As the end of June nears so does my year as President. On July 1 Mike McGovern will begin his term as President and with it the excitement for the year ahead. So it is with heartfelt gratitude that I thank each and every member of the club for the opportunity to serve as President of Bethlehem Rotary for the 2014-2015 year. On Wednesday we recognized our outgoing Board members, Mario Stuart, Jack Worsley, Connie Vasiliadis and Luke Cunningham for their service over the past two years. We also inducted and welcomed new Board members Tracy Bozik, Shannon Sigafoos, Pete Mickolay, Paul Ricciardi and Cindy Glick. President Mike McGovern, Vice-President Gerry Foran, President-Elect Gail Evans, Secretary Deb Geiger, Treasurer Dennis Morton, Parliamentarian Roger Whiteley and Sergeant at Arms Don Hunter were then inducted to serve as Officers for the 2015-2016 Rotary year. Thank you to all for your extraordinary commitment and service to Rotary.
I presented the Year in Review which highlighted membership, projects, events, youth exchange, communications, Tastes & Tunes, charity golf tournament and Rotary Foundation. Many thanks to everyone who helped make each of these club functions the success that they were. As one can imagine the success that our club has experienced doesn’t just happen without the dedication of its membership. And as I stated at the beginning of my term, if we each do things just a little better and dedicate ourselves just a little more, what a huge difference we can make. And that happened. We had outstanding programs, great participation in our projects including the dictionary and Strike Out Hunger projects, Tastes & Tunes was off the charts and the golf outing with perfect weather was well attended and a success.
As I concluded my remarks, I recognized the following with a Certificate of Appreciation for their exceptional service: Tracy Bozik for programs, Gerry Long for outstanding club service and Ham Malek for club and District service. George Mowrer received the Distinguished Service Citation for his leadership in a record setting Foundation campaign raising over $26,000 and commitment to Youth Exchange. I then presented the Rotarian of the Year award to Deb Geiger in recognition of her outstanding commitment and tireless service to Bethlehem Rotary as Secretary and Grants Chair.
It has truly been an honor to serve this past year. I believe as we approach our 100th Anniversary that Bethlehem is a strong and vibrant club capable of many good deeds as we help to make a difference in our community, nation and around the globe. Thank you for a fantastic year as we embraced the ideals of Rotary in all we did to help “Light Up Rotary”.
- CLUB SERVICE ASSIGNMENTS: July 1 starts a new Rotary year and Committee assignments are in process so please give some thought to areas of club service for next year. Every member will be asked to select at least one committee. Go to www.bethlehemparotary.org for the complete committee list.
- DISTRICT CHANGEOVER DINNER and AWARDS is June 29th at the William Penn Inn, Blue Bell, PA. Please consider attending this event. See Deb Geiger or the District website for information.
- STRIKE OUT HUNGER NIGHT with the Phillies vs. Dodgers is Wednesday, August 5, 2015 at 7:05p.m. See Gerry or Jill Long for ticket information. This is a great chance to get to a game and meet fellow Rotarians from around the District, sponsor a youngster to attend and help out with this community service project which supports Northeast Ministry, Bethlehem Boys and Girls Club and the Center for Independent Living (S2L) children. Support our Rotary Foundation with the purchase of a ticket. Prices start at $20.
- TASTES & TUNES: Our signature event is October 4, 2015 from 4 p.m.- 7:30 p.m. at the Hotel Bethlehem. Hold the date for “Good Food. Cool Music. Great Cause”. Chair Thea Phalon, and the Committee are already hard at work planning this years’ event. As was announced, Honorary Chairs are Andy & Carol Scott and the beneficiary of the event is the Bethlehem Boys and Girls Club which is celebrating 85 years of service this year.
- REMINDER: Please do not park in handicapped parking spaces without a placard.
- The week starts the new Rotary year with Randall S. Floyd, Mission Director for Rotoplast International as our speaker. Please plan to attend.
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