Everyday heroes

Gate City Rotary is taking fund raising to the next, next level. They’ve gone and gotten a bunch of sponsors, rented out the ballpark, hired Sleeping Booty Band, sold raffle tickets, put poster ads in every restaurant, and done a few radio interviews.

JSCO is a sponsor, but yours truly hasn't sold any tickets yet, per se, but I have the best of intentions. I had thought about blogging our poster with a handful of pics of the raffle prize, a fully restored 1976 Triumph TR6, which I would love to drive up and down Sunset Hills, to and from work, and everywhere else. The other night, I even said to Anne “hey, what about hitching up Georgia and River and putting some ice and beer in the Radio Flyer wagon and going door-to-door, down Ridgeway Drive and Madison Avenue, and sell this great party and the charities it will fund?” We could set up the boom box on top. I could almost hear the Isley Brothers singing Caravan of Love. Well, one excuse is as good as another, so they say, so let’s just say the road to you know where is paved with good intentions.

So it was a surprise joy to learn today that my friend and neighbor Beth Sheffield has already surpassed Gate City Rotary in promoting the event in Sunset Hills, and beyond. Beth found out about the fundraiser, not from me, but because she already knew Father Marc and supports his orphanage. I know it's just a matter of holding the winning ticket when that number gets called, but it sure would be awesome if Beth and her husband Gardner won the TR6. (Gardener, you may recall, joined a group of Gate City Rotarians last December to help kids in the Glenwood Tutoring Program make and hoist Lighted Christmas Balls down at Grace Community Church.) I can’t think of a better couple to win the Triumph. Who knows, they might even offer guided tours in the TR6, top down, heater on, Sleeping Booty on the boom box, Lighted Christmas Balls glowing...

Making a difference

The News-Record's Sonja Elmquist wrote a wonderful article about 600 orphan children living in one of the world's poorest nations, and how two men stepped up to the plate ten years ago to make a difference.

Brothers in law Jack Reynolds and Father Marc share a vision: make a sustainable difference in the lives of Haiti's orphans. All this excitement takes place at Theo's Work. Jack raises the money and encourages Father Mark in his role. Jack is really good at inviting anyone who will take him seriously to go with him to Haiti to see and to do, first-hand, meaningful life-changing work. Father Marc runs the orphanage and school and encourages Jack in his role. Father Marc does a terrific job involving and thanking donors, something not easily accomplished in the world of non-profits.

So far, Jack's involved at least three guys I know in this important work: Max Kern, Chuck Downey, and Drew Jones. Max, Chuck, Jack and I (and about 55 other fired-up men and women) are Gate City Rotarians. I don't know if Drew is a Rotarian or not, but he doesn't stand a chance. Next time he jogs through Sunset Hills, Jack and I plan to tackle him and bring him to a Thursday morning meeting, which if you haven't attended, you should.

Whoever said Rotary is just a club for old men and their fathers hasn't visited Gate City yet. I've been places where I've read the vision statement but at Gate City, I feel the vision statement.