At our August 23rd meeting, Bob Smith updated members on our Tastes & Tunes program coming up on October 1st. At this point, Bob said that only four people have signed up for the event and requested that people sign up as soon as possible so that we can have a better idea of how to construct our events. If you haven’t purchased your tickets yet, please do it soon.
I spent a few minutes talking about two very important opportunities we have available to Club Members. These are Rotary Action Groups and Rotary Fellowships. Rotary action groups are sub-groups of rotary, which any Rotarian can join. The groups are organized around themes, for example, Water & Sanitation and there are currently 27 of these groups. Rotary International chooses experts to chair each Action Group, and the combination of experts and the resources of Rotarians around the world, means these groups can create a significant impact on a particular issue.
I also explained Rotary Fellowships. Rotary Fellowships allow you to share your hobby or vocation with fellow club members around the world. Some Fellowships are purely social and some have a specific goal. One specific Rotary Fellowship is called Rotary Means Business. This fellowship is designed to help rotary members network with each other to build their business. I am requesting that one of our members head our project to establish a Rotary Means Business Fellowship for our Club or Area. If you are interested in helping with this project, please call me.
There are currently 75 Rotary Fellowships to choose from, and they range from the Flying Rotarians, to the Skiing Rotarians, to the Wellness and Fitness Rotarians. It gives each of us the opportunity to share information about, or share participation in our hobbies or interests. I will send out more information at a later time on Action Groups, and Fellowships.
Our program was presented by our own Bethlehem Rotarian, Dr. Christine Nelson. Chris is the Director of Seminary Advancement at Moravian College, and spoke to us about her experience at the Rotary International Conference in Atlanta which was held in June. Christine has been a member of our club for two years but before that she was a member of Allentown Rotary Club for six years. She is also an ordained minister of the UCC, and a dedicated and tireless volunteer in numerous programs which seek to improve the quality of life in the Lehigh Valley.
Christine had an interest about finding out more about Rotary and was greatly moved by her participation in the conference. She gave us an inspirational run down of the significant accomplishments of Rotary over the past year and Rotary’s contribution to human progress. Christine told us that Rotary’s success in eradicating polio will enable us to move to the next major theme of ending international slavery and human trafficking.
At our meeting this week on August 30th, we will be hearing from Rick Gromis, our District Governor. I would like for all members to attend the August 30th meeting to personally meet Rick. Rick has made a significant commitment to all of us, and I would like for Bethlehem Rotary to give him a hearty welcome. Please remember that it customary to stand to honor the District Governor when he steps to the podium to address our club.
Announcements:
- Please attend our August 30th meeting to welcome our District Governor, Rick Gromis.
- September 16th is the Rotary Leadership Institute at DeSales University, a great way to learn more about how you can help lead Rotary at the club, district, and international level. Please contact me if you are interested, or register using the following link: https://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=a3f6623c-20cf-4c52-b702-9c4efe100b78
- If you haven’t made a commitment to do your part in our upcoming Tastes & Tunes Event, please do so now.
- The 7th Annual Rotary District 7430 Yvette Palmer Purple Pinkie 5K run is scheduled for Saturday, October 14, 2017 at LCCC in Schnecksville, PA. The proceeds of this event go to RI’s Polio Plus Program. Our club is one of the sponsors, and we have two slots available for anyone who would like to participate in the run/walk. Please let me know if you are interested.
- Our Zone 32, along with Zones 24, 25, and 26 has been selected by Rotary International President Ian Riseley to hold the first Presidential Peacebuilding Conference on February 10, 2018 in Vancouver, BC. If you would like more information, please contact me, or you can also go to https://portal.clubrunner.ca/50004/Stories/presidential-conference . There is also a link on the District Website.
Yours in Rotary service,