What a wonderful blur this week has been! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve Emmaus Rotary as your President. So many of you have graciously guided and mentored me. Please - don't stop. I am still pedaling down the road on a bike with training wheels!
First, I want to give a big shout out to Team Resilience-- headed by Steve Gould with support and back up from John Chisca, Don Blose and Mike Waddell. These four got our meetings on-line and kept us going. Team Resilience mobilized at least 24 Rotarians to pack and distribute food bags each week to East Penn School District students and their families. Cindy Hornaman and Rick Zayatiz have been spearheading this on-going effort which includes a major fundraising push and our first GoFundMe campaign, designed by Meghan Reed and "Buskar Mom" Courtney Kennedy.
Do all these masked Rotarians also wear capes and tights?
Team Resilience took stock of where we were, strengthened and relied on our bonds of fellowship, and then practiced our core value of "Service above Self". We have set a good trajectory. Let's continue to assess how we can move forward in this time of global pandemic and during our national quest to live into the fullness of our founding documents which state all people are created equally. We can start by revamping what has worked in the past and by trying out new ideas. Stay tuned as a process is being designed for Emmaus Rotary to brainstorm!
This Thursday morning, we will meet again at Brookside Country Club. If you feel comfortable and healthy, grab your mask and come. This is a Club Assembly and we will be looking at goals and plans for the Rotary year 2020-2021. The meeting will also be live on our channel on VoxTandem. You can find the link to that live meeting here in the Trumpet.
Admittedly, as I sit here and write my final President’s Message, I am reflecting with many thoughts and emotions. This past year has been such an incredible ride. Ups, Downs, All Arounds! And even though it wasn’t the typical Rotary year, no words can express the pride I feel to have served such an amazing Rotary Club. It was a year where we all came together, defined our roles as community leaders and extended our Service Above Self to the world. I have truly enjoyed the positions I have served to get to this point. I have grown in so many ways and I have you to thank for that.
Thank you to the Executive Committee, Lexa Shallcross, Mike Waddell and Meghan Reed for your consistent and tireless support. You guys truly made me learn the meaning of team. Thank you to the Board of Directors, Ceil Birdsell, Valerie Deneen, Eric Loch and Sal Verrastro for helping us guide the year through so many changes and important decisions to make our club stronger.
Thank you to Chris Wills and Jim Palmquist. Our club would not be what it is without you two. I learned first-hand this year how much time behind the scenes you two spend to your commitment to Emmaus Rotary.
Thank you to Don Blose. Your wit and persistence to keep everyone smiling by digging into their pockets is priceless and so important. I never thought Dale’s shoes could be filled and right now he is trying to figure out why his shoes are so loose!
Thank you to Rick Zayaitz who I could write an entire book of thanks! Following your foot-steps as the Immediate Past President was a true honor. Your friendship is like no other and I love you like family.
Thank you to our Committee Chairs Bill Erdman, Cindy Hornaman, Nicole Steirer, Karen Hobson, J.P. Raynock, Rick Zayaitz, Rose Galeano-Phillips, John Chisca, Eileen Prokop, David Dunn, Meghan Reed, Ashley Lorah, John Zayaitz, Mario Cozzubbo, Mark Erle, Alicia Ruiz-Orbin, Valerie Deneen, Tony Moyer and Eric Loch. You all executed your committees with style and passion.
Thank you to Ralph Lewis for collecting food for the needy. Thank you for those who were able to meet my challenge to bring 1 guest this year. Thank you to the new members that joined this year. The list goes on and on because all of you have supported our club one way or another. A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE! It is such a rewarding experience when you dedicate yourself to this club. It comes back to you in so many ways!
I wish Lexa the best as she enters her Presidential year. Knock it out of the park Lexa! You have one heck of a club to Lead!!!
This week is our pass the gavel ceremony. You don’t want to miss it. And our last Board Meeting for the 2019-2020 Rotary year. Remember, all members are welcome to attend Board Meetings.
Thanks again for allowing me to lead and put my own spice on our club. I move forward with fond memories and I'm excited to continue my Rotary Journey with all of you.
We continue our weekly meeting virtually! There will not be an in person meeting this week but we sure would love to see your smiling face when you join us online! Stay tuned for updates next week as we prepare to meet in person at Brookside Country Club on Thursday, September 10, 2020. We will be sure to offer our members to join in virtually as well.
Please use the link below to join us this Thursday, September 3, 2020 at 7:30 a.m.
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. Ask them to please 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.
Our in person and virtual meetings continue this week at Brookside Country Club! We are practicing safe physical distance, appropriate mask wearing and hand sanitation at our in person meetings. You also have the option to participate by joining us through the Voxx Tandem platform. We will see you in person or online this Thursday, July 16th at 7:30am.
Please use the link below to join us this Thursday, July 16, 2020 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.
You can use your computer, laptop or smartphone to join the meeting.
If you had any difficulties or questions on how to log on please reach out to John Chisca johnc@voxtandem.com 610-400-0203.
The following safety guidelines will continue to be followed at Brookside Country Club:
Tables will be set 6 ft apart to observe social distancing and each table will seat only 5 people.
BCC is requiring guests to wear masks throughout the Clubhouse, though once in the ballroom or outside, masks are not required. Even though we are in green masks must be worn while entering and moving around the Clubhouse. Once guests are seated masks can be removed.
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 behind plexiglass (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 Mike, Meghan, Lexa or Steve if you have any questions. Please also review the Rotary District Covid-19 Guidelines in this newsletter.
To watch past meetings that you may have missed or just want to see again. Follow the steps below.
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.
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.
A friendly reminder that dues are due at the end of June. We have 38% already paid. You should have received an invoice on June 1st. Club dues are $110 per half year. Please send your payment checks to Jim Palmquist, 5618 Fresh Meadow Drive, Macungie, PA 18062-9761 by the end of June. Please email Jim if you need another invoice.
The Feed East Penn Students Food Packing Program needs your help!
It has become more difficult for Second Harvest to supply us with protein sources for the 200 children we feed each week. We are reaching out to our membership for help in collecting cans of tuna fish. We will be collecting weekly until we have met the need.
Bring your cans of tuna fish donations this week:
Thursday June 25, 2020 (The time will be adjusted due to the Board Meeting this week please stay tuned for a time from Rick in a separate email)
In front of Bethany Bible Fellowship church (418 Elm Street Emmaus, Office entrance)
If you can help please take a ride and drop off your tuna fish. We feed 200 people each and every week and with the continued protein (peanut butter, tuna, chicken, cereal, and milk) shortages at all food banks we know our Rotarians will step up and help. We order food from Second Harvest each month for the children. We have had a substantial contribution of monies from a lot of different sources and I thank each and every one of you for helping. To keep our monies available and still help all of these children throughout the summer we are going to need your help. We will continue to ask each and every week until either we have too much or Second Harvest has the supplies on hand we need.
Thank you for your continued generosity in advance
The Feed East Penn Students Food Packing Program Committee and Member Volunteers have been very busy. Last week our Rotary Club showed off some muscles by unloading pallets of food from Second Harvest Food Bank to help the over 300 kids in our community. Thanks to all who chipped in to help with this heavy task!
During announcements at last week's meeting, Jim Palmquist mentioned some information about Rotary Peace Fellowships. Since June is Rotary Fellowships month I thought it would be interesting to share an overview about Peace and Rotary from Jim Palmquist. Many Thanks to Jim for supplying this look at Rotary Peace Fellowships!
Rotary has been working on peace from its founding. The fourth Object of Rotary included a focus on peace. “FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.” This was written in 1911 so it goes back to the very beginning. Rotary was founded in 1905.
More recently Rotary has funded several college and certificate programs in peace called Peace Fellowships. Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centers. Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals or practitioners to become experienced and effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and field-study expenses.
Since the program began in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,300 fellows who now work in more than 115 countries. Many serve as leaders in governments, NGOs, the military, education, law enforcement, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.
The Rotary Peace Fellowship is designed for leaders with work experience in peace and development. Our fellows are committed to community and international service and the pursuit of peace. Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 80 for certificate studies at premier universities. The Peace Centers are at University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England; Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan; University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
A group of peace-interested Rotarians formed the Rotarian Action Group for Peace [RAGFP]. Our passion is PEACE. We are a group of committed Rotarians, Rotarians’ spouses, Rotaractors, Rotary Peace Fellows and other Rotary program alumni working together outside club structures with the help of telecommunications and driven by the common interest of peace. Jim is a member of RAGFP. There are loots of resources at https://www.rotarianactiongroupforpeace.org/ and membership is not expensive.
IEP, the Institute for Economics and Peace is the world’s leading think tank dedicated to developing metrics to analyze peace and to quantify its economic value. It does this by developing global and national indices, calculating the economic cost of violence, analyzing country level risk and understanding positive peace. IEP is an official Rotary Partner.
IEP says peace is much more than the absence of violence. Positive Peace describes the attitudes, structures and institutions that underpin and sustain peaceful societies. The Institute has developed a conceptual framework, known as the Pillars of Peace, that outlines a system of eight factors that work together to build positive peace. See more at http://economicsandpeace.org/
MBBI, Mediators Beyond Borders International vision is building a more peace “able” world. Its mission is to build local skills for peace and promotes mediation worldwide. MBBI is an official Rotary Partner. See more at https://mediatorsbeyondborders.org/
Of course, almost everyproject implemented by Rotary build the possibility for peace, such as Providing Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, Fighting Disease, Saving Mothers and Children, etc. And some projects are conducted in the Rotary Project Area of Focus called Promoting Peace, which directly work on peace building.
Emmaus Rotary Club is the International Sponsor of a peacebuilding training project called West Africa [IPTI Women Peacebuilders West Africa GG1757637]. In partnership with a Rotary Club of Ikeja, in Lagos Nigeria and dozens of clubs all over the world, we will train 30, mostly female community leaders to be peacebuilders and coach them in their work over a year. The women will come from five West African countries. We expect to submit the fully funded project to RI formally in late June and begin to roll out the project in a month or two. Jim Palmquist is the Emmaus Rotarian leading the project for us.
69,000 of our neighbors in the Lehigh Valley are predicted to go hungry this year. Help them with your garden, one pound at a time!
It is almost the end of the growing season in our gardens. Tony Moyer continues to collect your Plant A Row produce donations on Thursdays. You can drop off your donations at Willow Lane Elementary School by 4:00 pm. (6135 Sauerkraut Lane, Macungie, PA 18062) Please simply leave your bagged and freshly washed veggies at the front door of the school. All of food collected goes to the 6th St. Shelter.
If you'd like to bring your donations to our in person meetings, Sue Wenner has volunteered to serve with Tony on the Plan A Row Collection Committee and would be happy to drop off our weekly collections to the school after our meeting. If you have any questions please contact Tony at anmoyer1229@yahoo.com
Thank you Tony and Sue for volunteering!
To learn more about Plant A Row continue reading...
Weekly Door Prize Donations Needed! Be our next meeting's prize sponsor!
It seems like we all like the idea of winning a festive prize at our meetings (in person or online). We have had some very generous and fun donations over the past few months since incorporating this new aspect to our meetings. Many thanks to all who have donated a prize! It is a nice way to give back to each other while doing some low-key networking for your business. In the wake of the Corona Virus now more than ever it's important to show the local businesses in our community we care and support them. They have shown us support with raffle donations and sponsorships throughout the years. Consider purchasing a $20.00 gift card from one of the many small businesses in the East Penn Area. As we know every little bit helps. It's also a great way to start a conversation about Rotary and invite business owners and managers to a club meeting. Please contact Meghan Reed for more information about our weekly door prizes and how you can be help!
Upcoming Committee Meetings: Consider holding a virtual meeting to stay in touch and on task with your committee!
(Does your committee have an upcoming meeting? Let Meghan know and we will list it here)
Rotary and Beyond:
If you are participating in a fundraiser outside of Rotary and would like help spreading the word to our club members please contact Meghan Reed. It may be eligible to run in our new section in the Trumpet called "Rotary and Beyond". It will cost $2.00 (Happy Dollars) each time you'd like to run the information in the Trumpet. To have the information posted in the Trumpet you must be an active committee member or board member of the non-profit organization facilitating the activity outside of Rotary participation. The $2.00 entry may be given to Meghan at a club meeting. Contact Meghan with any questions.
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
