Gas supply at highest levels in 21 years!

The good news is prices at the pump will be coming down so it will be less expensive to drive to Rotary meetings each week; and we have some great meetings in store over the next few weeks.

We will start with this weeks club assembly, where each committee chair will be bringing their committee together to discuss ideas, goals and strategy for this Rotary year. If you have not selected the committee you would like to serve on this year, this is the perfect time to do so. If you are unable to attend this weeks meeting please contact the committee chair for the committee you would like to participate in so they can get you up to date with what they have going on. As a reminder, this years committee chairs are listed below:

Membership committee - Neal Pearcy
Sgt-at-Arms (administration committee) - Don Dodson
Public Relations committee - Seth Cromer
Rotary Foundation & DRCF committee - Greg VanLaere
Social committee - Jenny Pearcy
Fundraising committee - Heath Allen
Vocational committee - Michael Petrunich
Community Services committee - Flora Phillips
New Generation committee (formerly Interact) - Sue Rempert
International committee - Eric Oliver
Scholarship committee - Bill Barfield

Many thanks go out to everyone that helped make our year-end celebration a great success. We enjoyed great music from our very own Charles Green and ate like Kings and Queens thanks to all the delicious food Rotarians brought, as well as the pork steaks the ladies of the Shared Blessings Food Bank cooked for us.


Finally, many thanks go out to Rotarian Greg VanLaere for leading our club this past year. He has brought us to the forefront of technology by teaching us how to communicate more effectively each week and by getting our club involved in the District with his volunteer work at that level throughout the year. Now it appears he has taken a page out of the Dugan book and left to go sailing this week so he can relax before he has to fly all the way to Hawaii on Saturday for a vacation.


Enjoy Greg, you deserve it.

Upcoming meetings:

July 18 - Program is Seth Cromer; Greeter is Jenny Pearcy
July 25 - Program is Don Dodson; Greeter is Jeremy VanLue
August 1 - Program is Chelsea Singleton; Greeter is Kevin Hill





I leave you with our very own Kevin Speer learning about Rotary in Ireland. Thanks for sharing the picture Marcia.

Sports Building Strong Kids

This week was about kids. First, the Danville Rotary Club Foundation presented a check for the Boy Scouts Pack #310.  The $750 check will expand on a project that they have planned for the Danville Head Start.  Our donation will be used to purchase larger trees that will provide shade quicker for the kids of head start.   Dee Dee from Head start spoke to the club about the reduced funding from our government from the sequestration. Christy Craig was the representative from the Boy Scouts Pack that came to the meeting to accept the check. Christy shared her passion for helping the Head Start accomplish their goal.  She said that the boys have been planning for weeks and that some boys have created special pet projects that they want to do and are raising separate funds to accomplish.  

Our own Amy Elliott was our Key Note speaker.  Amy is the founder of Sports For All Kids.  Sports For All Kids started with $250 donated from 4 different donors.   These humble beginnings have expanded to distribute over $6000 per season.  It all started to help single mothers with the costs associated with youth sports. Over the years, Sports For All Kids has moved from helping with sports gear to financial help with the registration fees associated with these youth programs.   Amy works with the schools to access the needs of the kids who are on free or reduced lunch programs.   This creates the pool from which benefits may be applied.  Sports for all Kids is always in need of help.  If you would like to make a tax deductible contribution, please see Amy.  

This week we will be at the High School for our yearly Interact meeting.  Please arrive slightly early and enter through the main entrance.     

Relay in the Lead

Back in Time

Time to get back in the swing of things after a week off from Rotary.  Just because there was no meeting last week does not mean that the gears of Rotary come to a standstill.  There is plenty of news going on.  

At our last meeting, JR Hackelman had the program.  JR introduced his father-in-law Steve Johnson.  Most of us know Steve and were very happy to have him join us again.  Steve is one of those speakers that commands an audience.  As a former educator, when Steve speaks, you just can't help but to listen and obey.  When Steve speaks about his passions, he speaks from his heart.  This time of year is a big push for the organization that Steve and his wife spend time supporting.  Relay for Life is that organization.  Steve gave us a brief history of the Relay and that Danville's Relay continues to be the strongest.  There are may activities that you can join during the Relay.  These activities might be small in effort but the impact that can be gained from joining the cause is unequal.  Please follow this link for more information.     

Danville Rotary Club Rose Sale.

Administrative Assistants Day is around the corner.  It is time to promote and sell roses for our Scholarships.  These orders can be placed online from our club website.  www.danvillerotaryclub.com  You can copy and paste this link on your Facebook page, Twitter or your favorite social media outlet.  Paper forms are also available upon request.  Our club has also created the ability to pay for those roses through Paypal.  We already have several dozen orders.  Take action and get yours ordered today.  

Membership Committee

The Danville Rotary Club has great members.  Some of those members gather together to work on membership.  The afternoon following our last meeting, the Membership Committee got together.  They are putting together programs that will help and excite our club.  Make sure that you are doing your part to help. Charles, Charlie and Mark also attended the Brownsburg Club meeting on Thursday.  It is always great to have a good showing of Rotarians visiting other clubs.  If you ever want to attend another club meeting, just ask and someone will attend with you.  

Golf Outing

Mark Morgan is a man on a mission.  On a mission for Steak.  Mark has a Steak in the Harold Martin Open.  Mark has been spotted roaming around Danville and Avon getting hole sponsors and players to play in our outing. Way to go Mark (Thankfully we are on the same team... Go Mark)!  As I was updating our website to accept orders for Roses, I got the links working for golf sponsorships.  These can now be completed from our club website.  www.danvillerotaryclub.com   This warm weather makes everyone want to play golf, even Doug Catt.     

Speech Contest

Speech Contest

What can you learn from a high school student who is giving a speech about Rotary? Everything you ever wanted to know about Rotary. SHE did a great job on her speech about peace and the object of Rotary. As our solo speaker she will move on to the District 6560 speech contest in a couple of weeks.  As the speaker she also collected a $100.00 check from the club.  We are very happy that SHE will be representing our club at the district level.  Below, Danville Rotarians are spellbound by our speaker.

Jerry Weed has been our program chair the the speech contest for a number of years.  Jerry lines up the participants and helps them down the path to complete the project.  This week, Jerry had the instructor from the high school say a few words about the District 6560 Speech contest that she took part in last year as well as David Vornholt.  David won the speech contest last year and went to the district contest.

 

This weekend, Neal, Charles, and I attended RLY One and Two.  Rotary Leadership Institute takes an in depth look into the workings of Rotary and the development of Leadership skills.  This program is open to all Rotarians.  It is a great experience and everyone should take time in their rotary life to do.   

Peace Project

This Thursday will be our Peace Project with the Avon and Plainfield clubs.  "Inspire like a Rock Star" author Thaddeus Rex, will be our guest speaker for the evening.  Rex's Inspire Like a Rock Star program drives straight to the core of business ethics. As he says, "When your business is working to give customers a better life, your customers will give you a better business. Rotary is the perfect partner for this project. I'm so excited to be involved. Their slogan of 'Peace Through Service' says it all. The clubs of Danville, Plainfield, and Avon have put in countless hours behind the scenes in preparation and when Tracie (Shearer, owner of the Royal Theater and a member of the Danville Rotary Club) approached me about this event, I knew it had to happen. This kind of service is what good business is all about."  (Flyer Group)  

Danville Rotarians that purchase a ticket to the event will receive a meal credit on their bill.  If you will be unable to attend and would like to donate your meal credit to the Event, please contact Henry or Ron B.  

It is important for Tracie to have a head count for the event.  If you have not done so, please e-mail her with how many people you will be bringing.  There will be other communication that will go out through DacDB.  

Miller Time

Have you heard of Rotary Direct?  It is Rotary's recurring giving program.  Rotary Direct saves.... Time, Money, and Lives.  Sign up today at www.rotary.org/contribute


The Interactors met Thursday morning.  Michael and I attended.  There were 10 Interactors and Mya Williams.  There are some projects that the Interactors are working on that will need our help.  We will keep you posted.  Four of the Interactors attended our regular meeting today.  They are Sierra Summers, Tara Blackard, Heather Siller, and Shailyn Ennis.  We also had a visiting Rotarian from Plainfield, John Drier.

This week Dennis Dawes was the speaker host.  Dennis introduced Pete Miller after giving his 10 minutes of fame.  Pete was elected as last Tuesday for the position that he took over with the vacancy from Connie Lawson taking over the Secretary of State position.  Pete's position is that he is more effective if he knows the people of the community.  He asked that the community keep him accountable.  Pete worked to cut costs and duplication while working under Mitch Daniels.  You can contact Pete through Dennis Dawes.




Neal and I attended the District 6560 Success Seminar on Saturday.  As always, there were many different clubs in our district represented at the Seminar.  These clubs are all looking to get better.  There were three major portions of the event.  They were: Membership, Foundation Certification for 2013-2014, and Public Relations.  Neal attended the membership portion and I got our Foundation Certification so that our club can qualify for grants during the next Rotary year.

Don't forget that this comings week is a Double Secret Meeting.  It would be best for ALL Rotarians to attend this meeting.  Just a reminder that we will not be having a meeting on Thanksgiving.

Right now it is Sunday and I am in trouble.... Dusti and I play each other in Fantasy Football.  Someone is going to win, and someone is going to lose.  Either way I look at it.... I will be the loser.  This is not good. (Wednesday Fantasy Football update:  Dusti and I tied... all is right with the world).

Mental Health Day

The Danville Rotary Club Board met Thursday morning for a strategic planning session to provide guidance for both current projects and the future of the club.  Thank you to the board for providing important input into this process.  Part of what makes our club successful is the dedication of all its club members. Thanks to everyone.

Bob Murer was our speaker host today.  He introduced Tammi Jessup of the Mental Health Association.  Tammi said that 1 in 4 people suffer from some form of mental health issue.  Part of the Mental Health Associations mission in to educate adults and kids.  Tammi introduced Sandy Brown and Diane Murer as educators of kids.  Sandy and Diane put on a puppet show about anti-bullying.  They also have programs for Autism and Alcoholism.  They put together programs to educate kids using these puppets.



We were happy to have the Mental Health Association as guests.  We also had four interactors visiting.  They were Brenna Kincaid, Claire Hazelton, Alayna Bolen and Melissa Rudie.  Melissa is the communication chair for the Interact Club.

Terry K. was recognized for bring in a new member to our club.  We are excited to grow our club.  Neal Pearcy and I will be attending a membership seminar this coming weekend.  Thanks to Neal for taking the lead for membership.

Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you are reading this) is election day.  Before you vote, you should take a second to read the "Cromissioner's" blog.  There is suspense, drama, the occasional grammatical error... all the things that make up a good political campaign.  Seth points out certain weaknesses (ie, Amy's starting quarterback, my eye sight, and democracy).  You have to check it out.  Click on the tab at the top of the page and enjoy.    

The Big Picture

Dr. Ward

Denis Ward was our speaker host this week.  There are some big things happening at the school.  Changes that include a pilot program for Customized Mass Learning.  Denis introduced Matt Vandermark and Karen Perkins, both Danville Community School Principles.  Matt and Karen gave us the "Big Picture" of what the programs are about.  They are trying to provide the best learning environment and maximizing each of the children's potential.  The program has been working very well and the school will be in a position soon to determine how they proceed from here.

Visiting our club today was Troy Gill, Kelso Wessel, and Betsy Bassett.  Troy is a project manager for Danville Heat and Cool, Kelso is a visiting Rotarian from Loundon, Ohio, and Betsy Bassett is the owner of a new shop coming to Danville called The Beehive.  We also have the following interactors at lunch:  James Thorpe, Amanda Cooper, and Sara Hill.

Yes, I am sure Tracie "Can do it!"

Speaking Easy!!!

This weekend was a "Big Picture" Rotary event.  The 2012 - 2013 District 6560 District Conference.  Danville Rotary Club attendees were:  Greg VanLaere, Suzanne Whicker and David Whicker, Tracie Shearer and Danny Shearer and Flory and Jim Phillips.  Held at Purdue University, a number of speakers shared with us information about food quality, agriculture in Afghanistan and womens health.  Tom Turpin even served us up gourmet meal worms.  Friday evening was capped with a costume party.  Our own Tracie and Flory were got into the swing of things in their outfits.  It was great to visit with some old Rotary friends and make some new ones.  On Saturday, there were breakout sessions that all Rotarians attended.  Learning about the Rotary Foundation, RYLA and Strategic Planning.  Greg VanLaere was one of the speakers sharing his experience attending the International Conference.

In the end it was a great time had by all and another conference is the books.  I was able to spend the conference learning to run the AV equipment for the District.  Here was my view for the weekend.

Dual Laptops and a Mixing board.... Oh my!!!!

More Out of Rotary

I know that you were thinking that you were going to go a week without hearing from me.  I missed you all last week, but I am planning on getting my Rotary fill Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  I want to thank Michael Williams for filling in last week and getting it done.  Hope to see everyone tomorrow.

Want to get more out of Rotary.... Here are three things that you can do to enhance your Rotary experience.

1)  Sit with someone that you don't know at our regular meeting.  This goes for both new and older members.  Everyone must understand that it can be challenging to break into a group that always sits together each week.  The thing that I find about Rotarians is that we each have a common background and have a lot to talk about.

2)  Visit another club.  All clubs are not created equal.  Visiting another club will help you appreciate your home club and will introduce you to others in Rotary and other Rotary ideas.  There are three other clubs in the county.  You can visit our District website for more information about local clubs.  You can visit the website for times and locations of meetings.

3)  Participate in a District or International Conference.  This weekend will be District 6560's 2012-2013 District Conference.  We will have speakers from Pakistan, the "Bug" Man (Tom Turpin) and Purdue's Head of Nutrition Science, Connie Weaver, Ph.D.  There will be breakout sessions with topics ranging from Social Media to Water Projects to Disaster Response.  These are things that each Rotarian should experience once.  If you have not attended a District Conference, you should set a goal that in the next two years you should plan on attending.  You also get to meet other Rotarians from other clubs with out having to travel to each individual clubs.

Each of these are ways to deepen your Rotary experience.  It is a step out of your comfort zone, but it is well wirth the step.  See you soon.   

Keeping on Schedule

Last week was a busy week.  We hosted two speakers for our regular meeting.  Congress man Todd Rokita was our first speaker of the meeting.  Todd talked about the Republic and tthat what we have may be in jeopardy.  Ben Franklin said, "What your have here is a republic, if you can keep it."  Todd thinks that we are in for some issues.  Mr. Rokita called for a Cultural change.

Following the Congressman was John Crane introduced by Eric Oliver.  Sagamore Student Leadership is a faith based organization that helps to develop leaders in high school and college.  John mirrored what Congressman Rokita said, "Doing nothing is no longer an option."  John's organization knows that helping kids develop skills that they already have and provide faith based leadership can make a difference to communities in the future.  John said that leadership is a neutral quality, it can be used for both good or bad.  They are working on the GOOD!

Tracie announced a change from our regular basket that is put together for the District Conference.  Tracie took up a collection for the purchase of a Kindle.  The Kindle would be the centerpiece of the basket and would also feature other local books, wine and other goodies.  A collection was taken to offset the cost of the Kindle.  We are really proud of the club for coming together and covering the full cost.  Thank You!  Tracie will have the basket on display this week at Rotary.  Special thanks to Tracie to putting this together again this year.

I will miss you all this week.  I will be in Terre Haute for work.  Michael Williams will get some on the job training.  See you next week.  Greg

Sweet Smell of Success

The 2012 Bake sale is in the books.  Our Rotary Club held it's annual Bake Sale to raise money for our Rotary Scholarship fund.  For many years, the Rotary Scholarships have been helping to fund the educational needs of graduating seniors.  Recipients can apply during their senior year at Danville Community High school   The scholarships are then paid after completing their first semester of college.  This years sale was a success and we are still accepting donations for our scholarship fund.  Please, if you were unable to attend, consider making a contribution.  Any amount would be beneficial.  You can make the check payable to the Danville Rotary Club Foundation.  You can give the checks to Ron B., Henry, Suzanne or Greg.

The evening was beautiful weather.  Suzanne and Dave Whicker were gracious hosts again this year.  There was plenty of time to socialize before the sale.  As bidders arrived, our inventory of desserts grew.  There was a surprise gift that was dropped off, but more about that later.  Once Stephenie and Brandon arrived following a Danville win for the 7th grade boys football game (hint... Happy Dollar), things began to rock.

Stephenie, Brandon and Jerry got us kicked off to a bang.  The first item went for over $100.  Most items that evening brought over $100 for our cause.  We have learned over the years, that some beer and wine before the auction helps loosen the purse strings.  Chief Gill was the high bidder on the mystery gift that was dropped off.  There is just something funny about the cop getting a box of donuts.  Pies, cakes and cookies were all well represented.  Even though Rex and Sharon were unable to attend; they sent their proxies.  Flory and Jim Phillips were bidding on their behalf.  We are happy for all donations, no matter who was bidding.

How many Pollocks does it take to provide entertainment for a bake sale?  Just one, and we are happy that Jerry brought his energy and good spirits.  Thank you Jerry for helping and thanks to Stephenie Brandon and the Whickers.  And a very special Thank you to our bidders.

The shirts that were ordered have arrived.  We will have them at the meeting this Thursday.  Please make sure that you pick up your shirt and settle up with the treasurer.

Reminder:  There is a board meeting this Thursday morning at Court House Grounds at 7:30am

Membership Minute

Gary Frey from the District 6560 Membership Committee joined us today for our regular meeting.  We also have visiting Rotarian TR Jacks from the Avon club joining us as well.  Neal Pearcy gave a pin for bringing in a new member to Ron B. for sponsoring Bill Barfield.

When Gary took the floor, he shared with us his Rotary story.  Gary's path is one that lead to Rotary.   His expierence with Carmel Fun Fest (Rotary Sponsored Event) lead him to finding a group that could offer supprot in his life.  Gary went on to suggest that asking someone to join the club is the best way to encourage someone to sign up.  The best line that I took from Gary was, "You could really add something to our organization!", when asking someone to visit our club.  One of the last things that Gary memtioned was that he thought that our club was very FUN!!!! and it is Fun.  Lets ask others to join in on the FUN!.  Coming off of Gary's talk, please make an effort to ask someone to join us this week for Rotary.

Saturday, I had fun at the Rotary Leadership Institute.  Past DG Nancy Madru was one of the leaders of several discussions about Rotary and the Foundation.  We had Rotarians that had been members from 3 months and some that had been members for 55 years.  Everybody was there to learn about Rotary and share in the fellowship.


 Seth "The Commissioner" Cromer,  is comfortable in his masculinity with using a PINK laptop to input Rotary Teams picks for Fantasy Football.  12 Rotarians joined in on the fun last night.  The Four Way Test was no where to be found.... It was all for one last night.  We might be friends on Thursday, but NOT during Draft.  Smash talking and Wine might lead to some regrets when the season starts.  We will try to give a weekly update at our regular meetings.

This weeks program host is Ron Monts.  Please make an effort to ask someone that you think will make a good Rotarian to join us this week.