At the 1929 Rotary International Convention in Dallas, Texas, an official flag was formally adopted.

The first official Rotary flag was reportedly flown in Kansas City, Missouri, in January 1915. In 1922 a small Rotary flag was carried over the South Pole by Admiral Richard Byrd, a member of the Winchester, Virginia Rotary Club. Four years later, the admiral carried a Rotary flag in his expedition to the North Pole.

Some Rotary clubs use the official Rotary flag as a banner at club meetings. In these instances, many clubs print the name of their Rotary Club above the wheel symbol, and the name of the city, state or nation below the emblem.

The Rotary flag is always prominently displayed at the World Headquarters, as well as at all conventions and official events of Rotary International.

When in person meetings resume… Stroudsburgs Rotary will proudly display the official rotary flag.

All the Best,

President Cleo MeriAbut Jarvis

Thanks to the wonder of Zoom, last week our speaker was Rotarian David King, editor of Rotary Magazine who joined us from Portsmouth, England. Rotary Magazine was established in 1915. There are 30 regional magazines in 130 countries written in 20 languages. King's message was that communication is the strongest marketing tool. Write your story to both an internal and external audience. In a time of uncertainty, communication is the tool for gaining/retaining membership. Tell your story through print and digital platforms to explain why Rotary is relevant. In the words of Captain Sir Tom Moore, tomorrow will be better. Tell your story and get your message out there.

As we are already into our 3rd month of meeting virtually and NOT spending our $15 weekly for lunch, how about donating some of that lunch money to share some “Lovin’ Lunch” with others?

 

An ad hoc committee is developing a list of community organizations whose sole purpose is to help others. We want to treat them to lunch to say “Thank You for all you do”. Organizations such as Meals on Wheels, Family Promise and Angels Closet, just to name a few. We need your help to purchase lunch. We also hope to add the PATH guests to our mission and possible those staying at Paul’s House.

 

How do we accomplish this?  Currently the board has decided that we won’t be back to meeting for lunch until April. That’s 7 weeks at this point. If every

member donated just $15, we would have over $1800. That would provide one lunch for everyone on our list, not to mention we will be purchasing the food from our local restaurants that support us like Sycamore Grill, The Willow Tree, and others.  

 

Could we take this one step further? We have a speaker coming up on February 28th, Rotarian Owen Standley, who will be walking the entire Appalachian Trail to raise $100,000 for Polio. When Owen comes into our area in May, we plan to “host” him and do all that we can to make him comfortable on his stop over. How awesome would it be to also have a donation for Polio to present to him at that time! If you have NOT made a donation to the End Polio Campaign in this Rotary year, please consider a $15 or $30 donation at this time.

 

You can mail a check to “Stroudsburgs Rotary” @ P.O. Box 365 Stroudsburg PA 18360. Please note “Lovin’ Lunch” and/or “Polio” on the check with amount for each.

 

If you wish to use a credit card to make your contribution, let us know how much and our treasurer will send you an invoice through Clubrunner that will allow you to use a card.

Keep in mind however that we will pay some small fees.

 

We already have enough for our first “Lovin’ Lunch” next week to Meals on Wheels. It would be so great to say “Thank You” to all of these worthy organizations, so STEP UP ROTARIANS and let’s show some love as we Open Opportunities!

The District 7410 Virtual Fundraiser is a stay at home auction. The district is requesting donations of goods and services to be put up for auction and sponsorships. Across the district the usual localized Club fundraisers that people attend in large groups have been severely reduced and so we are working together to fundraise with a Silent auction between February 1, 2021 and March 14, 2021. The auction hopes to raise $110,000 for The Rotary foundation Annual Fund and $30,000 for the Polio Eradication Fund of Rotary International. Any success over and above our goals will be used in our local clubs to match funds for local projects in our communities. The auction is live now so visit  trellis.org/rotaryauction to place your bid on some exciting items - something for everyone! Our Stroudsburgs reps for this event are President Cleo Jarvis and Rotarians Stacy Rodriguez and Ann Super. Be sure to visit often because new items will be added until right before the auction closes. Many exciting opportunities!