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Allentown West Rotary Club
Meeting Notes – March 8, 2023
PRIZES:
The door prize of $10 donated by Herb Klotz was won by Gwenn Carr.
The $10 of the 50-50 was won by Herb Klotz
HAPPY DOLLARS:
Bianca is happy to be here. Herb is happy to have our guests here, and looks forward to the speeches. Gary Englehardt has ten happy dollars for his wife and Jean Masiko, for providing faith support for his mother. Gary also shared that his mom is in hospice at age 102. Chuck Ehninger is happy to be back from Florida. Laurie Grube is happy her granddaughter is one and also that she is starting a new job with Tompkins Community bank. Ralph is happy for our guest speakers and happy that "someone" is back today. Gail is happy for our speakers. Guest Elijah is happy to be welcomed.
NEW MONGOLIAN SCHOLARSHIP PROJECT:
On June 10 we will hold a Mongolian Night Dinner. RI’s theme for RY 2023-24 is “Hope.” This ties in well with our scholarship project. Please plan to attend.
NEW GRANT IDEAS ARE WELCOME:
President Gail e-mailed us: “You received an email on February 26 from John Scott regarding a grant brainstorming session. We had a great meeting and are following up to make sure we don't miss any other considerations. If you have an idea to improve our community in any of the seven areas of focus, please share your ideas using the grant submission document attached. If you need help filling this out, please reach out to Herb, John, Gail or Diana for assistance.
“The deadline for submissions is March 15. The committee will reconvene on March 16 and present our selections to the board on March 21.
“We appreciate your ideas and look forward to your suggestions.”
NEXT QUICK FUNDRAISER:
We agreed to have another fundraiser, with March Madness basketball coming up. Gail reports that it will be squares again, at $20 per square. Winnings will be $150 at half time and $200 at Final Score.
AWRC GREEN THUMB GARDEN:
Gail Micca reports that garden planning has begun. “Pepper and tomato seedlings have begun to sprout under grow lights and more will be planted this week.”
The Green Thumbs Garden Project volunteer/friend group is growing too – would you like to be added to the list? This project brings out the best in all of us and is a great way to spend time outdoors with friends and family. Please contact Gail Micca at [email protected] for more information.
DINING OUT – MARCH:
Ralph Witcher organized the dinner at Sumo Sushi and Japanese Fusion on March 2.
Dining out at Sumo Sushi was delicious, fun and affordable. Fourteen Rotarians and guests gathered to enjoy an array of fantastic food and BYOB drinks. Quentin Sowers shared his classification talk and we all enjoyed good company. The owner of the restaurant stopped by to greet us and looks forward to possibly partnering with us on other events. They are opening other restaurants nearby and are eager to earn our praise and business. Please enjoy Sumo Sushi when you can!
SNACKPACKING:
The next Snack Packing event at Parkland is on March 8 – TODAY.
KINGDOM LIFE FOOD DISTRIBUTION:
The upcoming dates for Kingdom Life Food Pantry Giveaway are:
All Saturdays – March 11 – April 8 – May 13.
Each time we start at 7:30 A.M. and usually are finished by 9:30 A.M. Volunteers are needed.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY:
The celebration will be held at the Emmaus RC meeting on March 9 at the Superior Restaurant. Alicia Ruiz Orbin, past president of AWRC, will be receiving an award.
PARKLAND C.A.R.E.S. PRODUCE DELIVERY:
The Pantry will hold its food distributions on the first Saturday of each month for all of 2023.
Three volunteers are needed each time.
Food collections for Parkland C.A.R.E.S. will be held the third Wednesday of each month at the Pantry on Kernsville Road.
MEALS ON WHEELS:
Take place twice each week. Helen Papathanasiou says we are in need of substitute volunteers.
INTERACT BREAKFASTS ARE BACK:
We will hold these meetings on March 29 at NWL Middle School, and May 31 at the Parkland H.S. Library. These days are the fifth Wednesday of the month.
The NWL start time will be at 8:30 A.M. The March Student of the Month will be honored.
SPONSORS ARE NEEDED TO PAY FOR THE STUDENTS’ MEALS.
STEM YEA FUNDRAISER:
Please remember that the Second Annual Big Ticket Reverse Raffle (BTRR) will be held on April 15 at Brookside Country Club, in Pottstown from 5:30-10:00 P.M.
MEETING SCHEDULE:
The first Wednesday of each month will be a Dining Out meeting, or equal. It might not be on a Wednesday.
The third Wednesday of each month will be a ZOOM ONLY meeting with a program.
FUTURE TOURS, ETC.:
All members are asked to make suggestions to Gail Micca about other tours, Dining Out events, etc. for future meetings.
NEXT MORNING MEETING IN-PERSON:
March 22 IN-PERSON at Cedar Crest College starting at 7:30 A.M. Come early and mingle. There will be a Zoom option.
The program will be Lin Erickson, Executive Director and CEO at The Da Vinci Science Center. She will give us a 2023 Da Vinci Science Center Update.
PROGRAM:
Chuck opened the meeting with requests for prayers for Bill Palmer who is facing a health challenge and Halyna Stegura, who has entered hospice in Florida.
OUR FOUR-WAY TEST SPEECH CONTEST
Chaired by Bill Keba; his team included Marlene Heller, Ralph Witcher, Ron Coleman and Bianca Rivera, Laurie Grube, Helen Papathanasiou.
Both speakers were from Northwestern Lehigh SD. They are Lily David and Elijah Johri.
Elijah is a senior. His topic was aimed at convincing his listeners to consider exploring Christianity and converting to the religion.
Lily is in ninth grade. Her topic was about providing mental health services in schools to cut down on the epidemic on mental health crises, as cited by the CDC.
The winner was Lily David, and she will go on to compete on the district level.
Both Lily and Elijah received swag from our club.
CLOSING:
Pres. Gail led us in reciting our motto, “One profits most who serves best,” and closed the meeting.
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