Rotary Meeting July 21, 2020

Opening - President Chris opened the meeting by asking Deb Stambaugh to lead us in the Pledge and Prayer.  

 

ATTENDANCE - 27 members attended virtually via audio and/or video means.  We had one guest, Kevin Clark, who joined the meeting.  

 

 

Chris Helt - The Program Committee is looking for suggestions for Programs you want to hear.  Please contact Ellie Rebert, Ken Wenger, Rebecca Prehoda, or Tammy Miller.

Chris Helt - Paul Berg was selected to fill the Board position for International Chair.  Paul has vast international experience and will add a new perspective to the Board.

 

Member health update - Craig Aiello will be undergoing knee surgery tomorrow;  Donna Haar is recuperating nicely from her foot surgery; Walt Maust's wife underwent cancer surgery and will be recuperating with their daughter in Virginia.

 

 

Chris's first Rotary Board meeting as President was this morning.  Aside from being a good meeting, he indicated there were two issues about which there was significant discussion.  They were:

1) The Gazebo in the center square which was donated by Rotary to the Borough in 2005 in conjunction with the Centennial activities that year.  As the Borough moves to reinvigorate the downtown section of Hanover, they have removed the benches which Rotary also donated, and intend to erect street lights and new benches consistent with the new design theme. They would like to reclaim the southeast quadrant where the gazebo is currently located for alternate purposes more in line with the overall plan for downtown.  The question then becomes what to do with the gazebo and it's contents - a series of 6 plaques retelling the early history of Hanover.  The Borough and associated planning committees are appreciative for the gift of the original gazebo and have asked for representation from Rotary to help decide what to do with the structure and contents.  Ralph Jodice volunteered to represent the Club.  IF you would like to assist Ralph or have ideas and comments to share on the subject, please contact Ralph.

 

2) Re-opening our Club to in-person meetings - A Committee made up of Chris Neri, Kim Hackett, Greg Staub, Dale Brubaker, and Warren Risk has been working to develop a plan for us to begin meeting in-person.  After meetings with Bay City, a Plan was put into written form and critiqued by several members including Tammy Miller and John Danehy.  The Plan incorporated safety precautions for members and Bay City staff and offered a gradual increase in members attending over a period of time.  For the foreseeable future all meetings would be virtual and in-person simultaneously to allow members to choose a format that suits their comfort level.  

Since then, due to an increase in COVID19 cases statewide, the Governor has recently reinstituted restrictions on bars and restaurants to stem the increase in infections.  Consequently Bay City cannot offer their facility to us to meet.  Alternatives to the Bay City venue may be available to us as an option to initiate an in-person meeting  IF the Board feels an urgency to have members get back together physically.  

At this time the Board expressed that we should continue conducting virtual meetings as we have been and re-visit the re-opening issue in a few weeks.  We are all aware the pandemic is a fluid situation and we have to remain flexible with our actions.

Note: Our District has a Safety Committee to give guidance to Clubs considering reopening and they are  currently discussing many of the same issues.  Greg Staub has shared our Plans with them.