Gallipolitan
District Governor Tom Kokensparger Visits Gallipolis Rotary!
Gallipolis Rotary Club members were treated to a special visit from our District Governor, Thomas L. Kokensparger of Lancaster. Club President Deborah Rhodes opened the regular morning meeting promptly at 7:15 am with an excellent attendance from club members. Thank you, everyone, for your efforts in turning out for today’s meeting.
Read more about the meeting–Below the fold!
Two More Foundation Coin Boxes–President Deb announced the club received two more coin boxes for the Rotary Foundation this morning–one from Tammi Brabham and another from Kevin Petrie! The boxes were stuffed and Tammi’s had tape around it just to keep it together! Members, this is a great way, a painless way to make your yearly contribution of $100 to the Foundation. This Gallipolis Rotary tradition was started by Margaret Evans several years back and has really caught on. We have more boxes, so if you need one just ask!
Club Board Meeting–We will be having a club board meeting Wednesday, August 6th, at the OVB main office downstair, at 1 pm. Wednesdays seem to be a better day for schedules. Remember, board meetings are an excellent way to make up any missed club meetings.
District Family Event on August 23rd–There will be a District family event held at the Columbus Crew Soccer stadium starting at 6 pm with a pre-game buffet, reserved seating in the north end Rotary section, and cheer on the Crew as they take on Salt Lake. Tickets are $30 for the package and a portion will go toward Polio Plus!
From Red Badge To Blue–Jenny Evans turned in a makeup where she attended the Pt.Pleasant Rotary Club. With this requirement out of the way, and a vocational talk scheduled for next week, Jenny will then qualify for her Rotary Blue Badge! Congratulations, Jenny!
Fellowship–Lou Ellen Werry ran club fellowship for the meeting and collected a few fines for missing pins, badges, and late arrivals. It rained so hard during fellowship that Lou wondered out loud if anyone brought their boat to the meeting! Lou took a few minutes to talk about the significance of August 5th in history–a day it seems that Presidents go crazy. Bottom line, ‘don’t aggravate the President!’ We missed Katrinka this morning and will have to collect on her birthday next week.
Split-The-Pot–Dan Whiteley ran STP for the meeting collecting a good sized pot that somehow the Secretary missed. Bob Eastman was the lucky ticket holder for today who got to pocket a few bucks. Bob missed the ‘big one’ by drawing the jack of clubs. Bob assessed the Foundation Fine against anyone NOT wearing a tie!
Program–Assistant District Governor Lee Hubbard presented the club with this year’s Rotary theme banner to President Deb. Next ADG Lee introduced District Governor Tom Kokensparger to the club and club members rose and welcomed DG Tom with a round of enthusiastic applause.
DG Tom thanked the club for the enjoyable time spent in fellowship on Monday evening. Gallipolis is a frequent destination for our governor as he often comes here in August for the antique car show which is held in the city park.
DG Tom emphasized this year’s theme–Make Dreams Real–and RI President, DK Lee, and his dedication of this year to reducing child motality through the global efforts of Rotary International. Our District Governor pointed out that the many projects of the Gallipolis Rotary Club blend well with this theme, particularly our efforts in improving literacy in the county though our reading programs, Tylenol program for the local health department, and our support of Operation We Care medical mission to the Philippines which provides medical care, nutrition and water well programs!
DG Tom congratulated the club for the many projects that we sponsor during the year. “An active club becomes a greater club when it is actively engaged in community projects like you are,” he said. “This is an important way to spread the word about Rotary locally and around the world. Rotary needs to attract professionals who want to serve, but do not want to waste their time. Keep your projects stimulating and relevant and you will attract more members!”
Our District Governor commented on the importance of supporting the Rotary Foundation, especially in light of the recent $100 million grant from the Gates Foundation for the eradication of polio. This is an important goal and we need to make every cent count in these final steps to completion. DG Tom concluded his remarks with an invitation to attend the District Conference which will be held in Lancaster in May, 2009.
President Deb presented Tom with a framed certificate in honor of the first book to be donated to one of the elementary schools in Gallia County in his name. This new project is supported in part by a District Simplified Grant from Rotary District 6690. Throughout the year our club will be awarding the nine elementary school libraries with new, hardbound books in the names of the speakers that provide programs to our club.
The meeting was adjourned.