The Rotarians huddled together against the chill. There appeared to be a draft in the meeting room. President Sigur slid behind the podium, looking somewhat older Budweiser. Lynne Berg engaged the Club in song. The melody was familiar. What is that tune? My notes are stained with beer. I think Lynn is singing something like, ”Dough, the stuff that buys my beer, Ray, the guy that tends the bar. Me, the gal, who drinks my beer. Far, the distance to my car. So, I think, I’ll have a beer. La, Laa [AA, LAH LAA LAAAH!] Tea no thanks, I want a beer, which brings us back to Dough Dough Dough!” My head spins. Someone tells me that Harper Lee is writing a sequel Tequila Mockingbird. President Sigur leads the Club in the Pledge of Allegiance. I fade out as if in a Norfolk Canyon. Kellie Dickerson begins the prayer. My notes are difficult to read. I think Kellie’s prayer went something like this…”Our lager, which art in barrels, hallowed be thy drink. Thy will be drunk, (I will be drunk), at home as in the Exhibition Hall. Give us this day our foamy head, and forgive us our spillages, as we forgive those who spill against us. And lead us not to incarceration. but deliver us from hangovers. For thine is the beer, the bitter and the lager. Forever and ever.” The applause was ringing in my ears as Bill Gough advised the Club that Bill Gresham has been slowed down by the flu and Jack Magee continues to struggle with his recovery. At that moment, Skip Burton leans forward and whispers that the fact that there are 24 hours in the day and 24 beers in a case is no coincidence. Jean Owens introduced the barroom full of guests. Of Coors, alcohol seemed to stir up the crowd. Julie Keesling brought her husband Bob Keesling and a neighbor Mike Wright. Sharon Laderberg introduced Lisa Chacon, Special Events/Development Manager for Susan G. Komen Tidewater. Jordan Fanney was squiring Lindsay Fanney. Bruce Wilcox brought his son Henry. Bob Ash brought Quinton Brown, an under aged guest involved with the Career Day project. Laurie Harrison brought her daughter Margaret Anne.
President Sigur speaks again. I can barley hear her from the commotion around me. Ben Miles opens another beer. Lisa Chandler celebrated the upcoming Suds and Buds event by publicly thanking Kaufman & Canoles for providing a Gold Sponsorship. The Suds and Buds event is scheduled for March 20, 2015 at the Botanical Gardens. The tickets are $35 in advance. Lisa’s hoppiness and enthusiasm distracted me for a brief moment. In a flurry of activity, Lisa provided snacks to a few Rotarians who apparently had a few too many “tall ones”. The segue was unclear. President Sigur announced more drinking for Rotarians at an event she dubbed Thirsty Thursday. The drinking will start around 5:30-ish at O’Connor’s Brewing. She assured the Rotarians that the event would be good for what ales you. Jim Clary, not able to wait until Thursday to quench his thirst, opened another beer. President Sigur invited Rotarians to the Board Meeting scheduled for Monday February 9, 2015 at 4:30 pm. She did not announce whether the meeting would involve drinking. Yet, based on trends, I am confident that it will. President Sigur, foaming at the mouth, excitedly went into the “Hoppy Bucks” portion of the meeting. Sally Hartman took the first swing to acknowledge her quote in the Sunday paper about youth baseball. Bob Heely paid a fine for Mike Goldsmith’s calm leadership in connection with an incident at Norfolk State. Winston Whitehurst paid a fine for an upcoming event on February 11 at the NARO regarding Remote Area Medical. Winston will either speak before or during a movie. Sharon Laderberg went to the line to promote a Hoops for the Cure event on February 15, 2015. Jean Owens, obviously suffering from drinking too much El Guapo beer, celebrated Duke’s basketball win over the University of Virginia. Jim Clary paid a fine to celebrate his son’s ability to burp and perform other bodily functions in various rhyming schemes, thanks to fine education he received at the First Presbyterian Preschool. Dean Rogis paid a fine in honor of Kevin O’Connor and his predictable career path. Chip Vogan also paid a fine for Connor’s Brewing’s help with another event that involved drinking. Lynne Berg then led the Club in a round of Happy Birthday while Sharon Laderberg collected hush money from the February birthday babies.
I tried to clear my eyes as President Sigur introduced Shep Miller. Rotarian Shep lumbered to the podium. Shep, whose motto is to drink triple, see double and to act single, introduced Kevin O’Connor. In essence, Shep’s introduction suggested that if you buy a man a beer then he only wastes on hour. Yet, if you teach a man to brew then he wastes a lifetime. Shep then channeled Frank Zappa and suggested that Norfolk cannot be a real city unless we have a beer. Thanks to our speaker, Norfolk has a beer. Kevin O’Connor then took the podium and immediately offered everyone another drink. Rick Coradi, accepted the offer, and opened up another Red Nun in preparation for a busy afternoon of dispensing financial advice. Kevin outlined his pathway to the brewing business. It all started with access to Shep Miller’s liquor cabinet and his initial efforts to brew beer in his Radford dorm room. The result was O’Connor Brewing Co., a pioneer in the regional craft-beer movement. Kevin then regaled the Club with tales of ales. O’Connor moved to its current location on 24th Street in May of 2014. The new facility more than quadrupled its capacity and increased its capacity to more than 15,000 barrels a year. The facility is also now large enough to house the Rotary Club of Norfolk’s Thirsty Thursday events. The craft beer industry has grown significantly in the past few years. The number of small breweries in the United States jumped 57 percent to 2,768 in 2013 from 1,758 in 2010. It has been smooth aleing recently for O’Connor Brewing and the craft beer industry.
The question and answer session was lively and informative. Ferment its worth, the Club learned a great deal about O’Connor, Shep Miller and that Anheuser–Busch InBev products are similar to houses on the Elizabeth River-they are both close to water. Harry McCoy won the weekly pot and drew the Queen of Spades to hit the jack pot. Table 18, filled with beer fanatics, had 100% attendance. President Sigur adjourned the meeting at 1:30 pm. The Club stumbled out of the Exhibition Hall into the light…maybe too much light. Fortunately, it was no lager raining.
.JPG)