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Welcome to Allentown West Rotary! 
Western Lehigh County    Club No. 5415    
Zone 32    District No. 7430
Rotary Club of
ALLENTOWN WEST
Presidential Com. Gwenn Carr
Area 1 Asst. Gov. Rick Zayaitz
District 7430 Governor
Diane Donaher
 
MEETING OPTIONS:
 
Second and Fourth Wednesdays
are in-person
at Cedar Crest College
 M
eeting begins promptly at 7:30 a.m.
 
 
OTHERS
First  Wednesdays are for Special events, such as Dining Out, Business Tours, etc.
The third week is for Committee meetings, which may not be on Wednesdays.
 
Follow us on Facebook and watch your email for updates.
 
Zoom is available during in-person meetings
 
WEBSITE
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CALENDAR of EVENTS     
       
 
      Aug 12 OR 13  --  AWRC annual PICNIC at the Englehradt's' in Kutztown.
  
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          AWRC
Board and Committee
 Members for 2023-24
 
Current Executive Board:
Presidential Committee – Gwenn Carr, Gary Englehardt & Herb Klotz
 
President- Elect – TBD
Immediate Past President – Gail Micca
Vice President – TBD
 
Treasurer – Gary Englehardt
Secretary – Michelle Steiner
Sergeant at Arms – Mitch Huston
 
Directors:
Membership Chair – Tori Morgan
Community Service Chair – Bill Keba
Public Relations Chair – Marlene Heller
Fundraising Chair – TBD
Youth Services Chair –  Gail Micca
AWRC Foundation Chair – Amir Famili
RI Foundation Chair – Herb Klotz
 
Others:
Program Chair  --  Ralph Witcher
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
“You have the power to turn this tearful world into a cheerful one. The question is, will you?”
Abhijit Naskar
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Opportunities for Service
 
Here is an update for service opportunities in the coming weeks:
 
Community Service:
Habitat for Humanity – Any Tuesday or Thursday morning.
Contact Amir: familiamir@gmail.com
 
 
Kingdom Life Food Pantry 
   The upcoming dateS for Kingdom Life Food Pantry Giveaway is Saturday 
CHANGE
         
          August 12
Each time we start at 7:30 AM  and usually are finished by 9:30 AM.
         
Meals on Wheels – we can still use a few more substitute volunteers, low level of commitment, fun to do with family or friends. Contact Helen Papathanasiou.
 
Club Service:
Help plan a Dining Out or Event for a First Wednesday.
 
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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. 
 
Purchase a pack of Tribute Cards to say congratulations, I'm sorry, best wishes, happy birthday, send condolences, or just because! 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. 
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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: Tori Morgan – torimorgan1@verizon.net
 
Public Image: Marlene Heller – marleneheller@mac.com
 
Fundraising:  Len Salines – lenmary3657@ptd.net
 
Dining Out: Various 
 
Park Cleanup: Dennis Houser – houserdah@gmail.com
 
Highway Cleanup: Sharon Goldner 
 
Miracle League: Barb Kistler – Barbara.kistler@rcn.com
 
Meals on Wheels: Helen Papathanasiou – elenavasso@gmail.com
 
Camp Neidig – Nicole McGalla – mcgallan@parklandsd.org
 
Student of the Month: Nicole McGalla – mcgallan@parklandsd.org
 
Scholarship Committee: Laurie Grube – Laurie.grube@midpennbank.com
 
Speaker suggestions: Ralph Witcher – rwitcher@msn.com
 
Website Editor: Peter Wohlsen – peter@wohlsendesign.com
 
RLI: website www.rlinea.org        
 
Speakers
Sep 27, 2023 7:30 AM
How to Protect yourself from increasing bank fraud
Oct 11, 2023 7:30 AM
Allentown West Rotary Club Assembly
Oct 25, 2023 8:30 AM
Northwestern Lehigh Interact Club breakfast
Nov 08, 2023 7:30 AM
Challenges facing the City of Allentown
Nov 22, 2023 7:30 AM
2023-2024 District Governor's goals
Dec 13, 2023 7:30 AM
District 7430 Rotaplast Mission to Columbia
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 1.4 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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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
Advertisement for Russell Hampton
Advertisement for ClubRunner
Advertisement for ClubRunner Mobile
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AUGUST 9, 2023
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AWRC ANNUAL PICNIC
AUGUST 12, 2023
 
 
Family picnic clipart free clipart images
 
 
 
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DID YOU KNOW?
 
Antarctica is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country..
Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica .

This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world.
As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert;
the average yearly total precipitation is about two inches.

Although covered with ice (all but 0.4% of it, ice.),
Antarctica is the driest place on the planet,
with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK
 
“Asking "Who can I help today?" will always lead to a more fulfilling life than "How can I make more money today?”
Joshua Becker
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Allentown West Rotary  Club
Meeting Notes – Aug 9, 2023
 
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.
 
 
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BIRTHDAYS
 
Bill Weber                   Aug 12
AJ Henry                     Aug 17
Ralph Witcher            Aug 17
Ron Coleman             Aug 30
Marlene Heller            Aug 31
 
ANNIVERSARIES
 
Sue & Bill Weber                 Aug 07 1965      58 years
Barbara & Jeff Kistler         Aug 16 1969      54 years
 
JOIN DATES
Mitch Huston              11 years    Aug 03 2012
Gwenn Carr                19 years    Aug 11 2004
Gary Englehardt         19 years    Aug 11 2004
Mustafa Jaffer            13 years    Aug 18 2010
Murtaza Jaffer            4 years     Aug 20 2019
Nicole McGalla           2 years     Aug 28 2021
 
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