November 2018

Letters from Grace

President Linda has been reading us letters from Denmark where Grace Kreuser is spending her year abroad.  She appears to be filling her days with many interesting events and excursions including visiting the best zoo in Europe, feeding the giraffes and a canoe trip down the Odense River.  Grace feels that her Danish is improving.  Most important news - they got a PUPPY!

Rise Against Hunger

Our club received a thank you note for our $1000 contribution for meals sent to Swaziland.

Chicken Barbecue

In September we held another successful BBQ.  19 workers brought in $2,100.

Special Guests

District Governor Don Milton along with Linda Kohl, DG nominee and Norma Reilly, Past DG, presented the Presidential Citation award to Kevin Mooney.  Bill Gates said “As we look ahead into the 21st century, leaders will be those who empower others.”  That has been just what Past President Kevin has done in our club during his term as President.  He has empowered us to make a difference by fulfilling the requirements for the Presidential Citation.

Community Garden

Karen Vanderbrook reported that the harvest from our community garden resulted in the delivery of 137 pounds of food to people in need.

World Polio Day

Rotary clubs around the world observed World Polio Day on October 24th. Only three countries in the world, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, continue to see cases of polio.  Our club collected “Pennies for Polio” in jars set on each lunch table.  Linda placed a purple pen in each jar.  Every time a child is immunized with the two polio drops their pinkies are marked with a purple dye.  We were invited to contribute and mark our pinkies and share the story of Rotary’s goal to end polio.  For every dollar that Rotary raises for polio eradication the Gates Foundation will give two more.

Eastern Cities Dinner

On October 28th our club was represented at the Eastern Cities dinner held at the Rochester convention center. A photo of our club holding our “penny jars” was displayed. 

Highway Cleanup

Fred Hicks and Richard Vanlaeken will reschedule the cleanup in the Spring, having been rained out on Saturday morning October 19th.

Dictionaries

Combining our efforts with the Elks Club of Newark, we held our annual distribution of Dictionaries to third graders at Kelley School.

Family Promise

Thank you to members who volunteered to move inflatable beds on Sundays to other churches where families are staying.

Helmuth reported that Hannelora is recovering slowly but hopes to be back with us in a few weeks.  The tennis friend of several of our members, Tom Shear, died in Syracuse following a fall during a boating outing.  His service was held at St. Michaels in Lyons. Frank All is happy to be back to Rotary and sad to report that Dana Marsh has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  A card was sent to Marge Gile who is not feeling well.

Beth is a Medium, Author, and founder of Inner Light Teaching.  Beth believes in the power of meditation.  She has been working in Geneva with students who have anger issues.  They have made progress in their classes and coping in general.  Beth is available for classes, lectures, workshops and platforms on the following: Channeling, conveying the wisdom of the spirit world, meditation, intuition and healing, understanding spiritual and traditional views on mental health in society today.

 

This year’s committee made the unanimous decision to name Bob Hegeman as our “Service above self” award recipient.  Bob began a lifetime of Service Above Self when he was drafted in 1969 and spent almost 2 years in the US Army.  He is a recipient of the Army Commendation Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.  Bob is married to Martha and has 2 children, Erin and Brian.  Bob is a carpenter by trade and has retired from Wayne Disposal and Spring Valley Green House this past summer.  Bob has been involved in Boy Scouting where his son Brian earned the rank of Eagle Scout.  He is a member of St. Michael’s Church here in Newark, where he is a Eucharistic Minister and served on the Parish Council, including a term as chair.  Bob has donated over 16 gallons of blood to the Red Cross in his lifetime.  Bob has volunteered with the Wayne County Habitat for Humanity for several years.  Most recently Bob has been working on the Laurel House project where he has volunteered over 1600 hours. 

CONGRATULATIONS BOB!