Today was a Zoom meeting with 29 people on line. After some conversations President Ralph Witcher opened the meeting at 7:30 A.M.
GUEST ON LINE:
Dr. Cliff Barr, past AWRC President calling in from Frederick, MD: and Alicia Ruiz Orbin, Emmaus RC.
HAPPY DOLLARS AND COMMENTS:
Gail Micca is using head phones while on line. This observation led to a discussion about hair care.
Ernie Boll has 51 years in AWRC with the last 50 as perfect attendance.
Former AWRC member, Cliff Barr reminded Ernie Boll that he had won a contest years ago that was a stay in Ernie’s home in Green Valley, Arizona.
Then Ernie and Tori Morgan discussed the great places in Arizona, which led to Ron Coleman singing to us about AZ.
John Scott came on wearing a seat belt as he drove their daughter to school.
Cliff Barr has joined a RC in Frederick, MD where he now lives.
Then there was a discussion about YMCAs that do so much good, but we need one back in this area. Ron and John reminisced about Y’s.
Still touting Arizona, Ernie told us about a lost Gold Mine there that nobody now can locate.
Ralph and Pat Witcher went out to dinner last weekend and ran into Ron Coleman and Nancy and took pictures.
Ron Coleman was in a bar at the shore and was celebrating his 70th birthday with appropriate beverages. He added two tattoos to his body and soon will add their names of Pat and Ralph.
Diana Dunn got her second vaccination shot on Monday and is feeling good as things open up.
Tom Friday is happy that his whole family now is vaccinated except the 12 year old. He also noted that the covid19 deaths in PA as of June 1st were zero.
Gail Micca’s daughter has received a $15,000 grant and will open an art studio in Philadelphia.
Marlene Heller said that the family celebration last weekend with her Mother for Mom’s 100th birthday was wonderful. And Mom loved the fabulous collage of photos that Marlene created. All attendees had been vaccinated. Also Mom got a congratulations letter from a New York State official.
Ralph loves to celebrate families.
Pat Witcher is very happy that their son, Seth, will help open Musikfest with the singing of the National Anthem.
CELEBRATION DATES:
Pres. Ralph displayed the list of June members and their celebration dates. We attempted to sing Happy Birthday.
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:
Membership Chair Tom Friday welcomed our guests on line. He encourages us to invite others to join our meetings.
Pres. Ralph again said “The world needs more Rotarians.”
FOUR WAY TEST:
Pres. Ralph showed the upbeat musical video featuring the Four Way Test and then read the items to us, including Marlene’s Four Way TOAST add-on.
OUR NEW FUNDRAISING RAFFLE:
AW Rotary has begun a fundraising raffle with the proceeds going to Enhance Education through our many scholarships and other youth programs. The winner s will be drawn on June 29, 2021. See separate article.
We need your help to insure our programs can continue into 2022. Go to https://allentownwestrotary.virtualraffle.org to purchase a raffle ticket -- or three.
Chair, Len Salines said that 30 tickets have been sold so far.
MONGOLIAN PROJECTS:
Pres. Ralph showed photos of the Garden in Mongolia, and of the new Orphanage there that we help support through Nick Millward.
ZOO PAINTING PROJECT:
Amanda Shur is looking for volunteer painters on June 7th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lehigh Valley Zoo.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD CENTER:
The next distribution will be on June 12th. Please volunteer to Jean Masiko.
SHELTERBOX, USA NEED:
Please consider donating to purchase a ShelterBox at this time of need. Some AW club funds also will be donated.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
Habitat for Humanity still needs volunteer painters on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Contact Amir.
SECOND SITE CHANGE FOR THE FACE-TO-FACE MEETING:
Wednesday June 9th at 7:30 a.m. AWRC members and guests will meet in person -- at last -- at Brookside Country Club in Macungie. Come early and drink coffee and shake hands and maybe hug too.
It also will have a zoom connection for all who want to call in.
AWRC CHANGEOVER:
The plan is to also hold a hybrid meeting at Brookside CC on Wednesday June 23rd.
YOUR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES:
P-E Gail Micca asks that you take a look at this section on the left side of this bulletin.
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 June 9, 2021 starting at 7:30 a.m. We will MEET IN PERSON and also use Zoom. Our program will be Denise Brown, Office for Deaf & Hard of Hearing re Learning American Sign Language
STATUS OF THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
Thursday evening meetings may be scheduled starting in July as one of the four monthly meetings.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Ralph Witcher introduced new member Andy Phillips to give his Classification Talk. Ralph said that Andy is a Fighter, a Father and he married his college sweetheart.
Andy said that he does not like talking about himself. He started with the story about his High School and Central Michigan University football career in Michigan where it was promising with his 6 ft-2 inch and 300 lb. body. But he hurt his shoulder and had surgery. He had a large blood clot in his arm that kept him out of the game for 5 months.
He did come back and was asked by the Green Bay Packers to try out at their training camp, which he did. He got to play with many notables and in many great stadiums. But he did not make the team
Andy wanted to stay involved in sports which he did for a year. His wife has a degree in Physical Therapy from Central Michigan U., and is from Allentown. So after trying for her to get employed in the Pittsburgh area they came to Breinigsville. Then Andy got a call from a recruiter in King of Prussia and took a position in Allentown.
Andy is in Business Insurance Sales as an Executive at The Yurconic Agency. Since Nov. 2018. Andy works to develop new commercial lines. Their website says:
“Phillips has put his years of management experience to work, expertly handling everything from leading a team of employees, to marketing and billing, and most recently, managing a branch. He has gained exemplary skills in customer service, leadership, and sales.
“Before working in management, Phillips worked as offensive quality control for Central Michigan Football and played at the highest level for the Green Bay Packers as Offensive Lineman. Currently, Phillips co-hosts the “Happy Hour” show for FOX Sports Radio Lehigh Valley part time.”
Andy also told us about The Playbook Podcast.
“Everyone can relate to sports analogies and every great business has a playbook, or plan, for success. That’s the thought process behind The Playbook Podcast, an exciting new podcast brought to you by The Yurconic Agency team members Andy Phillips and Glenn Ammarell.
“Through this podcast, Andy and Glenn hope that business leaders will get the opportunity to share their great plays on the podcasts and allow for other business owners to benefit.”
Andy will turn 30 years old this Summer. And just 9 weeks ago his wife presented them with a son named Jordan who was a month early. Now that things are settling down, Andy plans to work with some AWRC projects. Also he is working on being an effective motivational speaker for H.S. students.
CLOSING:
Pres Ralph led us in the saying “One profits most who serves best.”