ROTARY RAMBLINGS 5-13-08

[Ellie Lowery]

Ramblings by Ellie 
  _____  


ROTARY RAMBLINGS

ROTARY CLUB OF DELRAY BEACH

 

May 13, 2008

 

Today was another remarkable day for the Rotary Club of Delray Beach.  The
day started for a group of seventeen Rotarians at the monthly board of
directors meeting, at 7:30 a. m.  

 

President Kurt Godfrey presided over both the board of directors meeting and
the noon meeting.  We did not have the sweet sounds of Bruce Williams
entertaining us on piano..only the clanking of silverware, and the buzz of
conversation at each table.  Bruce was away, having a pacemaker installed.
It has been reported he is doing well; we expect him back soon!  Bruce, you
were missed.  

 

Sue Miller and Betsy Owen attended the District Conference in Nassau.  Betsy
Owen was installed as our new District Governor. Congratulations, Betsy!

 

Since our meeting was a joint meeting with the Sunrise Rotary and the Lake
Worth Rotary Club, to welcome our GSE Team from Ukraine, President Suzette
Franklin (Sunrise Club), lead us in our salute to the American Flag.
President Phil Albertz, of Lake Worth Rotary gave the invocation.

 

Harvey Brown, still panting for breath, from arriving at the airport just in
time to attend our meeting, welcomed a plethora of guests.  Make ups were
done by Craig Hammett and Harvey Brown.  We sang Happy Birthday to Cliff
Ripley, Ernie Simon, Vison Chonsuksuri and Dave O'Connell.  (Looks like May
is a popular month to be born.)  Lew Currier presented our banner to Ed
Gerstenkora, of Kansas; he reciprocated.

 

 

Fred Bonardi bravely walked to the microphone and gave us the latest tale of
woe with the stock market.  At that time, the market was down 58 points.
Oil was at $126.00, and gold down to $864.00.  He stated "the market is not
so bad, YTD."

 

Sergeant at Arms Tony Allerton collected a whopping $330.00 today.  Cliff
Ripley donated $82.00; Ernie Simon donated $83.00; (Brother Roy donated
$5.00 in Ernie's honor, glad that Ernie is older than he is); Dave O'Connell
(the kid in the group) donated $74.00.  Bill Talen is going away for the
summer (he will be missed), so he donated $10.00, to wish us a good summer.

 

"The hat was passed," we collected $443.00 on behalf of John O'Connell, one
of our newest members who is clinging to life, after an automobile accident
that has left him in very critical condition.  If you have not had the
opportunity to donate to one of our own, you may do so next week, or call
Kurt Godfrey, or Sally Dye, to make your contribution.  Please keep John in
your prayers.

 

Cliff Ripley is skipping out on us for the summer; we wish you and Madeleine
a wonderful summer in the mountains.

 

Today, Patrick Robinson, "The Man of Steam," was inducted as a new member to
our club.  He is a former Rotarian who took a hiatus, due to family
schedules, but is proud to be back as a Rotarian.  Pat, we welcome you to
Rotary Club of Delray Beach.  (Please go to our website, and click on our
picture gallery, to view the new members, and recent projects our members
have participated in. www.delraybeachrotary.org)

 

The Miracle League plays each Saturday, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at Bucky Dent
Park/Miller Field.  Please see Kurt Godfrey for more information.

 

Today, our club had the honor of hosting the GSE Team from Ukraine, along
with Sunrise and Lake Worth Rotary Clubs.

 

Leo Phillips began the introductions by thanking Ed Rowen, District
Coordinator, for his role in this project.  The team consisted of one
Rotarian, Team Leader Olek Luksha.  The other members of the team were
Mariya Pyza, Jryna Solovey, Anna Voloshenko and Vladimir Minin.  Each
member, speaking very legible English had the opportunity to show us slides
of their hometown; they were very proud of their heritage.  Immediately,
they explained that Ukraine is not a part of Russia, contrary to belief;
they gained their independence in 1991.  Each one discussed their
occupation, and culture.

 

Our local hosts were Bill and Charlotte Adams, Pat Archer and two hosts from
the Boca Club.  They did a bit of local "sightseeing," and they have been
very impressed with our area.  We also have a GSE Team from our area
visiting their country.  I hope we can have them as speakers when they
arrive home.

 

President-elect Steve Bates announced at the board of directors meeting that
our new slate of officers will be installed Tuesday, July 8th.

 

The Awards/Scholarships Ceremony will be held at Atlantic High School, May
15, 7:00 p.m.  All Rotary members are invited to attend. Our club will be
awarding ten $1,000.00 scholarships to deserving students at this time.

 

Next week, our guest speaker will be Sarah Martin, DMC (Downtown Merchants
Cooperative).

 

 

 

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