Mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 3, Rotary’s Day of Giving. On that day, the club will match donations with a minimum of $100 of up to $500 given through myrotary.org to either the Annual Fund or to Polio Plus for existing Paul Harris Fellows (PHF). It is a great way of obtaining your next level of PHF. For those people who are PHF + 8 or above, we will not match because The Rotary Foundation does not recognize points for Major Donor status.
As a reminder, the club already matches donations in increments of $100 for those working to become a Paul Harris Fellow.
To make the donation, please have an account at myrotary.org before Tuesday, December 3. It is easy to create (there is a link to create a user).
Les Parks is a self-described “tree hugger” who says that we are fortunate to live in a climate that is so conducive to a wide range of trees. With that in mind, he shared with us the 10 best trees for fall foliage in Hampton Roads:
Japanese Maple – A slow growing, small to medium sized (20-35 feet) tree that produces beautiful foliage in the spring, summer, and fall. In fact, Les says some people eat its leaves fried and dusted in sugar.
Red Maple – A fast growing larger (40-70 feet) tree. Les says that when it flowers during the winter, you know that you are well past the season’s midway point and spring is not far away.
Kousa Dogwood – This tree grows between 20 and 25 feet tall. It blooms in May and is resistant to diseases that plague its cousin, the American Dogwood.
Ginkgo – It grows between 50 and 100 feet tall and can handle harsh conditions like heavy winds and urban pollution. It is so resilient that some of them even survived the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, this tree was around for millions of years before the dinosaurs even showed up! One drawback to digging out the nut from the female versions of this tree – the fleshy fruit that surrounds it smells like vomit.
Crepe Myrtle – Varieties of it grow as short as two feet and as tall as 40 feet. In Norfolk, it’s been a problem when the City plants the taller versions that impede power lines. When they are trimmed back, it ruins the trees.
Sweet Gum – These grow upwards of 80 feet tall, but most people will not intentionally plant them because they do not want the multitude of gumballs that come along with it!
Black Gum or Tupelo – Very drought resistant and grows between 30 and 50 feet tall. They are highly regarded because they attract native pollinators and are attractive to birds.
Chinese Pistache – A drought resistant tree that grows between 30 and 35 feet tall, it can handle both urban pollution and compact soil.
Northern Red Oak – Drought and pollution resistant, it is slow growing and reaches heights of about 80 feet. The best thing about this tree is that it is extremely effective in dealing with carbon sequestration.
Bald Cypress – This is Les’ favorite tree. It prefers heavy, mucky soil and water, can grow to about 100 feet and lives a very long time. In fact, Les says arborists recently identified one in North Carolina that is estimated to be 2,624 years old!
Les left us with one final thought: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best is now!
The Meeting
After song, pledge, and prayer, Ann Baldwin encouraged us to bring in and donate new and gently-used books for children ages 3-8 which will be used to stock the library at the Hunton YMCA.
Also, November is Rotary Foundation Month. We want to make sure every member participates. However, if you wait until December 3, that is National Rotary Foundation Day. If you make your contribution then, the club will match it!
Kelly Stefanko is seeking volunteers to help us host a fellow Rotarian from Brazil. She will be visiting from early December through the end of January. During that time, she will be living with Pam and Ace Tubbs and working at Norfolk Botanical Gardens. We need weekly volunteers to drive her to and from work. Please contact Kelly if you can assist.
We had just one guest, but it was the best kind. Anthony Mia introduced us to prospective member Anthony Savage.
Finally, a reminder that our club’s election day is on December 3. Anyone interested in adding to the slate of nominees can do so up until that day.
Happy Bucks:
Bob Ashe was recognized at ODU Founder’s Day for his contributions to the University.
Joe New was the first to offer up tribute to Maury High School’s football team for its undefeated record. He was soon followed by Shep Miller in honor of our late friend and fellow Rotarian Teddy Baker, along with Bob Latimer, Carlisle Wroton, and Linwood Beckner.
Marty Raiss – for husband George’s 75th birthday and their recent barge trip from Budapest to Amsterdam.
Chip Vogan recently made up a meeting in Chicago.
Diane Starkey is celebrating the production of this year’s brochure for the Virginia Art’s Festival which she left on our tables.
The Drawing
Will King drew the winning ticket from the drawing, but not the winning card, so the pot continues to grow.
