Today was an In-Person meeting at Madeline’s in Fogelsville. There were 27 of us present, plus 7 more on line.
Our Greeter was Lisa Walton. Mitch Huston handled registration, Prizes and Happy Dollars.
GUESTS:
Nick Millward, our Peace Scholar; Maria Tjehveit, guest of Amir Famili; and Sam our Y.E. student.
OPENING:
Pres. Gail Micca started the meeting at 7:30 A.M.
Chuck Ehninger gave a very nice invocation. He also noted that Ralph and Patricia Witcher have a brand new grandchild.
Ron Coleman led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the U.S.
Sue Weber led us in saying the Four Way Test, adding “Is it Fun?”
CELEBRATIONS:
Pres. Gail displayed the list of December member celebration events. The list is shown below.
VOTE TODAY:
Vote forms are on the tables this morning. We filled them out and voted for the 2023-24 AWRC office holders.
MONGOLIAN BASEBALL VIDEO:
We tried to play it, but could not. Gail will send it with an e-mail.
JANUARY IN-PERSON MEETING SITE:
Pres. Gail said we will meet at Cedar Crest College in Allentown on both January 11th and 25th. This is a test. Gwenn Carr said this is a wonderful place.
WELCOME TO ROTARY:
Gwenn and Gary will host this meeting at their Kutztown home on Sunday, January 8.
SNACKPACKING:
We did snacks for Parkland last Wednesday afternoon.
Pres. Gail thanks Katrina Sundstrom for donating Parkland C.A.R.E.S. items for the snack packs.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD DISTRIBUTION:
The last distribution was on December 10th. They had problems and will do more on this Saturday December 17th. Please help if you can.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY TOUR:
Amir Famili has 7 members signed up so far. The tour of one of the homes will start at 8:00 a.m. on Dec.21st.
PROJECTS FOR GRANTS FOR 2022-23:
Please tell Pres. Gail your recommendations for special projects for which we can make Grant applications. Herb said we will have one for Sierra Leone too.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S. PRODUCE DELIVERY:
Next Pantry Day is December 17. Karen Rodgers is our contact.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE EVENTS:
- EPCC & WLCC Movie Tavern Mixer- January 18 5pm- 8pm
- Chamber Night at Board and Brush Allentown- February 1 5:30pm- 8:30pm
MEALS ON WHEELS:
The schedule for the next 4 months is set. Helen always needs substitutes.
WINTER LIGHT SPECTACULAR at LEHIGH VALLEY ZOO”
The staff at the zoo could use some help during this festive time December 26 thru 30.
Signing up for Winter Light Spectacular shifts can be done right through this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e4aacab2baafbc16-winter.
PAUL HARRIS AWARDS:
First PDG Herb Klotz presented the lapel pin and certificate to Peter Wohlsen who has waited 3 weeks for them.
Then Rev. Jeff Kistler was awarded his PHF +8. Thank you, Jeff.
PRIZES:
Greeter Lisa Walton donated a bag of chocolates for today’s door prize which was won by Katrina Sundstrom. The $10 prize of the 50:50 was won by Geoff Legg.
HAPPY DOLLARRS:
Mitch Huston and his Tuba are going to perform in Hershey, PA this Friday.
Someone was happy to see their granddaughter perform in the Nutcracker.
Katrina Sundstrom is happy to have seen a good friend recovering from a serious illness.
Gail Micca is happy that her parents had a great visit here. And she is happy that their daughter got a fellowship.
Bill Palmer is happy that the family will go bowling on Christmas Eve Day for the 53rd consecutive year.
MEETING SCHEDULE:
Dec. 21st is a tour of one of the eight houses completed by Habitat construction volunteers. These houses will be occupied by their new owners by year end. During this tour, you will learn about Habitat mission, the upcoming new constructions, opportunities to volunteer at Habitat and also tour one of the completed houses. We plan to have the tour from 8:00-8:30 am and then if there is an interest, we can go out for breakfast.
Please, let Amir Famili know if you plan to attend by Dec. 16th.
The address for construction is: 644 Tacoma Street , Allentown, PA
Dec. 28th there is NO MEETING. Enjoy the holidays.
Starting in January, the first Wednesday will be a Dining out meeting, or equal. It may not be on a Wednesday. Herb Klotz is working on the January event which will be in Dorneyville with Indian food.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday January 11th In-Person at Cedar Crest College starting at 7:30 A.M. Come early and talk around.
Our program will be Gwenn Carr & Gary Englehardt & Herb Klotz leading the AWRC Path Forward Planning Session.
January 4: No meeting
January 5: The first zoom of the month will be replaced with our first dining out for 2023 which will be held at Cumin N Eat in the Dorneyville shopping center (3333 Hamilton Blvd, Allentown, PA) at 6PM. Cumin N Eat serves delicious Indian Cuisine! Please RSVP to Herb Klotz by December 31.
January 18: Zoom only, Student of the Month
January 25: In-Person at Cedar Crest College.
February - Dining out first week of February to be announced by Marlene Heller
Amir was born in Iran and still has four sisters living in Iran. He came to the U.S. in 1977 and tries to return to visit with his sisters e4ach year. He noted that in recent years his ability to speak and understand the language gets tougher.
Amir was emphatic that his thoughts today are just his personal viewpoint. He said he could be wrong.
Amir gave a history overview starting with In 1933 when a deposed Shah sold the oil rights to a British company. That Company eventually became British Petroleum
In World War II the Russians were invading from the east and the British were coming from the west. Each was planning to control the oil deposits in Iran. The territory of the contemporary Republic of Azerbaijan was Iranian territory until it was occupied by Russia.
After WW II, the new Shah gave more oil rights to BP. That was almost 90%.
During the Eisenhower Administration the U.S. caused a coup in Iran that brought back the Shah. This created much distrust between the U.S. and Iran. And in 1979 there was an Islamic Revolution.
Education is very high in Iran. Many students come to the U.S. to earn a PhD. Amir works with these students locally.
In general these days women in Iran have no limits. They can drive cars around freely. The youth are unaware of the history, and are deep into social media.
There is zero foreign investment in Iran. Thus the opportunities for growth are limited. The Government is not willing to change. About 60% of the people support the government.
Amir opened the meeting to some questions. One related to the need for women to cover their heads when out. About 20% do so, with others wearing the cover around their neck.
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