The inspiration I felt after last week’s morning meeting when past President J. P. Raynock presented awards to Wilmer Schultz and Dale Dries for perfect attendance over years and years and years of Rotary membership, lingers and sounds in my mind. I offer my sincere congratulations to both men. And I wonder, where you caught unaware when Raynock mentioned the set back Rotary faces in our efforts to eradicate Polio worldwide?
Sign. I wasn’t. I had heard this information 2 weeks earlier. It seems that the year 2020 has brought us a perfect storm of vaccination campaigns canceled due to the pandemic, the continuing distrust of the Taliban to these efforts, and the outbreak of a wild polio strain. I was heartsick when I heard this on the radio. I was so stunned at the time that my beloved companion canine Teddy came over to me to offer comfort and I truly saw the concern on his face.
It took me days. Then, I drew upon what I know about Rotary -- which includes Rotarians like Wilmer and Dale who are 100% all-in. Rotary is not just a club meeting at a country club. Rotary is a worldwide cause fueled by dedicated men and women who will work and give to make this world a better place. So we will go on in our fight to eradicate the dreaded virus Polio.
Our vision gives us resilience.
Resilience to work. There will be a community service project this Saturday morning at the Knauss Homestead to rake leaves. You can sign-up with Karen Hobson or Nicole Steirer. Talk to Cindy Hornamn or Rick Zayatiz if you can help pack or distribute food in our weekly efforts to ease hunger insecurity in our community.
Resilience to give. December 1st is Giving Tuesday. Last year in 2019, 27 million adults in the USA pledged over $20 billion to non-profits organizations on Giving Tuesday. Please consider making a commitment to the Rotary Foundation or the Emmaus Rotary Foundation. With your donations, earmark your intentions. Do you want to fight polio around to world? Or hunger among the families of the East Penn School District?
Resilience to show up. For now, we continue to meet both at Brookside Country Club and online using the Vox Tandem platform for our regular Thursday morning meetings. Each Monday, the executive committee-- your president-elect, first v.p and second v.p. -- will offer me their best council about continuing to meet in person and how to increase login attendance. Your presence counts. Do what you can to join us. Your voice matters. Contact me if you have questions, concerns, or problems.
This Thursday, there will be a Board meeting following our business meeting and program. Let me know if you have any items for our agenda.
And join me as I keep on keeping on. It will make my alpha male Teddy happy!
Club Members in Attendance at BCC received their Perfect Attendance Certificates (Rick Zayaitz, Bill Erdman, Fred Herman and Lexa Shallcross) Members who attended via Vox Tandem were also Recognized. JP gave some close ups of their certificates. congratulations to all and thank you for your resilience!
Monday morning, your Executive Committee had a fruitful zoom-type conference with Alicia Ruiz- Orbin and Jim Palmquist who are our representatives to the District for Rotary's work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Collectively, we reminded ourselves that even though Rotary was founded by a group of white, male, American entrepreneurs, our mission of "Service above Self" has created unbounded growth. Rotary is no longer a "club" it is a "cause". That cause is defined by our areas of focus: promoting peace; fighting disease (End Polio Forever); providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; saving mothers and children (who face malnutrition and poor health care); supporting education; growing local economies; and protecting our environment. As a global organization, Rotary values the diversity of its membership and the variety of gifts and skills its members offer.
Here’s RI’s statement: “As a global network that strives to build a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change, Rotary values diversity and celebrates the contributions of people of all backgrounds, regardless of their age, ethnicity, race, color, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
Rotary’s definitions:
Diversity: Rotary welcomes people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and identities.
Equity: Rotary strives for the fair treatment, opportunity, and advancement of all Rotary participants.
Inclusion: Rotary is working to create experiences where all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued.
“A top priority for Rotary is growing and diversifying our membership to make sure we reflect the communities we serve. We’re creating an organization that is more open and inclusive, fair to all, builds goodwill, and benefits our communities. We want people with differing perspectives and ideas who will help Rotary take action to create lasting change in communities around the world.”
With a heart for Rotary, everyone on the conference call felt the challenge to ensure that Emmaus Rotary continues to represent the best of Rotary. We wanted to look at how we attract, welcome, and mentor new members. We wondered if there might be tweaks in our routines that might move us forward. For example, recognizing both the diversity of belief among our members and the growing number of Americans who claim no formal religious affiliation, we asked is it time to move to an understanding that the invocations offered at our regular meetings might be best understood as prayers and/or inspirational words.
Time flew. We decided to explore further. Mike Waddell, President-elect, and Sal Verrastro, second Vice-president, will be forming a small
group, staffed by Ruiz-Orbin and Palmquist, to look at our own diversity, equity, and inclusion. We look forward to a report of their findings and suggestions.
Meanwhile, a special shout out to all our members who have served in the Armed Forces to protect our freedom and liberty.
Happy Veteran' s Day.
My friends, the virulent Covid19 virus is on the prowl! Wear your masks, keep your distances, use your hand sanitizers!! Stay well.
Our in person meetings continue at Brookside Country Club this Thursday, December 3rd. We hope you will join us. COVID safety measures will of course be implemented.
December 3rd 2020
Club member duties:
Greeter - Mike Waddell
Sign-in Table - Rick Zayaitz
Erey - Bill Erdman
Invocation/ Thought of the Day- Bob Goehler
We are meeting indoors with proper social distancing measures in place. There is no need to RSVP…just show up before 7:30 a.m., enter through the main entrance with your mask on, get signed in, find a seat, chat with friends, and enjoy the meeting.
While we meet in person this week at Brookside Country Club you also have the option to participate by joining us through the Vox Tandem platform. We will see you in person or online this Thursday, at 7:30am.
Please use the link below to join us this Thursday at 7:30am. To join us on the Vox Tandem Virtual Meeting platform.
To enter the virtual meeting, just click this link or copy and paste it into your URL Browser. Please note that you will need Firefox or Google Chrome as your browser to join the meetings.
The following safety guidelines to be followed at Brookside Country Club: UPDATED 11/24/20
Masks can be removed for eating and drinking only but are expected to be worn at all other times, inside or outside. With the case count rising we are going to present to our membership that masks are always expected to be worn while inside and outside in dining areas.
BCC purchased a stand-alone thermometer that will be arriving this week for the foyer. It will be constantly on. Guests simply stand in front of it and it reads your body temperature. It will give you a single beep if someone is good to go, but it will set off a mini alarm if someone tests high. If you test high you need to retry, and if you test high again you are expected to leave the building immediately.
Tables will be set 6 ft apart to observe social distancing and each table will seat only 5 people.
There will be multiple hand sanitizer stations located throughout the Clubhouse. We encourage guests to use hand sanitizer upon arrival and throughout their time at Brookside.
Buffets will now be served by staff of Brookside (gloves will be worn by those serving food.)
Coffee will also need to be served (no station) and we will have to utilize single use packets such as salt, pepper, creamer, ketchup, and syrup.
It is imperative that if they feel sick or have contracted COVID - 19, you must stay home.
Please contact Lexa, Mike, or Meghan if you have any questions. Please also review the Rotary District Covid-19 Guidelines in this newsletter.
Last week Mike Sewards, Chairman/Founder of the Lehigh Valley Veterans History Project spoke to our club about their partnership with the U.S. Library of Congress Archival Program. Moments into his presentation you could sense that for Mike this isn’t a project it’s a passion to honor those who serve and preserve their legacy. He and a team of dedicated volunteers travel the tri-state area to document the stories of all wartime veterans so that future generations can learn from personal accounts that are not found in history textbooks.
For 20 years the U.S. Library of Congress has been archiving the stories of wartime veterans. The Lehigh Valley Veterans History Project has documented the stories of over 500 vets. Veteran’s interviews are video or tape recorded, transcribed and submitted to the National Veterans History Project which is sponsored by the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. A copy is also give to the Veteran’s family. Some of these traumatic accounts are told during a persons final days in hospice care because it can difficult for some to share their experiences. These stories are cherished by their families. From tank gunners, and cooks to infantry, medics and stenographers these are the people who shaped history through acts of courage large and small so that we enjoy our freedom today.
Here is what you need to know about the LV VHP
The Lehigh Valley Veterans History Project was formed to capture the stories of ALL war time American veterans; WWII, the wars in Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The primary mission: to collect, document and preserve the personal experiences of U.S. wartime veterans, as well as home front workers and volunteers who supported the war effort.
The objective: to honor their service and share their stories with current and future generations, historians and equally important, the veteran’s family members.
Veterans stories are documented via in-home video recorded interviews or taped presentations at monthly Roundtable public meetings (except July, August and December). These meetings are held on the last Thursday of the month at the Lehigh Valley Active Life Center, 1633 Elm Street, Allentown, PA.
Bus trips are organized for veterans to visit monuments in Washington D.C.
LVVHP is a PA registered non-profit organization #4005062. We are also a 501c(3) organization as of December 2019, which means your donations are tax deductible. If you would like to help fund LVVHP’s ongoing mission to collect wartime veteran stories and our honor bus trips to Washington, D.C., please make check payable to "LVVHP." Please send $$ donations to: Mike Sewards/204 S. 17th St. Allentown PA 18104
On Saturday December 5th, our Emmaus Rotary participated in Emmaus's Old Fashioned Christmas at the Emmaus Triangle. Nicole and Karen help children write letters to Santa and "mail" them. An awesome time was had by all and what a great way to get into the Christmas Spirit! Thanks to all of our Rotary Elves who helped!
Karen and Nicole from the Community Service Committee are collecting any gift cards and other items you may be willing to donate over this holiday period for needy Lehigh Valley families. Last year many Emmaus Rotarians took on getting gifts for needy local children in our area with Angel Network and Zion's Food Pantry. Zion's Food Pantry are asking for gift cards of a $25 value to either Walmart or Target to help them spread the cheer to local families. Also Turning Point has various items of household needs as they move into new homes. We have also been asked by Miracle League of the Lehigh Valley for $25 gift cards for a drive-by party for the children. Contact Karen or Nicole for more information and for how you can get your donation to the right place!
Please use the following link for the Jefferson Elementary School Angel Network Wish List:
Surely there are women in our Emmaus and Lehigh Valley communities with an outstanding record of volunteer humanitarian service who have given their time and efforts to advance RI’s Mission to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance understanding, goodwill, and peace, and who are leaders in their chosen field.
Now is your opportunity to nominate a woman from our community who personifies these qualities to receive the Emmaus Rotary Club International Women’s Day Celebration (IWDC) Rotary Award on March 11, 2021. For the fourth year, on behalf of the Emmaus Rotary Club, I am writing to encourage you to submit a nomination by January 24, 2021.
You will find detailed information about the nomination criteria and how to submit a nomination when you click read more below. If you have any questions before this date, please feel free to e-mail me at aruizorbin@aol.com or to call me at my cell #610-392-5134.
On behalf of our Club’s IWDC Committee and on my behalf, I thank you for your support and look forward to receiving your nomination.
Yours in Rotary Service,
Alicia Ruiz-Orbin, Committee Chair International Women’s Day Celebration
NOW is the time to make your decision to become better educated about world-wide Rotary. If you have any wish to maximize your Rotary club membership, especially if you are new to your club, RLI makes it easy. Attend the virtual RLI training session on March 13, 2021. DEADLINE TO REGISTER FRIDAY March 5th.
Any Rotarian, newcomer and “seasoned" members, who attends a day of RLI programs becomes a more valuable, and more dedicated, member of your Rotary club.
Please register NOW for Part I, II, III, and if you have graduated you may register for the Post Graduate Course.
Click the link, on the left hand side under "Upcoming Classes", Find the information for the 7430 – Pottstown RLI and click on "more info", the next screen click "RLI Registration" on bottom right. Enter the security code as shown in the box, and click "Register Now". At this point you will be able to enter your information.
For other information or registration help, please feel free to call or e-mail Len Gieseler, District Chair, at 610-323-2201 or lgieseler2023@gmail.com.
ShelterBox continues to respond around the world including reaching those impacted by the strongest storm on the planet this year, Super Typhoon Goni, which pummeled the Philippines over the Halloween weekend. We expect this to be a large response in the days and weeks ahead. We are also closely monitoring Hurricane Eta as it approaches Nicaragua. We will update information on these and our other responses as we learn more www.shelterboxusa.org
Join the online event “An Evening to Experience ShelterBox”
An Evening to Experience ShelterBox THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2020 8:00 - 9:00 PM ET Join ShelterBox for an hour of inspiration, highlighting the lifesaving work you have enabled and the lives your support has transformed. There will be a paddle raise and we have secured over $70K in available matching funds, lets take advantage of this dollar for dollar opportunity!
2020 Global Humanitarian Service Award presentation to Rotary International.
Rotary believes in developing the next generation of leaders. Our programs help younger leaders build leadership skills, expand education and learn the value of service.
Two great examples if this are the The Rotary Leadership Awards (RYLA) which is a leadership development program for young people who want to learn new skills, build their confidence, and have fun. Events range from one-day seminars to weeklong camps; and the Rotary Youth Exchange builds peace one young person at a time. Students learn a new language, discover another culture, and truly become global citizens.
For more information go to: https://www.rotary.org/en/our-programs/youth-programs
COVID-19 is impacting us all in our personal, professional and Rotary lives. We must base our decisions about Rotary activities on the health and safety of our members and compliance with government and health regulations. Even though we may not be able to conduct the usual weekly in person meetings, many of our clubs are leading or participating in food and other relief programs in their communities. These efforts will likely be continuing through the balance of this Rotary year and into the future.
With this in mind, the following are guidelines for all Rotary District 7430 activities:
All guidelines set forth by the Governor, counties and other authorized persons in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the CDC should be followed.
Should any Rotarian be diagnosed with or have symptoms that they suspect to be consistent with COVID-19, that Rotarian shall:
Not participate in any Rotary event that involves a personal appearance at the event.
Report their diagnoses or symptoms to the Rotarian supervising any program in which they have participated in-person within fourteen (14) days before the diagnoses or occurrence of symptoms.
We also suggest that you adopt guidelines for your clubs that reflect the current health crisis.
Welcome to the Emmaus Rotary Club!
We meet at 7:30 AM on Thursday mornings
at Brookside Country Club, 901 Willow Lane, Macungie, PA 18062
