Dear Fellow Rotarians,
It looks like I get to put another item on my list of improbable, implausible “I can’t make this up” things. Well, it happened twice. So, 2 checkmarks?
In the last two novels that I read individuals - men-- were described as being Rotarians. In all fairness, the writers were using that as a stereotype to say that they were generous, community-spirited leaders.
The first occurrence irritated me as it was anachronistic. The novel was set in a time period before Paul Harris first invited others to join him in moving from one office to another’s office for meetings to plan ways to advance the ideals of fellowship, peace, and service. In the interest of building goodwill and better friendships, I decided to give the author’s editorial staff a pass, a bye. After all, we are in March Madness and all the brackets are broken!
The second time it happened in a murder mystery set in a cold upstate New York winter. The young man was described as shaking hands like he was at a Rotary meeting. Again, I reached for the higher ground. One of the things I like is that there are no secret handshakes, passwords, or offices in Rotary. In pre-pandemic times, the handshake of a Rotarian meant “I am open, dependable and trustworthy. You can count on me.” We continue to greet the world with openness and sincerity. And while we wait for those longed-for post-pandemic times, our smiling eyes and service projects will send the same message.
And that is exactly what Emmaus Rotarians are striving for-- to make a lasting change in our world, our communities, and ourselves. Even while some of our local and international service projects are on hold because of Covid19, we continue each week to give out bags of food to students and families facing hunger in the East Penn School District. In mid-April, we will be packing kits with clothing and supplies for the men at the Allentown Rescue Mission during a regular breakfast meeting. You can look at the Trumpet for details of items you can obtain for packing and ways to join in that day even if you attend the meeting using Vox Tandem.
Please remember that all of our service projects are funded in part from grants awarded through the Rotary Foundation, funds we raise, and goods we obtain. If service is the work of the body called Rotary, then the Rotary Foundation is the heart that pumps dollars into those projects. While the **EREY table is staffed at Brookside meetings for members’ convenience, you can also write a check to the Rotary Foundation and Bill Erdman will be glad to post it for you. Some people are now using direct deposit! And, Bill can help you set that up, too.
Now. Some breaking news. Some good news. I have heard from Rick Zayatiz and Cindy Hornaman that we have been awarded a $3,500 grant from the Sylvia Perkins Trust toward our anticipated bill of $20,000 for food to feed local families. How sweet it is. Thank you. Thank you.
There is a regularly scheduled monthly board meeting this Thursday, March 25th immediately following our morning meeting. Everyone is invited to join whether in person or on Vox Tandem. I will be emailing out the agenda Wednesday afternoon. Committee leaders who can not be present may send me an email update.
As always-- keep reading your Trumpet as there are many moving parts in Emmaus Rotary and keep wearing your masks, mainta those social distances and, use your hand sanitizers-- stay healthy. And let me ask, what are you reading?
Yours in Service,
Lexa Shallcross
Emmaus Rotary President, 2020-2021
**EREY is short for Every Rotarian, Every Year as each of us is asked to contribute a minimum of $100 toward the Rotary Foundation annually. And the trick here is that the Rotary year goes from July 1st to June 30th. So it is time to check what your level of giving is. Historically, the giving of Emmaus Rotary has been outstanding and most members meet that EREY goal.