The Club That Eats Together, Meets Together
 
As a kid, I remember the slogan “the family that prays together, stays together.” Alfred J. Scalpone was a television network executive and advertising writer who is credited in the Oxford Dictionary of Famous Quotations as the author of the phrase. It was written for a priest who was the producer of the “Family Theater” weekly radio series on the Mutual Broadcasting network.
 
At our first meeting in January, we had 34 members attending in person – the most since April of 2020 when the pandemic set in. It was also the first meeting that food was back on the table for members who ordered it. The excitement was back in the air at that meeting, and, in addition, we had a dozen or so members attending via Zoom. That would make it the best attended meeting in almost two years!
 
All I could think is – “The Club That Eats Together, Meets Together.”
 
Our Brookings Rotary family is awesome. Gregg Jongeling has done a great job with technology, including new microphones at the Brookings Activity Center. When he is out of town, Jackie Lanning and Jim Gilkerson step in without missing a beat. We have a new slate of officers ready to go for the new Rotary year that starts July 1. We are launching our first “Thirsty Thursday” at the Mosaic Wine Bar at 5pm on February 3 – a new tradition for the first Thursday of each month and an opportunity to socialize with other Rotarians. And we’re starting to gear up for Spring service projects like the Brookings Marathon.
 
It's great to know that we remain strong in spite of a resurgence in the pandemic. Choose the events in which you want to engage – Rotary will meet you on your terms. Let’s all remember what a vital force we are in the Brookings community Tell a friend and invite a person to join you for lunch!