Club Business
Mary Thomas Gilbert presided over her last meeting as our president after serving with distinction for the past year. Pete Beck offered the invocation and led us in the pledge of allegiance to the US flag. Mary Thomas asked Dick O’Donnell to welcome those who were attending via Zoom, which included Dick’s son, Tom, from Walla-Walla, WA, Dave Livingston from the Honolulu Club, Chris Filla with Carolina Digital, and John Pleasant. Guests present at the meeting were Dr. Bebe O’Donnell, Dick’s wife, Dr. Rachelle Ford, Dean of the School of Communications at Elon, fellow Rotarians, Joshua Huffman and Russell Guy, and Carolyn Rhodes’ daughter, Sabrina.
Mary Thomas presented retiring District Governor Randy Perkins with a fresh-baked loaf of sourdough bread as a token of her appreciation for all he did during the past year.
Happy Dollars
- Thomas Phelps presented the club with a banner from his former club in Annapolis, MD, which he visited before the pandemic lock down.
Remarks from our past president
Mary Thomas thanked us for the support she received through the year, expressing her love for the people who comprise the Rotary Club of Alamance. She humorously related how Jim Cartner and Brian Dement “conned” her into taking the job, saying that there was really not much to it. Katie furthered the set up by volunteering to take care of the details, little realizing she would need to take a leave of absence to care for her mother. Mary Thomas said that following in her father’s footsteps as a Rotarian was probably her chief motivation.
She listed some of our accomplishments as a club from the past year, beginning with the move to Burlington Beer Works. She also mentioned the in-house coloring project won by our reigning best artist, Sam Powell. Boxed meals were delivered at Christmas time. We participated in Feed the Hunger Packathons, contributing $1400 to that organization with the help of some district grants. We conducted our first “signature” fund raiser at BBW over the Valentines holiday period, raising almost $4000, which allowed us to fulfill our commitment to Rotary and once again be a 100% sustaining club. We also participated in Rotary Reads, and contributed to Rotary’s Polio Plus project. She thanked the many individuals who helped make this possible, shared how it fit into the Four Way Test principles, and concluded by encouraging Dick to have a fantastic year.
Vision for the Future
Our new president, Dick O’Donnell, stepped to the microphone at that point. His first order of
business was to present our outgoing president with a beautiful plaque to commemorate her year. Then he shared some guiding thoughts for the upcoming year. Dick’s history in Rotary dates back to 1977 in Portland, OR, continued in Hawaii, moved the Chapel Hill, NC, and somehow found its way to our club in 2011.
Dick wants to see our club grow to at least sixty members over the coming year and become the flagship club in the area. He asked us all to take seriously his goal to grow by inviting likely people to join us. He said we are on planet earth to serve one another, and wants to build our membership to increase our impact.
Dick said he would like to see our club grow relationally in the coming year, using the KLT memory aid. We usually relate and work best with people we know, like, and trust. He hopes this will become more and more a reality for us.
Dick told us that he is excited to be working with his new board.
- Brooke Carpenter – President-Elect
- Carolyn Rhodes – Secretary
- Susan Watson – Treasurer
- Micah Fox – Membership
- Richard Atkins – Service
- Jim Cartner – Foundation
- Bonnie Whitaker – Social
- Pete Beck – Club Communications and Website
He said he wants to add a Sgt-at-Arms, Greeter, and Orientation Coordinator, if possible.
To conclude, he quote our new RI president, Holger Knaack:
Rotary isn’t just a club for people to join, but rather an invitation to endless opportunities.
District Governor Randy Perkins did the official installation ceremony for the new president and board, making the transition official as of July 1.
Conclusion
Dick dismissed us by reminding us that we “exit to serve.”