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.
EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT IT!! If you haven't heard we are back live at the Brookside Country Club. Vaccinated guests do not need to wear masks inside or outside of the club. Non-vaccinated or partially vaccinated people should continue to wear them inside and outside while moving around the Clubhouse but can remove them when seated. As of next week (June 28th), the mask mandate expires and all guests, vaccinated or non-vaccinated, can retire their masks until our next pandemic.
But as we move slowly towards getting back together in person our meetings will continue to be Hybrid and continue to provide you the meeting virtually.
If you are joining us online, please use the link below to join us this Thursday, at 7:30 AM or sooner if you would like.
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. Pleas ask all guest to 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.
5) Enjoy!
WE ARE GRATEFUL TO ERIC LOCH AND JOHN CHISCA FOR MAKING THE HYBRID MEETINGS POSSIBLE EACH WEEK! And a special thanks to Wade George for helping with the camera and microphone this week.
Coming Soon! This week’s program will set the stage for a member survey that assesses how welcoming we believe we are to visitors and ourselves. This important survey will be coming to everyone in the Club in the next few days. Sal Verrastro and Mike Waddell will make a presentation at this week's meeting that reviews the work of the DEI Committee to date and provides information about the forthcoming survey and how this topic also relates to the new membership initiative that will be rolled out in April…please be there in person or in Vox land!
Last week’s program was a chilling presentation about an international program to facilitate the placement of low-smoke, fuel-efficient, and safe cookstoves in collaboration with local communities of mostly Latin American which will support families and protect the environment.
THEIR MISSION: “We empower local people in Latin America to produce safe, clean-burning cookstoves” .
To date, the StoveTeam group has made safe kitchens a reality for more than half a million people.
AN ENORMOUS PROBLEM: Each year, smoke inhalation from indoor cooking fires kills more people than malaria and AIDS combined. And CO2 emissions from cooking fires are a major contributor to climate change. StoveTeam's innovative model for launching local projects in Latin America has been awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Partnership for Clean Indoor Air Award for Developing Local Markets for creating local employment while improving health and reducing air pollution. To date, local projects started by StoveTeam in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico have produced more than 78,000 stoves, improving the lives of more than half a million people and preventing nearly one million tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.
COOKSTOVES ARE ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE: Each $100 Justa cookstove saves 15 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, equivalent to the average American’s yearly carbon footprint.
There are also over a dozen ways to get involved, plus inspiring stories from the field at stoveteam.org/next-steps
Anyone who would like to write to to the Stove Team can do that at: PO Box 14707, Portland, ORStoveTeam is currently focusing on our Justa stove project in Guatemala.
Their goal is to install 5,000 cookstoves into homes in the next 3 years. They are working on gathering club and district support to fund their efforts and would welcome any support from our club or advice on approaching our district.
TEAM WORK! Last week our club came together as one team for a great Service Project for the Allentown Rescue Mission. We assemble over 60 bags containing items for the men.
All of the items assembled were donated by the members of this fantastic club.
Many thanks to Karen Hobson and Nicole and Nicole Steirer who organized this event.
Don't Forget!!! To celebrate Earth Day the Emmaus / Upper Milford Environmental Environmental Advisory Councils are looking for volunteers to help with Earth Day clean-up. We need you Emmaus Rotarians, friends and family - let's put together some eager teams of volunteers to help with our Earth Day Clean-up - This Saturday, April 17th starting at 8.30 am starting in the Emmaus Community Park. Information, gloves and garbage bags are provided - usually over by 1 pm - SAVE THE DATE !! More information will follow - there will not be a recycle truck this time.
Camp Neidig will be held on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Neidig Chairs from each club should go to www.campneidig.com.
For more information about Camp Neidig and we would like to encourage any high school aged Juniors and Seniors within our district (children or grandchildren) to visit the website using the following link:
To register the club, the chairperson can click on the "2021 Club Registration Page". We are asking for clubs to register by April 15th.
Once the club is registered, they will be sent a link to register their individual students. We are opening the 2021 Camp to both Junior and Senior high school students. This year, the Neidig Chairs from each club need to register their students rather than letting the students do it on their own.
Deadline for camper registration is April 26th.
If the club is not holding a service project on May 1, the Camp Neidig Committee will assign the student to a project near their home address. This and other information can be found in the Club Chairperson Packet.
We would like to share an unfortunate story with the our Rotary Family concerning a past friend of the ERC. Mr. Alex Zarnas of Emmaus was killed last week in a bicycle accident in Lower Macungie Township. Alex is the brother-in-law of Jillian (Lipinsky) Zarnas, a former faculty advisor at the Emmaus High School who built the Emmaus Rotary's Interact Club into one of the largest High School service groups in District 7430. Jillian was awarded a Paul Harris recognition from ERC for her exceptional work on behalf of Rotary. Jillian reported the following statement to past-president Larry Delhagen who reached out to her after learning of Alex's tragic passing:
“And because you were so kind to ask- Mike and I truly don’t need anything but thoughts and prayers. As for his family, he has three small children who are seven, almost five and almost two. His wife is setting up a fund for the children’s future via the funeral home. There’s absolutely no pressure or obligation or expectation, but should anyone ask you from rotary, contributions may be made in the name of “Amanda K. Zarnas“ to the funeral home below. Thanks Larry”
Our Emmaus Rotary Club Virtual 4-Way Speech Contest took place on February 17th. Congratulations to our three talented EHS contestants who were Olivia Pinocci-Wrightsman, Maeve Yanes, and Emily Deneen. Many thanks to our Emmaus Rotary Club's speech contest volunteers included Rick Zaiyatz, Sue Straeter, Lexa Shallcross, Roger Whitcomb, Mike Waddell, and Cindy Hornaman.
Now the Contest move to the Regional Level where Tony Moyer could use some assistance. The Regional Contest date has changed and is now slated for April 7th at 4 PM
One of the best ways to have a successful club is to grow your club. As your club membership grows you will be able to provide additional services. The more services a club does the more successful it becomes. So let me give you an idea to increase membership during these unusual times.
It is important to remember that every person you talk to is a potential member. Ask them to visit your club or come to help with a project. You will be pleasantly surprised when that person says ‘I have been looking for some way togive back…’ I have done this many times with great success.
Look, I will be the first to admit it is more difficult when you can’t meet face to face. So, here is your challenge. Pick up the phone and call just one person that you think would make a good Rotarian. Just One! You may be amazed by the response.
Don’t forget the Rotary Rebound incentive; every new member you sign up before May 1st will earn your club $100.00.
So, S.T.A.R.T. Now! Pick up the phone andSimply Talk About Rotary Today
Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab Centers, located in both Fountain Hill and Allentown, is looking to our Rotary Community to help brighten the day of some residents who have been unable to have visitors or social programming for many months. Inspirational and nonreligious cards and or letters along with Valentine greetings too, would be a welcomed addition to everyone’s day. Please sign your correspondence “from an Emmaus Rotarian” or feel free to just sign your name. The dedicated staff at Cedarbrook would also enjoy notes as well !! Mail all items to the attention of Kerry Magliane, Cedarbrook Senior Care & Rehab., 350 S. Cedarbrook Road, Allentown, PA 18104. Thank you all for your kind attention.
Lehigh Valley Health Network also announcing mass vaccination drive-through event on May 12 at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom
On Wednesday, May 5, LVHN will begin accepting walk-ins without an appointment for the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine for everyone 16 and older at all COVID-19 vaccine locations. (Note: Anyone under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to get vaccinated.) Those who already received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine will receive the second Moderna dose at these sites. COVID-19 vaccinations provided by LVHN are free. Pfizer vaccine has emergency use authorization (EUA) for people ages 16 and older, while Moderna has EUA for people ages 18 and older.
Many thanks to our own Bob Goehler for this information.
As you all know the Emmaus Rotary leads the establishment of the East Penn Food Coalition along with other community service groups to meet hunger needs in the East Penn School District Community.
We have reached a critical point to fund the East Penn Food Coalition, Feed East Penn Students Program. We currently serve over 200 children a week and need your help to raise money to continue to feed hungry kids in our community.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are seeking business, grants, and individual donations to support over $20,000 in need.
You can provide help for our neighbors in need in the following ways:
If you are interested in being part of this group, please let us know. Thanks to all of those who have contributed thus far.
We can all work together to help the families in our own East Penn Community.
Lastly, we also need your help in sharing our mission with your friends, family and colleagues. Here are quick and easy ways to participate in crowd funding.
Share the link on your social media pages. (Share on your own page and in groups you belong to)
Email your contact list.
If you own a business share with your clients via email or social media.
Rotary Fellowships Month - Make New Friends Around the World
Rotary Fellowships Month - June is designated as “Rotary Fellowships Month” by the RI Board to recognize the importance of international fellowship and good will among Rotarians with similar recreational interests, vocations, and health and medical issue-oriented interests, to promote increased participation in fellowships and increase understanding of this program. The RI Board encourages fellowships groups to highlight activities through projects, activities, and events in celebration of “Rotary Fellowships Month” in June.
“Fellowship is wonderful; it illuminates life’s pathway, spreads good cheer, and is worth high price.”
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
