#108 Petersburg (Breakfast)

postponed to April 6th due to bad weather.

#107 District 7600 Presidential Retreat

registration

Great turn out for a snow day in January

Jim finally gets his banner.

Saturday, January 8th, was my 100th day of the challenge so I was happy to have an event to coincide with the day.  It was day number 100, but number 107  in line of clubs and/or events.  There were about 120 participants for the Presidential Retreat.  The event was for both current presidents and president-elects, to review the midyear status and goals for the 2nd half.  Meeting at the Wakefield 4-H Airfield Center we were all concerned with the impending snow, fortunately it held off until we finished.  Many had travel delays arriving to the meeting.  The one thing I really liked was how the meeting flowed.  There were many presentations, but they were kept to a short time frame, which allowed the participants to get the information they really needed, without going overboard.  The time flew by and I never saw anyone nodding.


Chair of the Event, Jerry Fields was very gracious to let me attend the event, especially with me being from another district.  The district has made me feel like an honorary member of the of their group.  DG Jayne Sullivan, Foundation Chair, Bill Pollard and Polio Plus Chair, Jerry Fields all brought up my challenge and thanked the clubs for their hospitality.  I was also given time at lunch to thank the clubs.


I have to say this was a fantastic lunch!  Simple sandwiches, but yeast rolls were delicious and peach cobbler a la mode, yummy!


Pictures to come.
I paid for the event , but I am also making a donation of $25 (the cost) in appreciation for letting me join in.

The First 100 Days

Jan 8th marked my 100th day of this Challenge, the half way mark.  Initially I did not have anything scheduled for this Saturday, then to my surprise, a president confirming my visit for the upcoming week asked..."Will I see you at the Presidential Retreat?"  I quickly went to District 7600's website (by the way they have the easiest District site to navigate) and found the information on the Retreat.  I quickly penned an email to the Chair who also happens to the the Polio Plus Chair for the district and asked if I could attend.  Without hesitation, he said, please come and take part.  As far as the actual visit that will be discussed in #107.

So 100 Days of Rotary, it feels like I have a full time job that doesn't pay in dollars but in gratitude and appreciation. Oh and yes, I've gained over 10 lbs, thank goodness I have signed up for the North Stafford's club Fitness Challenge.  As our District Governor, Ron Marion said "my wardrobe is shrinking", his is not the only one to shrink.  These clubs have really good food, maybe not healthy but good.  Although I will say, I have had chicken and green beans cooked every way possible, it's a good thing I like chicken and greens beans.

Now I know everyone is anxious to see how I have rated the clubs to-date.  First remember I only have visited once and am getting a small snapshot of each club.  My ratings are completely subjective and are meant with great reverence.  I have loved every club visit and this no way implies that one club is better than another.


Lets look at the stats:
107 Club visits and or events
Breakfasts: 38
Lunches: 40
Dinners:  7
Fundraisers: 6
Community service events: 6
Rotary meeting (non club) 10

What modes of transportation have I used to get to meetings:
walked
car
plane
ferry
trolley
biked
subway


Club banners  (additional $5 for each clubs that give me a banner)
Bon Air
North Stafford
Fredericksburg
Crystal City/Pentagon
Innsbrook
Kilmarnick-Irvington- Whitestone
Reston


Speaker gifts that I have received:
Mug/glass : 5    
pens: 12    
Banners: 7
Book donations: 3
ARC Donation: 1
Polio Plus donation: 1
Note pad: 1      
Candle holder: 1
calendar: 2
4-way Coin: 2

Most Energetic Clubs
Powhatan
Brandermill
Western Henrico County

Most Laid Back
Alexandria South
Fluvanna County
Lunenberg County

Most Formal
Alexandria
Charlottesville
Richmond

Best Singing

Franklin

West Richmond 


Best Music
Churchland
Richmond
McLean

Best Shoutouts
Innsbrook

Favorite Fundraisers
San Francisco: World Polio Day: "End Polio Now" Walk
Chesapeake: Wine Festival
Matthews: Rock Fish Tournament

Favorite Community Service Events
Caroline County:  Senior Gala
Midlothian: Stop Hunger Now
West Point: Healthy Kids Kick Off


Favorite Breakfast
Colonial Heights
Bon Air
Prince George


Favorite Lunch
Lawerenceville
Arlington
Princess Anne


Favorite Dinner
Charlottesville
Fredericksburg
Louisa

Biggest Donation Collected for Polio Plus in honor of my visit
Blackstone $622
Fredericksburg $212 (when told that Harrisonburg had passed their giving they threw in another $10)
Harrisonburg $204
Please note that many other clubs offered up Happy Dollars and other personal donations which are all recorded on a ledger and are all equally appreciated.  It is also noted on each blog visit what the meal cost (my donation) and any other donation offered at that time or commitment made at the time of my visit.

Again thank you to all the clubs who have welcomed me, I look forward to the 2nd half.

#106 Hanover (7600)

John Fernandez speaks on the sweet success of the dessert business while President Judson nods in agreement

Members Becky & Mike are dwarfed by the almost 6' club banner

There are not many dinner clubs in Virginia, but Hanover is one.  Meeting at the Hill City Chop House, I have enjoyed the food here before.  The members were quick to welcome me and share their history.  Now I jokingly told the group that serving Chicken and green beans would be a deduction, but the meal over all was very good especially the potatoes.

The speaker was John Fernandez, CEO of Daystar Desserts maker of "The World's Best Cheesecake" and while I was not familiar with this product, was disappointed that he did not bring samples.  He assured the club if invited back he would most certainly bring samples.  John is a self made inspiration and was the Richmond Business Leader of the Year for 2010.  He definitely needs to join this club and they all agreed.
The clubs keeps things fun by visiting different sites for meetings including an upcoming visit to a winery and to a civil war museum.

Dinner $16

# 98 eClub One

What a great idea for a makeup and more importantly for individuals who are not able to attend regular meetings but want to be a part of Rotary.  I wanted to include at least one online club, first to see how they operate and how they differ from a traditional club.

Well, first they have a site that is easy to navigate, and while I do not require a makeup, for this mission, I went through the process to be able to report back to all how to do a makeup online.  It was very easy, near the top of the site there is a tab for makeup meetings.  It is very simple procedure, you select a topic from a long list to review, after you read the article (they are all quite short) you make a comment and hit send.  The time requirement is a minimum of 30 mins spent on the site, so there is a requirement that you review at least 3 articles.  From there you will click on request a makeup, which will take you to a 4 page form to fill out, very simple and short (really).  In their own words: Rotary eClub One helps keep thousands of Rotarians involved, informed, inspired and connected. 


Donation: $10

# 97 West Point Community Holiday Breakfast

The West Point Club each year hosts a holiday gathering for the community civic groups, community & religious leaders.  This year due to the weather the gathering was much smaller than normal and  with the High School closed for the day, the musical portion of the event was cancelled.  But what was spectacular was the food! Until now I have not been a fan of the meals served at my own club.  This meal was served and the proceeds donated by the parents of the Student without Drugs program. They did an amazing presentation of breakfast foods.  Blueberry and bacon muffins, breaded bacon, ham biscuits and more.  A truly wonderful culinary experience.
The club has also signed on with a new caterer, who owns a fabulous bakery in Gloucester and has been providing breakfast for the Gloucester Point Club for 16 years, so I know this club will be in the top 5 breakfast club for in rating of the meal.

# 80 Stop Hunger Now

I love Service Projects, really getting involved hands on and this is one event where you can do this.  This was my second Stop Hunger Now packaging event. This brought out lots & lots of teens from several school and Rotarians from six different clubs.  After the instructions the groups went right to task and they were moving. We packaged 60,000 meals in less than 2 1/2 hours!  Well, I didn't package; my roll was Gong holder, what is that you ask?  I held the large Gong that was struck each time we hit another 1,000 meals.  I had no problem locating strikers, the kids were happy to give the gong a whack.   Several were repeat announcers.  I will say that the girls typically hit it with better precision and giving the louder sound. It was so much fun.  My neighbor, friend and friend of Rotary went with me and she was the counter of the boxes, as a retired banker she was in the right spot, I know I would have been off count.

There will be another Stop Hunger Event in Richmond this month at the University of Richmond and I know other clubs are involved with this.

The link below will take you to the report which aired on WRIC Channel 8. (Thanks Chuck for the link)

http://www.wric.com/global/Category.asp?c=190525&clipId=5372551&autostart=true