This week we welcomed Jon Merwarth and Jennifer Davies from Bright Hope Pregnancy Support Centers. They are a non-profit serving the Lehigh Valley and beyond for women faced with an unplanned pregnancy. They provide many other support services such as abstinence education in local schools, shelter for homeless pregnant women, and classes to support parents and children.
Jennifer and Jon taking questions about Bright Hope Pregnancy Support Centers
We also heard from our BAVTS students who participated as part of the Shadow Program. Angela Sabatino, a sophomore from Freedom and Mary Plum, a junior at Liberty shared their experiences in the commercial baking program and the gingerbread house they made for the 3rd Street Alliance! As always, thank you for being a gracious audience for these young adults.
BAVTS students happily sharing their adventures in (gingerbread) home construction!
As you know, membership is an important element of our Strategic Plan, and thus one of my areas of focus this year. This past Thursday evening, we hosted our very first networking event. For those who attended, I think you would agree, the event was a HUGE success! The room was alive with conversation and we had a healthy mix of Rotarians and guests… more than 50 people in all! I could not have been more satisfied with the overall response to this event that will undoubtedly lead to a few more Rotarians in our club. Thank you to Hank Barnette and Deb Geiger for sharing their thoughts about the value of Rotary and a very special thank you to the Membership Committee and the Gerry co-chairs (Foran and Long) for their work in researching this type of an event, planning it and then executing it….. WELL DONE!!
So, the dictionaries have arrived and we need to take the next step in this important project. Please join us at Moravian College in the lower level of the Haupert Union Building at 6:00PM on Tuesday April 16th to sort and stamp the dictionaries. Please reach out to Paul Ricciardi and let him know if you can help.
Please remember to get registered for the District Conference (see details and link below). In addition, remember that the Craig Thatcher concert (an Eric Clapton Retrospective) on Saturday, May 4th at 7:30PM is open to the public. Tickets are $25 and all proceeds will be donated to hunger projects in our region. Please encourage friends to attend this great concert for an even better cause!
Be sure to attend our meeting this Wednesday. We needed to reschedule Rob Vaughn’s visit with us twice…. But there will be no rescheduling this time! Rob will be with us on Wednesday sharing his “Year in Review” presentation. We look forward to this fan-favorite each year! In addition, we will be inducting Maria Dietrich into Rotary International! Please join Mike McGovern, Maria’s sponsor, as we celebrate Maria’s induction. Lastly, we will be hearing from Krystal Colon, a senior from Liberty, who is our February Artisan of the Month. (this is rescheduled from our February meeting that was cancelled as a result of the weather).
Some reminders:
- Be sure to get registered for the District Conference. This year it will be held in Allentown at the Renaissance Hotel at 7th and Hamilton. It will be held over the weekend of May 3rd, 4th and 5th. Know that you can register in an “ala carte” fashion taking in as much or as little of the conference as you schedule permits. Here is the link to view the event and get registered… District Conference Registration
- The Annual Charity Golf Tournament will be here before you know it! The event will be held on May 20th, so please get your foursome together and get registered. Also, please bring some extra cash to our meeting and help to fill out the remainder of the Raffle Board.
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