President Bob called our meeting to order by the ringing of our Rotary Bell. On cue, all Rotarians rose for the Pledge and reciting of the 4-Way test. Kent Steinbrueck provided an inspiring invocation while I led us all in singing R O T A R Y.
Announcements:
- President Bob’s made his “unreasonable request” for scribe’s. The Club needs a scribe for the January 30th meeting as well as those meetings in February. The scribe report is the most read feature of the Pepper Box, so your contribution is appreciated by many.
- We have two upcoming programs you will not want to miss. On January 16th Julie Nieman will present her thoughts on the State of Economy and on January 23rd Jim Kavanaugh with World Wide Technologies with talk about the MLS expansion team in St. Louis. Mark your calendars for these not to miss programs.
- Our Club Trivia night fundraiser is scheduled for February 29, 2020. This should be a great opportunity to have fun and raise money for our Welfare Fund which supports our Club’s work to improve lives in our St. Louis Community. Mark your calendars now and get a team together to support this event.
The first meeting in January is always set aside as our annual meeting and Club assembly. This year Bob asks all committee chairs to make a short report on committee operations. Kent Steinbrueck lead off by filling in for Club VP/Treasurer Don Lorenz. While the Club finances are solid, the Board terminated a few members wrote off some receivables as bad debt for nonpayment of dues. The Club is running a small deficit YTD but has cash reserves to cover it. The addition of Association Business Services has helped clean up booking errors, so Kent advised we are on a strong footing.
Nick Angelo reported on Club Membership. We have added 5 new members since July 1st. They are Andrew Darling, Brian Elliot, Mathew Maddox, Melody Quinn, and Lindsey Rawlings. However due to member terminations for nonpayment of dues, our current membership is down to 138 from the 145 members on July 1st. The membership committee will be holding prospective member breakfasts in February and March, plus a prospective member event at the Bocce Club in April.
Michele Goad reported on the Social Committee. The committee has organized 7 very successful events thus far. 5 Rotary after hours plus the Turkey Burp and Christmas Party. The committee looks to continue to build fellowship and have fun in the coming months. If you have suggestions for possible venues, please see Michele.
Phil Hesley reported on the Community Service Committee. The Club has participated in 6 events during our first six months culminating in a very successful Christmas giving tree where Club members contributed over $3500 in gifts and $600 in cash for Gateway 180. The Grant Application is now posted on the Website for the coming year Grant Awards and there are several upcoming volunteer events planned. Stay tuned to the Pepper Box for details.
Terry Werner reported for the Fund-Raising Committee. Contribution to the All in One request letter are still being accepted. If you have not sent a donation, please help support the work of the Club. The Rolling for Rotary event resulted in $3,200 contribution. The Trivia Night scheduled for February 29th will help support the Community service Grants. Our Clubs big fundraiser is our Charity Golf outing scheduled for May 20th. This event needs all our support whether a golfer or not.
Mike Reagan reported on the Program Committee. The outstanding programs we have each week are the result of this committee. The committee looks to provide a balance between topics and is open to any suggestions from our membership. Contact either Mike or Beth Russell with your ideas.
Mike Mosella reported on our Publicity Committee. With the help of Honorary member Doug Russell, our Club enjoys an increased presence on social media. Check us out on Facebook and Twitter. With the help of John Grizzell, we have new street banners around the MAC.
Rose Copper reported on our New Generations Committee. This committee works to engage the younger generation Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, Youth Exchange, and Ambassadorial Scholarships as well as the Clubs Young Citizens Awards, and Eight Grade Awards. Application for Ambassadorial Scholarships are due to Rose by January 31st
Ken Schuman reported on the Endowment Fund. With the beginning of a $10,000 donation from former Rotarian Lew Hardy, the consolidation of other accounts and a robust market, the Endowment Fund now has a One-Million-dollar balance. The endowment helps support many of our Club projects with distributions including scholarships to Ranken Technical Institute, Eight Grade Awards, Young Citizens Awards and the Police Award. Donation to the Endowment are best supported through estate planning. See Ken if you are interested.
Rick Tinucci reported on International Service Committee. Over the first six months, 31 Club member took part in the match points program contributing over $15,000 to The Rotary Foundation. While these contributions exceed our goal for this Rotary year, Rick encouraged us to reach $20,000 in Foundation giving.
With this many reports the meeting ran a bit long, but the results of the 50/50 drawing kept most members in attendance until the end. The 50/50 pot is now up to a $1,3476 payout. Jack Whittle had the winning ticket but drew the 8 of Hearts, so the pot remains intact until our next meeting on January 16th.
Bob adjourned the meeting with the ringing of the Rotary Bell at 1:15pm.