Dear SubWest Rotarians,
I think we had a very special meeting today. We skipped the groaner, and Moses Atwood lead us in a very thoughtful prayer, followed by Tom Johnson leading us in the pledge, and Tim Couch lead us in the 4 Way Test. We had the head table set up today so I introduced our AG Ed Boywid, our DG Ron Richards and his wife Innes Richards. I then introduced our special guest Bob Schuster, Charlie's son, who was my guest and a visiting Rotarian from Five Flags.
We took a few minutes to celebrate the life and special contributions to Rotary made by Charlie Schuster. Bill Spain, Wayne Etheridge and Paul Parks all shared special memories of Charlie. Then Bob Schuster told us some great stories about his dad, and how important Rotary - especially SubWest Rotary - was in his life. Those were great stories! Bob finished up with a humorous tale about how our "founding fathers of SubWest" had to come up with a special classification to let Vince Whibbs into the club in 1957! We all had a great laugh and that provided the perfect segue to a session of Happy Dollars, highly peppered with bragging from our most ardent college football fans. Andy for Bama, Bill for the big T, Craig for Vandy, Ronnie for the Gators, and on it went!
Heidi Blair presented the club with a flag from a club in Peru. A Rotary youth Exchange student gave it to her last weekend, as she was so grateful to be sponsored in America! Bill Sheffield then introduced several visiting Rotarians and guests. Trisa made an announcement about the eyeglass project and we heard about the SubWest Water Fun day planned for Saturday, 9/29/08. More details later.
As truly fitting for this special day, Huntley Johnson - our lone remaining Charter Member - took over the microphone and raised a lot of money as the Wooley. He was ruthless in his fining and as usual, we all laughed at his vicious comic wit. Nice Job, Huntley!
The raffle was won by none other than Paul Parks, who waited a suspiciously long time to announce he had the winning ticket. I wonder if there is a story there? Anyway, he did not pick the Ace of Spades and donated his $10 consolation prize back to the pot, so it will be over $200 next week!
Our DG Ron Richards, making his 7th club visit this week (amazing) kept the crowd's attention while he talked about the purpose of Rotary, our club's place in the overall realm of service, and illustrated how we can use our talent and energy to help children survive and grow and Make Dreams Real. Thanks for all you do, Ron - we appreciate your leadership and the dedication that you and Innes show (not to mention your stamina)!
Photos coming soon. Until then, keep Rotary in your Heart and bring a friend next Thursday - see you then (pray that Gustav stays away).
Yours in Rotary,
Bill
I think we had a very special meeting today. We skipped the groaner, and Moses Atwood lead us in a very thoughtful prayer, followed by Tom Johnson leading us in the pledge, and Tim Couch lead us in the 4 Way Test. We had the head table set up today so I introduced our AG Ed Boywid, our DG Ron Richards and his wife Innes Richards. I then introduced our special guest Bob Schuster, Charlie's son, who was my guest and a visiting Rotarian from Five Flags.
We took a few minutes to celebrate the life and special contributions to Rotary made by Charlie Schuster. Bill Spain, Wayne Etheridge and Paul Parks all shared special memories of Charlie. Then Bob Schuster told us some great stories about his dad, and how important Rotary - especially SubWest Rotary - was in his life. Those were great stories! Bob finished up with a humorous tale about how our "founding fathers of SubWest" had to come up with a special classification to let Vince Whibbs into the club in 1957! We all had a great laugh and that provided the perfect segue to a session of Happy Dollars, highly peppered with bragging from our most ardent college football fans. Andy for Bama, Bill for the big T, Craig for Vandy, Ronnie for the Gators, and on it went!
Heidi Blair presented the club with a flag from a club in Peru. A Rotary youth Exchange student gave it to her last weekend, as she was so grateful to be sponsored in America! Bill Sheffield then introduced several visiting Rotarians and guests. Trisa made an announcement about the eyeglass project and we heard about the SubWest Water Fun day planned for Saturday, 9/29/08. More details later.
As truly fitting for this special day, Huntley Johnson - our lone remaining Charter Member - took over the microphone and raised a lot of money as the Wooley. He was ruthless in his fining and as usual, we all laughed at his vicious comic wit. Nice Job, Huntley!
The raffle was won by none other than Paul Parks, who waited a suspiciously long time to announce he had the winning ticket. I wonder if there is a story there? Anyway, he did not pick the Ace of Spades and donated his $10 consolation prize back to the pot, so it will be over $200 next week!
Our DG Ron Richards, making his 7th club visit this week (amazing) kept the crowd's attention while he talked about the purpose of Rotary, our club's place in the overall realm of service, and illustrated how we can use our talent and energy to help children survive and grow and Make Dreams Real. Thanks for all you do, Ron - we appreciate your leadership and the dedication that you and Innes show (not to mention your stamina)!
Photos coming soon. Until then, keep Rotary in your Heart and bring a friend next Thursday - see you then (pray that Gustav stays away).
Yours in Rotary,
Bill
