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5 December 2018
By Bina Ahmad
President Sundra called the meeting to order
 
Members present:  Sundra, Matts, Mahbub, Bina, Alix, Peggy, Philippe, Barbara, Shahid, Jeffrey, Frank, Harvey,
 
Guests: Douglas Hostetter, Director (Retired) Mennonite Church Committee at the UN; Mihailo Kocovic of Serbia; Mayra Tepan (Prospective Member – 3rd Meeting)

Meeting Highlights:
Sundra opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, Invocation by Philippe.  Members recited the 4-way test and sang the Club song.
 
Happy/Sad Bucks:
$ 18 collected.  Members expressed sadness at the passing away of President George H.W. Bush, 41 President of the US.  Today was a day of national mourning.
 
Guest Speaker:
Douglas Hostetter, Director (Retired) Mennonite Church Committee at the UN.
Douglas Hostetter spoke about the situation in North Korea and about the work of the Mennonite Community in providing assistance to children and people of North Korea.  He has been to North Korea a number of times and seen first hand the effect of the many years of sanctions.  He felt that sanctions do not serve their purpose – it is the common citizens who suffer the most due to the sanctions which have caused famines and severe shortages of medicines and nutritious food for the general population. Please see a video of his presentation on our Club Facebook page.
 
Mihailo Kocovic also shared his experiences in North Korea.  He said he was allowed to visit many areas of North Korea where visitors are normally not allowed.  He said the North Korean leaders have gained a keen understanding of the psychology of the West and therefore engaged in behavior that they felt would be beneficial for themselves.
 
Membership:
 
Mahbub informed the meeting that as of the end of November our District 7230 is leading all the Districts in Zone 32 in membership growth.  The growth is very small – but nevertheless our District has shown the highest percentage growth of membership in the last 5 months.  Every member should invite their friends and family to our meetings, so our family of members can grow.  Our District membership now stands at 1157 - up from 1120 at the beginning of this Rotary year.
 
Holiday Raffle Drawing and Dinner
It will be held on 6pm - 9pm, Wednesday, December 19th at the Old Stone Mill Restaurant in Yonkers. The Club decided that the price will be $36 with a cash bar. The drawing for the 3 raffle prizes will be held at the dinner. So far as of today 47 tickets have been paid for.  A number of members have taken tickets that need to be paid for. Please continue to sell raffle tickets!  We must sell more tickets just to break even.
 
Library for Liberia:
Sam Enders could not attend the meeting today and make his presentation on the Library project as he is in the emergency room due to a problem with his ear.  We wish him a fast recovery.
 
Friendship Exchange to India and Israel:
Shahid announced that applications for the Friendship Exchange Visits to Israel and India are still open. 
 
Letsen Memorial - Foundation Action
Upon the authorization of The Trustees of the Club’s Foundation (Matts, Harvey, Shahid, Barbara, and Frank) the Treasurer has sent a check for $7641 for the furniture and plaque for the Memorial.  We will be getting reimbursement from NYS pursuant to the grant awarded to the Club. The ribbon cutting will take place during the week of Jan 7 – 11. A Confirmation email will be sent out.
 
Blue Door Gallery Donation – Foundation ActionThe Foundation Trustees issued a check for $1,000 for the Blue Door Art Center for their project. Alix indicated that this amount will be matched by Westchester Council for the Arts.
 
Payment to Rotary Foundation for Polio Plus – Foundation Action:
Foundation Treasurer Barbara has sent a check for $2451.50 to the Rotary Foundation Polio Plus Fund as part of the money raised at the Polo Gala in April this year.  This brings the total amount sent to the Rotary Foundation Polio Plus fund to $34,694.50.
 
Refund of District Grant Overpayment – Foundation Action:
The Foundation has refunded $2,500 on 2 November 2018 to the District which was an overpayment for our District Grant P-2355 the Youth Arts Enrichment Program at Westhab.
 
Sundra adjourned meeting.
 
50/50
Alix won $10
 
QUEEN’S DOWRY
The winning card is the Queen of Hearts.
 
No winner
 
Happy Bucks & 50/50 collected - $18
Bina deposited to the Bank
Upcoming Events
Holiday Raffle
Oct 08, 2018 – Dec 19, 2018 10:00 PM
 
Holiday Celebration
Olde Stone Mill
Dec 19, 2018
6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
 
Meeting Glimpses
 
 
 
 
 
 
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