President Jeff had the privilege of inducting Peter Schmidt as our newest member. Peter was sponsored by Chick Robison and is the Interim President of the Norfolk Botanical Garden.
Club Business
President Jeff called the meeting to order, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Sigur Whitaker accompanied by Pam Tubbs on piano led us in song. The invocation was provided by Jim Tucker. Mark Shaw provided the visitation report. Marty Raiss let us know that her husband, George, was doing much better and that they were very appreciative of the club’s support. Chick Robison mentioned that Will King had entered memory care at The Ballentine.
Guests included Brandon Bledsoe (Kim Hammer) and Keith Thoroughgood (Steve Jones).
Sigur Whitaker presented Tom Ambler with his Paul Harris Fellow +3 pin. She also reminded us of 5 ways to give to the RI Foundation.
Through the optional $25 surcharge to our dues
Set up a recurring payment through the RI website
Make Qualified Charitable Distributions from your IRA
Write a check and mail it or give to Karen to send in
Take advantage of Giving Tuesday to earn matching points toward your next Paul Harris designation
The club was reminded of the following upcoming events:
Community Service Project with Equikids on Aug 2nd
Club Golf Tournament on Sept 13th. 36 players have registered, so far
Fines and Happy Bucks
Jim Tucker got to see his grandson play in the NJ State Little League tournament.
Sally Hartman gave us an update on Past President Michael Desplaines. He’s made it to CA, heading up the garden in Pasadena, and joining a local Rotary Club.
Linwood Beckner broke his ankle while taking down curtains.
Sigur Whitaker donated $100 to the club’s endowment to commemorate her birthday and Rotary anniversary.
Chick Robison fessed up to his cellphone ringing during the meeting.
Barbara Lipskis spent some time with her father in Chicago.
Program
Since President Jeff was our program speaker, no introduction was necessary unless it included a termination notice for his career as a stand-up comic. The purpose of Jeff’s presentation was to acquaint or reacquaint club members with the different Rotary websites and databases they will encounter throughout their tenure as Rotarians.
The 1st website discussed was Rotary International, www.rotary.org. On this site you can not only monitor your status as a Rotarian and donor to the Rotary International Foundation, but also gain a greater appreciation of the broad array of Rotary’s programs to improve the world. Of particular note was the role of the Rotary Community Corps. The Rotary Community Corps are non-Rotarians who assist Rotary in building and sustaining projects throughout the world. The Corps facilitates cooperation between Rotarians and non-Rotarians. As examples, Jim Tucker talked about how his introduction to Rotary was being asked to help spread mulch for the playground at the Hunton YMCA in Norfolk. John Miller discussed how Rotarians assisted with construction at the Downtown Community Garden which now has 57 beds in production.
The 2nd website explored was for District 7600, www.rotary7600.org. This is the site for all things related to District 7600 and its member clubs. Jeff focused on the District’s support for The Rotaract program and briefly discussed our club’s efforts to reinvigorate the Rotaract Club at ODU and establish one at Virginia Wesleyan University.
The final website presented was one that many were familiar with, The Rotary Club of Norfolk, www.rotaryclubofnorfolk.org. This is where members can go to look up activities, future programs, contact info for other members, and many other items. We were also told that our club has access to a mobile ClubRunner app which puts a great deal of the website’s capability on your cellphone.
During our time as Rotarians, we will encounter two primary databases. The first is DACdb. This is the brain behind the District’s website and the vast majority of other clubs in the district. Many of us have stories of frustration navigating the world of DACdb, but there are times when the journey is required to interact with District 7600. Our club has chosen to use a different program called ClubRunner. It is the more user-friendly brains behind our website and the ClubRunner mobile app. Those with questions about access to these sites were directed to work with Jim Tucker who is slowly taking over as web master from Sigur.
The Rotary Club of Norfolk will sponsor its second annual Golf Classic & Social on Wednesday, September 13, at Cypress Point Country Club in Virginia Beach.
Golfers of all abilities are encouraged to sign up for lunch and the golf outing. Golfers can arrive as early as 10:30 a.m. to practice, then enjoy a barbecue lunch before teeing off at 1 p.m. Non-golfers can register for the social at the end of the outing, which will start at 6 p.m. and include food, a silent auction and prizes for the golfers. Proceeds will benefit Norfolk Rotary Charities, which benefits numerous local nonprofits.
