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Rotary Club of
ALLENTOWN WEST
Pres. Ralph Witcher
Area 1 Asst. Gov. Barb Bottitta
District 7430 Governor
Janet Kolepp
 
MEETINGS:
ZOOM  MEETINGS BEGAN ON APRIL 1st
Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m.
 
WEBSITE

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GREETERS

Pres. Ralph Witcher is  the Greeter while we are using Zoom
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THURSDAY EVE MEETINGS
 
There will be no Thursday evening meetings
until after the pandemic.
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HAVE YOU MISSED A MEETING?
 
Missed a club meeting? Lucky for you, we record our Zoom meetings! Click the link and then choose which meeting you’d like to view. Use the slide at the bottom if you want to skip over the socialization part of the meeting. We open the formalities at 7:30 am, and presenters begin at 8 am. So even if you missed the meeting, it’s just like being there!
 
The AWRC Youtube.com channel link is:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClHOvGQzfK4z7CUgSQQGqHA
 
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CALENDAR of EVENTS
  
   
     
              June 9 --   Hybrid meeting at Madeline's 1250 Turnstone Dr in Fogelsville at 7:30 a.m.
 
              June 29 --  Tuesday  is the D7430 annual Changeover IN PERSON at Brookside CC, Macungie
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NEW TRIBUTE CARDS
   
Send Cards to Support the Allentown West Rotary Club Foundation
 
Send a Thank You, Condolence, Congratulations, Thinking of You, In Honor of, In Memory of, or Just Because card and make a donation to the Allentown West Rotary Club Foundation at the same time. 
 
Our new Tribute Cards are here and ready to send out! You fill in the reason for the card on the top lines and your name on the bottom lines, and mail it out. On the front is a beautiful photograph of a familiar farmhouse in the Lehigh Valley. Inside, recipients will see that the purchase of the card goes to fund the Foundation of our Rotary Club, and they are invited to learn more at our website. On the back is some information about Rotary and our areas of focus.
 
Cards are sold in packs of 5 for $25, plus shipping. To order, go to the Allentown West website at www.allentownwestrotary.org and scroll down to the Tribute Cards. Payment is by PayPal. 
 
 
 
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Please “Like” Us!
 
If you are on Facebook, and you have any sense of Allentown West Rotary Club loyalty, please show it by going to our Facebook page and clicking “Like” in the top bar, right under the cover photo.
 
You can also click “Follow” for extra "brownie points."
 
We are in a pseudo-competition with other clubs in our district, and right now we are in the lower half of the pack, with just over 260 likes. The top of the pack is over 500! You can also invite your friends and family to like us, by sharing any of our posts to your own FB page, and asking your own followers to like us! HELP US FLOAT TO THE TOP! We know how good we are; let’s show everyone else that Allentown West Rocks!
 
Marlene Heller
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Opportunities for Service
 
Your help is needed to:
 
 
Mulching Project Saturday May 22nd at Rodale Park at 7:30 a.m. Sign up with Dennis Houser.
 
Painting project at Lehigh Valley Zoo, TBD
 
 
Garden care. Contact: Gail Micca gailmicca@gmail.com
 
Pack 50 Snack Packs at your house
Pick up/drop off at Gail’s house
Contact: Gail Micca gailmicca@gmail.com
 
Purchase, pack and distribute produce on the SECOND SATURDAY of the month
Location: Parkland C.A.R.E.S. Food Pantry
Contact: Gail Micca gailmicca@gmail.com
 
Distribute produce at Lowhill Food Pantry
Location: 4695 Lowhill Church Rd, New Tripoli, PA 18066
Contact: Amir Famili familiamir@gmail.com
 
Distribute food at Kingdom Life Food Pantry
Location: 4333 Lime Kiln Rd, Orefield, PA 18069
Dates: Third Saturday morning of each month
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Contact: Jean Masiko masiko@aol.com
 
 
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CONTACT INFORMATION
AWRC  ACTIVITIES
 
Kingdom Life Food Pantry: Jean Masiko – masiko@aol.com
 
Parkland Snack Packing: Gail Micca – gailmicca@gmail.com
 
Lowhill Food Pantry and Northwestern Snack Packing – Amir Famili familiamir@gmail.com
 
Membership:  Tom Friday – fridaytl@ptd.net
 
Public Image: Marlene Heller  – marleneheller@mac.com
 
TT6:  Len Salines – lenmary3657@ptd.net
 
Dining Out:  Jean Machamer – jeanmachamer@ptd.net
 
Purple Pinkie Services: Barb Kistler barbara.kistler@rcn.com
                          
Purple Pinkie 5K at LCCC: John Scott – johnscottl@msn.com
 
Park Cleanup:  Dennis Houser – houserdah@gmail.com
 
Miracle League:  Barb Kistler – Barbara.kistler@rcn.com
 
Meals on Wheels:  Dorothy Bloom – bloomnbunny@ptd.net
 
Kids of Character: Gwen Pongracz – gwen.pongracz@gmail.com
 
Speaker suggestions:  Ralph Witcher – rwitcher@msn.com
 
Website Editor: Marlene Heller – marleneheller@mac.com
 
RLI:   website www.rlinea.org        
 
Speakers
Jun 30, 2021 7:30 AM
Classification Talk
Jul 14, 2021 7:30 AM
Fundamentals of Cryptography
Jul 21, 2021 7:30 AM
Club Assembly
Jul 28, 2021 7:30 AM
Downsizing & Decluttering Talk
Aug 04, 2021 7:30 AM
What is A Health Advocate and Why You Need One
View entire list
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THE WORLD NEEDS MORE ROTARIANS
 
 
Make it your business to share your Rotary story! When you meet someone who isn't aware of all Rotary has to offer personally, professionally, and to the world, it's an opportunity. Let them know you are one of the 1.2 million people in the world who make the world better by serving the community.
 
Offer them the chance to join us for an activity or a meeting to learn more. If you don't ask, they won't know! Be a Rotary Ambassador!
 
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PLEASE SUPPORT OUR
TEMPTING TASTES
RESTAURANT FRIENDS
 
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PHOTO  REQUEST
 
AW Rotarians do a lot of good things and take a lot of pictures. In order to maintain the best quality photos on file, it is requested that the original be sent first to Gary Heller, our RC Archivist at marmel735@me.com.
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AWRC
Board and Committee
 Members for 2020-21
 
 
President - Ralph Witcher
President-Elect - Gail Micca
Vice President - John Scott
Immediate Past President - Amir Famili
 
Secretary - John Scott
Treasurer - Chris Blechschmidt
Sergeant at Arms - Mitch Huston
Service Committee Chair - Gail Micca
 
RI Foundation & International Grants Chair - PDG Herb Klotz
Fundraising Chair - Len Salines
Public Image Chair - Marlene Heller
 
Membership Chair - Thomas Friday
Youth Services Co-Chairs - Bill and Sue Weber
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SPEAKERS  WANTED
      Please suggest or request speakers and topics for future meetings and send your ideas to Ralph Witcher. 
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TELL  JEAN
 
     As you become aware of any member of our Rotary family who would benefit from our support with cards, flowers, or visits, please notify Jean Machamer at jeanmachamer@ptd.net
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Check out the AWRC
See Home Page link
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Bulletin Editor
Bill Palmer
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
ClubRunner Mobile
MAY 5, 2021
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MORE FACE-TO-FACE
MEETING MEMORIES
 
 
2019 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
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           QUOTE of the WEEK --
 
       It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little; do something.”
               ― Sydney Smith
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DID YOU KNOW?
 
Bananas are a Happy Fruit. Eating just one can help you relieve irritable emotions, anger or depression.
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   AWRC MISSING DATA COLLECTION
 
         RI is asking each Rotary Club to fill in the data that is missing about our AWRC members. Our records are missing dates of birth and anniversaries, and sometimes spouse or partner information. These data also allow us to celebrate these events each month at our meetings.
 
         Individual e-mails will be sent to each member asking for their missing information. Please respond quickly, if at all possible. Your help with this housekeeping effort is appreciated.
 
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NEW AREA 1 ASSISTANT GOVERNOR
 
Former Emmaus RC  President Rick Zayaitz will be the Rotary District 7430 Assistant Governor for Area 1( our area) beginning July 1, 2021.  He will be responsible for 6 clubs: Emmaus, Allentown, Allentown West, Slatington, Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley Passport club. 
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STEM YOUTH EXPLORER ACADEMY UPDATE
 
Below is  the map of the STEM Youth Explorer Academy co-sponsoring Rotary clubs.  They are now known as “Founders’ Clubs”.  There are currently 15 with several others waiting in the wings. 
 
We had a Virtual Booth last weekend in the Hall of Friendship at the Tri-District Conference.  We had several #7430 Club presidents and others visit us.  In addition we had representatives from clubs in Districts #7390 and #7450 visit with us to learn more.  It was a great opportunity to share information not only with #7430 Rotarians but also with #7390 and #7450 Rotarians.
 
Gwenn C. Carr, M.Ed., PMP
 
 
 
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Zoom Meeting  Notes – May 5, 2021
 
Today was a Zoom meeting with  47  people on line. After some conversations President Ralph Witcher opened the meeting at 7:30 A.M. 
 
GUEST ON LINE:
NWL H.S. scholarship winner, Reagan Hernandez, and her parents; William Gruen, Pres. NWL HS Interact club with 6 other interactors;  multiple leaders from Northwestern Lehigh H.S. ; Tori Morgan, guest of Ralph Witcher; and Capt. Nick Millward calling in from Japan.  
 
HAPPY DOLLARS AND COMMENTS:
We agreed that much of the pandemic caused working from home has been well done and will continue even after the office buildings reopen.
 
Amir Famili’s two chickens are producing fresh eggs regularly. The excess eggs are given to the Lowhill Food Pantry.
 
John Scott happily is still 147 pounds lighter after 3 years.
 
Halyna and Mike Stegura’s daughter, Christina, is moving to Singapore for the State Dept. in the Counselor program.
 
Tori Morgan is happy that she has a new furry friend. And she thanks Pres. Ralph for his recommendation that helped her earn a “Women of Influence” award.
 
Bill Palmer is happy to report that the number of new Polio wild virus cases YTD remain at ONE in Pakistan, and ONE in Afghanistan. What a great achievement!
 
CELEBRATION DATES:
Pres. Ralph displayed the list of May  members and their celebration dates.  We applauded.
 
OPENING:
Pres. Ralph gave a very nice invocation. Then he  led us in the Pledge of Allegiance  to the U.S.  Ralph really likes saying the pledge.
 
 
WELCOME GUESTS:
Pres. Ralph extended a welcome to our guests on line with us today.
 
Pres. Ralph again said “The world needs more Rotarians.”
 
NEW MEMBER INDUCTIONS:
PDG Herb Klotz introduced the following new members:
         Sharon Goldner         Lisa Walton                Andy Phillips
                  Amanda Lawler          Karen Rodgers
All 5 are sponsored by P-E Gail Micca.
 
Herb conducted the formal Induction ceremony and welcomed them each into the AWRC with great applause. New member packets have been delivered to them.
 
S.T.E.M. YEA UPDATE:
See separate article from Gwenn Carr.
 
MULCHING VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED:
As we have done many times in the past, our club has been asked to spread mulch on Saturday, May 22 from 8am until the latest 11am at:
Bob Rodale Cycling & Fitness Park, 1148 Mosser Rd, Breinigsville, PA
 
- We meet in the parking lot at 8, Donuts and/or Bagels will be there, bottled water will be there
- Bring a rake!
- There will be piles of mulch placed at the beds by the Park Superintendent IN Advance
- After eating treats and conversing, we will spread the already deposited mulch into the beds.
- It typically takes less than 2 hours.
 
Please respond to Dennis Houser ASAP if you can commit to attending. Please call Dennis if you have any questions.
 
 
NEW AREA 1 ASSISTANT GOVERNOR:
Former Emmaus RC President Rick Zayaitz will be the Rotary District 7430 Assistant Governor for Area 1 (our area) beginning July 1, 2021.  He will be responsible for 6 clubs: Emmaus, Allentown, Allentown West, Slatington, Whitehall and the Lehigh Valley Passport club. 
 
 LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
About 200 lbs. of fresh produce were delivered to the LFP thanks to Amir Famili and his volunteers.
 
AWRC  WORK  DAY  -  MAY 1st:
Pres. Ralph showed a short video of the volunteers in their yellow Tee-shirts working in the AWRC Green Thumb garden There were 18 Interact students plus 4 Camp Neidig students helping last Saturday. The story was on WFMZ. They cleaned up everything from last Winter.
 
 
 
TRI-DISTRICT CONFERENCE:
Pres. Ralph said it was fabulous. Details will come at next week’s meeting.
 
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD CENTER:
Jean Masiko needs volunteers for the next distribution which is Saturday May 15.
 
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
Habitat for Humanity still needs volunteer painters on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Contact Amir.
 
VETERANS MEMORIAL FUNDRAISER:
On May 16th there will be a cake sale to raise money in support of this new memorial at Ontelaunee Park
 
FACE-TO-FACE MEETING DATE:
Wednesday June 9th at 7:30 a.m. AWRC members and guests will meet in person  --  at last  --  at Madeline’s in Fogelsville. It will also have a zoom connection for all who want to call in. The cost is $15 pp and it includes breakfast in a private room on the second floor.
 
YOUR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES:
Service Chair, Gail Micca, asks that you take a look at this section on the left side of this bulletin. New ones:
 
STATUS OF MORNING MEETINGS:
Starting on June 9 there will be hybrid meetings  probably twice a month, plus all-zoom meetings for two more Wednesdays each month.
 
NEXT  MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday May 12, 2021  starting at 7:30 a.m.  We will use Zoom to meet.  Our program will  be  Patricia F. Mulqueen, Chief Deputy Northampton DA to discuss How to Affect a Difference with Impact as a Prosecutor. We also will award 2 more scholarships.
 
STATUS OF THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
Thursday evening meetings may be scheduled starting in July as one of the four monthly meetings.
 
NWL INTERACT CLUB REPORT:
Jean Machamer, our Advisor to the NWL Interact club, heaped praise on these students for all that they have been doing during the pandemic. The club President, William Gruen, gave a report.
 
Last Fall the Interactors sold Krispy Kreme donuts and raised about $1,000.
 
They have regularly worked in the AW Garden as they did last Saturday. Will said that they worked with Parkland HS Interact students very well. They plan to continue joint projects.
 
This Summer they will volunteer at an animal farm that treats injured animals. This Fall they plan to have a group travel to the Rotary at the United Nations Day in NYC.
 
Jean Machamer said that Will started a year ago with but 4 members for this year. Right now they have 33 members.
 
 
PROGRAM:
Pres. Ralph Witcher  introduced  AWRC’s Dr. Barbara Kistler, Dean of Academic Services  (Ret). Dr.  Kistler represents the Northwestern Lehigh School District and began her service to the board in July 2018. She holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Albright College, a master’s degree from City College of New York and a doctoral degree from Lehigh University. Dr. Kistler is a retired professor emeritus from LCCC where she served as professor of mathematics and dean of academic services.
 
The AWRC Scholarship Program is an award of financial support given to the top 12th grade student(s) who has demonstrated outstanding service to the community.  The intent of this scholarship is to financially assist the award winner towards furthering their education at a college or university of their choice. 
 
AWRC Scholarships are awarded to students attending either:
•        Lehigh Career & Technical Institute (LCTI)
•        Parkland High School
•        Northwestern Lehigh High School
•        Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC)
 
2021 NWL Scholarship Winner
 
The Rotary Scholarship Selection committee evaluated and ranked the applicants from each school with the twin criteria of leadership and service.  The selection committee  consisted of Gary Englehardt, Gwenn Carr, Amir Famili,  Laurie Grube and Barbara Kistler as chair.  Many thanks go to their careful reading of the applications.
 
Each scholarship winner receives a “goodie bag” to help get adjusted to college life.  Amazon.com in Breinigsville has given each of our winners a Kindle Fire 8 tablet.  We want to thank the generosity of General Manager, Ed Bruddenhagen and his staff for making that possible.  Allentown-West Rotary Club donated a pen set for each winner.  Brad Maier, our own State Farm Rotarian, knows a cup of coffee might be needed so he has donated a gift card to Dunkin Donuts, a magnet and message board.  Gail Micca has made each a large Rotary cookie all packed in a bag from Riverview Bank thanks to Laurie Grube.
 
 
 Reagan Hernandez is the top winner from Northwestern is.  Reagan is not a stranger to Rotary, having been here in February as Student-of-the-Month selected by her counselors for that honor.  She is again joined by her parents, Todd and Sheri Hernandez and this time with her grandparents as well, Bill and Trudy Dellicker.  Bill is in charge of the Veterans Memorial at Ontelaunee Park. 
 
Coming from a family of leaders, Reagan understands that to be a leader is to serve.  In Rotary we call that Club Service or administrative service.  She recognizes how important it is to attend to details. She wrote in her application that as Class of 2021 President, which is a 4-yr job at NWL, especially during this Covid time, she has had to deal very creatively in disappointing circumstances to come up with alternatives for events that would be acceptable to students, parents, CDC and the NWL administration.  I applaud you, Reagan, for being resilient and a positive leader.  She was also elected to Student Council representing her class as a middle school student.  As a student council member she has run the school store and helped facilitate school events such as spirit days, pep rallies and community fund raising.   She is a member of National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society, yearbook committee and plays varsity field hockey and lacrosse. 
 
In each of these, Reagan is called on to demonstrate leadership and service.  Before Covid she served as a representative to what is called “Student Forum” where she met with students from neighboring school districts to work jointly on service projects.  She is a member of both the Leo and Key Service Clubs which have many community outreach projects including food and blood drives. 
 
Her church has also given her various opportunities for service such as contributing to the Angel tree program and food pantry drives. 
 
Reagan has been accepted as a biology major at the University of Pittsburgh with the goal of earning a doctorate in physical therapy.  She stated in her application that she wants to help people regain their quality of life and to live life to the fullest.   We wish Reagan all the best in her future endeavors.
 
Reagan thanked us for the scholarship. Three school officials congratulated her with praise.
 
 
 
CLASSIFICATION TALK:
 
 
 
Karen Rodgers shared her Classification speech. She has worked in education for over 30 year as a middle school teacher, English and Education college adjunct and an instructional Designer. Karen is the youngest of three daughters and is originally from Michigan. Her experiences moving in her childhood throughout the Midwest before settling in PA helped instill a sense of adventure and flexibility.
 
Karen is married to Billy Rodgers( 28 years)  and they have three children Maya ( 22), Lily (19) and Owen (15).  Billy is a recently retired DEA Special Agent who now works to train law enforcement in Digital Forensics.
 
Karen’s first job teaching in a rural area on the Eastern Shore of Virginia helped solidify her love of teaching and spotlighted the need to teach in a way that engages students. Her experiences  also include teaching at Northampton Junior High and in Akron New York before shifting to the college classroom. Teaching students in the Out of School Youth program at Penn State Lehigh Valley and developmental English at NCC prompted her to return to school          ( Lehigh University) for a masters in Instructional Technology and Design. Currently she works at Albright College as an instructional designer helping faculty use technology and design student-focused online courses.
 
Sharon showed great pictures of her family. Their daughter Lily who is a college freshman now, was an active member of the Interact club.
 
CLOSING:
 Pres Ralph led us in the saying “One profits most who serves best.”

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 Here is a link to our District Governor's
latest Bulletin

https://rotarydistrict7430.org/bulletin/viewsent/f427f77b-6f1f-46d9-a2eb-70e88c3a1d60/7e5db565-f0d2-484e-b6d9-a2ef2dea757d?mid=WEbBHcWvfNibrjmd6ikWcQOkWm54zyCkH3kgrVGrhUE=&type=m

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D7430  VIBRANT CLUB NEWS
 
The recent edition of the D7430 Vibrant Club News was just sent out and can be viewed at:
 
     https://clubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000050086/en-ca/files/homepage/vibrant-club-news---april-2021/Vibrant-Club-News-April-2021.pdf
 
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BIRTHDAYS
 
Gail Micca                           May 11
John Scott                          May 11
Katrina Sundstrom             May 11
Sally Frank                         May 30
Allison Blechschmidt          May 31
 

Anniversaries

 

Dawn & Bob Costello                   May 12 2010      11 years
Allison & Chris Blechschmidt       May 20 2000      21 years
 

JOIN  DATES

 

Ann Bieber                   1 year      May 19 2020
David Haight                3 years    May 23 2018
Shirley Randall            16 years   May 25 2005
Halyna Stegura           24 years    May 28 1997
 
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