Rotary Happenings: Rotarians continue to stay busy as year comes to an end
Busy end of the calendar year for everybody. Holiday parties abound, and this year’s Rotary Holiday party was absolutely exceptional. Every detail of the party was perfect thanks to our Rotarian hosts, Rachael Tritaik, Joleen Raho and John Raho. The music played set the tone for a wonderful and warm evening. We ate, we sang and we had fun, and at the end of the evening we were gifted with a special holiday present prepared by Joleen Raho and a merry group of elf friends – it was a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Rotarians also like to light the way for our island communities to have a joyous holiday. For the last 23 years, Rotarian John Carney has led an amazing group of volunteers in placing luminary bags around and about on Sanibel and Captiva, guiding the night’s Luminary festivities on both islands. In appreciation, Carney and the club received this wonderful thank you note from John and Denice Beggs, of Beggs Realtors on Captiva:
“I just want to thank you all again. Captiva was aglow with joy, fun and community spirit the entire day yesterday. You all made it possible. Hopefully even more businesses will join next year. You all are much appreciated.”
Rotary volunteers are also getting ready to host a day of mini-golf at The Community House on Sanibel. Each year right after Christmas, starting on Dec. 26-29, The Community House lays down an indoor nine-hole course, primarily for the youngsters, but the young at heart can play too. Rotary will be course-wranglers on Dec. 27. Come join us, it’s fun.
On Dec. 7, the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club had our last club assembly for the calendar year and are now going full throttle planning for next year. But before we got started going in that direction, Rotarian John Schwandke presented a Paul Harris Award – Harris was the founder of Rotary – with two sapphires to Claire Beckman. The award is in recognition of Beckman’s outstanding contributions and commitment to Rotary both in service and financial support and gives acknowledgement of truly dedicated members of Rotary International. Congratulations, Claire!
Now, down to planning for the Rotary’s next year. Right off the top Arts & Crafts Fair guru Scot Congress announced the 2019 Rotary Arts and Crafts Fair will now be called the “Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Arts and Crafts Festival,” set for Feb. 16-17. That’s right, there is a slight name change because along with the juried arts and crafts booth offerings, the name now reflects the inclusion of our club’s outstanding silent auction area, Rotary-branded hat and shirt sales, a showcase for Rotary’s global and local programs, and the presence of an exceptional food court on the festival grounds. One-stop shopping with the best of everything. Mark your new calendars!
In 2018, the event’s net proceeds of about $100,000 were transferred to the Rotary Club of Sanibel and Captiva Trust – the giving arm of our club – enabling it to disburse the amount during our new grant cycles in the fall of 2018 and spring of 2019.
Rotary Trust Chairman Bill Rahe went through the changes this year to our new grant process. Grant applications are now only accepted twice a year, in the fall and spring. The date for the spring requests will announced in February. Rahe announced that $63,000 of the trust funds were distributed during the fall cycle, including a $15,000 payment on the club’s $75,000 pledge to the Sanibel Community Association during its capital campaign for the renovations of the building.
The Rotary Trust holds close to $40,000 for the spring grant cycle, along with an additional $10,000 being reimbursed for matching fund projects from District 6960 and $10,000 held for college scholarships. Rotarian Charlie Emerson gave all of us a pep talk about the sales of advertising space in the now tabloid-style festival guide and advertising business banners. All of us should go out and thank the businesses who buy ad space. This type of support, along with businesses that donate items to the silent auction, makes a difference in the success of the fair. The tab is not only a festival grounds guide, but allows Sanibel-Captiva Rotary print space to include information on what Sanibel-Captiva Rotary does at home and around the world guided by our six areas of service improving lives of others.
For information about the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club, visit sanibelrotary.org or www.facebook.com/sancaprotary. The club meets every Friday at 7 a.m. at the Dunes Golf and Tennis Club, at 949 Sand Castle Road, Sanibel; visitors are welcome to attend.