The bittersweet last meeting of my Presidency. We are a family, sometimes we are a little dysfunctional, however, the love, commitment and the focus on a common good trumps all of these familiar qualities. I had the most amazing year being the President of our club. I learned a lot of things, I had a lot of help from everyone and grew as a Rotarian. From the executive committee which helped formulate ideas to the Board who tried to keep me on the straight and narrow we had fun. We did an amazing amount of work this year for our community from helping out with Das Auch Fest, the car show, Emmaus Halloween Parade both in it and cleaning up after it, the Miracle (thank you Uncle Bob Halsey) League, helping the 3 families at Christmas from our school district, working together as Area 1 partners with Second Harvest Food Bank, planning how to feed the East Penn Students this summer and on and on. We are a group of like minded individuals that come together once a week to be educated either on another Rotarian (classification talk) or on a charitable group trying to make their common goal known and asking for our help.
We do have some differences, but I am glad to say for the most part we can work through them and remain a family. The Rotary family is unlike any other family. You will find (if you look hard enough) a Rotarian almost everywhere you go either in this country or another. We are everywhere, 1.25 Million strong.
I am very proud of our family, we work hard together, we play hard and we get things accomplished. Thank you to each and everyone of you for participating in our club for this Rotary year. Thank you to the best board ever, the best group of hard working volunteers I have ever had the pleasure of serving with and continue to serve with. 2018-19 was very good and we get to give Steve a gift of 95 people that want to help him continue on this journey of Service Above Self.
Next week is the fourth of July, enjoy the moment, remember what the day is all about and then embrace your individual families and thank them for being a part of your life. We are all truly blessed in one way or another and for that I give thanks. Enjoy, and I will see you in the next Rotary year when on July 18th our new President will give his first quarterly club assembly.
Please plan to attend our Changeover Ceremony to Pass the Gavel at our regular morning meeting on Thursday, June 27, 2019. During the meeting you will be invited to stand before the assembly in order of your service.
We thank you for your service to our club, the community, and to District and Rotary International.
Save the date and join us for the Emmaus Rotary Recognition and President's Dinner at Bear Creek Mountain Resort on Thursday evening June 27th from 5:30 to about 7:30 PM This is an evening to build better friendships, eat good food and have a chance to celebrate the 2018-2019 Emmaus Rotary Year under the leadership or Rick Zayaitz. Spouses or significant others are encouraged to attend.
The price will be $25/per person; includes hors d'ouerves, dinner (Pronto Buffet), dessert, coffee, tea, water, iced tea and lemonade. There will be a cash bar.
Please RSVP to Jeff McElhaney at jeff.mcelhaney@edwardjones.com. Note who is attending with you. You can make checks payable to 'Jeff McElhaney' and mail to Jeff McElhaney, 16 S. 4th St, Emmaus, PA 18049, or send cash.
Agenda:
5:30 - Social Hour - Hors d'ouervers & Cash Bar
6:20 - Welcome and Invocation
6:30 - Dinner - Pronto Buffet (Salad, meatballs, penne alla Vodka, White Wine Chicken, Portobello Mushroom Raviolli, Bread, Cannolis, Cheesecake)
Calling all Motorcycle Riders! Enjoy a fun Poker Run for a good cause, then head back to Blackman's Cycle Center for BBQ Lunch and Beer. Performance by the dynamic duo James Supra and Sara Ayers!!! Only $20 to register to ride the Poker Run, $15 for non-riders. Event is hosted by Emmaus Rotary and Blackman's Cycle Center, and sponsored by New Tripoli Bank. Proceeds benefit Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor-- Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD and TBI.
Jennifer Lomastro, the program director, and Alicia Pramile, the administrative assistant, from Manito Life Center came to Emmaus Rotary's regular Thursday morning meeting on June 20, 2019 at the invitation of Rotarian Eric Loch whose spouse An Loch is a regular volunteer at the Center which is located 1 mile north of the Target store on Cedar Crest Boulevard.
The 4 beat gait of a horse is recognized by the human brain in ways that are healing and strengthen the core muscles. Individuals from 2 years to 82 years old have been on therapeutic horse rides at the Center.
"We see miracles every day," said Lomastro after showing a video which was full of smiles and inspiration. With the help of trained volunteers individuals with autism, cognitive disabilities and physical limitations mount, ride and participate in group equine assisted activities. Some participants have progressed to competitions elsewhere.
Data is being collected as the research on this particular therapy is new. Lomastro described one special horse named Raven who alerts when a rider is going to have a seizure.
There is an on-going need for volunteers and Rotarian Christina Price stood right up and asked to be counted on.
The Center's major fundraiser is at Gala at Bell Gate FArms in Coopersburg coming up on August 21st, and everyone present was invited to the party. The Center is auctioning off a trip for two to the Kentucky Derby in the Spring of 2020.
DG Cindy Hornaman gave our club a wonderful announcement this past week----As a result of our District Conference this year and the great concert we had on Saturday night at Symphony Hall and some grant monies, the clubs that participated in the conference are going to receive in excess of $25,000!
Additionally our Rotarians collected over 650 pounds of food for Second Harvest Food Bank. We will donate $1,000 to Second Harvest. The REALLY GOOD NEWS: Our Emmaus Rotarians had the most members in attendance at the conference so we are going to receive $5026.52 to utilize towards our East Penn Hunger Project.
Many thanks to Geoff Boyer for his many years of service to keep the Rotary gateway sign at the Emmaus Weis Market looking great with new flowers, weeding, watering and whatever has to be done. A true example of Service Above Self.
Emmaus Rotary Club dues are $220 per year or $110 per half year. The Club Secretary sends a statement of dues due in mid-May. They are due to be paid by June 15. Please pay them in a timely fashion by mailing the check to Jim or giving him your check at a meeting. For May 16 and May 23, give your checks to Craig Reber as Jim Palmquist will miss those meetings.
A few Rotarians have already paid the $110 upcoming dues. I will send them an email saying they do not owe dues this six months and I will not send them a statement.
If you prefer a paper dues statement, you can pick them up in mid-May at the sign in table along with a self-addressed envelope to mail the check to Jim.
Please bring any used children’s books k-3 and 3-5 to our Rotary meetings for the next 4 weeks. These books will be used and donated as a part of our Feeding East Penn School District summer reading and food program at Lincoln Elementary School. Sal Verrastro will collect them for us and our club will be distributing them to needy children in the East Penn School District.
How to earn a Perfect Attendance Pin each Rotary year [July 1 through June 30]
If you have to miss a regular weekly meeting of our Club, you can make up for that absence within 14 days before or after the meeting by following the options described below. Members do not have to make up for times when our Club does not meet.
How to Make Up a Meeting at Another Club
You can get credit for attending the meeting of another Rotary Club, anywhere in the world. It’s easy. Here are the steps:
Identify another club you would like to attend and find out when and where it meets.
To get meeting locations, times and days of the week clubs meet around the world, consult the Rotary International web site, www.rotary.org, and click on the “Club Finder” button near the top of the screen. Or download the app ‘Rotary Club Locator’.
When you arrive at the meeting place of the club you are visiting, ask for a makeup card to verify your attendance at the meeting. You should expect to pay the cost of your meal at that club meeting.
At the next meeting of our Club, give the makeup card to our Club Secretary or just mail it to the Club Secretary. If you fail to obtain a card, our Secretary will accept your word; just give a written report/email when and where you made up the meeting.
NOTE: If you attempt to make up a meeting at another club and find that for some reason the club is not meeting at its regular place and time, you can still be credited with a makeup. Just explain the situation to the Club Secretary in writing.
There are other ways of making up a meeting, too:
• Attending a Rotary International or District Convention, assembly, or District committee meeting.
• Attending a Board meeting of our Club, or formal Club Committee meeting.
• Attending and participating in a board-authorized Club service project or a Club-sponsored community event or meeting, excluding social events like pancake suppers, hockey events, etc.
• Attending e-club meetings. E-clubs are on-line meetings/makeup opportunities that don’t involve attending an online meeting but usually involve up to an hour of reading/writing and typically a fee similar to what we pay for an ERC meeting. E-clubs can be found online and some examples are:
It is the member’s responsibility to keep track of their meeting makeups and be sure someone sent the Secretary their makeup information. The Club Secretary records makeups received every week but is not responsible to monitor which meetings members have missed.
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