West U Rotary Happenings for the week of November 29

Posted by Greg Faldyn 
on Dec 01, 2015
 
A brief Thanksgiving history
 
Humanitarian Service options
 
December activities
 
West U Rotary Happenings for the week ending November 28, 2015 ….
 
Happy belated Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend with family or friends. Thanksgiving has been traced back to 1621 and in 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation – asking Americans to express their gratitude for the conclusion of the country’s war for independence and ratification of the constitution.  In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day should be celebrated in November.  In 1941 Franklin Roosevelt signed a bill declaring Thanksgiving to be the 4th Thursday of the month. Thanksgiving parades have been celebrated as part of Thanksgiving since 1924. By many accounts turkeys have almost always been a part of the Thanksgiving celebration but today 46 million turkeys are consumed at each Thanksgiving. A person consumes an average of 3000 calories on Thanksgiving and the food with the most calories is none other than pecan pie. So as we finally pull away from the table, I hope you enjoyed your special time with family and friends. I am thankful for our wonderful club and our awesome members. Only 25 shopping days left. Time is ticking away quickly.
 
Last week we briefly outlined category 3 of the Presidential Citation – Online Tool Adoption. This week we will highlight the areas under category 4 – Humanitarian Service (part 1 of 2):
  • Humanitarian Service (we must achieve 3 out of 7 – first 3 are listed)
    • Sponsor at least one Rotary Community Corps to enhance community engagement.
    • Ensure that at least one club member belongs to a Board recognized Rotary Action Group.
    • Have at least one club member attend a grant management seminar.
Next week we will highlight the remaining 4 opportunities under Humanitarian Services.
 
This week, Angie Jimenez from the Houston Rotary Club will present the international grants and opportunities that are available within our District. Because of his international shipping experience and his desire to put service above self, Angie has led and participated in many international projects all over the world. For example, he joined The Second Wind Foundation, dedicated to the Rotary Books for the World project. He is presently COO of the Foundation. Since the start of the Rotary Books for the World, over 100 ocean-freight containers have been shipped to Africa and other countries in partnership with local Rotarians.
 
Next week is a busy week for the club – our semi annual blood drive, our Holiday dinner at Damians and a fellowship meeting.
 Here is a list of our upcoming activities:
  • December 8th – Monthly Club Board meeting
  • December 10th – The Blood Mobile will be at the meeting
  • December 10th – West U Rotary holiday dinner at Damians 
  • December 17th – election of our officers for 2016 – 2017
Enjoy the week and I look forward to visiting with everyone this week at our meeting.  
 
Peace!
Greg Faldyn
West U Rotary Prez