THE SPARK'S shadow
Of the Rotary Club of Lexington Park, MD
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December 14, 2009 Vol. 265
Available again on the web again at: www.rotarylp.org .
49 Years of "Taking Time to Serve" through "Service Above Self" 1960 -2009
Chartered May 7, 1960
Meetings held every Monday at noon at The J.T. Daugherty Conference Center, Lexington Park, MD
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The December 7, 2009, meeting was opened by Pres. George Hurlburt.Mac McGarity gave the invocation.Pierre Thuot led the Pledge. Bob Goldsmith led the group in singing“Deck the Halls”.
ATTENDANCE: Mel Powell
CASHIER: Bob Merritts
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TODAY’S PROGRAM: Holiday Music featuring students from Kings Christian Academy (KCA)
GUESTS: We were pleased to welcome the following guests to the December 7th meeting:
Special Guest Tiny Taylor
Mrs. Tiny Taylor Mother and Guest of Bernie Taylor
Mike Schwartz Guest of Bernie Taylor
Andrea Summers Guest of Kirk MacKinnon
Visiting Rotarians:
Chris Pottock of the College Park Club
Rachel Blair of the Annapolis Club
LYRICS FOR TODAY’S SONG: O Come All ye Faithful - The text to the Carol O Come All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin (Adeste Fideles)and was intended to be a hymn, it is attributed to John Wade, an Englishman. The music to O Come All Ye Faithful was composed by fellow Englishman John Reading in the early 1700s. The tune was first published in a collection known as "Cantus Diversi" in 1751. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley is reputed to have worked on the familiar translation of O Come All Ye Faithful which replaced the older Latin lyrics "Adeste Fideles".
O Come All Ye FaithfulJoyful and triumphant,O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.Come and behold Him,Born the King of Angels;O come, let us adore Him,O come, let us adore Him,O come, let us adore Him,Christ the Lord.
A Rotary Moment in Print: This was an award-winning year for The Rotarian magazine and Rotary International's Web site, which were recognized for editorial and creative achievement by Folio magazine. RI's Web site won a 2009 Eddie Award for editorial excellence. It was named the bronze winner in the category for association and nonprofit sites circulated six or more times a year. The Rotarian picked up a 2009 Ozzie Award in the category of Best Use of Digital Imagery for associations and nonprofits. The recognition was for the January article "How To Do Good and Feel Good Doing It." Folio's Eddie and Ozzie awards are the largest awards competitions in publishing. The prestigious designations are bestowed on only the best in magazine and editorial creative teams. – RI Website
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to the following Rotarians who celebrate their day this month: (If we have missed your name we apologize and ask that you see the secretary so that records may be updated.)
George Hurlburt John Ramos
Bill Rymer John Paradis
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Oyster Social: Pres. George recognized Kirk MacKinnon, Barbara Ives, Carol VanWyk and John Levay for their work on the Oyster Social held on Dec. 2nd at the Pavilion aboard the NAS. Despite the rain it was an outstanding success.
Board Meeting: As noted in the Dec. 7th Spark, budget constraints brought on by the economic environment and the rainy Oyster Festival will necessitate possible cutbacks in Rotary projects unless additional monies can be obtained through contributions or fundraisers. Members are asked to submit any suggestions for fundraisers to the Board or to one of the officers.
Oyster Scald Leader John Levay
St. Mary’s Caring: Bill Ryan announced that St. Mary’s Caring has reached only 1/3rd of its funding goal and asked that individual members or companies step in to help with this effort. St. Mary's Caring is a non-profit organization created to operate and fund a family center providing hot meals and other services for the low income children and adults of St. Mary's County. Hot meals, family programs information and referral services, assistance in job searches and pastoral counseling are offered to those needing help. The center is supported by gifts and donations and depends upon financial contributions from individuals or organizations in the community in order to provide humanitarian services in St. Mary's County. (SMC Website) Past president Bill Ryan
District Grants Committee: Rachael Blair, visiting Rotarian from Annapolis, and member of the District 7620 Grants Committee announced that PP Bob Parkinson has been named to the District 7620 Grants Committee.
Financial Literacy Meeting will be held Dec. 14th at 11:00 at the JTDCC. The new website will be reviewed.)
Rachel Blair
An Astronaut among us: In his selection of Pierre Thuot to lead the Pledge, Pres. George mentioned that Pierre “ is our resident astronaut”. He was selected as an astronaut by NASA in June 1985, and is a veteran of three space flights, STS-36 in 1990, STS-49 in 1992, and STS-62 in 1994, Pierre has logged over 654 hours in space, including 17.7 hours on three space walks. On his first flight, he was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-36 which launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on February 28, 1990, aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which traveled over 1.87 million miles . He was a mission specialist on the crew of STS-49, the maiden voyage of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on May 7, 1992. During that mission, he performed three space walks which resulted in the capture and repair of the stranded Intelsat VI F3 communications satellite. This 8 hour and 29 minute space walk, the longest in history, broke a twenty year old record that was held by Apollo 17 astronauts. The mission concluded on May 16, 1992 after orbiting the Earth 141 times in 213 hours and traveling 3.7 million miles. On March 4, 1994, Pierre launched aboard Columbia on STS-62. More than sixty experiments or investigations were conducted in many scientific and engineering disciplines including materials science, human physiology, biotechnology, protein crystal growth, robotics, structural dynamics, atmospheric ozone monitoring, and spacecraft glow. The mission concluded on March 18, 1994 after orbiting the Earth 224 times and traveling 5.8 million miles. (www.jscnasa.gov)
Rotarian Astronaut Pierre Thuot
HOLIDAY MUSCIAL HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTATIONS BEGIN WITH SMR CHOIR
The choir from St. Mary’s Ryken High School, introduced by SMR President Mary Joy Hurlburt, and led by Director Lisa Kay Morton, entertained the club with a lively presentation of festive songs. “Night Voices”, a group of five students, sang “Love Song”, “A Breath of Heaven”, and “Baby, Please Come Home”. The 17 student Choir presented a program which included “Shine”, Vive La Vita”, and “Christmas on Broadway” a medley of Christmas tunes. Student choreographed moves added to the show as did the lovely blue dresses of the girls, the top hats, and the vests of the boys. The group brought their own risers which showcased all. A check for $150 for the school was presented to Ms. Morton. The student choreographer, Elizabeth Stiles, is the granddaughter of deceased RCLP member, Joe Jennings.
The tradition of Holiday musical presentations by the local high schools to our club during the month of December goes back over twenty years. These young people and their remarkable musical talents remind us that many of our young people are serious students and give us reason to be very proud of them and their accomplishments. We look forward in the coming weeks to hearing the choirs from Kings Christian Academy and Great Mills High School.
MIKE'S FOOD FUND, HELP IN TIME OF NEED
LEXINGTON PARK - 12/10/2009, www.thebaynet.com, By Carrie Griffin Munn: Since 1983, local business owner Mike Schwartz has been lending a helping hand to the St. Mary's County community. Inspired by a house fire and the assistance he received afterward, Schwartz began an annual turkey drive that provides those in need with food packages during the holiday season.Schwartz started raising money before Thanksgiving and has pledged to take a thousand names, but helps as many as he can.Working with the County's Christmas Caring program and local faith-based organizations, Schwartz said, "This gives them a Christmas dinner and let's them know there's someone out there that cares."Last year he delivered 1135 turkeys.
"The amount of families tat need help is way up," Schwartz said, adding that he hopes to also assist the elderly and working poor that can’t get assistance elsewhere. Schwartz said donations of cash, food and volunteer support is needed and that he will never turn down anything. He commented on the community spirit within the County and complimented repeat sponsors the Lexington Park Rotary and Remax for consistent support.
Office of Community Services Director Cynthia Brown confirmed the economy's toll, stating, "The need is higher this year than it's ever been." The Christmas Caring Program, which allows private and business sponsors to adopt a low-income family, providing them with wish list items for the holidays, has seen the database of those in need grow with sponsorship becoming less available.Brown said of the 930 qualifying families for the program, roughly 400 had been adopted. Brown said she considers it her responsibility to coordinate the efforts of helping resources so the help can be spread further.
Bernie Taylor Presents $1,000 to mike Schwartz
The green Mike's Bikes bus will be parked at the Wal-Mart in California beginning Saturday, Dec. 12, accepting donations of any kind. Help with operations out of the Zion United Methodist Church Dec.15-18 and out of Mike's Bikes Dec. 19 through Christmas Eve will ensure as many families get reached as possible.
Volunteers or sponsors are encouraged to contact Mike Schwartz at 301-863-7887.
Brown also called on those able to help this season to consider adopting a family through the Christmas Caring Program or to make a cash or gift card donation. More information is available by calling (301) 475-4200 ext. 1849.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
The experience and background of the Rotarian sitting next to you at lunch every Monday.
CLUB RELATED CALANDAR EVENTS
DECEMBER Choral Group
Presentations
Board Election
JANUARY Dictionary Day
Financial Literacy
FEBRUARY Scholarship Applications,
RYLA Event
MARCH Rotary Leadership
Institute I, II and III
Ambassadorial
Scholarship Application
President Elect Training
APRIL Christmas in April
MPT Save the Bay Campaign
MAY Signature Project (When Done)
District Conference
JUNERiver Concert Series,
Service Above SelfAwards
Dues (Jun 30)
JULYRotary New Year
River Concert Series
AUGUST Rotary Membership and Extension
Month
SEPTEMBER Literacy Day
OCTOBER Oyster Festival
County Guide Published
Teacher of the Year Dinner
NOVEMBER RYLA Nominations
New District Grant Committee
Member Bob Parkinson
THIS AND THAT
Long range Events Calendar
Dec. 14 Financial Literacy Committee at 1100 before the regular meeting
Dec 14 Holiday Music featuring students from Kings Christian Academy (KCA)
Dec. 21 Holiday Music, Great Mills High School, Annual Election
Dec. 21 Board meeting at 1 PM after regular meeting
Dec. 28 Holidays - No meeting
Jan. 04 Club Service
Jan 09, 2010 District 7620 Pre-PETS
Jan. 09 Leonardtown Club sponsors the Legendary Ladies of Song, featuring Sue
Matthews and a sextet performing the music at GMHS
Jan.11 Lanny Lancaster, Homelessness in St. Mary’s County
Jan. 11 Dictionary Distribution Kickoff
Jan.18 No Meeting – Martin Luther King Day
Jan. 25 Honduras Water Project – Dan Watters and Steve King
Jan. 25 Board Meeting, 5 PM at JTDCC (Fundraiser Focus)
Feb. 01 Club Service
Feb. 08 Capt Matt Scassero - Melwood
Feb. 15 No Meeting – President’s Day
Feb. 22 Rick Tancreto – CareNet
Feb. 24 Board Meeting, 5 PM at JTDCC (Sponsorship Focus)
Mar. 01 Club Service
Mar. 08 TBD
Mar. 15 Energy – Joanne Simmons, SMECO Energy Analyst
Mar 5 – 6, Multi-District PETS
Apr.22-25 2010 District Conference, Gettysburg, Pa.
Oyster Cookbook: If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the 2009 Oyster Cook Off Cook Book, a limited number of copies are available at Cecil’s Old Mill for $8 a copy.
2009 Christmas Caring Program: The Christmas Caring Program is beginning its annual appeal. Due to the current economy, the number of families in need has increased. Christmas Caring, coordinated by the St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services and the County’s Department of Human Services, is seeking individuals, businesses and organizations to ‘adopt’ a family for the holiday season. Contact the Department of Human Services at 301-475-4200, x1849 to learn more about the program. A successful Christmas Caring program is especially needed this year for Christmas cheer.
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS
The 2009-2010 Performing Arts Series sponsored by the Leonardtown Rotary Club will sponsor five concerts to be held at Great Mills High School. The last of the series will be Jan. 9th, featuring Legendary Ladies of Song, with Sue Matthews and a sextet performing the music of Rosemary Clooney, Doris Day and Peggy Lee. The Individual Performance is $25.00 (Children under 15 -$15.00), Tickets may be obtained from: The Leonardtown Rotary Club, P.O. Box 738, Leonardtown, MD 20650
BECA Scholarship Fair: A Scholarship Fair will be held on Wed, Jan. 20, 2010 at the Dr. James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center from 4-7 p.m. for students and parents to meet scholarship providers, attend a session on instructions for completing the application, and attend a session on financial aid basics. For more information, visit the BECA website at www.smcbeca.org.
UPCOMING ROTARY EVENTS
Tournament of Roses: The 121st Annual Tournament of Roses parade on January 1, 2010 will feature the 31st consecutive Rotary Float. The Rotary float theme of “Service Above the Rest” complements the parade theme of “A Cut Above the Rest”. A 7 minute video presentation about the Rotary float is available at http://www.rotaryfloat.org/video.html.
The District 7620 Conference will be held April 22 – 25, 2010, in Gettysburg, PA. This will be a joint conference with District 7390. The Keynote speaker will be RI President, Richard King. There will be programs for all ages, Living History and Battlefield tours, an auction. Golf, and “A Rotary gathering of epic proportions. “ Call 717-339-0020 for special hotel rates for the event. See www.rotory7620.org for further information.