Looking ahead to the forecast later this week I see temperatures around 60 degrees! Think Spring, and Bethlehem Rotarians I have a challenge for you. On Saturday May 1 during the Tri-District Conference our club will host a Service Projectany and all members can participate in. What is it? That is up to you. I know some members have been itching to get out and do something in the community with fellow Rotarians. Please send your project idea to me by 3/25/21 and your Board will decide. The goal is to have 5000+ Pennsylvania Rotarians "blow up" social media with pictures and videos of Rotarians in Action on that day. Save the date and send me your idea!
Next Saturday March 13 from 9AM-2PM is the Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) North East America. This is a 3-part training session with graduation. It is a great opportunity to increase your Rotary knowledge and skills and be able to share that with fellow members. This course is highly recommended. The cost is $25 (club will pay that). Please register at the District 7430 website or https://rlinea.org and select Pottstown, Pa seminar.
Last weeks meeting featured local attorney Avery Smith (also an Allentown Rotarian) presenting a program on Estate Planning during a pandemic. With Karley Sebia as moderator, Avery reminded us that having your "house in order" now can save many headaches for you and others in the future. She reminded us of the minimum documents we should have for an estate plan - a will, and a Power of Attorney. And we should review our estate plans every 3 years, update wills and POAs as necessary because change is constant. For example, you may have seen sharp increase in wealth due to stock market increases and adjustments to your plan are in order.
Avery covered a broad area of estate planning points and facts and noted that from the initial Covid-19 shutdown clients were hesitant to do in-person meetings, sometimes there was difficulty finding people to witness documents, and early on it seemed like electronic notary service could become the way of the future. She noted that in PA, wills signed at home were allowed, but did not always go through probate smoothly. Thankfully those setbacks were temporary as we work our way out of the pandemic with scheduled in-person meetings returning along with the virtual options. Thank you to Avery and Karley for presenting a very interesting program on a topic many of us tend to put off and say we will do it one of these days-but never do in time!
This week we welcome George Morrison from the Folds of Honor Foundation Eastern PA-NJ Chapter presenting a program on how this non-profit organization provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen and disabled service members since 2007. Please visit foldsofhonor.org for an overview of what great work this highly rated organization does.
