Club Business
President Jim Cartner opened the meeting. Mike Morrison led us in prayer and the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. We had two distinguished visiting Rotarians today: Joshua Huffman, our Assistant District Governor, from the Graham Club, and Steven Taylor, the District Foundation Advocate, also from the Graham Club. Jim made the “second reading” of Ryan Risko’s name, our most recent membership applicant. Since there were no objections to his becoming a member, he will be welcomed into our club at our next meeting on July 9. Phil Brown is responsible for the program that week. There will be no meeting on July 2.
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June (Blue) & July (White) Birthdays and Anniversaries
30 | Randy Perkins | 25 | Philip & Rene Smith |
26 | Rodney & Beth Councilman | ||
28 | Bonnie & Jerry Whitaker | ||
July | |||
3 | Dan Seiler | 31 | Don and Beth Jennings |
President Cartner’s Farewell Remarks
Jim closed out his year as president of our club by sharing that he thoroughly enjoyed Randy’s installation banquet last Tuesday evening, saying that it was evident the Rotary is a family. He said we don’t get to choose our birth families, but we do have a lot to say about our our church family, work associates, and club family. He said he is looking forward to continuing forward with Rotary.
Jim thanked our club’s past presidents who served during his 13-week absence, especially Katie Dukeshire who did the lion’s share of the work. According to Jim, she more than made up for the time she missed during her tenure as president. Jim also mentioned the steps forward we made during the year supporting literacy, focusing mainly on the Rotary Reads project. Well done, Jim!
Happy Dollar Announcements
- Mike Morrison paid a dollar to celebrate opening night success for the Burlington Royals. Attendance topped 3400 and the fireworks show was great. Trip Durham filled as the public address announcer and did a wonderful job, as expected. He also helped the new interns with their jobs. The club gave Trip a well-deserved round of applause.
- Randy Perkins thanked all those who came out to his installation banquet. He mentioned Katie in particular, citing the wonderful job she did as the chairperson. Over 200 people attended, making it one of the largest such events in recent years. He said he appreciates all the support from our club and the other ones in Area 3.
- Thomas Phelps also touted the large crowd at the Royals home opener, saying that they are currently in first place with a record of 5-2. Maybe we will have another champion this year.
- Dick O’Donnell said he talked to Reagan Gural, the VP at the Chamber of Commerce, at the same ballgame. She remarked that she became a new fan of Rotary at Randy’s installation banquet and wants to join. Dick conjectured that perhaps she should belong to the Graham Club, since her boss is in our club. A voice spoke up asking if we could trade Mac for Reagan. Not sure about all that. Dick also lauded the great job Katie did organizing and directing the banquet.
- Susan Watson paid a dollar to honor Randy in his new role as DG. She said she will place forms on the various tables for sponsors to use to support the Women’s Resource Center’s Working Women’s Wednesday luncheons, saying that women are a powerful buying group.
- Micah Fox mentioned Ed Woodall’s comment at the recent banquet, when he remarked that our club “captured the flag” during the banner switching part of the ceremony.
- Trip Durham expressed gratitude for being asked to do the PA duties at the Royals opening night game. He reminded us that on the same date in 1988 the stadium hosted the longest continuous game in baseball history – 8 hours and 16 minutes. Trip was the clubhouse manager then.
Program: Installation of President, Officers, and Board for New Year
Jim turned over the meeting to Assistant District Governor Joshua Huffman to install the new president, officers, and board, saying that he cannot think of a better person to succeed him. Mary Thomas has great character and values and will represent our club and Rotary well. Joshua thanked Jim for his leadership during the past year. He proceeded with the formalities of inducting Mary Thomas and the others into their respective positions for the 2019-2020 year. Mary Thomas presented Jim with a beautiful plaque to commemorate his year.
Mary Thomas took the microphone to say that she is surprised to be serving as president. Why would she do this? First of all, she said she loves our club. Who would not want to be part of such a group? Secondly, she said she is doing her part to continue her father’s legacy, who was a devoted Rotarian. She brought a photo, seen on the left, and one of his Rotary shirts. She remarked that her father’s best friends were Rotarians. She also noted that she firmly believes in the principles of Rotary as enumerated in the Four Way Test. She also believes in the programs our club supports and plans to continue our emphasis on literacy. She hopes that we can encourage children to read by signing up to be Reading Buddies at our local schools. Rotary is a platform from which we can serve our community.
Conclusion
Pete Beck’s table held the winning ticket today, for the third week in a row. Does anyone keep records on these sorts of things? He drew the Six of Spades, which left the Queen of Diamonds secure in her hideaway. Only 40 cards are left! Mary Thomas adjourned the meeting by leading us in a recitation of Rotary’s four-way test.