December 19, 2007

At our weekly lunch on December 12, several of the many rewarding aspects of being a Rotarian made themselves clear. First of all, we had as our guests several members of the Hancock Rotary Club who came to share lunch and thank our club for inviting them to our Christmas party, which benefited the Food Pantries of each community. The presence of our Hancock friends was yet another reminder of the fact that the Rotary spirit of community service extends beyond our own club and is shared by Rotary members in virtually every community, in our own region, across the United States and throughout the globe.

It was wonderful as well to hear news of our local club's recent achievements. Our Christmas party yielded more for the Food Pantries than had I had originally reported—we raised $533 for each the Deposit and Hancock organizations. Sue Elinsky also informed us that the total result of our efforts during this holiday season was that $2,374 was raised for the Food Pantry Turkey Celebration. It's really amazing that an organization that has such fun times also accomplishes so much good work.

It was also a great treat to learn about the nation of Iceland from Rotarian Jim Ficurilli, who, along with his wife Ellen, had visited the country on their way to the wedding of a former Rotary exchange student from Finland who had stayed in Deposit for a year. We saw several stunning pictures of the Icelandic countryside, formed by volcanoes, and heard interesting details about the country and the people who inhabit it. Everyone seemed particularly fascinated to learn that many of the hot springs and natural baths that are huge tourist attractions are most often visited without bathing suits!

I'll see you back next week for the latest Rotary news and gossip!

December 12, 2007

I write this having just returned home from the Rotary Christmas party held at the Chestnut Inn on Saturday, December 8. Rotarians and guests were greeted by the Inn's beautiful holiday décor that was made even more charming by the homey ambience offered by the Chestnut's picturesque setting on Oquaga Lake . Everyone seemed to be in gracious holiday spirit as they warmly greeted old friends and happily met new ones. It was wonderful to see a strong contingent of Hancock Rotarians joining us for the evening.

After our delicious meal, the fun of our Christmas auction began. Wrapped gifts brought by the attendees were sold off by our own auctioneer, Smitty Axtell. I am very happy to announce that by the end of the evening, both the Deposit and Hancock Rotary Clubs had each taken in $475, which will be given to each community's respective food pantry. Can you imagine a more fun and rewarding way to give back to the community? Many thanks to Mark Tucker for making this party a wonderful reality!

In other Rotary news, our club was treated to a performance by the sixth graders of the DCS Elementary School chorus at our weekly meeting. Under the direction of Mrs Rae Turner, the students performed "Festival Sanctus," "When Christmas Comes to Town," "I've Got Rhythm," and "One Candle." I was astonished by powerful quality of the students' voices, their ability to handle complex harmonies, and their excellent pronunciation of Latin in two of the pieces they performed. Solo parts highlighted the talents of the individual singers and by contrast, demonstrated the immense sound of the full chorus. This variation of intensities truly demonstrates the artistic sophistication Mrs Turner instills in her students. It was also amazing to see how many students are part of the chorus! We extend our gratitude to Tina Strong for arranging for the chorus to visit our weekly meeting. Stay tuned next week for more news from the world of Rotary!

December 5, 2007

Our club's lunch meeting on Wednesday, November 28 was a busy and exciting one. First of all, it was announced that our club has raised $1,617 for the Deposit Food Pantry to buy Christmas turkeys for families in the local community. We were very excited and proud of this accomplishment. Many thanks go to Sue Elinsky for all of her work in helping our club raise this money!

Rotary is also looking forward to our upcoming Christmas party and auction on December 8 at the Chestnut Inn. I'm especially looking forward to spending that time with my fellow Rotarians in such a beautiful setting. Thank you to Mark Tucker for making it happen!

We were also treated to a visit from the DCS Girls Field Hockey Team and their coach, Mrs. Heather Conklin, and the team statistician, Mrs. Margaret Blaho. After our lunch, Coach Conklin introduced each player, her interests, accomplishments, and future plans, many of which included challenging and exciting college and career ambitions. It's clear that their coach really cares about the girls and maintains high standards of them both on the field and in the classroom, thus encouraging them to develop not only into skilled athletes, but well-rounded individuals of limitless potential.

During the meeting, Coach Conklin made two significant announcements regarding her team this year. First, Lindsey Wagner and Emily Cecere were named First Team All Stars and received field hockey player figurines. Coach Conklin was also very proud to announce that Deposit's JV and Varsity Field Hockey Teams received the Sportsmanship Award out of all teams in New York State 's Section IV. Our club was very happy to have the team join us and it was wonderful to be able to congratulate all the girls on their accomplishments and great season!