December 14, 2023
President Mike Ferris called the meeting to order, donning his Santa accents!
Lori Matthews led the Pledge of Allegiance, looking quite festive I might add!
Dan Berry led us in song with Jingle Bells (he even printed the lyrics so we could follow along). The club belted out the final chorus and Dan's choir voice took center stage.
Mike Ambrosio handled the 'Thought for the Day' including some clean holiday humor and he mentioned the importance of the roll that his Rotary friends play in his life.
President Ferris announced that Chris Elzi is the Rotarian of the Month. Congratulations Chris, thank you for all that you do!
Rotarians with Guests:
Kristen Myburgh's guest: Jeremy Wroten, a local Chiropractor located in Petaluma.
Onita Pellegrini's guest: Diane Norton (Onita's Sister-in-Law visiting from Tennessee).
Yes, it's that time of the year - Rotary Crab Feed! Chris Ranney announced that our club's annual Crab Feed is on Friday, February 23, 2024 at the Petaluma Veterans Building located at 1094 Petaluma Blvd South.
Cindy Thomas announced that the Crab Feed cost is $100 per person and starts at 5:30 pm. Dinner includes: Crab, salad, pasta, rolls and dessert. Purchase tickets online: www.petalumarotary.org
Anne Gealta mentioned when you register for the Crab Feed to be sure to include the person's table who you would like to sit with (name of the head of the table).
Lena Furlong asked that members "like and share" the social media posts for our Petaluma Rotary Club. Keep up the great work Lena and thank you for handling the social media for our club!
Shari Ranney announced the 3rd Annual Petaluma Wiffle Ball Tournament on April 13, 2024 at the Miracle League Field at Lucchesi Park - 320 N. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma. This fundraiser benefits children in Petaluma and around the world. Register online: https://sites.google.com/view/petalumawiffleballtournament/home. Tournament is limited to 32 teams.
Judi Allewelt announced that $11,000 was the amount of Target gift cards given out to 186 local kids and 24 local families for the holiday season 2023.
Brian Breen handed out the Annual Tom Baker Super Raffle Tickets and is hopeful that each member will sell 10-12 tickets. Brian's script below works great to sell the raffle tickets:
Hi Friend,
As you know, I've been a Rotarian in the Petaluma Rotary Club
for 16 years. Each year we conduct our biggest fundraising event,
"The Annual Tom Baker Super Raffle."
The proceeds go towards all the good deeds that Rotary does for our community.
These include supporting other non-profits, maintaining parks and
playgrounds, providing dictionaries to every third-grade student, hosting youth
leadership programs, providing holiday gifts to underprivileged children, and
so much more.
Every year I rely on selling tickets to all the people I see and talk to
(which, thanks to my profession, is a lot), but this year is different.
That leads me back to why I'm emailing you. Would you like to help support the Petaluma Rotary Club and the community by purchasing a raffle ticket? And who knows, you may win.
If you are interested, here's how it works. The tickets are $30 each, which I
understand may sound a bit expensive; however, the grand prize is
significant, $8,000 CASH!!! Plus five additional cash
prizes, as you will see on the raffle tickets.
Just email me back the number of tickets you would like, and I'll mail them to you. Once you receive them, fill out the stubs, include your cash or check (written to the "Rotary Club of Petaluma") and mail them back to me.
If you buy more than one ticket, I'll make a deal with you, send me $25 per
ticket, and I'll cover the other $5 per ticket. For example, if you feel
generous and want 4 tickets, it'll only cost $100, and I'll cover the other
$20. Oh, and if you win, you don't have to share the prize with me, I promise.
Whether you choose to participate or not, thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Raine Howe won the raffle and a bag of coffee!
Tawny Tesconi was fined $100 and Lori Matthews was fined $50, both for recent travels.
I was fined $50 for parking on the white striped line in the parking lot (thanks Elias!!!).
Mike Ambrosio fined himself $50 for bragging about his grandson, a football player at the University of Miami.
Our guest speaker, Dan Ostermann, Ed.D. with Petaluma City Schools is the College & Career Pathways Coordinator and informed us about the Career Technical Education (CTE) program. "All Petaluma City School's students experience an education program grounded in rigorous, relevant, and career-connected learning opportunities that equitably and holistically prepare them for future success in college, career, and life."
Today's Editor: Doug Hecker
December 2, 2023
Enjoy the pictures from our Holiday Party!
Today's Editor: Doug Hecker