Kurt Mitchler helped open the meeting with a reminder that we gain inspiration from perseverance and offered us several examples including Abe Lincoln who had many defeats before becoming president and Thomas Edison who said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave in.”
Kurt then told us to consider not to consider an individual, but a team who has kept hope alive since 1908 and had just won their 100th game. Kurt raised the projector screen to reveal a Chicago Cubs banner to cheers in the room — especially from long-time Cubs fan, Jim Scally who reminded us that the Cubs had won the World series in back-to-back years (1907 & 1908).
Our songstress for the day, Susan Cole, continued the flow of creativity as she cued the music and had us all singing with extra spirit a custom lyric rendition to the song, “My Girl” —
“I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.
When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May.
I guess you’d say
What can make me feel this way?
My Club (my Club, my Club)
Talkin’ ‘bout my Club (my Club)
Youth Exchange Adventure —
Ken Moulton shared taking our daughter, Ella, to one of the longest Cal Bears’ game that ended on a winning note! Ella enjoyed the excitement of the game and the walking tour of the campus that Ken provided.
Club Members —
Sandie Krutz gave a Sunshine Report about Dick Bishop’s recovery from surgery and how Dick would appreciate a little Rotarian warmth shinning his way.
Club Business —
President John outlined how Club revenue (dues, fines, and Give-Back-Bucks) covers operating expenses for the Club. John reminded us that unstructured giving is about personal choice. John’s purpose behind the breakdown of all the numbers was to help connect how personal giving goals and linked to the contribution goals for the entire Club.
John had us open-up the activity boxes on each table and write on an index card our five personal Club-related Goals:
1) What is your annual goal for the Windsor Community Foundation ? $_____________
2) What is your annual goal for the Rotary International Foundation ? $_____________
3) What is your annual goal for Polio Plus ? $______
4) How many members do you want in your club ? #_
5) Taking the step towards becoming “Golden” (automatic monthly giving)
Keeping in the baseball theme, President John announced his All-Stars for the first quarter of his year — thanking Marc Elin for supporting him with early-morning set-up for each meeting; Maureen Merrill for keeping programs shining brightly and her movement into providing targeted Member Services; and, of course, the dynamic duo of Sandie and Wally Krutz who continue to be connected to all the gears of Windsor Rotary.
President John had plenty of people to thank for helping create the very successful September 20th evening Club Meeting which featured a Forum for the Candidates running for Windsor Town Council. The splendid evening had everyone wanting to do another evening event!
Football Helmet Raffle felt like the Superbowl with the pot at $617. Dennis Harris (no surprise) had the lucky ticket, but the luck did not extend to Ella who Dennis selected to try and grab the Raiders helmet. The pot grows!
Tom Hassur shared a report from the Lobster Feed review meeting. Our goals is to get more strategic in the set-up of the event to maximize the amount we can earn for community projects. Tom will report back highlights from the next Lobster Feed planning meeting.
Joe Deacon introduced our featured program — Matt Stevens who serves as the Community and Media Relations Manager for the SMART Train. Matt highlighted his 15 year connection to the project and how service (scheduled to start at the end of the year) will benefit Sonoma and Marin Counties in a variety of ways!