Pledge and Invocation:
President Samantha Maruzzelli brought the meeting to order at 12:15 PM at Purkey’s Pink Apple with Al Noble reciting the 4-Way Test and leading the Pledge of Allegiance and Jon Buxton giving the Invocation.
Guests:
Club News:
Secretary’s Report – Carol Ziomek
Newsletter did not go out due to power outage for Penelec upgrade.
May Trip to CIA
AAA has indicated that a $100 per person deposit was due by Jan 31 to hold our reservation at the Culinary Institute of America for our May 15 trip. The deposit has been paid. So far we have 32 confirmed participants but still have space on a 50 person bus.
Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) – Norm Kelly
Attendance at RLI is free to any member as our Club pays the registration fee. In addition, for every 2 members that go, 1 will be paid for by the District. It is a great learning experience and you will learn a lot about Rotary and all its facets and goals. Lunch is included. It will be on Sat, March 3 at Lackawanna College from 9AM to 3 PM. So far, we have Mike Markovitz, Mary Tempest and Alison Messina signed up.
Grant’s Management Seminar – Samantha Maruzzelli
The next District Grant’s Management Seminar is Feb 3 at the Towanda Country Club. President Elect Mike Markovitz, Norm Kelly, Al Noble and Pres. Sam Maruzzelli plan to attend. The seminar is open to anyone who would like to know about the District and Global Grants from the Rotary Foundation.
Harvest & Wine Festival - Ron Furman
The first planning meeting for the 2018 Festival will be on Monday Feb 5 at 6 PM at the Tunkhannock Public Library.
Thank You – Pres. Samantha
We received a thank your card from the Misericordia Women with Children program for our donation for Christmas gifts for the children in the program.
District News – Norm Kelly
Wyalusing Rotary had a successful venison supper recently and they donated all the left over meat to a food bank.
Winola Rotary is down to 10 members. They had their polar plunge last weekend with 50 people doing the plunge.
Exchange Student Updates
Vito moved to his new host family and therefore has to get used to a new routine. He had a game on Monday that they won and they have another game today.
Nico also moved to his new host family on Sat., the Gilpins. They have 2 dogs but he misses his first host family. He has a swim meet next week at home.
Our next Meeting will be Thursday, Feb 8. Our guest speakers will be representatives of the Dietrich Theater and Tunkhannock Public Library.
President Samantha Maruzzelli adjourned the meeting at 1:30 PM.
Guest Speaker:
Alexandria Arndt, the Interact President provided a comprehensive summary of their fundraising and donation activities from Oct 2017 to the present.
October
- They had a pie and chai tea at the bonfire, where they raised $93 to purchase 5 backpacks for hurricane victims.
- They raised $225 for the Pulsera project selling the bracelets made by 200 artists in Nicaragua and Guatemala. The kids really love the Pulsera project since some of the money is used to provide educational scholarships.
- They also made $147 selling coffee and cookies.
- They collected candy from members to give to kids at Trick or Treat Night event.
November
- Interactors sold Twigs gift cards and made $465.
- They helped at Rotary Candy Cane day.
- They also raised an additional $311.
December
- They sold Candy grams for a $89 profit.
- They collected toys for Interfaith in cooperation with Dr. Paul Herbener.
Tiger Care Closet
Williams pipeline gave the school a $4,000 grant 2 yr ago to start the Tiger Care Closet. Students, including Interactors, keep it stocked with clothing and personal care products for students to use to prepare for job interviews and provide basic essentials. They were also able to provide prom dresses. The girls sort through the closet donations and the things that are not appropriate for HS students are given to Interfaith, so all donations stay in the community.
Plans for 2018
The Interactors plan to participate in the stop hunger now program in May as well as have additional fund-raising events such as a bake sale at Parent-Teacher conferences.
They have a $1,331 profit for the year so far.
Additional Activities
There are 6 submissions for the Rotary essay contest.
They are recruiting students for RYLA and exchange students.
At the end of their presentation, the Interactors presented President Samantha with a check for $100 for their donation to the Polio Plus Program.
L to R: Pres. Samantha Maruzzelli, Cheyanne Davy (Interact VP), Alexandria Arndt (Interact Pres.) and Tammasina Fiorillo (Interact Advisor)
