Today was a Zoom meeting with 33 folks on line.
Pres. Gail Micca rang the bell to open the meeting at 7:30 A.M. And she welcomed us all.
GUESTS ON LINE:
DG Bob Hobaugh, Kutztown RC; Mile Orbin, Allentown RC; Nick Millward, friend of the club; Robin Burke, STEM team;
OPENING:
Pastor Jean Masiko gave a very nice invocation with special mention of Len Salines.
Then Pres. Gail led us in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the U.S. She then led us in the recitation of the Four Way Test to which we added “Is it fun?”
AWRC HISTORY STORY:
Past President, Ernie Boll, via zoom from Arizona, delivered today’s story about our History of member Classifications..
CELEBRATIONS:
Pres. Gail displayed the list of January member celebration events.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S. DATE:
The next event is on January 15.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD DISTRIBUTION:
The next event is on January 15.
HAPPY DOLLARS & STUFF:
Marlene Heller was on from her sister’s home in Mass. and she had a scene from Israel as her background.
Gwenn Carr and Gary Englehardt were not happy that United Airlines cancelled their flight to Costa Rica.
Sue and Bill Weber plan to leave for Hilton Head this weekend.
Ron Coleman was at Planet Fitness and saw a guy with snow skis on going over water.
Ralph Witcher is in Baltimore fetching their daughter who has returned from abroad.
Lisa Walton is happy to say that yesterday was her husband’s first day of retirement. She did retire earlier.
Marlene Heller is happy to be spending some time with her Mom in Mass.
Tori Morgan feels very positive for 2022.
CLUB ASSEMBLY:
This will be our program on January 19.
SNACK PACKS:
Kathy Ott reported that we packed and delivered 259 packs in December.
The next packing will be Wednesday, January 19.
MEALS ON WHEELS NEW PICK-UUP SPOT:
The location now is at Asbury Church.
The January 11th deliveries will be by Barbara & Jeff Kistler.
January 18 deliveries will be by Ron Coleman and Gail Micca.
Volunteers still are needed.
AWRC EXCHANGE STUDENT:
Rose Phillips of the Emmaus RC announced that we will be sponsoring an Exchange student to go out next year.
CASINO NIGHT POSTPONED:
The vote was unanimous to reschedule for September -- FRIDAY 9-23 or 9-30 -- so we will be finalizing our plans with our venue, the Chamber, the caterer and casino vendor. We will finalize a date within the next week or so and will continue to gather more sponsors and prizes to make this a fantastic event.
Several committee members have agreed to help plan our May 60th anniversary event and some good ideas were put forth tonight.
We will reconvene in two weeks, Sunday January 16th, 7pm zoom.
Thanks so much!
Gail Micca
DISTRICT CONFERENCE:
DG Bob Hobaugh reminded us to please consider attending this great event in April 2022 at the Hersey Lodge.
Save $50 by registering before January 15, 2022.
SERVICE PROJECT:
See the left side of this bulletin.
Habitat for Humanity – Any Tuesday or Thursday morning
contact Amir, familiamir@gmail.com
STATUS OF MORNING MEETINGS:
Due to the rise in Covid cases, we will be meeting via zoom for the entire month of January. In February, we plan to be back to meeting each 2nd and 4th Wednesday at our new location - the Parkland Community Library.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday January 12 via Zoom starting at 7:30 a.m. Come on at 7:15 and chat. Our program will be Arthur Rand, CEO at Baristi Coffee Roasters to present A Cup of Coffee Solves Everything: Roasting the World's Finest (100% Colombian Supremo certified).
MEETING SITE CHANGE:
Our February and March in-person meeting will take place at the Parkland Community Library at 4422 Walbert Ave, Allentown. This was arranged by Debbie Jack.
Stephanie Fenstermacher of the Buttered Crumb will supply some breakfast food.
We need some volunteers to set up a coffee station each time.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Gail Micca introduced Rolf Schlake, from the STEM YEA (Youth Explorer Academy) Leadership Team, who shared the progress and plans for the roll out of the first summer camp at Albright College in the summer of 2022.
Rolf Schlake, PhD, of the Allentown Rotary Club did most of the presentation. Gwenn Carr and Gary Englehardt talked about what it means to AWRC. Kathy Ott talked about fundraising.
The STEM YEA Program is a four-day, three-night residential experience for rising 8th graders. The focus is “A Mission to Mars”. The curriculum, written by the SETI Institute, includes nine stem focused modules and six times when students will be using what they learned in the STEM modules to build a rover, a lander or a helicopter.
Each STEM module is infused with a Rotary Area of Focus. The instructors are from the Science Research Institute (SRI) of Albright College in Reading. SRI is an award-winning program of STEM educators and college interns who will be working with our STEM YEA participants.
What is STEM YEA and Why does it matter to AWRC?
STEM-YEA is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math program for underserved middle school age students being developed by Rotarians in District 7430 focusing on STEM learning activities. In addition, we are engaging them in team building and leadership activities.
Our Goal
To provide an overall educational enrichment experience for students to explore, experiment, learn, and engage in new exciting subject areas igniting their imaginations and enthusiasm to learn. The hope is that this activity will become a turning point in redefining their STEM interests for the future.
The event
A four-day three-night residential STEM focused Academy providing opportunities for while inspiring and engaging underserved middle school students (12–13-year-olds) in District 7430.
Curriculum
The SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, (https://www.seti.org) working with the STEM-YEA Curriculum Development team, developed an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum of hands-on STEM and project sessions around the theme – Astrobiology: Search for Life on Mars, that will engage the student in multiple sciences and cross-sciences while encouraging important team building and leadership skills. We have infused the learning with an awareness of Rotary’s causes and opportunities to work towards solutions for the future.
Venue
Albright College, Reading, PA and Science Research Institute (SRI) facilities. Albright College’s Science Research Institute (SRI), a state-of-the-art scientific summer and after-school programming to middle-and high-school students, who learn to function in a high-level scientific research setting while preparing for college and graduate-level research. (https://www.albright.edu/academic/science-research-institute)
Members of the STEM YEA Team
The STEM YEA Team consists of 15 members from ten Rotary clubs throughout the district. Mike Orbin of the Allentown Club is the STEM YEA Chair. Kathy Ott, Gary Englehardt and Gwenn Carr are members from the Allentown West Club.
Why does it matter to AWRC?
STEM YEA is one of the projects under the oversight of the AWRC Foundation Board, chaired by Past President Amir Famili. It was unanimously adopted by the AWRC Foundation Board on 10.17.21. It provides District wide prestige. It uses the AWRC Foundation’s 501c3 in a separate checking account. STEM YEA does not represent any expense to AWRC and is monitored weekly by the AWRC Foundation Board Chair. We provide monthly reports to the AWRC Board and interfaces with the AWRC Treasurer. The STEM YEA Project is a potential opportunity for AWRC membership and engagement.
How can you help?
We are looking for volunteers to join our team. We need folks willing to stay overnight at the Academy In July. We need volunteers willing to walk the students to the dorms, cafeterias and labs while ensuring their safety.
The STEM YEA Team is looking for volunteers with marketing experience to get the word out about this fantastic program. We are also looking for an individual to coordinate the schedules of our volunteers.
If you enjoy being with young people and sharing their excitement as they learn new skills please be in touch! Contact Mike Orbin, STEM-YEA chair (morbin@ptd.net), or Gwenn Carr at gwenn.carr@verizon.net for more information.
On February 12th -- OR on April 30 -- there will be a fundraiser. The goal is to raise at least $35,000 for initial start-up expenses. Then each RC can sponsor two students at $325 each. The first event can accommodate 104 students. If there is enough interest, additional events will be scheduled.
Gwenn noted that we have received an $8,000 Rotary Grant for this project. So far 19 of our D7430 RCs have signed up. Note that there is a website available for information, but it needs some work.
CLOSING:
Pres. Gail led us in reciting our motto “One profits most who serves best.”, rang the bell and adjourned the meeting.
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