Elkhart Rotary Club Meeting April 1, 2019

Welcome to the Elkhart Rotary Club Meeting on April 1, 2019; Today we welcomed members of our own club: Erin Wagler, Andy McCaskey, Anthony Hunt, Jason Bryant, and Eric Garton as they presented the Marketing Committee's primary tools for promotion and community awareness; namely our elkhartrotary.org website, Clubrunner, the Clubrunner app, FaceBook, and the rotary.org website.

President Peter Norton opened the meeting and introduced Deb Alwine who shared inspirational words, led the Pledge, and our Four Way Test.

Fran Conner introduced our Guests for today including our distinguished guest Dan Ryan, Rotary District 6540 Governor. Guests of Rotarians were: Tom Arnold (Mandy Leazenby), Lou Ann Welsh (Tom Pletcher), Jeremy Riley (Jeffifer Hayes), Zack Corpe (Nick Corpe), Garrick Lankford (Bill Burton), Tami Wine (Jessica Burbrink), Allison McLean (Lisa Guedea-Carreno), and Heather Edds (Matt Lentsch). Welcome to all of our guests!

District 6540 Governor Dan Ryan spent a few minutes at the podium, reminding members of the upcoming Rotary District 6540 Conference on May 10-11 at Notre Dame - -so close to home; visit http://www.rotary6540.org/ for more and to register!

This spring's second recipient of a Rotary Grant is the Elkhart Public Library. Lisa Guedea-Carreno introduced Allison McLean, Head of Young People's Services at Elkhart Public Library, who described how the Rotary grant will help to print alphabet flash cards for young children. They cited sources of research that indicate that students who enter Kindergarten without knowing the letters are at risk and they fall behind more easily than students who enter Kindergarten with knowledge of the alphabet. Rotary's grant is helping to make our community more literate! Thanks to Rotarians for their weekly contributions through fines, and thanks to the Elkhart Public Library for their great program.
 

Today's presentation came from our Club's own Marketing Committee; Marketing Chair Erin Wagler and committee members Andy McCaskey, Anthony Hunt, Jason Bryant, and Eric Garton. The group had some fun sharing WHY staying up to date on the club's events, making sure your own information is up to date for statistical purposes (which helps advise Rotary International efforts to increase diversity among its members and provide programming fitting of its audiences), and engaging in both social media and websites like Rotary.org are important parts of our responsibilities as club members. Andy McCaskey created an interactive, Jeopardy-style on-screen game that was hosted by today's Sergeant, Anthony Hunt, and if you didn't get the answer, you paid; if you did get the answer - - others paid. Another fun way of helping to raise funds. Rotary fines are collected weekly and are pooled into a fund. In the spring approximately $10,000 is distributed as grants to not for profit organizations around our county.

Here are a few sample slides from the group's presentation, showing:

  1. How to search for an install the ClubRunner App on your mobile device (note the slight differences between iPhone and Android devices). If you need help with this, please reach out to a committee member, they're happy to help and get you setup.
  2. A look at our homepage; where to start to get logged in, where to find upcoming activities, and where to see the news from previous meetings - - like you're reading right now!
  3. The benefits of exploring ClubRunner - - get to know and appreciate your fellow Rotarians!

The Committee greatly appreciates our club members' support as we continue to increase the profile of our Elkhart Rotary Club in the community, inspiring others to get involved, as well as supporting our efforts for INTERNAL marketing, keeping YOU in the know as we continue our efforts to make Elkhart a better place.

About Rotary:

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, community leaders, and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and act to create lasting change – across the globe, in our local communities, and in ourselves. The Elkhart Rotary Club was founded in 1917 and serves its community through volunteerism, providing grants to not-for-profit organizations, sponsoring, and participating in service projects such as ringing bells for the Salvation Army, roadside trash collection, and are the originators and sustainers of Wellfield Botanic Gardens. Elkhart Rotary Club’s membership consists of approximately 150 dedicated individuals from various professional backgrounds and diverse interests. Membership in the Elkhart Rotary Club is by invitation. We welcome guests to attend any of our meetings and hear from our great lineup of weekly presenters.
For more information on the Elkhart Rotary Club, visit elkhartrotary.org or email elkhartnoonrotary@gmail.com. Like and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook/ElkhartRotaryClub to stay current on meetings, upcoming events or speakers, and initiatives in the community.
 
Upcoming Meetings and Programs:
  • April 8: Elkhart Rowing Club; Building a Boat House for the High School Rowing Crew Club
  • April 15: Contested Mayoral Primary Candidates Forum - Ashley Boling Molyneaux and Rod Roberson
  • April 22: Magistrate Deborah Domine; Child Abuse Prevention Month – CAPS and Elkhart County
Join us for our next meeting:
All meetings are at noon on Mondays at the Matterhorn Banquet and Conference Center, 2041 Cassopolis St. in Elkhart IN, 46514. In months that include a FIFTH Monday, the Elkhart Rotary Club holds a dinner meeting (no presenter) at the same location.