Meeting Notes June 10, 2015
Our Greeter this morning was Mike Henry filling in for Chad Butters and he did an excellent job.
President Barbara rang the bell at 7:30 a.m. Dale Heffner gave a very nice invocation.
GUESTS: Wilmer Schultz, Emmaus RC.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Sunday June 7th was our day to help at the Miracle League baseball game. There were 9 “angels” from AW and Interact that did there good deeds then.
We received a thank you call from a ShelterBox field supervisor for the two SBs we donated in May. We also received a thank you note from the winner of the Alpine Education scholarship awarded on May 20th.
Our next Thursday evening meeting at the Holiday Inn will be tomorrow June 11th starting at 5:30 PM. We will discuss the Purple Pinkie event and then discuss Rotary and finances.
The AWRC annual Changeover this year will be a dinner event at LCCC in the same room as we used for the scholarship awards. The date is Thursday June 25th starting at 6:00 PM. There will be no other meetings of AWRC that week. The Rotarian of the Year award will be presented.
Mike Henry said that our club's third annual Community Pig Roast Fundraiser is on Saturday July 18, 2015. It will be held at Ontelaunee Park in New Tripoli from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM with food being served starting at 4:30PM, including turkey for non-pork eaters. NOTE: We are looking for donations of water and of ice.
Please invite friends and family and join your fellow members for food and fun and fellowship at this community event. Adults $20 pp; Children 5 to 12 $8 pp; <5 free. Net proceeds will go toward the Snack Pack program.
The NWL SD Night in the Country will be on August 15th, Barb needs some members to form a group to decide how we will participate. The Interact students plan to sell candy for a ShelterBox again.
Barb noted that AW Rotarians are taking on the annual Purple Pinkie 5K run walk and hope to hold it on October 24th. This is a district-wide fundraiser for Polio Plus and will involve Interact students from all over our five county district.
Sue reminds us that the District Changeover and Awards Dinner is on Monday June 29th at the William Penn Inn.
Dr. Bob Gordon was sailing our Youth Exchange students around Lake Nockamixon last Sunday at their farewell picnic.
Please take note of the new white AWRC banner recently purchased for our Thursday evening meetings and others.
Today was our monthly collection for the Lowhill Township Food Pantry and $181 was raised.
On June 17th Bill Weber is the scheduled Greeter and Susan Koomar will speak about the Gift of Life Program.
LUCK of the DRAW:
The door prize donated was won by Dan Crane. The $30 pot of the 50:50 was not won by Jerry Frank who selected a white marble.
FINES:
S-a-A Don Davis fined Wilmer Schultz for not having a Rotary pin in view. He fined Dale Hostetter for having a birthday last week and for having his picture in the paper. And Joe Goll has a birthday and we sang fairly well today.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Candi and family will travel to Disneyworld next week and attend their daughter’s wedding.
Mike Henry was happy that they had a great motorcycle trip on Sunday with fabulous weather.
Jeanne Shipe is happy that she will be going to Atlanta next week on business.
Ihor is happy about his trip to Sweden and his granddaughter’s first Communion.
Bill Palmer was most happy to attend a dance recital at the Civic Theater last Sunday in which Yvette’s granddaughter, Arista, performed a fabulous solo and then many great group selections.
Jerry Frank was doubly happy today, having has two granddaughters graduate last week. And his granddaughter the softball player will compete at the state finals this weekend.
PROGRAM:
Our Speaker today was Kim Schaeffer, Director Community Bike Works Program, Allentown. Kim has a degree from Lycoming College and serves on the LANTA board of directors.
Community Bike Works provides inner-city children living in at-risk situations with meaningful work-ethic alternatives to gangs, drugs and the streets. They use bicycles, peer role models and adult mentors to develop and nurture relationships and to engage youth; and once engaged, influence their behavior and their outlook about school and life.
Their website says:
“Community Bike Works offers an innovative series of youth development programs to the students of Allentown and the Lehigh Valley who need us most. We serve approximately 300 students each year in our Earn a Bike program, which is offered at our Allentown learning center, at schools in the Allentown and Bethlehem school districts, and at the Orefield campus of KidsPeace.
“In Earn a Bike, students learn bike mechanics and safety while practicing reading, writing, teamwork and work ethic skills. And of course, at the end of class, they earn their refurbished bicycle and a new helmet!
“Other programs include Earn a Book, Afternoon Drop-in, and Youth Leadership. The capstone of a student's experience is our Youth Apprentice program, in which students who have served as youth volunteers earn their first paycheck as members of the Community Bike Works staff.
“Once engaged in Earn a Bike, students may participate in our full range of programs until they turn 18. All of our programs are offered at no cost to families.
“In our most recent program year, students made 4,770 visits to Bike Works and spent more than 9,500 hours with mentors.”
Earn a Bike was started 20 years ago. During the last program year they served about 340 children, And more than 200 of them also participate in the other programs. One is the Earn a Book program that uses Cedar Crest college students as tutors and mentors.
They also have a Summer and After School Drop-in program. The kids might go to the LV Zoo or go canoeing. The overwhelming feedback is good. The kids wanted to ride more often, so they started Saturday bike rides.
Recently United Way donated funds that allowed this group to start an Earn a Bike program for younger kids. It involves Read, Ride and Wrenching.
Note that the group welcomes donations of old bicycles in any condition. And they are forming a partnership with the Allentown RC and also the two Bethlehem RCs.
CLOSING: Halyna hit the right note to start us singing a good rendition of “God Bless America” This was followed by the recitation of the Pledge to the Flag of the United States and then the saying “One profits most who serves the best.”
ocus on membership for our Club. 
