In case I haven't mentioned it, this blog writer is now also this club's president. Being club president has been a demanding and fun blessing in my life, so I wanted to take a look back at the first half of this Rotary year as we approach the mid-way point and our calendars flip to 2020 to share some insights into my world!
We started off with a summer of fun - fewer meetings, more social activities and more opportunities for service.
We visited local bars, had informal dinners together, helped mulch the new playground at Elden, got rained out of a concert, fed seniors a BBQ with live music and door prizes at Canton Woods, got to hear from the new District Governor and enjoyed a picnic at a member's home. It was a great mix of fun, helping others and getting to know each other! But we all ended up missing a little bit of our routine meetings at the Red Mill Inn.
So the fair came and went, school started and September began. We were back at the Red Mill twice each week and feeling comfortable. It was a beautiful autumn outdoors, generating lots of happy dollars for the sun and leaves. We still had fun with club in a pub and pressing cider together. We hosted brand new exchange students who came to town for their first orientation. We celebrated engagements, awards and promotions for our members. And then we braced ourselves for October.
October 2019 could go down in history as the busiest month of Rotary in Baldwinsville (admittedly my role as president could influence my perception!). In kind of chronological order, we:
-had a great Think Tank meeting at Mohegan Manor about our changing climate and national parks
-presented an Adirondack Chair in honor of our member Ann Smiley at a special meeting at Lysander Park
-kicked off a new membership contest to help grow our club
-went on the Ghost Walk with the B'ville Center for the Arts
-honored our first two Students of the Month - Shannon McCarthy & John Burns
-honored our first two Students of the Month - Shannon McCarthy & John Burns
-hosted 60+ Rotarians, honorees and their guests to present five Pride of Workmanship awards at a dinner at The Reef
-attended our annual District Conference in Oswego for a full day of learning and celebrating Service Above Self
-raised $4,000 to fight polio at Pints for Polio at WT Brews
-welcomed TWO new members to the club
-celebrated World Polio Day with a proclamation from Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and a panel discussion from survivors
WHEW! That's A LOT! We really did it all!
November didn't give us a break either. On November 2nd we celebrated our club's 47th birthday with a party at The Wood. Everyone's costumes were great and we had fun with the Halloween theme! We honored Veteran's Day with a Think Tank discussion about supporting veteran entrepreneurship and welcomed special guest District Governor Nominee Dana Jerrard for some military trivia. A group of Rotarians and their families made the annual trek to Syracuse Stage to see Beauty & The Beast - always a good show and good time. We inducted another new member, reviewed applications for two more and also hosted our two Students of the Month - Sarah Smiley and Anthony White. We collaborated with other organizations to gather food donations for our Backpack Program. We had a brand new service project where we served food to the first responders participating in the community's Parade of Lights. We ended the month with a week of thanks (like most people did) and a little turkey "shoot out" fun (it was just magnetic darts though!).
I couldn't do all of this alone and have too many Rotarians to thank for helping our club get all of this done. Those who set up our meetings, the people who arrange our programs, the members who express gratitude and generosity often, the dreamers who come up with projects and make them happen, the doers that take my ideas and make them happen, and all the ones that show up in that perfect way. All are key to our vibrant and active club!
Of course I have to give a shout out to my spouse too. He has never carried so many things in and out of my car for me, he is finding things to do while I'm busy on the computer for hours in the evenings and he supports me in countless ways. Thankfully I can repay him by having our Club in a Pub meetings for him to visit!
It is the commitment to service that I see demonstrated by all of those around me that moves me to serve as club president.
I'm learning exactly what I would have expected is true - volunteer leadership demands a lot and gives back even more. I can't wait to see what the second half of the year brings! Won't you join me?