Below are the long-awaited highlights from our Apr 4 Rotary meeting. Sorry, but life got in the way to my getting this done earlier. Most of the meeting items may be beyond their event date but please take a few minutes to read about the activities of the TAHS Interact Club who were our guest speakers at this meeting. They have performed an incredible amount of "Service above Self" over this last school year and as their sponsors, we should be very proud of their outstanding accomplishments.
Pledge and Invocation:
President Mike Markovitz brought the meeting to order at 12:15 PM at Purkey’s Pink Apple with Cammie Anderson leading the Pledge of Allegiance and Dave Wilson giving the Invocation.
Guests:
Charlesie Rowles – Interact President, Officers of Tunkhannock High School Interact Club – guest speakers
Kinsley Schmeckenbecher – Vice President
Rebecca Fick – Treasurer
Emily Rickaby - Secretary
Crystal Meyers – School nurse
Clyde Ellsworth – guest of Harry Sharpe
Margie Young – Dietrich Theater
Raleigh Bloch – Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen
John – exchange student and Interactor
Club News:
Frank Gauss from American Legion came to talk about the Sunday, Apr 28 1-4 PM at Triton for Fran Turner’s 100th Birthday.
Ad: ERA Brady – 10th Anniversary Buyer’s Seminar Apr 28.
Ad. Raleigh Bloch April 27 Barbershop Show at Tunkhannock High School 7 PM. Tickets are available at $9 Greenwoods, chorus members or $12 at door.
John Hovan read a poem he wrote for his brother for National Poetry Month.
Flash Meeting
There will be NO regularly scheduled Flash Meeting tonight, April 4th to allow folks to attend the Wyoming County Commissioner’s Forum at The Tunkhannock Area School District Intermediate Center from 6pm – 8pm. The next Flash Meeting will be Thursday – April 18th at 5:30pm at Bogey’s.
Board of Directors Meeting
The next Board of Director’s Meeting is Tuesday April 16th at 7:30am – 8:30am at Community Bank Conference Room in Tunkhannock.
Check Presentations
Pres. Mike Markovitz presented a check for $3,000 to the Seven Loaves Soup Kitchen. Raleigh Bloch, Chairman of the Board, accepted the check. Raleigh thanked the club for the monetary gift on behalf of the Board, clients and volunteers. They do need cash to pay bills in addition to the donations of food.
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Raleigh Bloch accepting Seven Loaves Donation from Pres. Mike Markovitz
Pres. Mike Markovitz presented a check for $4,000 to the Wyoming County Cultural Center of the Dietrich Theater. Margie Young, Dietrich’s Program Coordinator accepted the check. She thanked the Club for the funding that supports 3 programs appealing to ages 2 to 94. Music for Littles for children (2.5-5 yr old) and caregivers (usually 10-12 children plus caregiver) where explore all kinds of instruments and singing. The Golden Age of Radio Players for the senior population. There are around 16 volunteer actors who perform and over 100 people attend their performances where they put on real radio plays. We also support dances classes for the intellectually disabled of Keystone resources which combine art, music and exercise.
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Margie Young accepting Dietrich Theater donation from Pres. Mike Markovitz
Exchange Students:
John – Andres at Robotic competition at Lehigh, Kike sick. They lost the semi-final of the tournament. He had soccer on Sun and Mon and volleyball game but they lost.
Committee Reports:
2019 Harvest and Wine Festival Committee:
See email from Ron Furman regarding this year’s meetings / schedule. Next Meeting will be Monday evening May 6 at 6pm at the Tunkhannock Library.
Consideration being discussed of elimination of all beverages being brought to the Festival by attendees and no firearms.
Drug Takeback Project Committee – Frank Oliver / Carol Ziomek
Next Drug Take Back – April 27th, 2019. Glen has posters and rack cards, so please take and distribute to as many places a possible especially if you have signed up to cover a particular location.
Rotary Relays Project Committee – Rod Azar
Rotary Relays will be held – Wednesday – May 1, 2019 – 4:30pm at the Tunkhannock High School Football Field per Rod Azar. Rain Date – Friday May 10, 2019.
Roadside Cleanup Committee – John Proctor
Saturday – April 27th, 2019 – Meet at Fireplace Restaurant at 9am.
Global Projects Committee
They will present to the District Foundation Committee tomorrow. The grant application ready to go to the RI Coordinator for Haiti once the grant committee approves. The project cost is $60K for water, irrigation and repairs in Haiti.
District News
District 7410 Conference
District Conference starts tomorrow - April 5-6, 2019 at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI)
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is scheduled for April 20th, 7:30 am to 3:30 pm at the West Orange High School in West Orange, NJ – Cost $75.00 includes breakfast, lunch, materials and training. – (Go to www.rlinea.org to register. Sign up deadline is April 10th. The Club will pay for the registration
Our next Meeting will be Thursday, Apr 11. Our guest speakers will be Judge Russell Shurtleff, who will speak about “Changes in Criminal Justice Law”.
Check Presentation – Drug Treatment Court Program
Check Presentation – HANDS of Wyoming County
Prior to adjournment, Cammie Anderson led the recitation of the 4-Way Test by the attendees.
President Mike Markovitz adjourned the meeting at 1:30 PM.
Guest Speakers: Charlesie Rowles, President
Tunkhannock Area High School Interact Club
Tommasina Fiorillo, their advisor, introduced the Interact officers who presented the program.
L to R: Rotarian Tommasina Fiorillo (Faculty Advisor), Emily Rickaby (Secretary), Rebecca Fick (Treasurer), Kinsley Schmeckenbecher (Vice President) and Charlesie Rowles (President)
Pres. Charlesie described the various activities and fund-raising events that the Interact Club have participated in or sponsored over the 2018-2019 school year. There are 15-20 members in Interact.
They started in July by helping at the July 3rd Rotary Fireworks event at Memorial Stadium, the first of the 2-4 annual collaborations with their sponsor, the Tunkhannock Rotary Club.
In Oct at the High School’s Homecoming Bonfire, they sold pie and pulseras. They raised $290 for the Pulsera Project, a fund-raiser they have been doing for many years now. From their website: “The Pulsera Project is a nonprofit organization that educates, empowers, and connects Central American artists with students in more than 2,500 U.S. schools through the sale of colorful handwoven bracelets, or "pulseras" in Spanish.”
Also in Oct, they had a bake sale at the Parent-Teacher Conference where they raised $150.
In Nov on Black Friday, Interact students participated in Rotary’s Candy Cane Day, where they helped collect donations from shoppers at 3 shopping centers to buy toys for kids for Xmas. As a thank you for a donation, shoppers were offered candy canes. The left-over candy canes were taken by the Interact students to a performance of the Nutcracker Ballet in Scranton and given out to the children attending the performance.
In Nov, the students sold Twigs Café gift cards and made a $500 profit from that sale. They also donated toys and school supplies to the Samaritans Purse: Operation Christmas Child.
In Dec., they ran a school wide initiative to collect toys for children for Xmas in collaboration with Dr Paul Herbener Chiropractic and Rehab Associates. They also sold candygrams during their lunch periods.
In Jan, they donated $100 to the Severn Loaves Soup Kitchen, which serves hot meals weekdays to people in need.
In Mar, they had another bake sale at the Parent-Teacher Conference and made a $142 profit. Also in Mar, the Club had the opportunity to hear from Rotarian Rev. Lou Divis about the Rotary sponsored annual Peace Camp for children. Lou later commented at a Rotary luncheon that several Interactors expressed interest in helping at the 2019 Peace Camp this summer.
In Mar & Apr, they are collecting for the Sack Hunger Now Campaign of the CEO of Wyo. Cty. and in May, they will be taking part in the Rise against Hunger in Partnership with the National Honor Society.
All year long, they help with the Tiger Care Closet that provides clothes, notebooks and personal supplies free of charge to students who may not have financial access to these items.
After their presentation, Interact President Charlesie presented to Pres. Mike Markovitz a check for $100 for Polio Plus. As is the custom, the Tunkhannock Rotary will match this donation making it a $200 donation for Polio Plus.
Pres. Mike Markovitz receiving $100 Polio Plus Donation
from Interact Pres. Charlesie Rowles.
