Good Morning! And a cloudy, humid day today means a good day to work on the Newsletter! Boy are we fortunate to have been spared by hurricane Henri!
I took a quick look at the photo on the top of the previous Summer newsletter before I jumped into writing this and realized that something was missing - a large yellow duck announcing the upcoming MRV Duck Raffle and Race! So here is your reminder to get your DUCK purchases in andhere is your linkto do so. Labor Day is just on the horizon! Once again, many thanks to newbie, Erik Russell, who is getting his duck feet wet and is doing a fabulous job along with Doug Stoehr running this event.
Speaking of summer, which I think we were a paragraph or so ago, this sort-of-post-pandemic summer has certainly been a challenge as we continue to be homeless with regards to meeting location. Many thanks to Jane Macan for making the calls and securing American Flatbread for the past two dinner meetings and the same thanks go to George Schenk for being our speaker recently. Toast and Eggs continues to support us for our delicious breakfast meetings. Times are certainly trying in the restaurant world and it saddens me when I read stories of how some restaurant workers are being disrespected. Hopefully not here in our Valley.
Our new fearless, happy leader, Pete Colgan, has proposed something new for our club - Meeting Greeter.
The greeter's job is, for one meeting, to be a smiling, welcoming face for sleepy Rotarians who really need that first cup of coffee in the morning, for speakers and guests who may have no idea what they're walking into, and for Rotarians who never remember their name badge. It's also for Rotarians who might not know (or remember) everybody's name. It's also a way to help me out as we set up the meeting room.
Here's the job description: The greeter should arrive about 30 minutes before the meeting starts to help set up the room (name badges, happy bucks and raffle, etc.). They'll greet Rotarians and guests with a big smile and handshake, point them to name badges, etc., taking special care to give a raffle ticket to our speaker and making them feel comfortable. During the meeting, they'll also be responsible for running the raffle and collecting happy bucks.
Please sign up for a meeting here. Pete says, "The first ten who send me an email saying they signed up get a beverage of their choice with me at Lawson's. If you'd rather drink alone, then you'll have to sign up for two meetings!"
A number of years ago, pre retirement, at this time in August, I would be knee-deep in preparing my 4th grade classroom for the incoming class. The hot, humid, lazy days of summer would be a distant memory as I planned fun, community-building activities, created colorful labels for lockers, read detailed reports and files describing the personal learning styles of my incoming students and in general prepped for the upcoming school year. I was always excited for the new adventure - and that it was. After retirement for a few years, I experienced that same anxiety late August even though I knew those days were behind me. I knew logically that I could relax but the calendar spoke a different message.
Celia Ryker, author of Walking Home: Trail Stories, was a recent speaker at a dinner meeting held at American Flatbread. Many thanks to Karen Winchell for charming this adventurous woman to come and share her story of hiking the Long Trail.
Summer is still here. Corn and tomatoes are plentiful! I still have guests scheduled to visit our beautiful Valley. The Marathon is on Sunday, Sept. 12, the Farmer's Market continues to be a major dog parade and the Valley will continue to fill with wedding attendees on weekends. Life is good. Don't rush it!
