Today was an In-Person meeting at Cedar Crest College starting at 7:30 A.M. There were 20 of us present plus 4 more on line.
Mitch Huston handled registration, prizes and Happy Dollars.
GUEST:
Judy Ehninger; and Mike Orbin and Tyler Stelleti, Allentown RC:
OPENING:
Gwenn Carr opened the meeting at 7:40 A.M.
Chuck Ehninger gave a very nice invocation.
Ron Coleman led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Flag.
Gwenn Carr led us in reciting the Four Way Test, and added “Is it Fun?”
PRIZES:
The door prize was $10.
The 50-50 was $11.
HAPPY DOLLARS
Herb was happy to be back from two vacations, one in the UK and one in Maine.
Ernie Boll and Chuck Ehninger were happy.
Alicia was happy to be presenting to the club.
Patty was happy because she won the $10door prize.
Mike O from Allentown was happy to be with us today.
Gail Micca was happy to be back.
Gary Englehardt was happy to see so many people that we have not seen for some time.
Mitch was happy that there were 17,000 people at the J. Birny Crum stadium for the Drum & Bugle competition in 2 days.
Ron Coleman is excited to be visiting his grandchildren next week.
CELEBRATIONS:
The member celebrations for August are listed below.
YOUTH EXCHANGE STUDENT MESSAGE:
I hope you have a great summer!
My name is Anna Vittrup Olesen and I’m from Denmark. In 2019 I was supposed to be Rotary Youth exchange student in Allentown, but never went because my insurance wouldn’t cover me as I was in the hospital a few months before my exchange year would have started. I was planning on going the year after, but then Covid 19 came and my exchange year got cancelled.
Now, I’m in Texas and working on a summer camp. After camp ends on Saturday I have 30 days to travel afterwards. First I’m going to visit the host family (Dana and Mike) I was supposed to live with. They now moved to North Carolina. After visiting them I plan to travel up north.
I would love to see some off Pennsylvania and was thinking if there is any chance any of you from the Rotary Club could help me in any way?
CALENDAR – AUGUST:
The August AWRC calendar has events, birthdays and weddings and Rotary anniversaries – cakes indicate birthdays, rotary symbols indicate rotary anniversaries and hearts are wedding anniversaries.
SERVICE HOURS RECORD:
A document for recording your service hours from July 1- to July 31 is being passed around. Please include your hours.
AWRC ANNUAL PICNIC:
The club picnic will be held on August 12 or 13th depending upon the weather. It will be at Gwenn & Gary’s home in Kutztown. Please sign up for the food items you will bring. A sheet was passed around.
We will supply bottled water and ice, please bring what you would like to drink. Please bring chairs, card tables and any games that you would like to play.
VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION:
Members were asked to stand if they have been involved in Community or Administrative Service at the club, district, or zone levels during the past two weeks Thank you. They were asked to answer the ballot box questions for this week and deposit in the box.
Responses from the last ballot box:
Dining out – Suggestions for September included:
1760 Pub
Blue Cactus
Shelby
Thunderhead Lodge
Nonna Julina
Bikeworks – 6 voters indicated that they would be interested in participating in an AWRC/BikeWorks event
BLOOD DRIVE:
Blood Drive – 7 voters indicated that they would participate
NEW FROM NICK:
The Row-a-Thon was a success and the Fundraising goal was reached. The team has confirmed with Wheelchairs for Kids (in Perth) and they expect to have the shipping container go out in October. It will take some time to get to Mongolia, where it will then be received by Mongolian S.
Rotarians trained in the assembly and fitting of wheelchairs for children. Winter temperatures often range between -20 and -40, meaning the distribution of wheelchairs will most likely occur next Mongolian spring/summer.
Starting at 8am on 29 July, my Mongolian friend, Australian friend, and I will be conducting a 24 hour Row-a-thon in Brisbane, Australia to raise funds for a wheelchair program in Mongolia.
We are partnering with Wheelchairs for Kids, Rotary Club of Sumner Park, and a Rotary club in Mongolia to ship over 160 children's wheelchairs to the countryside of Mongolia for children suffering from diseases such as cerebral palsy. The wheelchairs have been
The wheelchairs have been donated but we must raise $8,100 AUD (about $5,500 USD) to cover the transportation costs.
There will be rowing machines set up next to us outside the Anytime Fitness East Brisbane gym and we encourage anyone to come struggle with us for as long as you want. We are also asking for donations. Sponsoring one wheelchair is approximately $50AUD or $35USD.
YOUTH EXCHANGE:
We still need a second host family for our Exchange student this school year.
IMPACT CLUB:
Diana Dunn is starting the Impact Club. She is meeting with various potential members and checking on various activities that they could perform.
An IMPACT club is another Innovative Club model - a "Service-Only" version of a Satellite club. It's an extension of your Rotary club, populated by members interested only in service project participation. No meeting, no meal.
SNACK PACKING:
The next Snack Packing event at Parkland is in September.
If anyone wants to help, they should email Diana Dunn at dunndianas@gmail.com
The NWL Snack Packing date is in September.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD DISTRIBUTION:
The upcoming date for Kingdom Life Food Pantry Giveaway is
August 12.
Each time we start at 7:30 A.M. and usually are finished by 9:30 A.M. Volunteers are needed. The June delay is due to lack of volunteers.
Come and help next time.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S. PRODUCE DELIVERY:
The Pantry will hold its food distributions on the first Saturday of each month for all of 2023.
Three volunteers are needed each time.
Food collections for Parkland C.A.R.E.S. will be held the third Wednesday of each month at the Pantry on Kernsville Road.
MEALS ON WHEELS:
Meal delivery by AW Rotarians takes place twice each week. Helen Papathanasiou always needs substitute volunteers.
MEETING SCHEDULE:
The second and fourth Wednesday of each month is In-Person meetings at Cedar Crest College.
The first Wednesday of each month will be a Dining Out meeting, or equal. It might not be on a Wednesday.
The third Wednesday of each month will be reserved for AWRC committee meetings to which everyone is welcome.
NEXT MORNING MEETING IN-PERSON:
Wednesday, August 23 at Cedar Crest College starting at 7:30 A.M.
The program will be PDG Herb Klotz all about Membership.
PROGRAM:
Gwenn Carr introduced Past President Alicia Ruiz Orbin to discuss The Greatest Secret of Rotary. The secret is Rotary Fellowships.
Alicia served as president of AWRC. She is married to Mike Orbin, a member of the Allentown Rotary Club and enjoys an active life with her daughters and grands. Her bio is very extensive and a copy is on each table.
Rotary Fellowships are international groups that share a common passion. Being part of a fellowship is a fun way to make friends around the world, explore a hobby or profession, and enhance your Rotary experience.
Fellowship provide opportunities for Rotarians to make lasting friendships outside their own Club, District or country. Fellowships contribute to the advancement of world understanding and peace. Also, Fellowships serve as an incentive for attracting new members to Rotary and retaining our existing members.
Some examples include:
4x4 vehicles Antique Automobiles
Argentine Culture Astrology
Badminton Beard and Moustache
Bee Beer Bird Watching
Bowling Camping Caravanning
Chess Coffee Lovers Comedy
Composting Computer Users
Alicia said a new group can be started if it covers at least 5 countries, and includes at least 25 members.
Alicia answered some questions.
CLOSING:
Gwenn Carr led us in reciting our motto “One profits most who serves best. And adjourned the meeting.