This week, I was reminded several times of how powerfully Rotary has pivoted to meet the time we find ourselves in as we face the Covid19 pandemic. Let me give you several examples. The first two happened just last Friday:
On October 9th, Rotarians, their family, friends and co-workers gathered to move 16 pallets of food from Bethel Bible Fellowship to Faith Presbyterian. The move went quickly. We were done by noon and enjoyed pizza together.
We thank Bethel Church and Beth Lorah, head of the Groceries PLUS food bank which is supported by the community for months of hospitality. As they open back up, they needed their space freed for an afterschool program. We look forward to continuing to partner with them. In September, we handed out 432 bags of food to East Penn School District students.
Faith Presbyterian, also a member of the East Penn Food Coalition, has dedicated space for our need to store and pack food for distribution. Special thanks to Eric Loch, Mike Irwin, Gary Rohrbach, Rich Jensen (from the LV Passport Club), Alan Fornwalt, Chris Blechschmidt (form Allentown West), Joe Pugliese and his Son, Rick Zayaitz and 4 co-workers, Sue Wenner and her Son, Chad Stuckey, Courtney Kennedy, Gordon Reese, Craig Reber, Karen Hobson, Cindy and Chris Hornaman, and myself (photographer). I counted 7 trucks!
Later Friday evening, I got a text message from our Vice-president Meghan Reed who had been on the virtual fund-raising event for Shelter Box. "They raised over 40k over the past month and tonight!" she said. This includes $2,000 toward Shelter Box from Emmaus Rotary. As we texted a little longer, I thought of the virtual Purple Pinkie's Race to Zero and felt confident our District will also make that fundraiser a success. I am walking on Past District Governor Cindy's team this Saturday, October 17th. Maybe you can join us or make a pledge.
As I closed my eyes later that night, I recalled another zoom type meeting of all the Presidents in our area held on Saturday morning, October 3, 2020. We shared our challenges and successes and best practices. TWO -2- clubs during this time have each added FIVE -5- new members. Wow! And I thought, "Just tell Rotarians that something is difficult or hard and they will come together to make a difference."
Friendly reminder! We have resumed monthly non-perishable food collections and monetary donations.
We will be collecting food for the needy at our Rotary meeting This week, Thursday April 1st. Share what you can!
If you tune in virtually you can donate by using the Venmo app and sending donations to @DonBlose with a note that the donation is intended for “food for the needy”. Monetary donations help the food band purchase perishable foods like milk, eggs, and bread.
Items in need: canned fruit, canned soups, cereals, peanut butter/jelly, anything with a long shelf life
Let me extend my appreciation to last week’s presenters at our Club Assembly. There is a bubble of new things rising and I am sure it is not the last time you will hear from them:
Mike Waddell, “Czar” for the Fundraising Oversight Committee
Eric Loch and Sue Wenner for the Flag Subscription initiative
Sal Verrastro and friends for the Cornhole Tournament
Wade George for the UPutt Minature Golf Tournament
and
Roger Whitcomb and Gary Rohrbach
for the Centennial Celebration Planning Committee
I welcomed the question about whether or not the money we raised was being spent on outreach and projects that match our priorities or just accumulating in our bank account. This week, Jeff McElhaney, past President, will be our presenter to help us understand the long-term plan to build up an endowment fund for the scholarships we award graduating Interact students at Emmaus High School. Going forward, I hope to have a similar look at the Emmaus Rotary Club Foundation. Mario Cozzubbo is the Treasurer.
The families of both Bob Halsey and Paul Sarver have directed that gifts may be given in their name using the Emmaus Rotary Club Foundation for scholarships and feeding hungry East Penn Students, respectively. Both of these Rotarians did some pre-planning to further our outreach.
This week, I wrote a letter on behalf of Emmaus Rotary supporting the Emmaus Creative Arts and Innovation Center’s (now popularly known as JuxtaHub) request for a million-dollar federal grant. Our $10,000 grant money (which includes a match from District funds and Rotary International) is at hand and the current timeline is to install an accessible bathroom in their building within the next few months.
Both the Emmaus and Macungie Ambulance Corps have sent Emmaus Rotary thank you letters for the grant money we were able to forward to them for use obtaining PPE for their crews during this pandemic.
An Update:
Our outreach crew mobilized to eliminate food insecurity in the East Penn School District has found a new location. As we leave our digs at Bethel Bible Fellowship Church with gratitude for their hospitality, we look forward to a similar, strong working relationship with the staff and congregation at Faith Presbyterian Church which is tucked into a far corner of Emmaus. Here in the Trumpet, you can find more information about how you can help with the 3-day move! and with on-going packing and distribution. We are now handing out over 150 bags each week. Speak to Rick Zayaitz or Cindy Hornaman.
And one last little request:
Join the fun. Register for this year’s virtual Purple Pinkie, Race to Zero: Lets End Polio event on Saturday, October 24th. Sign up to be on Past District Governor Cindy Hornaman’s team for the walk (masked and socially distanced) to raise money. And, please, consider sponsoring your President who will be joining our club’s team on our walk along the Little Lehigh.
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.
WE HAVE GOOD NEWS-- WE HAVE FOUND A NEW PLACE FOR STORING AND PACKING THE FOOD FOR OUR EAST PENN FOOD PROGRAM! FAITH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN EMMAUS HAS OFFERED US THE SPACE AND WISHES TO HAVE A LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP WITH US.
WE NEED TO START MOVING OUR SUPPLIES OUT OF BETHEL CHURCH. PLEASE PLEASE HELP IF YOU CAN-- WE NEED SOME MEMBERS WITH TRUCKS, VANS AND SPACE TO HAUL THE PALLETS( WE HAVE 16 PALLETS OF FOOD PLUS MORE)
WEAR A MASK-- AND WE WILL STAY SOCIALLY DISTANCED AS WE WALK FOR POLIO.
PLEASE REGISTER BY FOLLOWING THE LINK BELOW AND SCROLL DOWN TO THE EMMAUS ROTARY CLUB TEAM.-- CLICK ON THE DONATE BUTTON WHEN YOU SEE THE EMMAUS TEAM INFO- FILL IN THE INFO-- AND YOU ARE IN
IF YOU CAN NOT WALK AND WOULD STILL LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE AND SPONSOR OUR TEAM -- PLEASE ALSO REGISTER BELOW. SCROLL TO THE EMMAUS ROTARY CLUB TEAM. CLICK ON THE DONATE BUTTON- FILL IN THE INFO- YOU ARE IN
The Emmaus Rotary Fellowship Committee thanks all who came out to enjoy building goodwill and better friendships together at Pumpkin Painting Day on Sunday, October 25th.
Also many thanks to Aldi Grocery Store, Trexlertown for donating the pumpkins!
Paul Sarver is missed by many of our Club members. Below is Paul’s obituary where you can see how much Emmaus Rotary and the friendships he made had meant to him. If you have a fond memory and condolences to share please use the link below to send them to his family. They will surely appreciate the support.
Paul H. Sarver Sr. died at home on Sept. 29, 2020, after a long illness. He was the husband of Katherine S. (Schnauffer) Sarver. Born in Buffalo, NY, he was the son of the late Jack and Floris (Dunkelman) Sarver. He was a graduate of Syracuse University and received a MBA from Harvard University. Paul was an entrepreneur who enjoyed challenging adventures in many venues. His favorite was creating a business which included his two sons. He was a member of St. Anne's Episcopal Church, Trexlertown. Paul was an active member of the Emmaus Rotary Club, Harvard Club of New York, and the Sherwood Forest Club, Annapolis, MD. He loved antiquing, was a history buff, avid collector, and loved spending time with his family at his summer home in Sherwood Forest. Paul is survived by his wife, Katherine; sons, Paul H. Sarver Jr. of Zionsville and West Sarver and wife Jennifer of Zionsville; brothers, Peter Sarver and wife Peggy of Syracuse, NY and John Sarver of East Lansing, MI; grandchildren, Paul III, Grace, Kali, Levin, and Lewes Sarver. Services will be private at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Emmaus Rotary Club Foundation to benefit the East Penn School Coalition, c/o Schantz Funeral Home, P.C., 250 Main St., Emmaus, PA 18049.
On December 16, 1925, fourteen Emmaus residents got together at the Broad Street Hotel and decided to organize a Rotary club—this at the suggestion of one Errol Peters, an Allentown Rotary club member, who would forever be known as the club’s Godfather. March 18, 1926 marked the first official meeting of the club when its charter was presented by District Governor Gilbert Palen. Thus began what would prove to be a meaningful experience for many hundreds of Rotarians over the years.
I have been asked to help lead the club’s efforts over the next few years in getting ready for what we hope will be a bang-up celebration. You may ask: why start now? Having recently served on the Borough of Emmaus’ 250thanniversary celebration committee, I can testify to the need to begin early. Such celebrations typically take place over many months before the actual big day itself arrives. That said, we will need to think about just what we might want to do going forward.
Several things immediately come to mind: First, a club assembly should be held soon, devoted to brainstorming among our members as to your ideas about what sorts of activities could well be included in the celebration.
Second, this would then lead to identifying volunteers to serve on an initial organizing committee. Using the Emmaus celebration planning as an example, there would undoubtedly be a myriad of subcommittees coming out of the woodwork later on as the club works out its approach.
Third, we must begin now identifying and documenting the club’s records and artifacts going all the way back to 1926. Indeed, Gary Rohrbach and I have begun doing just that. We spent several hours this past week in the basement of the Edward Jones offices on the Emmaus Triangle, going through lots of material, including old Trumpets, board minutes, committee reports, club fundraising activities, etc. It has been fascinating with several historical jewels popping up. But we are sure there must be other club records/artifacts out there in one or another location. If any of you either have something or know someone who does, let us know, so that we can collect it and store everything in one place.
It was a nice coincidence that last week out Club meeting program was brought to us by Emmaus Main Street Partners, a Council of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The Emmaus Main Street Partners strive to improve the quality of life and the economic vitality of a vibrant and active Emmaus community through collaborative efforts among business owners, residents, volunteers, and other partners.
Our very own Ashley Lorah, Emmaus Main Street Manager/AVP of Affiliated Chambers was joined by Jessica O’Donnell EVP Affiliated Chambers to discuss the initiatives of Emmaus Main Street Partners. I asked Ashley what key take aways would be most valuable for our members to know about EMSP.
Their partnership with the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce has increased the reach and exposure businesses and organizations (like Rotary) have through membership. For example social media reach, the “Day in the Life of Emmaus” videos, and radio interviews with WDIY “On Every Main Street” series.
EMSP works with Emmaus Borough to implement events and initiatives like the Veterans Banners project, movies in the park, music in the park and more.
EMSP has a Business Development Committee that meets regularly to define the needs of the business districts and create improvement projects. The BDC committee has received grants from The Chamber’s Main Street Lehigh Valley and worked with Borough on projects such as parking way-finding signage, seasonal banners, and flower planters. The committee also released and distributed a map and guide of Emmaus with a business directory, historical sites and general information for residents and visitors. Check it out here! https://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/uploads/1/1/6/3/116374903/final_digital_copy_emsp_map2__side_1_.jpg
Thank you Ashley and Jess for presenting to our Club and for ALL the hard work and hours you put into helping Emmaus be a great place to do business, work, live and play!
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.
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
The Emmaus Rotary Club embraces, practices and promotes the Rotary International Core Values of Service, Fellowship, Diversity, Integrity and Leadership.
