President Carol reminded the club that the meeting on the 15th was the last meeting before the two-week holiday break. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. We will meet again for lunch on Thursday, January 5th.
We're hoping to have the raffle tickets sold for a drawing after the holidays, so please make one more push to sell your tickets. This fundraiser is to support our Scholarship Fund, and we want to make it a great success! President Carol offered to come pickup any tickets that you sell between now and Christmas, so get in touch if you have some and please try to sell them for our scholarship fund.
Many thanks to Ed Fowler for all of his hard work for the Annual Christmas Luncheon at Taunton High School. We had more than 50 attendees and enjoyed a great lunch and concert by the THS Select Chorus. We recognize Ed for the hard work that goes into the planning of this event, so thank you!
Another big thank you to Bob and Barbara Hunt, Victor and Lou, and Jack Leddy, as well as all who attended and helped out at the Kids Christmas Party on December 8th. It was another great success and a great way for Rotary to make a difference in the community. Pictures are posted on our website.
Carol passed around a copy of the Taunton Daily Gazette to see the article about Marian Manor's Snowflake Bazaar. We're glad to see the coverage in the paper and glad it was such a successful event for two of our newest Rotarians!
Dave C. had a quick announcement that as we turn the calendar into 2017, planning for Pancake and Family Fun Day will be ramping up once again. He noted that things are already starting and that the application for the venue will include both and indoor and outdoor option, in case of inclement weather. So enjoy the holiday season, and then get ready to get to work on this year's Pancake and Family Fun Day.
Joe Mitchell is working on a member Directory, so please check in at the sergeant-at-arms desk to confirm that we have the right contact information for you. If not, make the appropriate edits so Joe can get the Directory finished.
A board meeting was held on December 15, at 5:30 at Kit's office at AHS.
Cat Seaver, who was involved with the founding of the Interact Club at THS last year, has remained involved with Rotary in college working as a Service Student Director, helping create a service project for RYLA weekend. She sent the following message to the club:
"This year our service project is to create care packages for the homeless in the Massachusetts and Rhode Island areas. To raise money we are selling blankets that say "Service Above Self," if you could share the link posted with the rest of Rotary, and encourage them to buy blankets and share the link too that would be amazing. The fundraiser is only active for 18 more days and it is vital to raise the money that we need. https://www.booster.com/service-above-self. Thank you!"
Did you know that your happy and sad bucks help the club make a donation to the Rotary Foundation?
Bob Hunt was happy that Jack Leddy once again served as an excellent Santa for the Kids' Christmas Party.
Joe L. was very enthused that the NY Giants defeated the Dallas Cowboys this past weekend. He also had a Merry Christmas buck for the club.
Dick S. was happy to have seen Santa Jack at the Raynham tree lighting and also happy to announce that Carol recently won an ugly sweater contest.
Russ M. donated a happy buck for a successful Kids' Christmas party, and particularly for Carol's enthusiasm and dedication to the event. Thanks Carol!
Will M. had a buck to share that the kids from the Interact Club loved being invited to lunch and really enjoyed themselves.
Phil R. was happy and thankful to Carol for the chocolate she gave to all of us.
Glenn Sherman thanked Joe Mitchell for inviting him to lunch!
Jackie T. also had a happy buck for the success of last week's events.
Joe M. had 10 happy bucks: for last week's events, for Glenn joining us today, and for the upcoming two weeks which will his see son and family visiting for the holidays. Enjoy Joe!
Jody F. had a happy buck to welcome Triumph, Inc. His mother was a founder and served on their board for 40 years.
Ed F. had a happy buck for the success of last week's luncheon and for having enough chickens. Ed also had a sad buck for Helen, a young woman who visited us a few years ago as part of the Rotary exchange program. After running a marathon she discovered a heart problem, and the ensuing operations have led to some major health challenges. Ed asks that we keep Helen in our thoughts and prayers this holiday season.
A story from Rotary International: "A three-day course with ShelterBox inspired Rotaract member Luke Addison to get involved in disaster relief." Read the article here.
At the December 15th meeting, Joe Mitchell was the Program Chair, and he introduced our speaker Karen Ennis, Executive Director of Triumph Inc. Karen spoke about the mission of Triumph, Inc. and the Headstart program, which have been working to help children and families succeed since 1965. We learned a lot about the challenges and successes of the program and more about the role this organization plays in our local community. Karen gave an informed and interesting talk and we were glad to have her join us.
We have two weeks off, and our next meeting will be Thursday, January 5, 2017!
