Dear Fellow Rotarians,
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities,” Albus Dumbledore counsels Harry Potter in the book The Chamber of Secrets. We all have choices of how to spend the morning of Saturday, April 17, 2021. Some of us will go to work. Some will be with family and loved ones. Some will mark Earth Day by joining neighbors and friends at Emmaus Community Park or the Emmaus Remembrance Garden to rake leaves and pick up trash wearing our green “Rotary Works” shirts. And others will be zooming for the District 7430 Training Assembly. I am confident that very few of us will spend the morning sleeping in as we are people of action who value our time and the opportunities we have to serve others.
This week we will have an unusual club meeting as we will all participate in a service project by packing kits for the men served by the Allentown Rescue Mission with the many items we have been collecting-- wallets, socks, soap, toothpaste and brushes, snacks, and more. There are still a few hours left to check the Community Service’s sign-up Genius link to see if there is something you can pick up. I have been thinking ahead about what I might want to say in the cards of encouragement we will be including. I don’t want to sound sappy or dorky!
The momentum to make our first-ever combined Cornhole Tournament and Beef n Beer (Bags & Beer) on Sunday, May 23rd from 1 to 5 pm at Gio Italian Grill in Macungie a blow-out success is building up. Buy and sell some tickets! Help identify some sponsors for the free swag like mugs and tee-shirts! Find a partner to play! Join the fun! For tickets, sponsorship opportunities, and info visit: www.ercbnb.com Remember that all the money we raise will go towards the East Penn Food Coalition which is our project to get food to hungry students and families in our school district.
I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer last week’s pop-up quiz in the President’s Message. There were 7 correct answers! And a 3-way tie for first place! Past presidents Steve Gould and Mark Erle were joined by Wade George, co-chair of Membership. All three received a baguette of homemade sourdough bread. Congratulations! The answer was “together” which is the word I used three times and which I believe holds our Rotary magic and power.
Yours in Service,
Lexa Shallcross,
Emmaus Rotary President 2020-2021