Due to holiday Rotary office will be closed Friday, July 4th.

Final Meeting: It certainly looked as though everyone enjoyed the last meeting of my term as club president as much as I did. Immediate Past President John White, incoming President Tracy Armstrong, and the rest of the not-ready-for-prime-time-players did a fantastic job with the program, which was hilarious. Any thoughts I might have had about extending my term as club president for an additional year were eliminated, as John contended and Tracy demonstrated that the club will be much better off with her as president. It was special for me to be "roasted" that way. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Congratulations to Hank Ralston, who was the Bright Spot this week. Hank was recognized for his commitment and involvement in our club's support of the Rotary Foundation. We were pleased to report on Tuesday that this year we are going to exceed $15,000 in contributions to the Rotary Foundation, including the fight to End Polio Now. Over the past couple years, we have greatly increased our support to Rotary International and the District, while still raising even more money for our beloved Sunshine Campus.

Service Fellows: I ended my term by recognizing the following ten Rotarians, and awarding them the Rochester Rotary Service Fellows award:

• Tracy Armstrong, who served as Chair of the Community Service Teams Committee, and has worked very hard preparing for her year as club president. Please attend her first meeting on Tuesday, July 8, when she will unveil her plans for our club. I know what she has been working on, and you will regret it, if you miss her first meeting.

• Dick Bayer, who serves as Co-Chair of the Adopt-a-School Committee. Dick has led our club's involvement assisting the students and faculty at Roberto Clemente School #8. One significant achievement this year is we expanded the options for Rotarians to tutor the kids. Dick also is responsible for our annual golf event with the Rotary Club of Guelph in Canada.

• Andrew Brady and Terry Kelley are the Co-Chairs of the B2B Committee. They have worked hard all year to develop, plan and host various business networking and happy hour events. The roll-out of a new and improved business directory also has been in the works, and will be unveiled to the membership shortly.

• Peter Kelderhouse has prepared and delivered the invocation at our weekly luncheon meetings. No one is better at this than Peter. His invocations always are appropriate, relevant and beautifully worded.

• Tim O'Neil just completed a two-year term as President of the Rochester Rotary Charitable Trust. He has strengthened the financial and administrative oversight of the Sunshine Campus, and has positioned us to make an effective case to the public for financial support.

• Ken Pink is the Chair of the Forever Sunshine Campaign. This year, Ken has worked tirelessly to re-structure the public aspect of our fundraising campaign, and has developed numerous, different ways for us to raise money from non-Rotarians.

• Meredith Smith is the New Member Liaison to the Club's Board of Directors. She is the first person to hold this position, and did a fantastic job developing that role. She worked with our new member class, who put on an amazing meeting in January. She also has developed and hosted our rising leader events, and is providing important assistance to the New Member Engagement Committee.

• Bob Witmer is the Chair of the Program Committee and responsible for providing outstanding keynote speakers for each of our weekly luncheon meetings. Bob also was instrumental in developing the program series on the future of city education, which we presented this year.

• John White has been an extremely active Immediate Past President. He has served on numerous committees, and has been involved in so many projects throughout the year. Our club benefits immensely from his continuing commitment and volunteerism.

There are many other Rotarians, who are contributing their time and talent supporting our club's mission to enrich the lives of our world neighbors, City youth and people with disabilities. Rochester Rotary will continue to show recognition and appreciation through the awarding of Service Fellows.

Thank you all for your support this year. By virtually any measure, we have had an outstanding year. Rochester Rotarians are the finest people I know. You genuinely care about other people and our community. You give of your time and utilize your remarkable talents to make things happen and get things done. We are an incredibly active club. You are the reason we had so much success, and I thank you for the privilege and honor to serve as club president this year. It has been an incredible experience for me personally, and one I will treasure for the rest of my life.

I have enjoyed ending each weekly luncheon meeting with a thought for the day, so I would like to end my last journal entry by quoting SNL alum Dennis Miller, who ended every Weekend Update with the sign-off, "Guess what folks? I am . . . outta here!" 

 7/1/14 - No Tuesday Luncheon - Due to holiday

7/8/14 - President Tracy Armstrong's Inaugural Meeting...and a BIG announcement you won't want to miss

Rochester Riverside Convention Center

7/15/14 - CDR Joseph P. Higgins, Deputy Commander for U.S. Coast Guard Sector Buffalo

Rochester Riverside Convention Center

Rotarians will enjoy a picnic in the Grove overlooking the Irondequoit Bay and Lake Ontario.  Dinner will include Chicken, Hots, Hamburgers, Chips, Salads, Ice Cream, Soda and Beer at 5 p.m.

Dinner will be followed by a talk from the Park CEO Rob Norris and a behind the scene tour of the park.

Tours will end at 7 pm by the stage where Seabreeze's own Cirque en Vol will have a special performance.  All attendees will receive wristbands so they can stay after the event to enjoy th park.

Reserve your space today by contacting Meghan Rebholz in the Rotary Office at 585-546-7435 or intern@rochesterrotary.org.

Dinner and tours are for Rotarians and adult guests only - children are not allowed for the B2B portion. 

Family members who would like to meet up with Rotarians after the tour can pre-purchase event discount tickets FOR THIS DATE online for $10 per person. 

You can buy your tickets online at www.seabreeze.com after July 1st -- Go to Seabreeze.com under the Group Events and Special Tickets Page LOOK for the Rotarian Family Ticket. Enter Promo Code 5961. 

Join us Wednesday, July 23rd at the Sunshine Campus for our annual Camp Carnival!

Rotarians, Family and Friends are ALL WELCOME to join us at camp.

                                 Cook Out Dinner - 5:30 p.m.                   

              Parade & Kickoff of Carnival Night - 6:00 p.m.

This annual night of fun is exciting for Rotarians to bring your family and friends - we will have bounce houses, face painting, music, dunk tank, carnival games and prizes and train rides!

The cost is $5 per person or $20 for the entire family! To plan accordingly for food we would ask that you please RSVP to Meghan Rebholz in the Rotary Office at Intern@rochesterrotary.org or 546-7435.

 Rochester Rotarians are the best source of qualified new members--bringing their business colleagues and friends into the club each year. This past year we saw more than 35 new members join Rochester Rotary!

We need your help to achieve our goal for this year. Do you have a business associate or a friend who might benefit from Rochester Rotary through excellent speakers on a variety of topics at the Tuesday Noon Lunch Meeting, business networking meeting with other business leaders or service opportunities such as those at School # 8 and the Sunshine Campus?

Your Membership Committee is undertaking a special campaign for new members-PLUS ONE! We are asking each member to identify and engage one new member! Bring your potential new member to a luncheon or to an upcoming event. Membership Co-Chairs Mary Lewis Consler and Scott Rasmussen are happy to assist you, as are all Membership Committee members.

The proposal process is easy:

• Simply complete a short Membership Proposal Card, which can be found on the Rochester Rotary website under "Club Committees," and submit the card to the Rotary office.
• A Membership Committee member will meet with your candidate to discuss Rochester Rotary and to learn more about the candidate.
• The Membership Committee member will share information with the committee and make a recommendation for Board approval.

Currently Rochester Rotary is looking for new members in these areas:

• Advertising & Public Relations
• Architecture & Engineering
• Business Owners      
• Clergy, Religious              
• Commercial Sales            
• Computers, Data Processing
• Corporate Executives      
• Entertainment & Sports      
• Hotel/Travel                  
• Human Resources            
• Military                
• Technology                    
• Transportation              
• Utilities  

"PLUS ONE"! That's the Membership Committee's and Rochester Rotary's mission this year! With one new member referral you can make a real difference!

2013 RPO Sponsors