I hear we had an excellent turn-out last week for an update on our 3-H grant-funded project in Uganda. I am sure it was an interesting presentation by Rotaractor Sol Henson (who will be the keynote speaker at the Area 4 Foundation Dinner on November 14th) and Rotarian Dr. Scott Kellermann reporting on the Kellerman clinic in Bwindi, Sol’s water and sanitation work, and our Club’s project to provide dairy goats and training in husbandry to Batwa Pygmies who have been excluded from the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to establish a game reserve. Thanks to Don Fultz for arranging the program (and for all his hard work on the 3-H grant) and to all who attended!
Our Rotary calendar requires a little attention in November. Our meeting on the 12th is MOVED to the Wine-Tasting Fundraiser on the evening of the 12th and the Foundation Dinner on the evening of the 14th. The 26th, of course, we are DARK for Thanksgiving.
If you have not bought your tickets for the Wine-Tasting Fundraiser, please do so ASAP, as we have to firm up plans for the event on the 12th. It is set for Thursday, November 12th at the Trolley Junction Restaurant from 5:30 to 7:45. It will feature interesting wine, delicious hors d’hoeuvres, good Rotary fellowship, and an opportunity to get a good price on wine you’ve tasted. Tickets are $20 a person and only a few remain, as we must limit the event to 40 people. Treasurer Ellen Davis and Derek Poppell can take your RSVP. Thanks, Ellen and Derek, for leading this new effort to raise funds!
We are also raffling off a magnum (1.5 liters, or two regular bottles) of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon 1997, well-cellared by a local collector, at the Wine-Tasting. Jordan is a top-notch producer of noted Cabernet Sauvignons in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. Here is how noted wine critic James Laube of Wine Spectator magazine described this wonderful wine: "An elegant, graceful style, with ripe cherry, currant, green olive and bell pepper notes that are focused and well-mannered." You find magnums pretty much only at the winery and you won’t find them well-aged and ready to drink, so this is a unique opportunity to share something special with family or friends. It originally retailed for $95, but is worth more than that now. Just $3 a ticket – or 3 for $5 – and a fine way to support our Club and its scholarship program if you cannot make it to the Wine-Tasting. Buy your tickets now! See the flyer for more details.
The Area 4 Rotary Foundation Dinner is on Saturday, November 14th at the Nevada City Elks Lodge on Highway 49 north of town. Cocktails at 6:30 and dinner at 7. We have 36 members of our Club signed up, including one of our Rotary Peace Fellows from Berkeley, Rosa Maria Martinez. We gave the final headcount already, but if your plans have changed and you need to cancel or pick up someone’s cancellation, check with pP Bob Buhlis, our Foundation Chair. Local Rotaractor Sol Henson is the speaker and he is mid-way through a year-long visit to the Batwa Pygmies in Bwindi, where he is working on water and sanitation programs. It will be an interesting program and a good opportunity for networking and fellowship with Rotarians from all the Area 4 clubs. If you are working on a Paul Harris for this year (and, we hope you are!), we can recognize you at the dinner if your get your funds in before the event. Write your check to The Rotary Foundation and get it to pP Bob Buhlis, our Foundation Chair.
Our next program is brought to us on November 5th by Dave Fluke and is his video of the Charles Schultz (the late Peanuts cartoonist) wedding at the Miner’s Foundry a few years back, one of the biggest and most expensive weddings ever celebrated here. A landmark event in Nevada City’s social history! Should be a great program, so don’t miss it. See you at the meeting!
