One of the instructors last February in the PETS-Training* at Valley Forge was talking about ‘being a vibrant club’. He said, “Only 44% of Rotarians would recommend their club.” And I thought that is a crazy low number but the proverbial bell rang before I could get my hand up and everyone rushed the door for lunch!
So what do you think?
Once again, is Emmaus Rotary above average?
I just know that most of us would brag on and recommend our club when talking to a prospective member. Right? We would mention our service projects both locally and around the globe. And the fellowship! We might even go overboard noting how much we liked each other and how much fun we had together. Some of us would remark on personal growth in leadership and as a contributor in the life of our community.
Emmaus Rotary is an embodiment of Rotary International’s current mission statement. I think we could have written it!
Together, we see a world where people
unite and take action to make a lasting
change across the globe, in our communities
and in our selves.
Please re-read that statement.
I plan to find it in a grand graphic format for us to use from time to time as we close our regular Thursday morning meetings.
A few weeks into the Rotary year 2020-2021 and I have come to appreciate that there are many moving parts to Rotary at all levels-- our local club, the district, and Rotary International. This should not have come as a surprise as our Rotary logo is a wheel with 6 spokes, 24 teeth, and has a keyway that guarantees it transmits power.
Personally, I feel like I'm on a bicycle and am standing up to gain momentum, some speed. And I don't want to lose my footing on the pedals-- slipping off them would be quite a jolt! So I am asking you to help me while together we gain speed, balance and can get down the road gracefully.
While we are meeting online, please picture your fellow Rotarians... with whom did you regularly sit in Brookside's dining room? who was by your side at fellowship events and service projects? whose "Happy Dollars" always made you smile?
Bring them to mind and then, please, reach out. I have come to see what a luxury it has been to quietly say to someone next to you at the coffee bar, "How have you been? How is your family?"
If you haven't been in contact with someone for a while: Phone them. Text them. Send them a card.
Our website has members' names, addresses, and phone numbers. The tech-savvy among us have downloaded the Club Runner app to their smartphones for easy access to this information. If technology fails you, phone or email me and I will look it up for you.
Let's not let a global pandemic get in the way of real Rotary Fellowship.
We continue our weekly meeting virtually! There will not be an in person meeting this week but we sure would love to see your smiling face when you join us online! Stay tuned for updates next week as we prepare to meet in person at Brookside Country Club on Thursday, September 10, 2020. We will be sure to offer our members to join in virtually as well.
Please use the link below to join us this Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 7:30 a.m.
We still encourage you to invite a virtual guest to help introduce Rotary to someone who could make a great Rotarian. Simply share the link provided in the red section below with your guest. Ask them to please sign in as - their name (guest of) - in the name field so we know who they were invited by.
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.
2) Scroll down on the sign in page and you will see the list of recorded meetings under "Public Room Recordings".
3) Click on the blue presentation button of the meeting you'd like to view. 4) Click on the triangle shaped play button at the bottom left of the screen to play the recording.
Last week we were joined by Mark Kuhns of East Penn Neighbors Helping Neighbors. What is EPNHN and how are they making our community stronger? This grass roots, Emmaus based 501(c)3 non-profit organization works with dozens of families in our community who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Mark shared the history of how EPNHN came to be, how the program works to give families a hand during a very challenging time in their lives and the success they have shared with these families. By visiting their website http://www.epnhn.org/home.html I gathered some key points to share with you.
Their mission:
"To serve these families through multi-faceted short-term assistance in order to help restore and sustain healthy, independent living."
How they do it:
" After an initial assessment to identify the needs of a family, a family is welcomed into the temporary transitional housing and registered EPNHN Volunteers with the skills to help meet the family’s needs will be contacted and asked to work as part of a support team assigned to the family. Regular meetings with the family will be coordinated by a case manager who will be assigned to be the single point of contact for the case. It is difficult to anticipate the length of time each family will require the temporary housing and the help of each member of the support team, but a plan with timelines will be written when the case opens. This model is proving successful, having helped transition three families thus far into places of greater independence!"
How you can help:
"Volunteers are also needed to provide professional services pro-bono or at a reduced rate, including (but not limited to) career counseling, budgeting, financial planning, debt reduction, addressing outstanding tax issues, securing affordable housing, relationship and family systems counseling, parenting and/or marriage skill development, medical and dental care, addressing mental health and addiction issues, nutrition and fitness help, and automotive sales and repair. If you are interested in volunteering to help by providing a professional service, please contact us!"
Take a few minutes to check out their website and learn about the assistance they provide. May we never take for granted the beds tuck our children into at night, the meals on our plates, and the place we call home. Thank you East Penn Neighbors Helping Neighbors for the tireless work you do to give families and their children solid ground to build a limitless future upon.
Pass along to friends, family, business owners and golfers.
Remember that for this year only we’re offering special COVID pricing. Any support will be greatly appreciated.
Raffle tickets are now available! See Eric Loch or Don Blose to purchase yours and/or to help sell tickets.
Raffle tickets are only $50 per ticket! ONLY 300 to be sold! 1st Prize - A solid 14kt Yellow Gold Bangle Bracelet with .50ctw Diamonds! A $4,700 value!
2nd Prize - $1,000 Gift Card for State Store Alcohol!
It is time to reserve your bottle for the Fellowship Virtual Wine Tasting Night.
Friday, August 28th at 7:00 p.m.
BE SURE TO PICK YOU BOTTLES UP BY FRIDAY AT 6PM. READ BELOW.
The Emmaus Rotary Fellowship Committee will be hosting another Virtual Wine Tasting featuring our favorite wine experts, Joe Pugliese, Alicia Ruiz-Orbin, Mike Orbin and Dina Zayaitz.
They will coach us on how to taste the wine, we will score it, and compare our evaluation of the wine as a group using the American Wine Society scoring sheet. Please use the score sheet pdf link here.
This will be simple tasting focusing on a specific wine from Scout & Cellar.
The wine of choice for the tasting is: 2019 Gallivant Bubbly White Wine, North Coast California.
(A refreshing choice for this time of year.)
Reserve your bottle today to participate!
We have pre-ordered 24 bottles for sign ups to this tasting.
The cost is only $24.00 a bottle (cash or check written to Emmaus Rotary Club)
To sign up to reserve your bottle and participate in this Fellowship Event you must email Meghan Reed at MeghanReed517@gmail.com.
Those who have reserved bottles can pick them up at Eric J. Loch Diamond Jewelers August 24th-28th between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Please have your payment ready at time of pick up.
A Zoom Meeting Link will be sent out to those who have signed up prior to the event. If you've already signed up no need to email again. We have you confirmed.
Many Thanks to Dina as the commission she makes from our purchase of this wine and commission from future wine sales through this event will be donated back to The Emmaus Rotary East Penn Food Packing Program.
Our last virtual tasting was a ton of fun! It was a great way to catch up with friends and have a lot of laughs together.
For all the wine lovers out there, here is a way to give back. Do you need to stock up on wine? Do you have gifts to buy and not sure what to get? Here is a great way to raise funds for the Food Insecure Children of East Penn School District.
All wine profits made during the month of July, will be given to the Emmaus Rotary Club's Food Packing Program. That’s right, all profits made on all sales will go back to the Rotary!
What is Scout & Cellar – it’s a Clean-Crafted Wine, free from chemicals and added sugars. It’s grown naturally, bottled consciously and packed sustainable making it better tasting and better for our planet. Best part, it can be delivered straight to your door. To learn more and order your wine go to www.scoutandcellar.com/dczayaitz.
Thank you to Ai Orthodontics for their absolutely incredible generosity! Dr. Aejaaz A. Issa and his team have donated $3,000 to the Emmaus Rotary Club, East Penn Food Program, Go Fund Me campaign. This kindness has brought us to 25% of our current fundraising goal for the program. Many thanks to Karen Hobson for sharing the Go Fund Me campaign with Dr. Issa. Ai Orthodontics has been a huge supporter of Emmaus Rotary. We are very grateful for community business partners like Ai Orthodontics who lead through service above self.
Does this inspire you to give? Start YOUR team! Since we started in July we have raised $4,255 of our $10,000 Go Fund Me Campaign goal to support The Emmaus Rotary Club, East Penn Food Program. As I have written before, it is important that our Club Members get involved in sharing this campaign so that we can reach our goal of $10,000. Donating and sharing is VERY easy and with just a few seconds a week, together we will make our goal! (If you need instructions on how to donate follow the steps in the read more section on how you can donate and share)
SHARING IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR THIS CAMPAIGN TO GAIN MOMENTUM. Creating your own fundraising page as part of the campaign is a great way to invite your family, friends, co-workers, clients, and others to join you in our mission to help feed hungry children!
How to do it:
1) Click the blue JOIN button.
2) Sign in - follow the prompts to create an account or log in with Facebook if you have one.
3) Click the blue JOIN THE TEAM button. This will automatically make you a member of the team. Regardless of donation amount. You can donate whatever amount you'd like even $10 puts us closer to our goal. EVERY single dollar matters! You can create a team without donating (I tested this on my husband's cell phone to join the team it took 5 second to do) The goal here is create a page to engage your network and share the information to attract donors.
4) Now share your link! You can share multiple ways. Facebook, Twitter or copy your link and past it into an email to go out to your clients, workplace, family, friends, and other organizations your a member of. Remember to share often on your social media pages! Please consider creating a team for your business.
It's that simple. An easy way for "People of Action" like us to....well...take action!
If you need help with how to share you may reach out to me and I will do my very best to walk you through it or think of some creative ways you can help spread the word.
I have included an email that I sent out to another board that I sit on. Feel free to use it! Just click "read more" below.
If you have questions on how to use Go Fund Me please contact Meghan Reed 610-797-5942 / meghanreed517@gmail.com THANK YOU!!
The 3rd Annual Motorcycle Poker Run is postponed until next year. Our Hope was to raise $7500 to give to Tails of Valor, a 501c3 organization which raises and trains dogs for veterans suffering from PTSD or other service-related illnesses or injuries.
Although the event is not happening this year, several donors and sponsors have elected to make a donation anyway. If you would like to make a donation, please send a check made payable to “Emmaus Rotary Club Foundation”, add a memo of “Tails of Valor”, and mail it to the following address. We will present a single check to Tails of Valor in late August.
ERCF c/o Joe Pugliese P.O. Box 98 East Texas, PA 18046-0098
On Thursday, July 30 we are installing an engraved brick at the Emmaus Remembrance Garden for Rotarian Jerry Friedman. Those interested in attending will meet at the Remembrance Garden at 9:00 a.m. for a short ceremony where we meet any of Jerry's family who may be in attendance, say a few words of remembrance about Jerry and install his brick in the Rotary walkway area. This typically takes 15-20 minutes and all Rotarians are invited to attend. A special thanks to Bob Halsey for coordinating this gathering.
The Emmaus Remembrance Garden is located at 150 E. Main Street, Emmaus, PA 18049
69,000 of our neighbors in the Lehigh Valley are predicted to go hungry this year. Help them with your garden, one pound at a time!
It is almost the end of the growing season in our gardens. Tony Moyer continues to collect your Plant A Row produce donations on Thursdays. You can drop off your donations at Willow Lane Elementary School by 4:00 pm. (6135 Sauerkraut Lane, Macungie, PA 18062) Please simply leave your bagged and freshly washed veggies at the front door of the school. All of food collected goes to the 6th St. Shelter.
If you'd like to bring your donations to our in person meetings, Sue Wenner has volunteered to serve with Tony on the Plan A Row Collection Committee and would be happy to drop off our weekly collections to the school after our meeting. If you have any questions please contact Tony at anmoyer1229@yahoo.com
Thank you Tony and Sue for volunteering!
To learn more about Plant A Row continue reading...
Weekly Door Prize Donations Needed! Be our next meeting's prize sponsor!
It seems like we all like the idea of winning a festive prize at our meetings (in person or online). We have had some very generous and fun donations over the past few months since incorporating this new aspect to our meetings. Many thanks to all who have donated a prize! It is a nice way to give back to each other while doing some low-key networking for your business. In the wake of the Corona Virus now more than ever it's important to show the local businesses in our community we care and support them. They have shown us support with raffle donations and sponsorships throughout the years. Consider purchasing a $20.00 gift card from one of the many small businesses in the East Penn Area. As we know every little bit helps. It's also a great way to start a conversation about Rotary and invite business owners and managers to a club meeting. Please contact Meghan Reed for more information about our weekly door prizes and how you can be help!
Upcoming Committee Meetings: Consider holding a virtual meeting to stay in touch and on task with your committee!
(Does your committee have an upcoming meeting? Let Meghan know and we will list it here)
Rotary and Beyond:
If you are participating in a fundraiser outside of Rotary and would like help spreading the word to our club members please contact Meghan Reed. It may be eligible to run in our new section in the Trumpet called "Rotary and Beyond". It will cost $2.00 (Happy Dollars) each time you'd like to run the information in the Trumpet. To have the information posted in the Trumpet you must be an active committee member or board member of the non-profit organization facilitating the activity outside of Rotary participation. The $2.00 entry may be given to Meghan at a club meeting. Contact Meghan with any questions.
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
