Our Greeter today was Dorothy Bloom and she did a marvelous job.
President-Elect Jeanne Shipe rang the bell at 7:30 A.M. to open the meeting. Chuck Ehninger gave a very nice invocation.
P-E Jeanne began the meeting having the members recite the Five-way Test with the fifth question, “Is it Fun?” We recited the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the U.S.
GUESTS:
Area 1 Assistant Governor, Gary Rohrbach, Emmaus RC: and Steve LaPierre, Emmaus RC.
P-E Jeanne showed photographs from our last meeting including Volunteering at the Lowhill Food Pantry and the latest photos of the Sierra Leone school rehab. See separate article.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
Please remember that the Collection jar is at the registration desk for cash and check contributions.
AWRC ANNUAL SERVICE AWARD:
Pam Bechtel of Meals on Wheels has been selected by Chuck Ehninger’s committee. A formal ceremony will be held at an early Nov. or Dec. regular meeting.
SCHEDULE:
President Mike announces upcoming events at our meetings and a list of them appears on our website. A list of the appropriate contact information appears each week in the A-W bulletin.
THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
TOMORROW, Sept 28th is a Happy Hour and Business meeting at the Holiday Inn starting at 5:30 P.M.Y.E. Student, Ala, is the program.
ONTELAUNEE PARK WORK EVENT:
Dan Crane reminds us that it happens on Sept. 30th at 8:30 A.M. to spread mulch, etc. Contact Brian Peterka.
DICTIONARY PROJECT 2017:
Amir Famili, Chair; reported that the books are on order. In a few weeks he will need some volunteers to process the 60 boxes to prep them for distribution to the 11 Elementary schools that we serve.
TASTES & TUNES:
Our friends at the Bethlehem RC invite us to participate in their annual event on Sunday October 1st.
D7430 END POLIO PURPLE PINKIE RACE OCTOBER 14th:
Wendy Weaver reminds us that we need more gift cards.
Chris Blechschmidt said that the focus now also is on registration.
MEMBERSHIP MINUTE:
DG Rick Gromis addressed the need to recruit and to retain our members.
AMERICA ON WHEELS MUSEUM:
Bill Weber gave an sales pitch in favor of attending the museum. He paid a dollar for this.
.NEXT WEEK:
Our Greeter will be Gwenn Carr and the program will be our quarterly Club Assembly. Treasurer Chris Blechschmidt will be featured giving us a financial update.
P-E Jeanne introduced our substitute S-a-A Don Davis who conducted the raffle drawings.
The door prize was donated by Dorothy Bloom and it was won by Ron Coleman.
The $12 pot of the all-new 50:50 was WON BY AMIR FAMILI’s ticket. There now is a full bag of marbles again next week.
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Ron Coleman was happy to pay a dollar because he had no Rotary pin.
Sue Weber is happy to have Dawn Costello back with us today.
Bill Palmer is happy to report that the year-to-date number of new Polio cases remains at TEN, WORLD WIDE.
Dottie Bloom is happy to report that last Friday she had dinner with AJ Henry and it was a good time.
Dottie also is happy that her friend Pam Bechtel is receiving the AWRC Service Award.
Amir Famili is happy that his son recently passed the test for a Pharmacy Degree.
Dawn Costello is three times happy, once for being here, once for Ihor Fedoriw for transporting her today, and once for granddaughter, Maddie, for doing well in cross country racing.
Jeanne Shipe is happy to be our President-Elect, and happy for today’s help in setting up for the meeting.
PROGRAM:
P-E Jeanne introduced Area 1 Assistant Governor Gary Rohrbach. Then Gary did an introduction of Richard (Rick) Gromis, our 2017-18 District Governor, and a member of the Spring Township, Centennial RC.
Rick was born and raised in the Reading area, attending high school at Reading Central Catholic. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from Lebanon Valley College in Annville, PA. Shortly after graduating from LVC Rick met and married his wife Susan. (Sue is also a Rotarian and Past President of the Birdsboro Rotary Club). Their son, Tim, is the current President of the Mt. Penn-Exciter RC.
Rick spent 38 years in the banking industry. Half of those years were spent in executive level management positions. Rick was associated with three start-up banks in his career including being the President and Chief Operating Officer and Senior Lender for Berkshire Bank. In 2012 Rick joined the executive management team of Good Life Advisor Systems, LLC as their Chief Operating Officer. The rapidly growing startup company, which provides turnkey solutions and systems for financial advisors, moving to an independent platform, now has affiliated offices in 10 states.
Rick first joined Rotary in 1975, becoming a member of the Northeast Reading Rotary Club. After a job related hiatus from Rotary, Rick joined the Mt. Penn Rotary Club and then returned to Northeast Reading Rotary, where he served as President in 1990-1991. In 2006 he joined the Spring Township Centennial Club and served as their President during the 2010-2011 Rotary year. In 2012 he was named the Assistant Governor for area 4, filling that position for three years.
Sue and Rick also have enjoyed hosting Group Study Exchange participants in their home.
Rick has been involved in numerous charitable organizations over the years. He has held positions with the Boy Scouts, Berks County Association for the Blind and the BCPHC, to name a few.
DG Rick began by reminding us of the old days when our parents told us to eat our veggies because there were poor people starving in Armenia or Africa. He said that Rotarians do serious work around the world addressing hunger and other problems by “Making A Difference.”
There are about 1,200,000 Rotarians around the world in about 35,000 RCs. But the number of Rotarians in U.S. RCs has been declining slowly for the last decade or more.
Last year our D7430 added a net gain of 43 new members. But this was due to the addition of two new RCs last year. The scary numbers are that in the base 43 RCs we added 179 new Rotarians -- that’s the good news; but we lost 196 members in the same year.
DG Rick noted that we plan to add another new RC this year. And he asks that no deaths occur this Rotary year. And his #1 Goal for RY 2017-18 is to greatly improve Member retention. To do this all members need to be connected. People join Rotary for Networking, to be of service, and for fellowship. And that is what keeps them as members.
DG Rick’s #2 Goal is for each RC to have a current Strategic Plan. Our D7430 Leadership Team has one, and it appears on the district website. Having a RC Strategic Plan will keep members focused on what to continue and provide continuity. A plan allows RCs to address changes in the community, the world, and changes in RI’s guidelines for us.
To illustrate the need for RCs to keep up with the changes in the world, Rick went around the room and asked members a series of questions. He compared the facts of Paul Harris’ times in 1905 to those today. He asked for estimates on life expectancy, minimum wages, miles of paved roads, for example. Our estimates were pretty good.
DG Rick stressed that Rotary’s core values must be maintained. But Rotarians must change with the times. For example RI now has greater flexibility in meeting times, attendance, membership types, etc. He will be forming a district Social Media Committee as a resource. And he urges every RC to use Social Media to take their story to the public.
DG Rick then took an Acorn out of his pocket, and addressed the value of working with, and supporting our young people. Things like Youth Exchange, Camp Neidig, Interact and Rotaract clubs, and scholarship programs, and Speech Contests, all make that Acorn grow, hopefully into a mighty oak tree.
DG Rick closed his remarks by asking us all to attend the April 27, 2018 District Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Wyomissing. The location is close by, the content is great, and the pricing is very attractive. The a-la-carte pricing includes an all-day Saturday package with lunch and dinner for $99 per person. Check our district website for details and registration.
DG Rick extends his thanks to AW Rotarians for their support, and for all that they do for others Making A Difference.
CLOSING:
We closed the meeting by reciting the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
BOARD MEETING:
DG Rick Gromis and P-E Jeanne Shipe conducted a meeting of the AW board of Directors after the regular meeting. Rick discussed the RI Presidential Citation requirements for this Rotary year. And he described the requirements for D7430 RCs to qualify for the Governor’s awards this year.
P-E Jeanne reviewed the AW status of issues such as our 3 year Strategic Plan, our updated Constitution and Bylaws, and the many service projects that AW Rotarians do.
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