Newsletter 10-21-14, Including Bowling Results!!
STOP THE PRESS!! Candlestick pin bowling is alive and well in Needham!
The new Social Committee of the Needham Rotary Club held it's first event on Wednesday, October 22nd. The event was a bowling party at the Needham Bowlaway, complete with pizza, prizes, and lots of personality. Thirty-two people attended, including spouses and children of eighteen Rotarians. After a hectic start, teams of six took over five lanes and the competition began.
For native New Englanders, candlestick pin bowling came more naturally, but for "regular" pin bowlers, this was definitely a "cross cultural" experience. What's with that little ball without any finger holes? How can you hit the head pin and only knock down two pins? Here's the form that every participant should have exhibited:
It soon became apparent, however, that our Rotarians hadn't studied the desired form and should probably stick to "Service Above Self" and forget about "Bowling Against Others." A Bowlaway record was set for most gutter balls in one evening! Jim Brown went home early rather than resort to loud swearing! Ken Davis muttered lots but finally figured out how to operate the "time capsule" electronic score machine! Regardless of the final scores, a fun time was had by all!
Libby Pero, Kathie Lindemann, and Gary Zeller were the high scorers, and each took home a lovely prize of Rotary apparel, courtesy of Greg Cronin (contact Greg for orders over a dozen). Thank you to the entire social committee, led by Chairman Chuck Buyer! Our next event will be the Holiday Party in December at Erica Bond's house.
Peter H. Smith of Communities Without Borders was the guest speaker for the day.
Peter is also Chairman of the Environment Committee of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce. He is part of a group working on aids prevention in Zambia, Africa where 700,000 children have parents who died of aids. His group currently supports 1,500 children in school (by paying school fees, providing books and uniforms, and providing food and shelter assistance). They also focus on making a positive difference in their lives supporting the whole community not just the children. They have already put four children through university. They currently have a budget of $150,000 and are mostly volunteers. They have one paid employee in Zambia. Their goal is to have the community be self-sufficient.
For more info, go to: www.communitieswithoutborders.org
Rotary Club of Needham Minutes
Tuesday: October 21, 2014
Location: Needham Sheraton
Pledge of Allegiance: Glen Davis
Song: America the Beautiful; Led by Karen Wetmore
Prayer: Led by Darrell Minnich
Announcements:
•Bill Paulson reported that we have completed the distribution of the Dictionaries to all the third graders in town. He read some of the Thank You notes from the students, parents and teachers.
•Assignments will be coming out for the Pancake Breakfast. Remember to wear your Rotary shirt when serving and to buy your tickets this week.
•Rich thanked those working with him putting together sponsors list and inviting them to our Nov. 18th meeting. He also wants to invite other companies in the area to join us.
•Erica invited members to a Plugged In fund raiser on Nov. 16th in Boston; cost $125. She will email us details.
Guests:
•Peter Smith, speaker
•Andy Sherry, next new member, manager, Middlesex Savings Bank here in Needham.
Happy dollars: Successful open heart surgery at MGH for Brian a 10 year old from El Salvador; safety for our health workers; only 2 weeks of political ads left; for our guests; Zone 32 Rotary quilt auctioned for $5,000 and with matching grant raised $15,000 for Polio Plus; pancake breakfast; happy to be here; Autism Walks last weekend; son performing at Symphony Hall this weekend; awesome new banner provided by Chuck Buyer at the request of Bill Paulson; looking forward to bowling tomorrow night at Needham Bowlaway; happy to win 50/50?; Andy Sherry joining and Greg Hoffmeister nominated as Ad Hoc committee to have Soleil Room renamed as Rotary Room.
50/50 drawing: $707 in pot; Peter Sherry pulled Libby’s number but no luck. Stay tuned for next week.
Joke of the day:
All of his life Len from Cape Breton had heard stories of an amazing family tradition. It seems that his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all been able to walk on water on their 21st birthday. On that day, they’d walk across the lake to the boat club for their legal drink.
So when Len’s 21st birthday came around, he and his pal Corky took a boat out to the middle of the lake. Len stepped out of the boat and nearly drowned! Corky just managed to pull him to safety. Furious and confused Len went to see his grandmother. “Grandma, it’s my 21st birthday, so why can’t I walk across the lake, like my father, his father and his father before him?”
Granny looked Len straight in the eyes, and said, “Because, you idiot, your father, grandfather and great grandfather were born in January, you were born in July.”