In the short space of an hour, at this week's meeting the board:
Accepted the Treasurer's report
Approved the three top grant recipients for the Christmas Auction, who are Good Samaritans, Community Cupboard, and ACTS
Granted $2,000 to the Giving Tree for Christmas
Amended the pledge agreement with the Elk Rapids District Library, changing the pledge from 3 to 4 years, and authorizing payment of the first installment
Approved moving forward with filing the paperwork creating a 501C3 Rotary Club of Elk Rapids Foundation entity
Discussed a stand-in (or stand-ins) for Ed to lead the meetings while Ed is down south this winter
Authorized an effort to locate, catalog, and track the club's physical assets
Kick-started the club's 75th Anniversary celebration for 2025
Thank you to the board for taking their decision-making responsibilities seriously and honoring everyone's time by being thoughtful and efficient.
Newest PHF
At Tuesday's meeting Rev. Jim Porter was given his first Paul Harris Fellowship award. Congratulations Jim! Well done!
Thanksgiving Hiatus
As we have done in the past, we'll be taking the week of Thanksgiving off from our normal meeting Tuesday morning, 11/26, to make that busy week a little less hectic.
Christmas Party and Auction
The annual Rotary Club of Elk Rapids Christmas Party and Auction will be the evening of Tuesday, December 3, again at HERTH. Final details are still being worked out, but it will be generally the same format with a dinner and live auction of gifts supplied by club members. This event has been bringing in around $10,000 in proceeds that we then donate to deserving area causes picked by our membership. Thank you to those who are generous with their auction gifts, and even more so to those who allow Santa Ed to incite them to bid even higher than they were intending to bid for those items. Because of the evening meeting, there will be no morning meeting on 12/3.
Officers for 2024-2025
President - Dale Gehman
President Elect - Ed Boettcher
President Nominee - Doug VanCura
Secretary - Julia Pollister-Amos
Treasurer - Laura Savoie
Upcoming Meetings
November 26 - Off for Thanksgiving
December 3 - Christmas Auction/Social
December 10 - Networking
December 17 - Open
December 24 - Off for Christmas
December 31 - Off for Football Watching
January 7 - Open
January 14 - The Men's Shed presentation
Meeting Responsibilities
Morning Meeting Chair
Ed Boettcher
Greeter
Jim Hockin
Sargent At Arms
Mel Matchett Reflection Quote
Carol Hockin
Happy Dollars
Ed Boettcher
President's Message
This week at the board meeting we heard that the fundraising campaign this fall has so far brought in about $45,000 for the club to allow us to do good in the community. Going into this effort, I didn't know if we'd get buy in from club members, participation as fundraisers, or enough money to allow the Good Works Committee to operate as it has in the past. Well, now I know, and it's kind of overwhelming. I think we've done really well for the first year, and I'm very proud of Ed, Doug, Blaine, and the others associated with getting this campaign off the ground. Not surprisingly, we've had both some very generous donors, to whom I say "thank you very much," and we've had some members who haven't yet participated. "Yet" is the point I want to make. It's not too late to solicit some donors, to mention to the friends and business associates that we are looking to raise money, or to write a check of your own. We don't have a deadline, and we're going to browbeat anyone. Wouldn't it feel great, though, to be a part of such a successful effort? And, then as the grants are dispensed to be able to say, "that's some of what I gave the club!" Thanks for at least considering it, and I'll look forward to Blaine's next report, and an even larger number.
2024-2025 is the 75th Anniversary Year of our club. We plan to have snippets of history shared with members and some creative activities.
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