December 22, 2002

REETINGS OF THE SEASON ... And I know it must be getting near Christmas

when I see Santa Alex Gorby being an incredible Santa for the McBride

children. Standing beside Alex and seeing him respond to the innocent

wonderment of each recipient; the unrestrained hugs and

the total look of

love, I cannot tell you Rotarians enough how much our

annual project is

appreciated in the ultimate by the handicapped children.

Many many thanks

to those who were there and who supported the on-site

effort. Because a new

need for transportation money for the scouts camping

programs has arisen, I

have asked our Treasurer Steve W to add a line item to each of our

statements for $$ gifts to be earmarked for the McBride Scouts. Whatever

additional funds we can raise will be a godsend, says Ruth Griffin, our

contact coordinator at McBride.

Because of Rotarians busy schedules, you may have missed a meeting or an

event at which there was an opportunity to pledge a donation for a purpose.

Treasurer Steve will streamline your next statements with line item projects

you may wish to support. Please review your budgets and make appropriate

commitments. This is especially true if I missed your birthday or

anniversary if you missed a meeting and I missed a chance for a fine.

GOVERNOR RICK MENDOZA will be our guest at the December 19 Thursday luncheon

at Shanghai Red's. PLAN TO ATTEND. We'll be doing social togetherness as

well as discussing our Club involvement with District Activities. As many

of VMRotary members are aware, we did not get our ad into the Paul Harris

Celebration program and we felt we had less than comfortable hospitality at

the Rick King luncheon. Governor Rick would like to hear some constructive

solutions, positive feedback on how our Club and the District can work

together.