During the Holiday Season, many members contributed to serving our communities by donating food, toys, clothing and more to those in need. PDG Ed and Robin Charlesworth donated to send toys for the children in Ukraine who are orphans from the war. Stan Edwards delivered Christmas gifts to children in some of the poorest villages in Guatemala. Jake Stein bought gifts for two 11-year old twin girls to have a nice Christmas. Anais Watsky supported the toy drive at Northwest Assistance Ministries. President Brittany Johnson also took her children shopping to support another family. I'm sure there are more who generously gave to others this season, too.
PDG Nick Giannone has enjoyed time with his daughter's family and attended the Rotary Club of McKinney.
Ruby Powers had family fun with bike rides (son has a new bike!) and the Color Factory which she highly recommends with lots of sensory excitement and photo ops.
Dick Robie celebrated his 48th wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Barbara who is also a Rotarian. Congratulations!
Traveling Rotarians: Dree Miller has recently been to Brazil and then met husband and Rotarians Mike Miller in Turkey. Tara Zaafran enjoyed holiday travels to Egypt. Ed and Robin Charlesworth had a White Christmas in Lake City, Colorado. Robert Stein and Jake Stein had fun skiing at Monarch Pass in Colorado and the younger family members attended Ski School. Chase Neilsen took his family to the magical experience of DisneyWorld. President Brittany Johnson planned an amazing trip to Great Britain and various parts of Lapland with the family. Alexis Campestre is traveling to Italy with his three sister.
Chopin Kiang - Made great use of leftover puff pastry which was homemade for Christmas and created a stromboli to be shared with his wife, Joan. He created a birthday fundraiser on Facebook for Peace and Justice Network of Montgomery County, Inc.
PDG Ed and Robin Charlesworth hosted the College of Governor's meeting on December 19th with dinner drinks, fun & fellowship and the meeting was led by DG Nancy Anderson.
Linda Caruso and husband John held a book drive to support the projects of Protus Onyango in Kenya.
Valerii Iakovenko is to be congratulated on receiving the corporate "Oscar" for his company's contributions to the development of the state's (Pennsylvania) drone industry - a Futurology Tech Award from elevatePA Corporate Blue Award or Ellie Award granted by the Pennsylvania Drone Association. Valerii maintains his business DroneUA and now also has a USA branch called Futurology.
RI President Stephanie Urchick volunteered to build the Rotary Rose Bowl Parade float. This brings back fond memories of two couples in our club who volunteered in earlier years - the Caruso's and the Charlesworth's. The theme this year is "On the Road with Rotary". Our presence in the parade spotlights the work we do globally to bring positive change and uplift communities, showcasing the reach and significance of Rotary's worldwide efforts.