Meeting highlights:  With great excitement, at our Oct. 20 meeting Lisa Chandler and Lorna Cochrane, co-chairs of  our major fundraiser, revealed that PrimePlus Norfolk Senior Center will be our charitable partner for the 2016 Suds & Buds fundraiser. Norfolk Rotary Charities, our club's charitable arm, and the Norfolk Botanical Garden are our standing beneficiaries of funds raised along with a third charity selected each year. The funds will be used by PrimePlus to fund an emergency resource center for low-income and socially isolated elder adults and to identify resources for their families and the candidates for assistance. Suds & Buds is set for Friday, May 13, 2016. Mark your calendar and plan to help support the best party in town. 

Also, our own Pam Tubbs, a polio survivor, gave a personal account of what it was like for her and her family when she contracted polio at age two. Pam is proud to be part of Rotary in part due to its ongoing commitment to eradicating polio, a crippling disease now present in only two countries. She spoke in support of World Polio Day on Oct. 24 and how all contributions made to PolioPlus are being tripled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

The program:  Our lunch program featured an update and music from Virginia Opera, which will perform La Boheme in Norfolk on Nov. 6, 8 and 10. Our own Lisa Sands, who works with the Opera, introduced Russell Allen, president & CEO, who gave an overview of Virginia Opera and La Boheme and acknowledged the support of many Norfolk Rotarians and family. They include Ed Lilly, Martha Lee Shaw (wife of Rotarian Mark Shaw) and Edith Grandy (wife of Rotarian Cy Grandy), who serve on the Opera’s statewide board and its executive committee. Nancy Branch (wife of Rotarian Mal Branch) and our own Jim Kitz join Ed, Martha Lee and Edith on the local opera board.

Allen was hired by the Opera in 2011 when it was in the middle of a management restructure. Allen says Virginia Opera had a good season last year and continues to perform in Norfolk, Richmond and Fairfax. This year’s La Boheme production will include a children’s chorus joining the cast. Joining Allen at the podium was Adam Turner, the Opera’s principal conductor and artistic advisor. His first exposure to opera was through the Simpsons, the TV cartoon sitcom, when Homer Simpson ended up in a lead in an opera. Turner pointed out that we are frequently exposed to opera without being aware of it through various ads and shows. Also speaking to our club was Jake Gardner, who began his opera career with Virginia Opera during its first year in 1974. He was in the first presentation of La Traviata 41 years ago. From this beginning, Gardner has sung in operas worldwide.  He is excited to see the next generation of opera singers take to the stage. and to be in La Boheme where he will sing the roles of Benoit and Alcindoro.

Zulimar (Zuli) Lopez Hernandez, who sings the role of Musetta in La Boheme, entertained our club members with three pieces, all of which are familiar and loved by audiences. Accompanied by Turner on piano, she sang O Mio Babino Charo  by Giacomo Puccini. During Musetta’s Waltz by Puccini, she was joined by Gardner. Hernandez and Turner closed the musical part of the program with her performing I Feel Pretty from Berstein’s West Side Story. Rotarians at our meeting saw Hernandez singing directly into the weeping eyes of David Brandt and Shep Miller! 

In the Q&A session, Allen brought us up to date on efforts to reach the millennium generation with programs such as La Boheme Unplugged, which was in English and 40 minutes in length. The Virginia Opera also did a lot of the lighting for last week’s Neon festival in Norfolk's new arts district.

Willoughby Elementary School will receive a book in honor of the Virginia Opera, called Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs.

The Meeting:

Given the musical talent in the room, with trepidation, Chuck Spence with Frank Whitman on piano led us in two familiar songs which resulted in enthusiastic singing, even if it wasn’t on key. Ray Norton led invocation using the Methodist Hymnal.

Visitation Report:  Bill Gough reported that Bob Latimer was hospitalized last week and is now recovering at home. Rotary spouses Ace Tubbs, Erin Thomasson and Sue Wells continue to make progress. 

Guests:  We had a visiting Rotarian from Colorado, Bill Isbister.  Walt Sobczyk introduced his wife, Donna Henderson.

At our meeting members voted affirmatively on the following people proposed for club membership.

• Rachel Bellis, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals community manager --  nominated by Ted Baker.

• Jeffrey Wells, an architect with Coastal Design Group and former Rotary Club president in New Jersey -- nominated by Will King.

• Anthony Walters, YMCA of South Hampton Roads’ district vice president, -- nominated by John Padgett

• Congratulation to Diane Wallach, owner of Selden Optometry, nominated by our club for a Women in Business Achievement Award from Inside Business. She is a winner!
• Because Jennifer Palestrant, our sergeant at arms, failed to wear her Rotary pin, all without pins were fined. 

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• Joanne Batson’s retirement as head of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia is now assured with the hiring of Ruth Jones as the new director of the Foodbank.
• Rick Coradi’s son is being featured on the Travel Channel celebrating Hotel Impossible. He is the contractor fixing up the hotel.
• Greg Bockheim is in the news with the Virginia Zoo where he is executive director.

Raffle:  The Virginia Opera had a bag of goodies (two mugs and a ticket to La Boheme) so we had two raffle winners. The winner of the daily raffle failed to win the big pot.