In light of COVID-19 mandates, MT Sunrise Rotary will be hosting virtual meetings until further notice. Our next meeting will be 7:00 AM Friday (7/17).
Our presenter this week will be our own Matt Wolf theAcademic and Career Planning Coordinator at Homestead High School. Matt will share Homestead's plan for COVID past, present and future. (Scroll down for bio)
The virtual greeter will provide either the thought, a Rotary minute, share a family moment or a cultural tradition ... anything they would like to start off the day positive.
Upcoming "It's your Rotary moment" assignees:
Andy Moss (7/17)
Kay Newell (7/24)
Rachel Newson (7/31)
Dan O'Connor (8/7)
Note: If you are unable to act as "It's your Rotary moment" assignee when scheduled please arrange for your replacement.
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While some are familiar with Zoom, there are others for which this will be an opportunity to experience something new
It's as easy as one-two-three. Honest! (You may want to check off the first two steps in advance of the meeting start time)
Device connected to the internet - Check
Zoom app installed on your device - Check
Click "Join Meeting" button below - Check
The “waiting room” will open at 6:50 AM with our meeting starting at 7:00 AM. Attendees should mute themselves when not speaking, or if they have background noise. Attendees can communicate with one another through the “Chat” icon. Click button below to join our Zoom meeting!
Hope to see you Friday!
Meeting ID: 820 2810 1978 Password: 012780
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By Nathan Rizzo, Rotary Club of San Antonio, Texas, USA
I have been a member of my club for two years, but it was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic that I learned what it truly means to be a Rotarian. When my state of Texas went into quarantine, our club president, Brandon Logan, set up a ‘virtual happy hour’ on Thursday evenings. It was amazing to see all of the friendly, smiling faces of my fellow Rotarians. We spent an hour catching up; and then our conversation turned to service, and what we could do to help during the pandemic.
Our club had adopted a local elementary school, the Martin Luther King Academy, for the 2019-20 Rotary year. We had already created a Rotary Reading Room at the school to provide a quiet place for the students to read and do homework. We also made improvements to the campus through a program we call Kingdom for Kids. We knew we could not abandon the school during this time of need. When we reached out to the school principal to ask how we could help, her answer was succinct. They needed:
Food
Access to food drives
School supplies.
It was in organizing an event to meet those needs that I learned about the power of Rotary. Our club had connection with the San Antonio Food Bank and the United Way. Within a week, we had a project confirmed and scheduled. We had offers of trucks, boxes, and anything else we needed to run the food drive, and it all came from our members.
Three weeks later, we had 60 Rotarians, 10 other volunteers, and staff at the school ready for our first Saturday delivery. The plan included sorting food pallets dropped off by the San Antonio Food Bank in the parking lot of the school, creating separate stations for individual food items. Volunteers would then drive by each station while other volunteers loaded the items into vehicles.
We had a well-thought-out plan. But then 250 cars showed up, more than double the number we anticipated. Fortunately, our club has so many outstanding leaders that we were able to pivot in a short period of time and rearrange the drop off site, repacking food to feed as many families as possible.
Each family received meat, vegetables, fruit, non-dairy milk, bread, flour, and other staples. Through our third distribution, we have delivered over 100,000 pounds of food to serve approximately 5,000 people.
I knew our club was more than just a “lunch” club but I was amazed at how quickly we were able to come together to serve our community in such a meaningful way. I truly believe that when Rotarians unite in a mission, we can do anything.
Editor's note: Sam Azinger sent me this article for inclusion in last week's newsletter. Your's truly forgot to include it. Opppps!
A year of good honest competition has sprung a new home for the Sam Azinger Trophy for the 2020-2021 year. Although the Noon Club gave it their all, and raised $7,201.00, the Sunrise Club brought their A game in June to bring their total contributions to The Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus to $7,599.50, making them the winners of the 2019-2020 head-to-head competition between the two clubs.
As for the Noon Club, the $7,201.00 in contributions is at least a 10-year high, and something to be truly proud of. As for the Sam Azinger Trophy, it will be presented to the Sunrise Club the next opportunity possible. Rest assured, the Noon Club will be back with a vengeance in the 2020-2021 year to bring the Sam Azinger Trophy home.
The worst quarter for the economy in the post-World War II era is now behind, and we now look forward towards what the second half of this already historic year may bring. Will rising COVID cases bring a return to shutdowns? Does the outlook for the economy look “V” shaped, or could a “W” be in store? And oh yeah, the elections still loom out in November.
We will discuss how to evaluate the ever-evolving environment around us and its impact on both the economy and the markets.
Bio:
Andrew is an Economist and a member of the First Trust Economics Team that Bloomberg has ranked as one of the top forecasters of the U.S. economy over the past several years.
At First Trust, Andrew is responsible for analyzing economic indicators, writing economic commentaries and producing articles on the First Trust Economics Blog. Out of a panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts, the First Trust Economics Team was awarded the “Crystal Ball Award” by Zillow® in partnership with Pulsenomics in 2012, 2013, 2014, and again most recently in 2015 for accurate home price predictions. Cogent’s 2017 Survey of Advisors rated First Trust’s thought leadership material as number one for most read and most shared by advisors with colleagues or clients.*
Andrew received an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a BA in Business and Economics from Hope College. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Chicago.
