larchmont Elementary School.
The Visitation Report was delivered by Bill Gough. We were happy to have Morgan Trimyer at our meeting. Ken Weeks must be feeling better since he is out and about at Harbor’s Edge and hard to reach.
Will King handled the Introduction of Guests. A visiting Rotarian was Nancy Joslin, past president of the Northside Club, who accompanied the district governor. She has earned a lot of Rotary honors, including the Service Above Self Award, and has had perfect attendance for 21 years. Also attending were Dona Overstreet’s guest Ellen Duckworth of First Colonial Inn and Audrey Pentecost, our member Ray's fourth-grade daughter, who picked a good day to come since her dad was being honored.
Perfect Attendance Speaking of perfect attendance, Nancy from the Northside Club attended the perfect meeting. District Governor Chuck handed out perfect-attendance awards to our members: Gary Boswick (2 years), John Padgett, Bernie Cohen and Susan Donn (3 years), Will King (4 years), Greg Sutton (5 years), Sigur Whitaker (6 years), Collins Gooch (9 years), John McLemore (15 years), Steve Jones (21 years), Bill McInnis (22 years), Ray Pentecost (30 years) Bob Powell (32 years) and Chip Vogan (37 years). New members Lauren Delp, Jerry Friedman and Jim Kitz were commended for having perfect attendance since they joined the club in the past Rotary year.
Announcement: To get your attendance on record, email Jane Dembert this week to let her know of any make-up meetings you may want to go on your permanent Rotary record.
Congratulations and Fines: It was a slow week in the fines-for-charity department. But Ed Lilly did his best to make up for it by giving a donation for buying a new Volvo and says his fifth one “is a nice one.”
The Program: Vice President in Charge of Programs: Bryce Burton
Rotarian of the Day was John Padgett of Maguire Woods, who was club president in 2011-12 and now chairs the Rotary District grants committee. He introduced District Governor Chuck Beers who gets the fun of visiting all 64 Rotary clubs in our district in a short amount of time. We were his second club meeting today. A car accident left Chuck with an arm in a sling, but he is forging on in his club visits with help from various chauffeurs like Nancy Joslin.
John’s introduction was all about Beer in honor of Chuck’s last name. Despite that we learned that his first Rotary Club was the Innsbruck Club in Richmond and that he later started a club in Short Pump. Chuck joined Rotary in 1998 and has only missed one meeting since then and that was for neurosurgery. He has received Rotary’s Service Above Self Award, Rotary’s highest honor, He led a Group Study Exchange team to Germany and is a big supporter of the Rotary Foundation. Outside Rotary, Chuck has worked for a railroad and run a frame shop.
Chuck started his talk by giving kudos to our club’s members who have served our Rotary district well. He named past presidents Paul Sykes, John Padgett, Julie Keesling and Ray Pentecost. All have held led various programs and initiatives in our district. He also commended our club for our centennial and our community support, including the computer labs we are putting in Title I schools in Norfolk.
Chuck encouraged us to do three things this year to strengthen Rotary and our club:
- Help bring in new members by sharing with friends and colleagues stories about our club and Rotary and how much fun and meaningful it is to be involved.
- Have a great impact through the Rotary Foundation by supporting it with charitable donations.
- Enhance Rotary’s public image and its brand.
Challenges from Chuck: Increase membership this year by 10% and we can hit him with a pie he brings (not blueberry) and help raise our district’s per-capita foundation giving from $201 to $220, and he will get his head shaved.
Chuck told a story about the evolution of Legos from a one-trick toy to a multi-faceted one with variations for many audiences. Lego is now one of the most powerful toy brands. He likened Lego’s evolution to that of Rotary, which in 1905 started as an all-male business club. Over time community service, the four-way test, international efforts and female members in 1988 helped Rotary adapt to changing times and stay relevant. He encouraged us to keep Rotary evolving while maintaining its traditions of fellowship and service above self.
He pointed out that Rotary’s international emphasis appeals to younger people since half of all college students have traveled outside the United States. He also suggested that clubs like ours consider starting Rotaract Clubs in middle schools to introduce younger students to Rotary and community service.
Chuck encouraged members to consider attending the Rotary District Conference on Oct. 10-12 in Glen Allen. He promises lots of fun, including dancing and whiskey tasting. Sounds like there will be lots of Rotary learning opportunities, too.
Raffle: There was $15 in the Small Pot and $691 in the Big Pot. Will King pocketed the small stuff but the Big Pot remains intact!
Next week’s Program: Glen McClure, award-winning photographer, will talk about his work and share tips for taking awesome photos.