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Bulletin Editor
Al Philpotts
Meeting Responsibilities
Greeter
Scholl, Stacey
 
Introduction of Visitors & Guests
Adams, Mike
 
Invocation
Clennon, Hopeton
 
50/50 Draw
Dolak, Jr., Steve
 
Luncheon Treasurer
Fenstermacher, Dave
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
Hunter, Don
 
Speakers
May 17, 2017
Korea 1952: A Personal Perspective
May 24, 2017
Classification Talk
May 31, 2017
Greater Lehigh Valley YMCA
Jun 07, 2017
Charter School for the Arts
Jun 14, 2017
Schrempel Scholarship Presentation
Jun 21, 2017
City of Bethlehem
Jun 28, 2017
Induction of Board / Officers
Jul 05, 2017
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Rotary International Convention
Georgia World Congress Center
Jun 10, 2017 – Jun 14, 2017
 
Thursday May 4, 2017
 
Greetings fellow Rotarians,
 
 
Happy May Birthdays!
  • Tracy Bozikc
  • Jill Long
  • Hal Funt
  • Tyler Papaz
  • Darlene Heller
  • Thea Phalon
  • Bill Kreitz
  • Jack Worsley
                                                                       
Greetings fellow Rotarians,
 
This week’s meeting was packed full of information and presentations.  Our Rotarians are not only busy implementing this year’s projects, many are already planning for the 2017-2018 Rotary Year.  That’s great succession planning in action!
 
A time-sensitive announcement was made by Brennan Pursell about our Centennial Park Project.  We are asking Rotarians to be on-call this weekend, May 6-7.  Depending on the weather, we will be painting the base for our mural and/or pull weeds either Saturday or Sunday.  PLEASE WATCH FOR AN EMAIL FROM BRENNAN FOR THE EXACT DAY AND TIME.  If you have access to ladders and/or gardening tools, please bring them to the work site!  A big thank you to Pete Mickolay for helping to purchase the painting supplies! 
 
Another time-sensitive announcement concerns our Membership Night at the Iron Pigs. Ron Madison, who is filling in in for Membership Chair, Bill Royer, put out a call for Rotarians to let him know if they will be attending (with a guest) the game on Monday, May 8.  We need a total of 18 Rotarians and guests to fill the TDBank Suite.  Ron’s email address is:  rmadison@maserconsulting.com  or you can call him directly at 610-844-77566.  A HUGE thank you goes out to Steve Kalamar and TD Bank for making this evening possible for our Club.  Don’t let us down – let’s fill those seats with potential new Rotarians!
 
Diane Donaher, who has led our strategic planning efforts, provided a comprehensive overview of the survey results for our Strategic Planning questionnaire.  Well over half, or 61%, of our members participated in the survey and provided many thoughtful suggestions on how to make our Club more relevant and meet our Club goals.  Three common themes resonated in the comments, including:  club transparency, high quality programs and activities, and club image/relevance to our community, issues which will be woven into the final plan.  The plan will be presented to the Board for approval at its May meeting, after which the final plan will be made available to the 2017-2018 board and committees, as well as our general membership.  The Plan will be reviewed and modified as necessary on an annual basis.  Thank you to all who took the time to participate in the survey – it was time well spent.
 
In a similar vein, President-Elect Gerry Foran asked members to complete and return a survey of Club member interests for the upcoming year.  At this time, his goal is to determine what projects/activities Club members are most interested in; committee assignments will come later.  This survey, along with the Strategic Plan we recently completed, will help provide direction for the upcoming Rotary year.
 
Looking to the future, the Taste & Tunes Committee, under the leadership of Bob Smith and Deb Walter, is well underway.  Bob Smith announced the honorary chairs for the event will be John and Mafalda Callahan, and the proceeds will be used to spearhead a new program of the Lehigh Valley Junior League that will provide hands-on nutritional education to school age children.  The date of our 2017 Taste & Tunes is Sunday, October 1, 2017, and will be held at Hotel Bethlehem.   If anyone is interested in joining the Taste & Tunes Committee, please contact Bob Smith at rfsmith@northampton.edu or Deb Walter at Debra.Walter@desales.edu so they can get you on the committee meeting distribution list.
 
Our guest speaker of the day was fellow Rotarian, Ellen Baker Ghelardi, who shared a pictorial tour of her Rotary International experience in Seoul, South Korea, last year.  Over 45,000 Rotarians and their guests attended the Seoul conference with Ellen, where highlights included the Parade of Flags and a traditional Korean tea party.  Ellen will be attending her 8th RI Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this year, where a record 47,000 attendees are expected, including PE Gerry Foran and his wife and new Rotarian, Dee-Dee.  Have fun Gerry and Dee-Dee!
 
Announcements from the Podium
  • Club members learned which Rotarian co-hosted a radio program called “This Week in Small Business” during our Who’s That Rotarian? quiz.  Answer:  Diane Donaher
  • A thank-you note from the Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley supporting their Neighbor-to-Neighbor Meal Prep Program was shared with Club members. 
  • The last of the new member orientation sessions was held today. Diane Donaher and Mike McGovern were acknowledged for organizing and presenting Rotary 101 sessions for our brand new Rotarians.
  • Last week’s Rotary Mini at Taps Tavern was hosted by Tyler Papaz.   Paul Ricciardi, Jack Worsley, Ron Madison, Bill Rowe and President Gail shared a few laughs, interesting conversation and some lite food fare.  Our next Rotary Mini will be held on May 25th.
  • Our Rotary Charity Golf Tournament is just around the corner on May 15th.  Registration and sponsorship forms should be sent to Rob Littner or George Kurtz ASAP.  Please contact Maria Nathans at mcnathans610@yahoo.com if you can volunteer a 1-2 hour shift at the event.  Foundation made to the organization. 
  • To round out the 2016-2017 Rotary year with one more Fun & Fellowship activity, Buck Jones and Marie Nathan organized a mini-golf event for our Club.  Mark your calendars for Thursday, June 8, at 6 pm at Putt U on Route 309.  Food is available for purchase and a pavilion will be available to us!
  • Next week’s speaker is Brett Feldman who will be presenting on Street Medicine. 
 
Yours in Rotary Service,
 
President Gail
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