President Chris called the meeting to order and Rick McKee led us in pledge & prayer.
ATTENDANCE: 26 people were in virtual attendance and 9 more people were in actual attendance. Guests included our March students of the month.
ROTARY MINUTE: Tammy Miller shared her Rotary experience with a focus on Women in Rotary.
PROGRAM: President Chris shared that after almost a year of meeting virtually due to Covid restrictions, today was our first attempt at returning to in-person meetings. The next couple of in-person meetings will be for Board members only. We need the opportunity to work out any issues with technology and ordering meals, etc before we open up to a larger group. We will continue to hold joint virtual and in-person meetings to accommodate those who feel more comfortable in a remote location rather than physically attending in a group setting.
- We are meeting in a new venue - The Markets at Hanover, at 1649 Broadway, Hanover, Pa.
- The Markets are closed to the public on Tuesday so we will be the only group there, which is a covid safety factor
- Liz Johnites who manages The Markets reviewed the covid-safety precautions in place for us, i.e. masks on unless eating; safe distancing at well placed tables; boxed lunches in place of a buffet line initially; hand sanitizer; thorough cleaning and disinfectant of facility before and after our use.
- Lunches are ordered and paid online on the Friday before the Tuesday meeting and are available to us when we walk in.
- Ample parking in front of the facility and level "no-steps" access to the ballroom
VIRTUAL TOUR OF NEW ROTARY MEETING LOCATION: Liz Johnites took virtual attendees on a brief virtual tour of the facility to give members an idea of what it would be like to be there in person.
Todays experience revealed that we have some technological issues to iron out in order that the rotary experience will be a good one for both in-person and virtual attendees. We expect that we will be able to open up our meetings to all Rotarians by the end of March. Thank you to Liz for being so accommodating and to all our members for their patience as we work through this re-opening process.
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: MEGAN TOMSHECK, VP/CDO THE MISSION OF VISIONCORP AND THEIR SERVICE TOTHE COMMUNITY