President Chris called the meeting to order at 12:02 and Rick McKee led us in pledge and prayer.
ATTENDANCE: 37 people tuned-in virtually to our meeting. Guests included the 8 students of the month; and Bob Kalinoski, prospective member
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Chris Helt - Chris shared the 3 awards that our Club received at the foundation dinner last week - 3rd in highest giving, 3rd in highest total Foundation giving, and 2nd in annual giving per capita.
Christy Lucas - thanked Ralph and his wife for delivering food for Roots for Boots
Christy Lucas - mentioned what a great job Delone Catholic is doing with their service projects despite the obstacles thrown at them from Covid. Check out Delone's section on our website.
ROTARY MINUTE: Warren Risk (due to technical difficulties, Warren could not present his minute this week)
PROGRAM: PAUL BERG SHARES HIS RECENT TRIP TO HANOI, DUBAI, BEIRUT, TUNIS
Paul Berg gave a wonderful slide presentation on his February-March 2020 visit to Hanoi, Dubai, Lebanon and Tunis. He enjoyed the people, the culture, and especially the food along the way. He was so enticing and presented in such an interesting way that many people now want to visit those places!
He began by introducing us to his Hanoi adopted family, Hoa, Nga, Hoang Anh and Minh. Together they visited the huge new Buddhist pagoda at Tam Chuc, with slides of enormous recently-cast statues of various manifestations of the Buddha, each weighing over 100 tons, along with with the impressive woodcarvings and porcelain made by local craftspeople. He also showed pictures of the fresh seafood and shellfish they ate at stands in Dong Hoi as well as their visit by boat to the caves in the Phong Nha Ke Bang national park in Quang Binh province bordering Laos. He also showed slides of street restaurants and stores in Hanoi's Old City, showing how Hanoi people typically begin their day with a breakfast of pho ga (chicken pho) with noodles, herbs and sauces.
Then it was on to Dubai, with slides of its many souks selling spices, gold and apparel, as well as a meal at its most famous and authentic Indian restaurant, Ravi's. We laughed at a shot of him donning a typical Dubai turban.
His visit to Lebanon included a drive to the Bekaa Valley to see the Roman ruins at Baalbek as well as the nearby mosque which is also a Shia holy place, the mausoleum of third Imam's Hussein's daughter Seyedeh Khawleh. He also showed us the local Bekaa Valley culinary specialty, sfiha, a delicious pastry filled with ground lamb and herbs, as well as a few shots of street life in Beirut and Shia political billboards in the Bekaa.
He finished with a few shots of Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, originally built by the French during the colonial period to resemble the Champs Elysees in Paris, and then took us briefly through the long and fascinating souk which begins at the end of the boulevard, its colorful handicrafts, and its excellent pastries and shwarma made by hand on the spot.
Should you have any questions please feel free to contact Paul directly.
Great job Paul!
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: Chris Helt - Club Assembly, Update from The Board of Directors