Club Business
President Mary Thomas Gilbert brought the meeting to order. Micah Fox led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Mary Thomas, just back from a Rotary Membership Summit, told us that Rotary needs to be fun. To put her words into action, she had each table compete for the grand prize of $5 worth of tickets for the lottery. The back table with Jim, Mikie, Thomas, Pete, Joseph, and Ryan somehow managed to eke out a victory. Next week Trip Durham has the program. He will have Kristen Yntema, current CEO of Hospice of Greensboro, who will tell us about the upcoming merger of the Alamance-Caswell and Greensboro systems. The following week, Micah will have Tracy Schmidt of Burlington Beer Works, who reportedly will bring some product samples. Mary Thomas recognized the anniversaries of Mac Williams (29th) and Phil Brown (62nd!).
Click here to see all scheduled program dates and responsibilities.
August Birthdays and Anniversaries
1 | Rodney Councilman | 2 | Ed and Danielle Woodall |
23 | Jeffrey Smythe | 10 | Dan and Lori Seiler |
29 | Mac and Stephanie Williams | ||
31 | Phil and Carol Brown |
September Birthdays and Anniversaries
8 | Francois Masuka | 5 | Deva and Nancy Reece |
12 | Philip Brown | ||
21 | Sang Ho Lee | ||
21 | Brad Moser |
Rotary Information Hour
Our next Rotary Information Hour will be on September 10th. Please take time to make a couple calls or send a few emails and help us grow our membership by getting quality prospective members to come on September 10th!
Happy Dollar Announcements
- Pete Beck announced that he is slated to become a great grandfather in March.
- Dick O’Donnell congratulated Randy Perkins for the great Membership Summit at Sedgefield in Greensboro.
- Randy was able to be with us today, getting a break from his rigorous schedule as District Governor, He told us that he has already dropped in on 27 of the 49 area clubs. He said we are indeed a unique club. We were pretty sure that was intended to be a compliment. He said that things are going great so far. We had over 200 at his installation ceremony, a big increase from last year. 160 attended the Membership Summit, which was more than last year.
- Jim Cartner thanked all who came out to the Burlington Royals game last Saturday. He also mentioned that he became the grandfather of a beautiful granddaughter on Saturday afternoon!
- Mikie Morrison let us know that the Royals are in the playoffs.
- Carolyn Rhode paid a dollar to share her thanks for the kids returning to school and for the cooler weather.
- Deva Reece informed us that there are 25 teams enrolled in the Rotary Golf Tournament. Five people are going from our club.
- Mary Thomas shared that her son’s friends helped with the move back to college and that she is selling coupon books that can be used outside the county.
Program: Barney Lawrence – Meals on Wheels
Brian Dement provided our speaker this week. Brian said that being at the podium brought back some good memories of his past year as president, but not so good that he wants to do it again. He is a UNC grad and works for Diversified Testing. He has been married to his wife, Polly, for 18 years, has a 17 year old son, and loves Alabama football, all things UNC, and traveling.
Barney Lawrence, who was accompanied by his lovely wife, Brenda, began by thanking Rotary for its work both locally and internationally, which helps to bring the community together. He serves as a liaison to Allied Churches for Meals on Wheels. After retiring from the corporate world, he became a real estate broker and a pastor. One day while reading Matthew chapter 25, he became convinced that he needed to serve those Jesus called the “least of these,” especially the hungry, outside the church building. He volunteered at Allied Churches, but soon got involved with Meals on Wheels.
The Meals On Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest national organization composed of and representing local, community-based Senior Nutrition Programs in all 50 U.S. states, as well as the U.S. Territories. Alamance County Meals on Wheels was formed on May 20, 1973 as Alamance County Council on Elderly, Inc. Over the years, the agency has offered hot home-delivered meals, frozen home-delivered meals, and winter weather emergency meals. The agency began serving clients in February of 1974 and became a United Way agency in 1975. The First Presbyterian Church of Burlington has graciously housed the offices of ACMOW since its inception. The agency began delivering only one route, serving a few people, and now serves over 300 people each day on 24 different hot and frozen meal routes.
Barney enumerated several benefits to those receiving meals and those who serve. Not only do servers deliver meals, they also do safety checks and engage in friendly conversation. Most clients are extremely grateful, saying that they feel more secure. Many are enabled to live at home through being fed in this way. The meals are nutritious and often healthier than the regular fare of the recipients. Barney likes to involve his grandson, who is learning some valuable lessons while spending time with grandpa.
The cost for the local meal program approaches $600K, one-third coming from government grants and the rest from community and church donations. Clients are encouraged to donate, but many cannot afford to do so. MOW also conducts various fund raisers. He said groups and individuals can donate to specific causes and do yard work for clients, many of whom cannot do that sort of thing.
Conclusion
Micah Fox upset the apple cart by drawing the Queen of Diamonds. Wow! Great going. Mary Thomas adjourned the meeting by leading us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test.