Dear Rotarians,

Lemonade

We have all heard people say, and seen cute posters and plaques which proclaim, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” This year the growing conditions seemed to be especially good for lemon trees growing in Las Vegas, and the lemon crop was bountiful. Each week at our club meetings there were Meyer lemons being shared by club members who had been blessed with more fruit than one family could consume.

Whether you took home any of these lemons and made lemonade or not, it is very obvious that you took that saying to heart. As our club was preparing for the District 5300 Annual Conference this year and picking out the most noteworthy achievements of this past Rotary year to describe in our allotted four-minute presentation, it was clear that we had way more than four minutes worth of great highlights to cover. Our club clearly took the lemons that the virus restrictions presented and made lots of lemonade.

We packed and then delivered Halloween candy to young children in the parking lot of their temporarily closed elementary school, we delivered prepared meals to shut-ins, we partnered with other Rotary clubs around the globe to deliver PPE to hospitals in hard hit areas, and here in Las Vegas we partnered with Spread the word Nevada to support childhood literacy and with the Wheelchair Foundation to roll out wheelchairs to needy recipients at a pace that any big automaker would envy.

You have every reason to be proud of our club and what we have been able to do this past year. I am not sure what the record is for making lemonade, but I would bet the ranch that we broke that record this past Rotary year. Congratulations and thank you!

Richard Jost
President
Las Vegas Rotary Club

Scribe – May 27, 2021

• President Richard Jost called the meeting to order.
• Captain Anthony Barnes gave the invocation.
• President Jost played “Hymn to the Fallen” by John Williams, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
• Bhavan Singh served as the Sergeant At Arms.
• Jim Tucker served as the paparazzi.
• We had three guests of Rotarians and one visiting Rotarian (virtually)
• PP Jim Hunt provided details for the upcoming Cigar Social which will be held at Creech Air Force Base on June 17. Admission is a $10 donation and attendees are asked to bring a minimum of three cigars; one to give to a solider, one to trade, and one to smoke.
• PP Tom Thomas announced that PE Mike Ballard will be the club’s 99^th President and PP and now PEE Caty Crockett will be the club’s 100^th
• PP Tom Thomas let the club know that when he first joined, the club was trying to raise $1 million for the foundation, and now the club is approaching $3 million. He and his wife Leslie have generous offered to match up to $100,000 in donations for the foundation under PE Mike Ballard’s
• PE Mike Ballard let the club know that pledge forms were on the table, and then generously pledged the first $2,500 to be matched.
• Kathy Mahon also donated $1,000 to be matched.
• Rose Falacco announced that President Jost’s debunking party will be held on June 24 at Bob Werner’s RSVPs are needed.
• Rose Falacco announced that the final 25 Club meeting under President Jost’s tenure will be on June 3. The event will be held at Spanish Trails Country Club. RSVPs are required.
• Erik Astramecki donated and auctioned off two VIP suite tickets to the Black Belt MMA Tournament on June 12. Austin Wyrick was the highest bidder. Volunteers are needed to work the raffle ticket table. The funds will be split with the USO.
• Marie Walsh provided an annual report on Breakfast with Books. From September 2020 to May 2021, there were 5,166 participates.
• Marie Walsh also provided an update on the club’s valedictorian program. Due to Covid, the club was unable to host the students, but the club sent certificates and $100 check to 54 students.
• President Jost fined Bhavan Singh $100 for missing last week’s meeting and his duty as Sergeant At Arms so that he could partake in a “FarmersOnly.com” dating site photo shoot.
• Kim Nyoni recognized Paul Harris Fellows; Bert Reiner, Val Hatley +4, and PP Kathy Dalvey +6
• To be fiduciary responsible, all pledge forms that indicate a desire to pay by credit card need to include a credit card number. Club members can no longer say “on file.”
• The raffle ticket winner was a guest of PE Mike Ballard, who received a prize of $10 and the Lawry’s Bucks winner was Janice Lencke.
• Former member Ted McAdam presented the history of Memorial Day.
• Rosalee Hedrick introduced our guest speaker Terry Shirley, President, CEO for Nevada State Bank. Mr. Shirley educated the club on the “Banking Industry and the Economy.” Topics included what happened in 2020 and how the banking sector responded, key metrics, banks role in stimulus, and what’s next.
• President Richard Jost then adjourned the meeting.