Save the Royal

Well, last week I was in sunny Florida helping with the Ziggy Dick's BBQ festival.  There are some things that Pat, Steve, Rex and I learned from our time together.  They are as follows:

Rex and Steve hard at work

1. Florida in January is the bomb.

2. Steve can swim with a cell phone in his pocket.

3. Steve can not take a picture to save his life.

4. Pat can fish from anywhere.

5. and going to a Naples Bay Rotary Club meeting helps one realize just how young our club really is.

There was some work, some play and some really good Rotary friends in Naples.  It is always a good time.  If you can help out in the future, you will want to make it a priority.  

This week, Tracie Shearer, was our program.  Tracie was a roaming Rotarian last year in Naples.  Last year she laid down the law.  She said that while I was taking pictures, I could not take a picture of her with her mouth open, her mouth full of food and that all pictures of her must be approved by her before publishing.  With those rules in mind, during her program, I had no pictures of her speaking where I was in compliance with all the above rules.  

Tracie told us about the challenges that the Royal Theater are facing right now with the conversion of the theater to digital.  The Royal is more than just movies.  The Royal has been a venue for fundraisers, live music, plays, comedy nights, and birthday parties.  The Royal has a mission to make it a quality experience for everyone.  You can help support the theater from their website or their facebook page.  Tracie asked for each of us to share the Royal's status to help in raising the money needed for the conversion. 

There is a comedy event that will be used to raise funds for the Royal.  It will be Jan. 23 and 24 at 7:30pm.  Check out the website for more information.

Farmers day will be on Jan. 31st.  Invitations will be mailed to farmers, but if you know a farmer.... Invite them.  We will be at the Train Station in Ellis Park that day.

Ron will be retiring from Hendricks Power.  There is a reception for him at the Prestwick Country Club on January 30th.  The open house is from 3:30 to 6:30pm.  Ron would be delighted to have you stop by and help him celebrate.

Registration is now open for the next RLI session on Saturday, Feb. 16^th, 2013. You have completed RLI Part I or Part II already; now is the time to call on your club to sponsor your next session. The fee has now been reduced to $70, and everyone and every club should be able to afford it, especially when you consider being provided with new material, getting healthy breakfast and lunch, meeting new Rotarians from throughout the district, getting new fresh ideas, and improving your leadership skills while increasing your knowledge of Rotary. It’s a bargain you cannot find anywhere else. Please encourage your fellow club Rotarians to register if they have not yet done so.

Fee Reduced to $70 if you pre-register; On-line personal and club payment available

Who: All Rotarians

What: RLI Parts I, II, and III

When: Saturday, February 16, 2013, from 8:30 am - 3:30 pm

Where: First Baptist Church, 1010 East 126^th Street, Carmel, IN  46033

To register: 1) Go to http://www.hoa-rli.com ; 2) Click on RLI Events tab; 3)Look for D6560 Seminars; Click on 3 Events being offered; 4) Click onparticular seminar you wish to register for; 5) Fill out the Registration Form, and select method of payment. Clubs may register several of their members at the same time. The Pre-Registration Fee is $70 per session. On-Line payment is available for individuals or clubssponsoring several candidates, by credit card or check made out to HOA-RLI. Mail Pre-Registration checks to Salim Najjar, 3382 Eden Park Place, Carmel, IN 46033 by February 9, 2013. After registering you will receive a confirmation via e-mail. You may also access the Registration site through our district website or DacDb; Calendar Tab/ Feb. 16, 2013.  Walk-ins may pay $85 by check or cash on the day of the session at the Check-in Registration Desk if space is available.

Marcia Made It

Today our Assistant Governor, Wilma Shackleton, attended our meeting.  Wilma had nice things to say about how our club is ran and how much fun we all have.  We had three interactors in attendance.  John Dryer, from the Plainfield club, was a guest as well.  Jade Gruner had a guest too, Nate Mishler.

Marcia was our host and speaker today.  She was informed that she was the host about 10 minutes before she was on.  She pulled out all the stops and nailed it.  If you don't know, Marcia has a lot to say about everything.  This is because she is part of almost everything.  Her roll at the Chamber of Commerce and the Town Counsel make her in the know.  She shared information about the events of the night before at the Chamber of Commerce Community Award Banquet.  Rotarians were plentiful.  Bob Pearcy was nominated for Senior Citizen of the Year and Jennifer McPeak won the Business Leader of the Year Award.  When Marcia changed hats, she told us about things that the town are doing with sidewalks and building that is happening on the eastside of town.

Next week will be our Christmas Luncheon.  It will be held at Westbridge Church on Mackey Road.  Then on the 27th we will be having our Board Election.  There is still room for Rotarians that might want to join us in Naples for the Ziggy Dicks BBQ Festival.

Special Thanks to NSSB for pulling off a great food drive.  There will be some happy families that will be needing this food.  Please consider continuing to support the local food pantry   They are in need of food all year long.

This weekend is a very special weekend.  This weekend the "Cromissioner" and I go head to head again for the second time in Fantasy Football.  For the keeping score at home, I was the only Male to put the hurt on Seth.  I think this calls for a game day by game day report.  As I write this before the Thursday game we each have one player playing tonight.  I am projected to get 147 points and Seth 146 points.  It will be close, but I am sure that when the chips are down, his ego will be totaled just like his Van.  If you would like his point of view, you will have to ask him since he stopped writing.

Take Out the Papers and the Trash....

 It has been a long two weeks.  Very happy that everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  Not wanting to miss out on a week without Rotary, a group of Rotarians went and crashed Greencastle's party (Club Meeting).  Greg, Henry, Michael and Chas did a make up the day before Thanksgiving.  Chas was originally from that club and was kicked out upon arrival (welcomed warmly).  We were all able to make new friends quickly.  Last weeks visitors to our club were:  Jimmy Pearcy, Jamie Bohler Smith, Alayna Bolen, Judy and Kelso Wessel.

Jenny Pearcy was our speaker host this week.  Tim Franklin from Waste Management was our speaker.  Tim and his group keep the Cumins Diesels humming along at the facility.  Most of these engines are running 24 hours a day.  Methane gas is recovered from the trash and used to power the engines that supply electricity back to Hendricks Power.  Waste Management is a good stewart of their land and a great community partner.  The site was opened in 1971 and is 982 acres.  They are responsible for our community softball and soccer fields as well as  model airplaine field and trap and skeet shooting area.

 This weeks host is Debbie Konter and then Marcia Lynch.

Announcements:  

Rex is still looking for volunteers to help with the Ziggie Dick BBQ event in Naples, Florida in Jan.  This is a real good time.  It brings your closer to Rotary and it is Florida in Janurary.... need I say more.  Rex has room on the boat for the Rotarian going.  You will be responsible for your airfare, but your lodging is taken care of.  And there is plenty of great BBQ to eat.  Rex has room for 3 couples or 6 Rotarians.  Flights to FL are about $246 round trip on Airtran.  (Check with your CPA, this may be Tax Deductable.)  I went last year and had a great time.  There are places to eat within walking distance from the Marina.  Rex is a great host and it really is a great time.  Let's fill up the boat.

Jamie Bohler Smith was in attendence this week presenting a check to our club for our clock project.  This was the first Beautification Grant that had been handed out by the Downtown Partnership.  The grant was for $5000.00.  This will be put to immediate use.  Rotarian John Battershell has been a great negotiator with the company that we are getting the clock from.  It is built in Cincinnati.  We are trying to same some money on shipping.  John has a truck and we need a volunteer to travel over there to help pick it up.  If you are interested, please let me know.

Board Meeting this week.  Thursday morning at 7:30am at Court House Grounds.

Rotary Shirts.... If you ordered one, please pick it up.  If you don't remember... check with us.

We will be having board elections in the next two weeks.  Stay tuned.

Running Theme

The Double Secret meeting was a success. It was great to break out of our shells and regular seats and have a little fun. If you missed it, then you missed 1) what Rotary is about 2) what makes our club so great 3) that a number of Rotarians joined Rotary for the same reason and 4) that Dave Coleman believes in Extraterrestrials. (Just ask him.)

Neal Pearcy started us out with a Membership Minute that really hits home about what Rotary is and how and why we should spread the word.  The reality is that most of us don't know what to say when we are asked, "What is Rotary?".  Neal will be educating us over the next few months to help us answer these questions.

As we went around the room getting to know our fellow Rotarian better. I see a running theme emerge. Most people joined rotary for some form of business networking reason but became a Rotarian when the witnessed all the good work that is done in our community.  Our club has raised and distributed over 100 thousand dollars to local students in Danville. Most of what we do revolves around serving our community and the students in our community.

Three of our Interact kids joined us for lunch. They were Kelli Snodgrass, Jayden McBride, and James Thorpe.  We also had John Drier from the Plainfield club visit our club again this week. John announced that the Plainfield club will buy breakfast if you help with their cleanup day that is coming up.  Jane Hazelton also visited the club. She is with the Danville Public Library.

The dates for the Naples BBQ event are January 4th and 5th.  Flights leave after Rotary on Thursday and you can have your choice of return flights. Saturday, Sunday or after the Naples club meeting on Tuesday. Rex has room for 3 couples or 5 Rotarians.  I already have a response from one Rotarian that wants to go. Email me and I will let Rex know.

Myself, Michael Williams and maybe Henry are planning to visit the Greencastle Rotary Club on Wednesday since we are not having a meeting this week due to Thanksgiving.  We have room for one more in the truck.  If you would like to join us.... Please e-mail me.

As we round out this Thanksgiving week, I want to say that I am thankful for each of you Rotarians.  You make me proud to be a Rotarian.  I really enjoy seeing each of you each week.  Thank you for making our club great.  Proud to be your President.  Greg