Good times in Lancaster with the lunch club!

My visit to the Rotary Club of Lancaster was a joy today! After a beautiful drive to Lancaster from Greenwood, I met with President Jodie Plyler and a large number of board members who were very excited about their club. Strengths of the Lancaster club include their fun meetings with lots of jokes, pokes at other members, and even friendly competition with the Lancaster Breakfast Rotary Club. We spent a great deal of time talking about membership, and I encouraged them to give generously to the Rotary Foundation. I was so sorry to hear that they had lost 5 members last year who passed away. They have a unique program called the Fishnet program in which members donate dollars in a large fish net for local charities. This net had large enough holes in the net that coins would not work! Maybe we should make the CART buckets with holes large enough that only bills or checks could be inserted and held! 

Our Notable Rotarian for the Lancaster club was Rev. Dr. Bert Welch. The club gave him a standing ovation when he was recognized. As the Immediate Past President, Bert brought a great deal of organization improvements in the club. He is a distinguished pastor in the Lancaster area that exemplifies Service Above Self in his Rotary, personal, and professional duties. For the first time in several years, the Lancaster Rotary Club earned a Bronze Award from the District Governor under Bert’s leadership. 

My presentation went well and we even finished a few minutes before the meetings was supposed to end. Several members came up after the meeting was adjourned to express their thanks. I can't tell you how uplifting these comments are to me. Today was my 20th club visit, so we are approaching the half-way point on official club visits!