It was a joy to attend the first in-person meeting at Coltivare since the pandemic! About 45 Rotarians were present and they looked fabulous!

New president Catrina Van Atta rang the bell to start the hybrid meeting; 9 members tuned in on Zoom.

The Four-Way Test was delivered by Jack Roscoe, Christina Cain, Dale Flinn, and Heidi Goldstein.

Several guests were introduced; there were no visiting Rotarians.

Vice President Mary Kane then continued our Pass The Gavel ceremony that was curtailed last week due to technology difficulties. To welcome Catrina’s ascendency to the presidency, past Club presidents lined up and greeted Trina one by one. When done, there was a standing ovation for outgoing president Geoff Dunn and the wonderful, creative way he handled his Covid presidency. Heartfelt thanks to Geoff and welcome, Trina!

Past president Larry Robinson then made a humorous presentation entitled “Toilet Seat Repositioning: A Mathematical Analysis.” He shared the statistics and painstaking research he undertook to determine that, in the end, the seat should be left down and “a happy wife is a happy life.” Thanks for the giggles, Larry!

Bill Murphy stepped to the podium to give the Thought for the Day, one from his favorite poet, wife Stacey Murphy!

When A Boulder Dreams

When a boulder dreams
from its hillside
in the June heat
is it to imagine
raindrop kisses on its head
as it yearns for the next
thunderstorm?

Do dry August rocks remember
cool caresses from water
that ran through them
weeks ago?

Pebbles in winter streambeds
know too well
the weight of ice above
dozing for days
until the trickle of melting
turns to fervid rushing
the passion of the thaw

Old stones understand:
whatever the season
longing, and its relief,
are the same.

President Catrina announced that the club is seeking volunteers to help out with the 25th annual World of Skills job fair. We’ve helped at the job fair before. This year it will be held at the Hotel Ithaca on August 25. Please let Trina know if you’re interested in volunteering.

Kelly Buck is excited about the upcoming 8th annual Rotary Road Rally (RRR) on Sunday, August 8. The starting line will be the Museum of the Earth from 1:00 – 2:00, and online registration is open now on the club website https://portal.clubrunner.ca/2079/ . Walk-ins are welcome too. $25 per person; proceeds go to our James L. Gibbs high school scholarship fund. Everyone is welcome – sign up now and tell your friends!

Kelly also advised the club that the call for proposals has gone out for our Community Grants program. We have $16,000 to grant this year. Deadline for applications is August 6. Please help spread the word to Tompkins County non-profits who could use up to $1,000 for a project or program. It will soon be posted on the club website.

Last but not least, Kelly announced that a Rotary team of 8 will be playing trivia that night at Treleaven winery in King Ferry. We hope to bring home the gold for our club! We will play on other Wednesday nights too if others would like to join us. If we get too big, we may split into two groups. [results: the Rotary Rivals tied for third place out of nearly 30 teams! As Geoff said, “not too shabby”!!]

We collected Happy Dollars. Rotarians were happy for: our first hybrid meeting in 16 months, seeing friends and family in Canada after Covid restrictions eased somewhat, playing ice hockey for the first time since the pandemic, Larry’s seat-down theory, the Savage Club’s new location in North Lansing, getting to spend the summer with a beloved daughter, and much more!

The rest of the meeting was spent in fellowship time, trying to catch up a little on the in-person sharing we’ve all missed since March 2020.