An enthusiastic group of fifteen members shared breakfast, stories, and celebrations in this morning’s gathering. Mic Goulet led the Pledge of Allegiance and Jack Proffitt said grace at President Cindy Sullivan’s behest and a series of announcements followed:
- Bill Hentgen reminded us that he has tickets for “Moroccan Moonlight” (this year’s “Night at the Museum” event for Sloan/Longway), so let him know if you are interested.
- Mic Goulet announced that we will be putting together a group of member volunteers for our annual Special Olympics “Softball Throw” coverage on Tuesday, September 30, at 9:30 a.m..
- Prez Cindy has announced that our annual “Installation Banquet” is to be on Thursday, September 25 (venue and menu to be finalized), and she asked that we put September 27 on our calendar for this year’s HarvestFest (sponsored by Flushing Chamber of Commerce). She needs volunteer coverage from 10a-4p.
- Jim Reigle, proud of his success in growing zucchini, showed his baking skills and brought in 2 loaves of homemade zucchini bread that were auctioned off in the meeting, with money going into the Club coffers.
- Steve Schlott reported on our Club’s role in assembling 5 more beds (747 total) for Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Jeff Gauger reminded us of the upcoming SHP “build Day at Flushing Presbyterian Church on Sept. 13 and cheerfully and gratefully accepted a crateful of aluminum pull tabs collected by Club members to be passed on to Ronald McDonald House.
- Karen Lorenc, from Flushing Christian Outreach, talked about the changes in the organization’s status and clientele, noting that the usual monthly provisioning of food continues but at increased cost and decreased supply, and that the usually rare “2nd call” for food in a month has jumped from 3 to 52 requests. The program will have an October 12th Open House with family fun (bounce houses, etc.), food trucks, a silent auction, and other events (heart screening, rescue dogs, etc.) and she hopes for our support.
- Deb Hawley. from St. Francis Prayer Center, spoke glowingly of the big annual fundraiser with its Mardi Gras theme, raffle, open bar, etc. tomorrow night. Deb is in the running for an Impact 100 award with which she hopes to acquire a pole ban for the protection and storage of valuable equipment, and she will cheerfully offer trucks to, and accept volunteers from, other organizations providing community service.
- This afternoon’s “Stammtisch” will be at Kathy’s 126 in Flushing at 3:30 p.m..
- Greg Hilliker distributed the Speaker Schedule sheet for the upcoming Optimist year and wishes to thank Karen Lorenc, Deb Hawley, Rich Lewis, Cindy Sullivan, Mic Goulet, and Joe Cozart for signing on to help make sure we have programs!
Until next time, “Promise Yourself…”