Pittsfield Rotary Club

October 31, 2007

Club Newsletter

President Randy Hires presided, with Shirley Johnston offering the prayer.

Our song leader today was Chuck Barber leading us in “The 4-Way Test” and “Smiles”.  (We broke with tradition and sang AFTER the program).

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

There will be a board meeting tomorrow (November 1) at noon at Airsman-Hires Funeral Home in Pittsfield.  Agenda items will include:

·  A discussion of the Soy cow Project.  If our club agrees to this, we could get a Rotary matching grant and provide a soy cow to be placed in Guatemala.  This project is in partnership with the Soybean Association.  Phil Bradshaw has been involved in this project with that organization.

·  A discussion of our involvement in the local branch of Habitat for Humanity.

Progress is being made with starting the Interact Club at Pittsfield High School.  Shirley Johnston and Gary Woods are spearheading this.  There are several students already interested and an informational meeting will be scheduled soon.  

The Pike County Color Drive Committee has invited members of our club to their wrap-up dinner at the Red Dome on Tuesday, November 6 at 6:30 pm.  Please RSVP to Peggy at 285-5609 no later than Monday the 5^th at noon.  (Let’s make sure some Rotarians are in attendance!)

Julie Boren announced that the Pittsfield High School Drama Club is presenting a comedy – Rumors – this weekend.  Performances are Thursday and Friday nights at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:00

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS AND HONORS:

We received special recognition at the District Conference for the outstanding contributions of our members to Every Rotarian, Every Year during the District Governor’s visit.  The Rotary International representative (sorry – I didn’t get her name) told Randy that our club was recognized at the district, zone, and international levels.  GREAT GOING EVERYONE!!!

Another special honor was given to Violet Shulman who received the Hubert Taylor 4-Way Test Award.  Congratulations Violet – A well-deserved honor!!!

Other good news – Harry is out of the hospital and is now resting (I assume) at home!  Great to know that you are making progress Harry – we all miss you!

PROGRAM:

Gary Woods, program chair introduced Angie Ruebush and Tara Brue.  Angie and Tara presented an informative program on the Pre-K program in Pikeland School District.  This program is funded by a block grant from the Illinois State Board of Education and serves 80 children.  It is a one-half day program with classes in the morning and the afternoon.

The Pre-K program builds a foundation of skills for kindergarten and also stresses parental involvement.  Skills learned include name and letter recognition, fine motor skills, social skills, phonics, pre-reading and pre-math, music and games.  Children involved in this program learn in classroom groups and individual activities.  They also take field trips throughout the year.

Happy Halloween Everyone!! – Hope you have more Treats Than Tricks!