Today was a Zoom meeting with 27 people on line. After some conversations President Ralph Witcher opened the meeting at 7:30 A.M.
GUESTS ON LINE:
Capt. Nick Millward, Rotary Peace Fellowship winner calling in from Japan; Sharon Goldner, our newest member; and Karen Rodgers, guest of Gail Micca.
HAPPY DOLLARS and MEMBER NEWS:
Jane Mann, our speaker today, was on line early and she and Bill Palmer discussed dogs for a minute.
Ernie Boll told us that yesterday in Green Valley Arizona -- 40 minutes from Mexico -- they had about 1-1/2 inches of SNOW WITH LOW VISIBILITY. It’s all gone now.
Nick Millward’s Sister lives in Phoenix, AZ, and she got floods of rain yesterday he said.
Ron Coleman commented that Gail Micca is “Looking Hot” today. She did admit to having lost a few pounds.
Gail Micca says her dog is cuddly.
Ron Coleman noted that he had his black Priest outfit on today, and that he could hear confessions.
Katrina Sundstrom said that her Brother has covid19, and also an Aunt and Uncle in California have it.
Gary Englehardt was happy to announce that his elderly Mother got vaccinated yesterday.
Gail Micca is happy that their son has some work at Lutron.
Tom Friday is happy to announce that their daughter is pregnant with a girl.
Geoff Legg’s grandson, RJ, is back in college. RJ says he had a great time helping distribute food with the Kingdom Life volunteers.
Wendy Weaver down in Florida had a new hip successfully installed on Monday, Jan 25th. She went home that afternoon!! Best wishes go to Wendy.
OPENING:
Pres. Ralph gave a very nice invocation. Then he led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the U.S.
CELEBRATION DATES:
Pres. Ralph displayed the list of January members and their celebration dates.
Pres. Ralph again said “The world needs more Rotarians.”
THE FOUR-WAY TEST EXAMPLE:
Pres. Ralph played the musical rendition video of the 4 Way Test. He then read to us the 4 items. He asked for volunteers to tell about a recent application of the 4 Way Test in their life.
Ron Coleman said that recently he had someone lie to him. So without having the truth he severed the relationship.
MEMBERSHIP:
Chair Tom Friday welcomed Karen Rodgers who was on with us today. Tom urges us to continue inviting more guests to work with us on projects, and to learn about Rotary by joining our Zoom meetings.
Karen is a friend of Gail’s and has a daughter that has been in Interact, and has helped with snack packs.
Tom also noted that an AWRC New Member Orientation session is coming.
MONGOLIAN RELIEF SHELTER:
Nick Millward said that today is the last day to view the prescreen of the movie using the promo code.
Nick showed us photos of the new Homeless Shelter, and of drawings by some of the kids there.
LOWHILL FOOD PANTRY:
Pres. Ralph thanked Amir Famili for his continued work in collecting and delivering fresh produce to LFP. Last week it was 420 lbs. We extend our thanks to the Burkholders for donating so much support.
NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION:
Feb 2 is a virtual meeting by the D7430 team for new members.
ROTARY LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE (RLI):
Please see the separate article.
AW GARDEN UPDATE:
Gail Micca, Head Gardener, reports that they need grow type light bulbs. They have already planted peppers and onions. The fencing and gate are coming.
Gail has applied for some grants to help. Having these gardens lets us provide the freshest possible produce to our Food Pantry clients.
YOUR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES:
P-E Gail Micca e-mailed the following project update:
Green Thumbs Garden Project: If you have a green thumb and like to grow plants from seeds, would you consider making some room under your grow lights for some plants for the garden?
If you or someone you know has the equipment to grow plants from seeds, but you aren't using it, would you consider donating it or loaning it out? This saves the garden budget a good deal. We are also looking into a small greenhouse set up if you know someone who has one.
If you like administrative work, please let Gail know as we can find a good fit for you.
Please take a look at this section on the left side of this bulletin.
STATUS OF MORNING MEETINGS:
The AWRC B.O.D. has suspended all AWRC face-to-face meetings until further notice. Zoom meetings are now scheduled for each Wednesday at 7:30 A.M.
NEXT MORNING MEETING:
Wednesday February 3, 2021 starting at 7:30 a.m. We will use Zoom to meet. Our program will be Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, Mbr of Parliament Mongolia to discuss The Green-Eyed Llama.
STATUS OF THURSDAY EVENING MEETING:
No Thursday evening meetings are planned until after the pandemic..
PROGRAM:
Pres. Ralph Witcher introduced Jane Mann, President, Lehigh Valley Therapy Dogs whose topic is Therapy Dogs: a cold nose and soft warm fur are the perfect prescription for a smile.
Jane is from the Allentown area. And she worked at Mack Trucks for a while. Jane met Katrina Sundstrom while donating food to Parkland C.A.R.E.S. and Katrina arranged for Jane to be here today. They also plan to work together going forward.
Lehigh Valley Therapy Dogs is a registered 501C 3 non-profit organization whose primary objective is to provide comfort and emotional support by sharing their personal dogs with people in nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities, libraries, schools, colleges, airports, other institutions and the general public.
Each of their volunteers has trained their dog, had their dog evaluated and then registered and insured with Alliance of Therapy Dogs in Cheyenne, Wyoming. These dogs help increase emotional well-being, promote healing, and improve the quality of life. Visits from the therapy certified dogs stimulate conversations and memories for the people they visit.
They also participate in public relation activities in order to promote their purpose, improve awareness, and increase participation in this rewarding work.
Here is a photo of typical therapy dogs.
Providing therapy is not OK for every dog. Jane has been doing this for over 20 years. The LV group has about 100 volunteers to call upon, but they really can use a lot more.
To be a therapy dog the candidate must be at least a year old, and -- if a rescue dog -- must have been with its owner for at least 6 months. Dogs must be trained to follow instructions, must be accepting of other dogs and strangers and the urge to pet them, and be properly groomed including trimmed nails. The breed of the dogs does not matter.
Once certified they get an I.D. card and are insured. Then they go help people.
Jane told how 22 of their volunteers went to New York City after “9/11” to help rescue workers cope. Jane made 5 visits herself. They also went to Louisiana after hurricane Katrina to help victims cope. Jane said it is always fun to enter a facility and watch how nurses and staff talk to and pet the dogs that come to visit. The last time she visited her Mother it took her 30 minutes to go through the halls and reach the room.
Jane said that “The language of dogs is universal.”
CLOSING:
Pres Ralph led us in the saying “One profits most who serves best.”
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