Our Greeter today was Len Salines and he did a marvelous job.
President Amir Famili rang the bell at 7:30 A.M. opening the meeting and welcomed all. Then Pastor Jean Masiko gave a very nice invocation with a special mention of Ronnee Klotz.
P-E Ralph Witcher began the meeting by having the members recite The Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag. Then he led us in reciting the Four Way Test. Ralph then reviewed upcoming events.
GUESTS:
Just us today.
BIRTHDAYS IN FEBRUARY:
P-E Ralph read aloud the list of February member birthdays, including Gary Englehardt and Mitch Huston. We all sang Happy Birthday.
OUR APRIL 24-26 DISRICT CONFERENCE:
So far we do not have enough AW members registered. DG Herb needs even more so we can staff our table at the “Summit” and explain the projects that we do.
Herb Klotz noted that there are a number of ways to attend OUR conference. You can volunteer for some hours for any day, but Saturday needs the most.
ALSO we really need at least one more $1,000 corporate sponsor.
SPECIAL MEMBER RECOGNITION:
DG Herb Klotz awarded to Geoff Legg a Paul Harris Felloe (PHF) plus 2 lapel pin. Thank you, Geoff.
DG Herb then awarded Gwenn Carr and Gary Englehardt a Major Donor, Level One lapel pin. Thank you, Gwenn and Gary.
FUN FACTS:
Gwenn Carr distributed copies of the history of Rotary district conferences.
FEBRUARY AW VOLUNTEERS:
Gwenn then asked member to stand if they worked on Feb projects, Ralph, Jeanne, Gail and Amir each received some special candy.
ROTARIAN OF THE MONTH:
Diana Dunn was declared our Rotarian of the month of February, and received some candy and some applause.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEERS NEEDED:
Jean Masiko needs extra workers to stock shelves this Friday evening at 6 PM. A large shipment is coming in.
OFFICER CANDIDATES NEEDED:
The President-elect and Vice President 2020-2021 positions still need candidates. Please contact Jeanne Shipe.
LEARN ABOUT ROTARY:
The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) offers many levels of Rotary education. AWRC will reimburse the registration fee to members that attend the Saturday, March 28 session at DeSales University.
These courses are most worthwhile, especially to our newer members.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S. FUNDRAISER:
Please support the March 28th fundraiser.
DONATIONS STILLARE NEEDED:
Dottie Bloom is charged with setting up and stocking a Hospitality Room for both Friday and Saturday evenings at OUR April 24 and 25 District Conference. Donations of Beer, Wine and snacks for at least 40 guests are needed. Please contact Dottie at bloomnbunny@ptd.net.
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.
THURSDAY EVENING SCHEDULE:
February 27th -- The meeting will be held at the Starlite Diner starting at 5:30 P.M. in the private back room. Scott Hock will discuss the 2020 Lehigh County Census.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
February 26th at Luther Crest with John Scott as our Greeter. The program will be Brad Maier giving his Classification Talk.
Pres. Amir introduced Sgt.-at-Arms Mitch Huston who conducted the drawings and collected Happy Dollars.
The door prize donated by Len Salines was won by Halyna Stegura.
The $66 pot of the 50:50 was not won by Amir Famili’s ticket being drawn followed by a white marble. Seven marbles will be back next time.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Amir Famili is really happy about the progress being made by our Engineers Without Borders team in Sierra Leone.
Jeanne Shipe visited the Pottstown RC and spoke about the Friendship Exchange trip to South Africa.
Jeanne also was at the Pearl Buck House in Doylestown and met with the Outbound Northwestern Youth Exchange student that the Webers interviewed, and his parents.
Al Lewis is happy to report on the Winter Carnival at Saranac Lake. His daughter has great pictures.
Ralph Witcher is happy that son, Seth, is performing on TV CH 69 this morning.
Herb Klotz is happy to announce that Ronnee and he are going to North Carolina.
Gwenn Carr described the very special birthday cake that Gary asked for. It is loaded with Chocolate and takes two days to prepare.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Amir introduced Daniel Delgadillo to discuss the U.S. Peace Corps. Daniel is the Help Desk Manager at the Hill School and a member of the Pottstown Rotary club. Having grown up in Mexico and later Arizona, Daniel is passionate about travel and understanding other cultures. Daniel lives with his wife Jordan and their dog and cat in Reading.
The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the United States government. Its official mission is to provide social and economic development abroad through technical assistance, while promoting mutual understanding between Americans and populations served.
Using a series of slides with photos, Daniel told us about his experience in the Peace Corps. Daniel served in Kenya from 2009 – 2012.
The Goals of the Peace Corps:
1. To help the people of interested countries meet their need for trained men and women.
2. To promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. To promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
During first few months, the various modes of training included:
Language Culture Technical
Daniel’s site was described as:
Garissa Town – pop. 65,000 (1999)
Water sourced from the River Tana originating in Mount
Kenya
Ethnic majority Somali of the Ogaden Clan
His Work ---
Primary focus was teaching computer skills at a vocational college. To start they had 10 computers, but only two worked.
Danial described the culture there as ---
The Somali language does not have a concept of politeness.
Men wear sarongs – which are also status.
The idea of fresh farm-to-table means that you grow today and eat it tomorrow.
Daniel’s Perspective -- “Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing you can be of service to others.”
Daniel challenged us to promote volunteering to the Peace Corps to our relatives and friend emerging from college. And he said to promote it to recent retirees as well.
CLOSING:
Pres. Amir closed our meeting by our reciting the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
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