The Spokesperson March 10, 2022 (Mar 10, 2022)

OPENING ACTIVITIES

Sarah Lee had the honor of running today’s meeting, standing in for Scott Chabot who was standing in for Jeff Furest. The meeting was called to order right on time at 12:15 p.m. Bob Lee led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. He also led us in the singing of the national anthem, arms punching the air at key moments of passion, while his sister Sarah’s sweet voice wafted through the microphone and over the crowd of about 25 Rotarians. Ellen Lysik led us in “The Four-Way Test.” Sarah took on a second meeting role with a nice invocation.

The group almost stampeded through the buffet line to get to one of the best meals ever served at our weekly meeting – turkey and savory gravy, lump less mashed potatoes, cauliflower delicately sautéed in butter and bread crumb, and salad.

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GUESTS & VISITORS

The long absent Ed Mastry returned this week and seamlessly slid back into his role of introducing guests and visitor. Today we had co-speaker Bruce Ericksen, guest of Glenn Burton; Sue Payntor, visitor from Nova Scotia and guest of Doug Norris; and Vita Simmons, guest of the club and soon-to-be new member.

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FLOWERS, BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

Kathleen Best answered the call to manage all flower related activities. Luckily, none of the birthday or anniversary celebrants were present, because flowers weren’t either.

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SUNSHINE & GOODWILL

None

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

There were no announcements, but Sarah mentioned once again the need for everyone to step up as requests for support as they come in from the fundraiser committee. Sarah also mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, asking all to keep Ukrainians in our thoughts and prayers. She also noted the direct tie of the Clarkston club to Ukraine and made us aware of opportunities to donate, either through our club or directly on the Rotary International website.

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MUSIC

Someone in the room called out that Sarah had forgotten to move on to music. She picked right up by picking on brother Bob to stop eating and get to the singing. Bob started us off with “It’s a Small World,” but forgot to let Rotarians know the page number, so we were half way through the song before everyone joined in. We finished with a robust version of “All Hail to Rotary.”

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RECOGNITION

Larry Neal had recognition duties again this week, and deputized Dana to help him decide on the proper fine level

for each Rotarian’s “indiscretion”:

An ad hoc competition between Eric Pierson, nattily dressed in a dress shirt and neatly pressed slacks, and Glenn Burton in his Ecuadorian attire. Glenn won by a hair, earning him a $2 fine.
Sarah Lee and brother Bob were called to task for various infractions, including the sibling banter, music snafus, and Sarah’s “karaoke” performance. Larry fined each the obligatory $4.99.
Larry welcomed Ed Mastry back from his long absence, $1 per week for three weeks.
Bill Furest was called out as a target because his son cannot be fined as long as he is club president. Larry fined Bill $4 for being the best looking man at the meeting.

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SPEAKER

Glenn Burton and Bruce Ericksen shared the details of Glenn’s two-week visit to Ecuador. It was thoroughly entertaining. Only a four-hour plane ride from Miami, Ecuador is NOT the third world country that most people think it is. Home to over 17M people, it is a blend of the ancient and the modern day. It is best known for being the home of the Galapagos Islands, makers of the Panama hat, and being the rose capital of the world. Ecuador is also situated at the center of the earth, and has constant weather and a 50/50 mix of day and night throughout the year (no need for daylight saving here!). Ecuador has a democratic government and a four-year cycle for presidential elections. The population is 75% Catholic.

Bruce and Glenn shared pictures of modern cityscapes and rustic mountain trails, beautiful young women and traditional farm workers and craftspeople. Glenn showed a picture of himself at Club Rotoract Los Chillos Ecuador. This club is small but very active, and focuses on raising funds to help earthquake damaged towns in the coastal areas. And of course, there was the mandatory picture of a local Ecuadorian wild cat, but just one.

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50/50

As his reward for his long anticipated return to club meetings, Bruce selected Ed Mastry’s ticket in the 50/50 drawing. The $35 prize helped offset this recognition fine.

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