Rotary Club 11 • Scribe Report • March 5, 2020 • Submitted- Brian Elliot

President Bob Garagiola called the meeting to order and led the Club in The Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the Rotary Four Way Test.

Jennifer Krassinger recited a thoughtful invocation about Gratitude and asked us to acknowledge things we can be grateful for, including the fellowship that Rotary brings to our lives.

Songleader and Past President Richard Losciale put an old favorite up on the screen, Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World,” and reminded us that we don’t know much about algebra, trigonometry, and what slide rules are for.

President Bob made the following announcements:

• Dietary Restrictions: Those with dietary restrictions are asked uphold the “is it fair to all concerned” test when requesting special meals. Please only order a special meal if you’ve placed an order in advance.

Then, President Bob noted some exciting upcoming speakers:

• March 12, 2020 – Engineer’s Day speaker, Meg Brown
• March 19, 2020 – President of the St. Louis Battlehawks
• March 26, 2020 – Monsignor Vincent Bommarito

Community Service Co-Chair, Phil Hesley, reminded us that March 12 is the deadline for Grant Applications to be received by their Rotary sponsors. 

Terry Werner shared what a success Trivia Night was–the program raised $5,000. Perhaps the greatest success was that out of 8 cases of beer, only 3 cans were left! The program included 120 people, and it was President Bob’s table who won the game!

President Bob reminded everyone of other upcoming programs: Lift for Life Gym on March 17 (please let Helen DiFate know if you’re interested); a “Get to Know Rotary” Breakfast hosted by Jeromy Fritz on March 18th, and Happy Hour at Seamus McDaniels on March 25th (Please invite friend).

Sergeant at Arms, Dan Conway, proceeded to the podium amid slow claps and shared the story of how he was hazed in the early days of becoming an estimator for contracting projects. What he learned from the experience is that everyone wants respect–a great lesson indeed.

Ken Schuman introduced Don Pohl of Ranken Technical College, and introduced four winners of $1000 scholarships that Rotary provided to Ranken students, all of whom were in attendance. Don Pohl then gave a captivating talk about Ranken Technical College and its 37 different technical programs in which they teach technical skills, general education, and work ethic. He noted that due to economic trends, middle skill jobs (those that require more than a high school and less than a 4 year college education) are the highest in demand and the very sweet spot that Ranken focuses on. The vital factor Ranken uses to measure their success is their job placement rate, which tops 98% within 6 months of a students graduation! Club members asked engaging questions and President Bob thanked the speaker.

Bob Kocher didn’t draw the ace of clubs for 50/50, so the pot grew to $1,726.

The meeting adjourned at 1pm.

ᐧ