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December 16, 2009

I am happy, after months of being busy and living in Los Angeles, to return to my habit of writing my weekly columns in the Courier to share with everyone what happens at the wonderful—and occasionally wild!—meetings of the Deposit Rotary Club! I hope you have as much fun reading about our activities as we do having them and I do writing about them.

Despite the snowy weather on Wednesday, December 9, we had near-record attendance at Rotary's weekly lunch meeting at the Methodist Church on Second Street. Despite the dreary weather and the fact that our scheduled program, a visit from the DCS Elementary Chorus and Show Choir under the direction of the lovely and talented Mrs. Rae Turner, had to be canceled because of the school snow day, we Rotarians still managed to have a fun and rewarding meeting! Over a great hot lunch of Italian goulash, green beans, Italian bread, and a variety of homemade pies (I always tend to go for the chocolate cream!) prepared by the women of the McClure United Methodist Church, Rotary president Brenda Lee called the rowdy bunch of Rotarians to order to discuss our latest charitable projects and also to fine members of the club for their bad behavior. Members also get fined when it's their birthday, the birthday of someone in their family, anniversary, when they
purchase a new car, are mentioned in the newspaper, or wish to share happy, proud, or sad stories. You wouldn't think a group so concerned with fining and punishing people could have as much as fun as we do!

We celebrated the news that so far, this holiday season, our club has raised $1,824.50 for the Deposit Food Pantry, according to club Treasurer and extremely hard-working Rotarian, the much-loved Nancy Zacharias. We raised the money in a variety of ways including a lunch auction held at the Deposit Historical Society, donations from a variety of generous individuals, and also selling the "Christmas Turkeys" you may have seen hanging on walls and in windows of businesses all over town. If you donated money or purchased one or two or a dozen of the Christmas Turkeys, we sincerely thank you for your kindness and would like to let you know that the Food Pantry is now able to provide turkeys to dozens and dozens of families in need right here in Deposit during this holiday season. Thank you! We are also sure to raise more at our upcoming Christmas Party at the Chestnut Inn this Saturday. I cannot wait for the evening's festivities!

When it came time to share personal happy, proud, and sad moments (and get fined for it!), the dollar that caused the most controversy happened to be that of the respectable Mr. Mark Tucker. Mark, having just returned from a trip to China last week, told us of his experience with the local cuisine. He enjoyed chicken, fish, pork, beef, and another delicacy. . . hmm. . . of. . . shall I say. . . a more. . . domestic. . . nature. Over the cries of horror and disgust from his fellow Rotarians, Mark paid his fine and assured us that the dish was far from delicious. Apparently, man's best friend is much better as a friend than as anything else…

Thank you for again reading the news of our local Rotary! You can find this column as well as all of my previous ones at our own Rotary Blog at depositrotary.blogspot.com. Feel free to share your thoughts and voice your suggestions to me by emailing me at jesse@jessekaten.com. I'd love to hear from you! And, as always, please feel free to join us for lunch on Wednesdays at noon at the Methodist Church and consider joining our hysterical and worthwhile community service organization!

December 16, 2009

I am happy, after months of being busy and living in Los Angeles, to return to my habit of writing my weekly columns in the Courier to share with everyone what happens at the wonderful—and occasionally wild!—meetings of the Deposit Rotary Club! I hope you have as much fun reading about our activities as we do having them and I do writing about them.

Despite the snowy weather on Wednesday, December 9, we had near-record attendance at Rotary's weekly lunch meeting at the Methodist Church on Second Street. Despite the dreary weather and the fact that our scheduled program, a visit from the DCS Elementary Chorus and Show Choir under the direction of the lovely and talented Mrs. Rae Turner, had to be canceled because of the school snow day, we Rotarians still managed to have a fun and rewarding meeting! Over a great hot lunch of Italian goulash, green beans, Italian bread, and a variety of homemade pies (I always tend to go for the chocolate cream!) prepared by the women of the McClure United Methodist Church, Rotary president Brenda Lee called the rowdy bunch of Rotarians to order to discuss our latest charitable projects and also to fine members of the club for their bad behavior. Members also get fined when it's their birthday, the birthday of someone in their family, anniversary, when they
purchase a new car, are mentioned in the newspaper, or wish to share happy, proud, or sad stories. You wouldn't think a group so concerned with fining and punishing people could have as much as fun as we do!

We celebrated the news that so far, this holiday season, our club has raised $1,824.50 for the Deposit Food Pantry, according to club Treasurer and extremely hard-working Rotarian, the much-loved Nancy Zacharias. We raised the money in a variety of ways including a lunch auction held at the Deposit Historical Society, donations from a variety of generous individuals, and also selling the "Christmas Turkeys" you may have seen hanging on walls and in windows of businesses all over town. If you donated money or purchased one or two or a dozen of the Christmas Turkeys, we sincerely thank you for your kindness and would like to let you know that the Food Pantry is now able to provide turkeys to dozens and dozens of families in need right here in Deposit during this holiday season. Thank you! We are also sure to raise more at our upcoming Christmas Party at the Chestnut Inn this Saturday. I cannot wait for the evening's festivities!

When it came time to share personal happy, proud, and sad moments (and get fined for it!), the dollar that caused the most controversy happened to be that of the respectable Mr. Mark Tucker. Mark, having just returned from a trip to China last week, told us of his experience with the local cuisine. He enjoyed chicken, fish, pork, beef, and another delicacy. . . hmm. . . of. . . shall I say. . . a more. . . domestic. . . nature. Over the cries of horror and disgust from his fellow Rotarians, Mark paid his fine and assured us that the dish was far from delicious. Apparently, man's best friend is much better as a friend than as anything else…

Thank you for again reading the news of our local Rotary! You can find this column as well as all of my previous ones at our own Rotary Blog at depositrotary.blogspot.com. Feel free to share your thoughts and voice your suggestions to me by emailing me at jesse@jessekaten.com. I'd love to hear from you! And, as always, please feel free to join us for lunch on Wednesdays at noon at the Methodist Church and consider joining our hysterical and worthwhile community service organization!

September 3, 2008

Our club was lucky enough to be visited by our District Governor at each of the last two lunch meetings!  Lana Rouff, as District Governor, is responsible for overseeing all 44 Rotary clubs that comprise District 7170, which includes most of the Southern Tier of New York, from Deposit to Ithaca.  Since a new District Governor takes office each year, Lana has been spending the summer meeting with all of the clubs she is responsible for to discuss their goals, projects, and visions for the future.

 

On August 20, she met with our club's Board of Directors before lunch, going over our club's plans and strategies for bringing in new members.  She made us very happy when she announced that our club was exemplary.  During lunch, President Nancy Zacharias introduced Lana to our general membership and listed her many accomplishments.  Just to name a select few, Lana Rouff has served as President of the Binghamton University Foundation, Executive Director of the Binghamton Philharmonic, and worked to organize the Empire State Games held in Binghamton.  She is truly a well-respected leader in the Southern Tier and Rotary is thrilled to have her as our District Governor.  Our club was also quite pleased that she joined us for lunch.  I love her, in particular, because of her commitment to the arts and the fact that she studies ballet!

 

During her speech to our club, Lana listed the many projects, both local and international, in which our club could choose to take part.  She spoke about Rotary's Polio Plus program and proudly announced that polio has been eradicated except for in four countries.  She quoted someone from India who had said "When the Rotarians came, our children stopped dying," in reference to Rotary's efforts to bring the very simple polio vaccine to the children of the most remote parts of the globe.  I think we all felt very proud to be Rotarians and Lana's address inspired us to work even harder on behalf of all of Rotary's charitable goals.  Feel free to come have lunch with us any Wednesday at noon at the Methodist Church on Second Street!

Rotary Sponsors Annual Tommy Tucker Golf Tournament

*Click here for the Ironman Registration Form!*


Saturday, September 6, 2008 (or rain date September 13th) will mark the Third Annual W.R. “Tommy” Tucker Ironman Golf Tournament at Scott’s Golf Course at Oquaga Lake. Sponsored by the Deposit Rotary Club and organized by Mark Tucker each year in memory of his father, Tommy Tucker, the Ironman Tournament is a fun and challenging way to enjoy a great day of golf and fellowship, all the while supporting the Deposit Rotary Club’s charitable projects.

The Captain and Crew tournament will begin with registration at 7:00 am with a shotgun start at 8:00 am. Golfers will be able to ride carts for the “Big 9” course and walk the smaller Executive Course. Teams will be comprised of four players and the registration fee includes not only your participation in the tournament, but also the awards luncheon that will follow the tournament at Scott’s Cookout Lookout, featuring a cash beer and wine bar. Team prizes will be given out, along with the Men’s and Ladies’ Closest to the Pin Awards, the Men’s and Ladies’ Longest Drive Awards, and over 100 possible raffle prizes. The First Prize is a $200 gift card from Visa. Rotary tickets can be purchased in advance from any Rotarian.

The tournament also offers local businesses a great way to advertise and promote your business by either furnishing a door prize or displaying your company name on a designated tee area. Sponsoring the tournament will not only make sure your business is noticed, but also helps promotes Rotary’s charities.

For more information about participation or sponsorship, contact Mark Tucker at 467-2866 x221 or visit depositrotary.blogspot.com to download the registration or sponsorship forms. Fees must be received by September 1 to hold your spot, so sign up now! “Tommy played it once a week. . . can you step up to the challenge?”