Rotary Spark October-November 2011

“SERVICE ABOVE SELF”

BI-MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE ROTARY CLUB OF EASTON, MARYLAND

Hello Rotarians: The seasons are about to change, but the energy and enthusiasm of our club remains a

ROTARY CLUB OF EASTON, MARYLAND OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

constant. Last month ALL of our activities were huge successes. Our 90th anniversary social was well attended. The luncheon for our troops, their families and the staff at The Walter Reed/ Bethesda Naval Hospital, done in conjunction with Marine Moms-Bethesda, fed over 150 people, and the Rotary Club of Easton Golf Classic was revived back to its former glory.

is published bi-monthly by Easton Rotary Send news items to Scotti Oliver rotaryspark@gmail.com Rotary Club of Easton, MD

In October and November there will be no shortage of additional opportunities for us all to

P.O. Box 1444, Easton, MD 21601 District No. 7630 – Organized 1921

stay involved with our Club and our community. At the beginning of October we, along with St. Michaels Rotary, will hand out dictionaries to all of the 3rd graders in Talbot County.

Meets Wednesday at 12:15 PM. Easton Club 28449 Clubhouse Drive Easton, MD

On Saturday, October 8th, we will work on a house for Habitat for Humanity, and on Saturday, October 15th, we will help with Airport Day Parking. Our next social has been scheduled for Thursday, October 27th, at the Easton Club at 5:00. Weather permitting, we

2011-2012 OFFICERS

are planning on being out on their deck. The Waterfowl Festival is November 11th – 13th,

PRESIDENT

and we will handle ALL of the parking.

PRESIDENT ELECT

Our Community is stronger because of Our Club. I am very proud of what we have already Thank you!

President Jackie Rotary Club of Easton

C L U B

accomplished this year and what I know we will be doing more in the future.

Jacqueline D. Wilson Patti K. Willis

IMMED. PAST PRESIDENT

Alfred B. (Tim) Kagan

VP, CLUB ADMINISTRATION

C. Albert Pritchett

CLUB SERVICE

SECRETARY

Ramon Gras George Hatcher

PERSONNEL SERVICE

T H E

Peter Dietz

ASSISTANT SECRETARY

TREASURER

Mike Jacobs Steve Ochse

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

Sharon Ritter Beall

VOCATIONAL SERVICE

Joseph E. Anthony

COMMUNITY SERVICE

90 Years

Terry John

EASTON ROTARY OF MARYLAND

EASTON ROTARY CLUB: The World’s First Rotary Club in a Town of less than 10,000 people

OCTOBER

ROTARY CLUB OF EASTON MARYLAND

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

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B I R T H D AY S

Duane Hilghman Terry John

Graham Lee Tim Kagan

Ken Barton Ken Sadler

Hank Corbin Butch Todd

Don Osburn

NOVEMBER Ron Frank

Lee Denny

Ronnie Flohr

Marine Moms-Bethesda volunteers: Stephanie, Elizabeth, Katie and Jane LeCompteFounder with Rotarians Connie Loveland, Patti Willis, Maureen Scott-Taylor, Jackie Wilson, Tim Kagan and Doug Kirby.

Remembering the Truest Meaning of Service Above Self On September 11, 2011, the United States of America and the world commemorated the

tenth anniversary of a pivotal event in our nation’s history and a life changing memory for

all of us. It was a beautiful autumn-like day ten years ago when we first came to grips with terrorism on our own soil.

On an equally beautiful autumn-like September 11 this year, six Easton Rotarians came

to understand what the war on terrorism means for Americans, a decade after the attacks on our nation. Looking into the faces of men and women younger than our own children,

wounded in life-changing ways on foreign soil, we saw the true meaning of service above

R O TA RY M E M B E R M I N U T E

Barbara Hargroves

OCTOBER 5 Ken Sadler 12 Beth Spurry 19 Curry Wilford 26 Connie Loveland

NOVEMBER 2 TBA 9 Kate Williams Cox 16 Julie Crocker 23 TBA 30 TBA

Please call or email Brenda C. Scribner if you would like to volunteer for

Member Minute!

Jackie Wilson, Doug Kirby, Maureen Scott-Taylor, Connie Loveland, Tim Kagan, and I met

early Sunday morning for a small caravan across the Bay Bridge. The six of us, representing all of you and your efforts to support our wounded combat warriors, arrived at Bethesda

Naval Hospital early on September 11 with a truckload of homecooked food, goodie bags assembled with help from Sara Jones and John Flohr, and notes of encouragement from the Rotary Club of Easton. There, we met up with our sponsors—Jane and her three

colleagues from Marine Moms Bethesda—and laid out the spread of food that we prepared the day before. Once all the food was arrayed on banquet tables in a small gathering

room, we opened the doors and for three hours, served more than 150 combat wounded

service men and women and their families. Wives and mothers, toddlers and grandparents continued on next page

I N V O C AT I O N S

self…

OCTOBER 5 Steve Shearer

12 Connie Loveland 19 Jacques Baker

26 Jonathan West

NOVEMBER 2 Tim Kagan

9 Maureen Scott- Taylor 16 Sara Jones 23 Lisa Felts

30 Lauren Dianich

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER

PAGE THREE

accompanied their loved ones and piled plates high with “comfort food” – macaroni and

cheese, chili, wings, hot dogs, meat balls, salads, desserts—all made possible by our Club’s generous donations. Under the culinary leadership of Rotarian Doug Kirby, the six of us

had been joined by Mary Wheeler on the previous Saturday morning to prepare the feast.

The Tidewater Inn generously donated the use of its kitchen (and lots of big pans, spoons and knives) for cooking and overnight storage. Chessie Sales provided its truck, coolers, warming boxes, and serving dishes.

The gratitude of the wounded and their families, for a warm thanks and homelike food, was

wonderful and we promised to share their thanks with all of you. But their gratitude could not match our own, for the service and sacrifices they have given for us, to our nation and the world. I wish my words could do justice to what we all felt that day. But know that we were

so very proud to be your representatives at Bethesda on 9/11 and to thank the wounded on your behalf for all that they have given to us.

Perhaps the day is best summed up in an image I will carry with me for a long time: that of

President Jackie Wilson leaning down to give a teddy bear and a gift bag to the small son

of a wounded Marine. As the little boy was settled on his father’s lap—on the place where

the rest of his father’s legs should have been—Jackie said, “This bag and these notes are

for you and your Dad and Mom—to thank you for your Dad’s service to our country. We will never forget what you did for us.” Jackie had been repeating this same process with other servicemen and their families for hours, while the rest of us went about refilling platters

and trays of food. She never tired and never lost her smile and calm demeanor; and to be

honest, we were so busy with the food tables that we barely noticed Jackie’s actions at the

doorway. But I can tell you that as this young man and his small family made their way from the room after Jackie’s words to the toddler, we had all stopped what we were doing and listened in silence. There was not a dry eye among us.

I wish all of you could have been there and I hope that this brief article helps you

understand a little better what YOUR service above self did for the young men and women at Bethesda that day. Thank you for making it possible.

PATTI WILLIS

O B L I G AT I O N S I N R O TA RY

ROTARY CLUB OF EASTON MARYLAND

Obligations in Rotary AS A ROTARIAN I WILL:

Consider my profession to be another opportunity to serve Be faithful to the ethical codes of my profession and to the laws of my country Do all in my power to promote the highest ethical standards Treat everyone fairly Honor all occupations that are useful to society Offer my time and skills to improve the quality of life in my community

ATTENDANCE

A minimum of 50% attendance is expected I can maintain my attendance levels by making up at another Rotary club meeting or online at www.rotary.org

MEMBERSHIP

The classification principle ensures that Rotary club members reflects the diversity their community Maintaining diversity in classification encourages the club to have a membership that is composed of different views, skills, and expertise.

THE BENEFITS OF ROTARY

To have the opportunity to serve my community and the world To work with top leaders from my community and from around the world To experience the personal growth and development that Rotary membership provides To develop a greater understanding of cultural diversity and civic obligations