Rotary hosted His Honor The Mayor Bob Donchez this week. The Mayor joined us for lunch and greeted many Rotarians personally. He then presented a “State of the City” summary of the past two years, covering everything from public safety to budgeting to planning to some very specific projects, commenting on the future developments at Bethworks, the ongoing discussions about Martin Tower and other topics. We were delighted to have Mayor Donchez and his chief of staff, Alexander Karras, join us for an interesting and timely session.
In addition to the Mayor, BAVTS Shadows Christopher Bear and Jessica Sigley spoke briefly about their program in Graphic Communications. Jess and Chris are both Juniors from Northampton High School. Thanks to these two up and coming students and their teacher, Dana Huber, for sharing their skills and plans.
Other News
Rotarians distributed 645 dictionaries to elementary students in the Bethlehem Area School District last month. This ongoing program has become an annual ritual for our Bethlehem Club, but for those who pass out the dictionaries to the children, it is an unforgettable experience. We will most likely be doing it again next year. Please consider joining the project.
Liz Scofield announced the dates for the “Rotary Relieves Hunger” food collections for New Bethany Ministries and the Hispanic Center. Please bring your non-perishable foodstuffs to the club meetings on February 3rd and 10th. We are planning to make the donations on or about Valentine’s Day this year. Feeding the hungry is a real act of love!
Past President Ham Malek announced that RI President K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran of Sri Lanka will be coming to King of Prussia on Tuesday, May 17th, to recognize District 7430 for raising over $2 million for the Rotary International Foundation. DG Doug Cook is asking that as many Rotarians as possible attend the celebration that evening. More to follow on how the Bethlehem Club will participate.
Finally, we don’t have a date yet, but we will be planning a “Fun and Fellowship” event to help tide us over the dreary winter months. Buck Jones and his committee are organizing it now. Stay tuned!
Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 20th, at noon. We have a classification talk scheduled for that day. I hope you can attend.
