Our December 16 meeting- the last of 2021, had a great turnout and was much fun.  We will not have meetings 12/23 or 12/30.
 
 
Sam Nigh served 3 roles- musician, detective, and guest-bringer.  He rocked us through the short versions of the Welcome Song and 4-Way Test.  Having the lyrics on the screen is a big help, especially for the 4 Way test which seems to finally have settled on “INTL.”  Thanks to Nelson and Kendra for their technical wizardry.
 
If you haven’t seen the holiday lights display at the fairgrounds- they are very much worth the time, especially our display, of course…
 
Craig announced that we raised $3,400 for the wheelchair project and are expecting some matching funds on top of that- way to go folks!
 
Dagmar announced our $500 beach cleanup contribution and the acceptance of our sign at Rio del Mar beach.
 
Lowry announced that the Speech Contest will be Feb. 17, location tbd- probably Seascape or Severino’s/Seacliff.  We can still use a few more volunteers.  Contact Lowry or Doug Deaver.
 
Sam brought his granddaughter Sophie, who won one of our $1,000 scholarships.  It was noted that she got her brains and good looks from the other side of the family.  Sam had to borrow $1 from her for the Rotacare bucket- $20 fine for that Sam.
 
Sam  ad libbed the detective role by leading the club in a rousing and very (unintentionally?) funny version of the 12 Days of Christmas and assigning the 12 days to 12 members.  Several members could have benefitted from having the lyrics on the screen.  Creativity points to Matt for “10 Seahawks soaring” (Cabrillo reference).  Kelly came up with 4 different versions of what was supposed to be “9 ladies dancing,” none of them the same despite the clues from his table-mates.
     
The guest speakers spoke about “non-traditional” holidays: Deidre Hamilton spoke about the history and celebrations of Kwanzaa and showed an informative slide show, she related her personal/family celebrations of Kwanzaa;  Marjorie Coffey spoke about the diverse Winter cultural and historical events and ceremonies that she observes (she has an MS in religious studies from Edinburgh); Nic Laflin spoke about her celebrations and contemplations of the Winter Solstice.
 
We will have a “Club Assembly” at our meeting on January 13, 2022.  Instead of a speaker we will discuss the history and goals of the club, some of the major achievements/fund raisers, and ideas for improving the club (is that possible?) and fund-raising under covid.  Other ideas for the agenda are welcome.
 
From Pres. Ken- the District Governor is asking for statistics on a range of activities and fund raisers.  Among them is the number of club members who have put Rotary in their will or trust.  The DG is not seeking specific amounts or names. Nonetheless, my response was that while members may be proud of a bequest to Rotary, the terms of wills and trusts are private-even the beneficiaries often don’t know until the person who wrote the will or trust dies-so I’m not going to ask anyone about that beyond this general announcement.  Contact me if you want to discuss.    
 
All meetings will continue to be at Seascape unless and until a decision is reached otherwise.  There are a number of factors playing into the decision.  Contact Ken if you want to discuss details. Also- not to be repetitive- but it makes it hard to deal with the Seascape weekly contracts if we do not have accurate headcounts for lunch, so please respond to the weekly request on the website.  We will have to do this no matter where we have lunch meetings.
 
Best Wishes to All for the Holidays, Happy New Year!