Our Greeter today was Dennis Houser and he did a marvelous job.
President Amir Famili rang the bell at 7:30 A.M. to open the meeting and welcomed all. Then Chuck Ehninger gave a very nice invocation including a special mention for Ronnee Klotz, and Bill Weber.
Secretary John Scott began the meeting having the members recite The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Then he led us in reciting the Four Way Test. And John reviewed some of the upcoming events. John had our two guests introduce themselves and say a few words.
GUESTS:
Brad Maier, guest of Murtaza Jaffer; Justin Schell. guest of Gwenn Carr.
LAST WEEK’S MEETING:
Pres. Amir told us that our morning meeting last Wednesday at LCTI was great.
ALL NEW AWRC VIDEO:
Pres. Amir showed us the video about AWRC created by Gwenn and the membership team featuring AW members. This now is on YouTube and should be used to tell the community who we are and what we do.
THANK YOU FOR BEING A ROTARIAN:
See separate article about the Nov. 14 evening meeting.
ROTARIAN OF THE MONTH:
Dottie Bloom has been recognized as the AW Rotarian of the Month for her multiple service hours. Congratulations, Dottie.
BRING A GUEST, AND BOTH EAT FREE:
Gwenn Carr announced that at our Dec. 4th morning meeting we have an excellent program planned. The club wants to both have a large audience and have visitors to see what we do. So any member on December 4th with a guest will eat free as will the guest.
ROTARY FUN FACT:
The history of the Rotary Wheel logo is described. See separate article. Gwenn is planning more fun facts for us.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
This great group still depends on cash donations from AW Rotarians. And volunteering for the produce pick-up and distribution on Saturday mornings is a very satisfying thing.
AWRC HOLIDAY PARTY:
There are flyers available with details about our Friday, December 6th annual Holiday Party at the Brookside Country Club in Macungie. Seth Witcher again will entertain us. A sign-up sheet is going around.
THURSDAY EVENING SCHEDULE:
December 12 at 5:30 PM at the Holiday Inn, in The Pub.
NO MEETING NOVEMBER 26TH.
Happy Thanksgiving !!
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
December 4 at Luther Crest with Tom Friday as our Greeter. Our program will be Valerie J. Downing. VP @ Cedar Crest College providing an Overview of Cedar Crest College – strategic areas of focus, demographic make-up & academic programs.
Pres. Amir introduced Sgt.-at-Arms Mitch Huston who conducted the drawings and collected Happy Dollars.
The door prize donated by Dennis Houser was won by Al Lewis.
The $62 pot of the 50:50 was not won by our guest, Justin Schell’s ticket being drawn followed by a white marble. Seven marbles will be back next time.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Al Lewis is happy to report that David Haight is back home here and is doing well. Then Al donated $3 for the 3 meetings that he had to miss.
Jean Masiko is happy that she had a great time on her recent trip to Israel.
Kristina Sundstrom is happy that Parkland Cares now has served its 80th family.
Laurie Grube is happy that the Riverview Bank branch on S. Cedar Crest in Allentown now is open.
Jeanne Shipe is happy to report that her stepdaughter, Sarah, just delivered a 7 lb. 5 oz. baby.
Jerry Frank explained the complications that Bill Weber is going through since his successful shoulder surgery last Wednesday.
And in keeping with the Kistler – Palmer tradition, Jerry gave Mitch a check for $80 -- a dollar for each year for his birthday.
SPECIAL ROTARY INTERNATIONAL AWARD:
DG Herb Klotz presented an RI citation to Past President Jeanne Shipe for the AWRC generous support for PolioPlus during the2018-19 year.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Amir introduced DG Herb Klotz to conduct a Rotary Foundation Conversation.
Herb said his talk today was as our AWRC Foundation Chair. And he admitted that he was using some slides he got from RI TRF Trustee, Julia Phelps, who spoke at the Nov 2nd Foundation Seminar.
OUR Rotary Foundation exists to do good in the world. The Charity Navigator gives OUR TRF a four star rating -- its highest -- for the last 12 consecutive years. OUR Foundation actually falls into the top 1 % in the world for its efficiency and overall performance.
It is important that we understand that TRF truly is “OUR” Foundation. The monies going in are donated by Rotarians and friends. And it always is Rotarians that plan and spend those monies. We gave away $300 Million last year.
Herb explained that TRF has three significant Funds to which donations go. They are The Annual Fund-Share, PolioPlus and the Endowment Fund. The Annual Fund is the one that ends up returning HALF of the donated funds back to the District as “DDF (District Designated Funds.) These DDF allow us to fund both local District Grants and broader Global Grants.
A qualified Grant must fall into one of the Six Areas of Focus:
•Peace and conflict prevention/resolution.
•Disease prevention and treatment.
•Water and sanitation.
•Maternal and child health.
•Basic education and literacy.
•Economic and community development.
A District Grant is less than $30,000 total and the RC usually puts in half of its total cost. And they can be used internationally. Our great Snack Pack program started with a small District Grant.
A Global Grant is $30,000 or more and usually involves another country. No RC funds are required, but sponsoring RCs are expected to donate to The Annual Fund each year, AND get other district RCs to also donate. That way the funds get replaced and the programs keep going. Our current $50,000 GG is for the Matru Hospital in Sierra Leone.
Herb distributed a list of both DGs and GGs that AW Rotarians have made happen. It covers 5 years starting in 2013-14. Our RC received $27,500 for District Grants, and led the way for $80,000 of Global Grants. AW Rotarians giving history to the Annual Fund is about $10,000 to $15,000 each year.
Herb also distributed a sheet describing the four ways to donate to the Annual Fund. He discussed each.
Herb really likes Rotary Direct. You go on line and sign up once and have money -- minimum $10 -- automatically transferred from your credit card or bank account each month, or quarter, or just once each year.
A second way is to just go on line and make a donation.
Another way is to just write a check and give it to Treasurer Chris Blechschmidt.
And a fourth way involves bank transfers.
Herb described two kinds of TRF recognitions. One is a PHF or Paul Harris Fellow. Any time you reach $1,000 in cash and/or recognition Points, you will receive a PHF. Currently. AWRC has 31 members that have a PHF at some level.
Another recognition is to join the PHS -- the Paul Harris Society. This has you donating at least $1,000 each year, as long as you are financially able. Dennis Houser joined the PHS after hearing Herb’s talk last week.
Herb said that this year we will use Recognition points as matches to cash as an incentive for members to donate. And the AW b.o.d. has approved the club donating $25 for each member probably in January. This allows us to have 100 % participation in E.R.E.Y. – Every Member Every Year.
CLOSING:
Pres. Amir closed our meeting by our reciting the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
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