Today was a Zoom meeting with 37 people on line. After some conversations President Ralph Witcher opened the meeting at 7:30 A.M.
GUEST ON LINE:
DGE Bob Hobaugh, Kutztown RC; NWL and LCTI scholarship winners; multiple leaders from NWL and LCTI ; and Tori Morgan, our newest member.
HAPPY DOLLARS AND COMMENTS:
Toni Morgan still loves her new dog and she let us see him/her.
Our speaker for today, Pat Mulqueen, was the first on the line this morning.
DGE Bob Hobaugh entertained us by changing his zoom background scene a few times. One was a 1911 baseball card.
Marlene Heller donned a bright red hat when Ron Coleman came on. This caused Ron to discuss his hat sources.
Rhys George, a scholarship winner, was on line from Daytona, Florida.
Ralph Witcher said that AWRC is going places.
Amir Famili is happy that the 30 days of fasting are ending.
Marlene Heller is happy that their 12 year old nephew will be vaccinated tomorrow and can join Grandma’s birthday party in person.
Tori Morgan is happy that she worked with Kathy Ott and Interact students to pack snacks.
Ron Coleman is happy that by donating some of his commissions to the Rotary Foundation over the last 18 months he has moved to the next Paul Harris Fellow recognition level. Thank you, Ron.
CELEBRATION DATES:
Pres. Ralph displayed the list of May members and their celebration dates. We applauded.
OPENING:
Pres. Ralph gave a very nice invocation. Then he led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S. Ralph really likes saying the pledge.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS:
AWRC’s Dr. Barbara Kistler, Dean of Academic Services (Ret). announced two more awards.
The AWRC Scholarship Program is an award of financial support given to the top 12th grade student(s) who has demonstrated outstanding service to the community. The intent of this scholarship is to financially assist the award winner towards furthering their education at a college or university of their choice.
AWRC Scholarships are awarded to students attending either:
• Lehigh Career & Technical Institute (LCTI)
• Parkland High School
• Northwestern Lehigh High School
• Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC)
The Rotary Scholarship Selection committee evaluated and ranked the applicants from each school with the twin criteria of leadership and service. The selection committee consisted of Gary Englehardt, Gwenn Carr, Amir Famili, Laurie Grube and Barbara Kistler as chair. Many thanks go to their careful reading of the applications.
Each scholarship winner receives a “goodie bag” to help get adjusted to college life. Amazon.com in Breinigsville has given each of our winners a Kindle Fire 8 tablet. We want to thank the generosity of General Manager, Ed Bruddenhagen and his staff for making that possible. Allentown-West Rotary Club donated a pen set for each winner. Brad Maier, our own State Farm Rotarian, knows a cup of coffee might be needed so he has donated a gift card to Dunkin Donuts, a magnet and message board. Gail Micca has made each a large Rotary cookie all packed in a bag from Riverview Bank thanks to Laurie Grube.
May is Youth Services month in Rotary. This is the final installment of our scholarship winners selected on the twin criteria of service and leadership. They both represent Northwestern Lehigh High School and both are part of the emerging health program at Lehigh Career and Technical Institute. Both institutions can be very proud of their accomplishments.
Elizabeth Leiser, a winner today is accompanied by her parents, Todd and Karen Leiser. Last summer Elizabeth volunteered at St. Luke’s hospital for 60 hours answering the phone, making deliveries and assisting visitors. She learned the value of making a positive difference in people’s lives on their challenging days.
She organized and participated in a recreational field clean-up day through Science National Honor Society where she served as President. She designed T-shirts for Hoops for Hope and through Key Club she assisted with blood drives.
Her leadership credentials include Class of 2021 Secretary, President of Debate, Secretary of Science Olympiad Team and Treasurer of Drama Club.
With her interest in healthcare she would like to pursue a career in public health. Elizabeth will be attending George Washington University in their Honors program.
The final scholarship is given in memory of Rotarian, Michael Henry. Those of us who knew Mike remember him for his humor and his eagerness to jump in and do what needed to be done. The Michael Henry Rotary Scholarship winner for 2021 is Rhys George. Rhys is joining us from a hotel room near Tampa, Florida where he is competing in a National Gymnastics competition through the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center. He is joined this morning by his parents Lori and Dr.
Sean George.
Rhys exhibits leadership and service in an all-consuming sport. He does it right where he finds himself. As Captain of the Parkettes Men’s Gymnastics team he uses his own experiences to encourage and help younger gymnasts in developing work ethic, dealing with setbacks, and exhibiting positive sportsmanship. For eight years he has volunteered at the Parkettes Special Olympics gymnastics meet. He volunteers at the Gillian Massey Cancer Foundation Day of Fun at the Parkettes as well as collect toys and other items for the Parkettes’ holiday drive. Prior to the Covid era, he was a cat care volunteer at the Sanctuary at Haafsville. He competes with Northwestern Lehigh’s track team earning a varsity letter in pole vaulting and is part of the Scholastic Scrimmage team.
Rhys will be majoring in biochemistry at the Arizona State University in the Barrett Honors College. Rhys is also committed to competing in gymnastics at Arizona State. He plans on attaining an advanced degree in pharmaceutical research
WELCOME GUESTS:
Pres. Ralph extended a welcome to our guests on line with us today.
Pres. Ralph again said “The world needs more Rotarians.”
FOUR WAY TEST:
Pres. Ralph showed the musical video of the 4 Way Test, and then read the 4 items to us, and added the fifth one “Have fun.”
SNACK PACKING FOR PARKLAND:
See separate article by Kathy Ott.
VETERANS MEMORIAL FUNDRAISER:
Gail Micca reports that we have decided to support the Veterans Memorial at Ontelaunee Park. Please take a lovely drive on Sunday May 16th and support this fundraiser and enjoy some special cake made by our own Kathy Ott. It will be great to see everyone!
Please contact Barb Kistler if you have any questions
MULCHING VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED:
As we have done many times in the past, our club has been asked to spread mulch on Saturday, May 22 from 8am until the latest 11am at:
Bob Rodale Cycling & Fitness Park, 1148 Mosser Rd, Breinigsville, PA
- We meet in the parking lot at 8, Donuts and/or Bagels will be there, bottled water will be there
- Bring a rake!
- There will be piles of mulch placed at the beds by the Park Superintendent IN Advance
- After eating treats and conversing, we will spread the already deposited mulch into the beds.
- It typically takes less than 2 hours.
Please respond to Dennis Houser ASAP if you can commit to attending. Please call Dennis if you have any questions.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD CENTER:
Jean Masiko needs volunteers for the next distribution which is Saturday May 15.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY:
Habitat for Humanity still needs volunteer painters on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Contact Amir.
FACE-TO-FACE MEETING DATE:
Wednesday June 9th at 7:30 a.m. AWRC members and guests will meet in person -- at last -- at Madeline’s in Fogelsville. It will also have a zoom connection for all who want to call in. The cost is $15 pp and it includes breakfast in a private room on the second floor.
YOUR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES:
Service Chair, Gail Micca, asks that you take a look at this section on the left side of this bulletin. New ones:
STATUS OF MORNING MEETINGS:
Starting on June 9 there will be hybrid meetings probably twice a month, plus all-zoom meetings for two more Wednesdays each month.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday May 19, 2021 starting at 7:30 a.m. We will use Zoom to meet. Our program will be Bass Samaan, Owner - Trees of Joy Online Nursery re Growing Uncommon Fruit Trees in the Lehigh Valley
STATUS OF THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
Thursday evening meetings may be scheduled starting in July as one of the four monthly meetings.
PROGRAM:
Pres. Ralph Witcher introduced Patricia F. Mulqueen, Chief Deputy Northampton DA to discuss How to Affect a Difference with Impact as a Prosecutor. He noted that Pat is one of 10 children and that she was born in Puerto Rico.
Patricia is an attorney and member of the Bar Associations of Lehigh County and Northampton County. She has served as Assistant District Attorney, first in Lehigh County, and now in Northampton County for over 16 years.
Currently, Patricia is the Chief Deputy District Attorney in charge of Prosecutions as well as the Chief of the Violent Crime Unit. Prior to that, Patricia was Chief of the Drug Unit for three years. In this position, Patricia handled a wide variety of cases including thefts, burglaries, aggravated assaults, endangering the welfare of children and drug offenses.
Patricia's true passion has been in handling the difficult homicide and attempted homicide cases. Patricia is at her best when she is advocating for justice in these seemingly unsolvable cases.
Prior to moving to the Lehigh Valley, Patricia served as an Assistant Public Defender in Cochise County, Arizona. She also previously served as the President of the Cochise County Bar Association.
Patricia became a resident of the Lehigh County in 2004 when her family moved back to her husband's hometown of South Whitehall Township after being away from Pennsylvania for almost 20 years as a result of her husband's active duty service in the United States Army.
Patricia and her husband Matthew have been married for over 35 years. They have (3) lovely children and (2) wonderful granddaughters. All of their children, as well as her son-in-law, have served in the United States Military.
Patricia has taught criminal law courses at the following universities:
Maastricht University in the Netherlands, University of Maryland, University College in Belgium and DeSales University.
In the past, Patricia has also taught on the criminal justice system at her children’s elementary and high schools.
Patricia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude) in Political Science from Chaminade University of Honolulu and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C..
Pat began with a story about an 86 year old woman having been robbed at gunpoint, and asked a multitude of questions about how we would feel, how the victim feels and how the defendant came to do it. She emphasized how important it is to defend both the victim and the defendant’s rights.
Pat explained that everyone comes with a story and a background. Pat loves our Justice System and the U.S. Constitution. She said that we must be open to listening for circumstances like drug or alcohol issues, or mental health problems.
Circumstances can influence bail settings, plea bargains, and criminal sentences. She told a firsthand story about two young men who robbed two other young men. One robber was caught in his car with a gun inside. The arresting officer influenced a confession from one robber. Patricia had to dig into the whole mess and came up with a fair decision for both robbers.
Patricia said that in her business her word is critical to maintaining trust.
CLOSING:
Pres Ralph led us in the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
.png)
