For those of you who missed last week’s meeting, you were in good company. A number of members decided to avoid slippery roads caused by the overnight snowfall. And, as a result of a two-hour weather delay in East Penn School District, the Emmaus High School Select Chorale was unable to perform.
For those of you who braved the elements, we enjoyed a relaxed time of sharing and singing holiday songs. This was actually a rare luxury as we often need to rush through the normal volume of club business, announcements, happy dollars/fines, etc. to leave ample time for the speaker.
One element of last week’s meeting deserves special mention. We recognized the long-time service of Ray Schumaker as club secretary. For many years, Ray has done a yeoman’s job maintaining membership and dues records, recording the minutes of board meetings, coordinating club elections and so much more. As Sue Straeter said last week, Ray holds much of the “institutional memory” of our club which has been invaluable to me and other club leaders. In appreciation for his service, the club presented Ray with a gift and the next level of Paul Harris Fellow recognition (PH+2).
Ray will be succeeded by Jim Palmquist effective January 1, 2018. Thank you Jim for stepping up to this role. You have big shoes to fill, but we are confident you will do a terrific job and look forward to working with you in the future.
Yours in Rotary,
Burt