The weekly meeting was called to order at 12:00 pm by President Barry Bondurant. Walter Virden offered the invocation and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Everyone sang a beautiful rendition of “God Bless America”. Mr. & Mrs. Claus acting as greeters, introduced visiting guests and visiting Rotarians.
Walter Virden with Kathleen Smith on piano led us in singing “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bells”.
Sally Hopper announced Rotarians with anniversaries and birthdays. Celebrating birthdays were Charles Brady, Sheila Haddad Nagy, Kay King, Melody Fowler, Stephanie Melchert, Bob Griffin, Victoria Farrar-Myers, and Marc Prda. Rotarians with anniversaries are Steve Kunkel, Kay King, and LeeAnne Lawson.
Vera McKissic announced the program for today. The program was “A Christmas Carol” performance by our club members. Cast members were Dan Blumberg, Bonnie Harris, Vera McKissic, Heather Kipker, Kurt Bartley, Benjamin Harris, Don Mebus, and Mac Martin. President Barry reintroduced this Rotary tradition from years ago with the hopes that it will become an annual tradition once again.
Every member of the cast was amazing. It was evident from the performance that a lot of time and energy was expended to make the presentation a huge success. As a club, we are grateful for these fellow Rotarians as they “knocked this performance out of the ballpark”.
I thought a little history of “A Christmas Carol” was needed to give more meaning to the program. The author of “A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas” was Charles Dickens. Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in just six weeks. It has been reported that Dickens wrote the story while taking long nighttime walks around London. “A Christmas Carol” was first published on December 19, 1843, with the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By 1844, the novella had gone through 13 printings and continues to be a robust seller to this day. “A Christmas Carol” was written as a work of social commentary. Dickens had a lifelong devotion to helping the underserved due to his own family’s experiences with debtors prison, which forced him to drop out of school as a boy and work at a factory.
President Barry presented a Webb Library Book in honor of the cast of “A Christmas Carol”.
Barry informed us that next program will be on January 11, 2024. The program is Youth Exchange by Steven Shearer.
The quote for this week: “Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone”. – Charles M. Schulz.
Barry thanked the special guests and everyone else for coming. He then led us in the Four Way Test, and we were adjourned.
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