Announcements:
1. Rise Against Hunger has communicated with Sally Hood informing her that the meals we packed on 3 October 2020 are with a shipment of over 285,000 in a container headed for Madagascar.
2. The 24 April Rise Against Hunger project sponsored by the Austin Rotary Club has invited our club to participate. We have been given an 11:00 slot. Please contact Sally if you can help and she will give you a link to register.
3. The club picnic this Saturday, 17 April, has been cancelled due to both the small number of participants and the threatening weather. It will be rescheduled, so stay tuned.
4. The April Sunshine collection will be for the Junior Helping Hand Home. Their mission is to “provide a nurturing and therapeutic home for children and to restore each child to a healthy family setting. We believe that each child deserves a loving and permanent home. Our goal is to protect and restore the lives of victimized children, so that those without hope can reclaim their futures. We enrich, educate and empower through loving care, professional treatment and innovative services that heal.”
5. The bags for homeless were distributed Saturday, some by Lupe in the area around the restaurant and also by Aziz and Rich in the I-35 and Caesar Chavez area. Rick reported that most individuals smiled and were nice to them, but that the situation was very sad.
6. Member Lee Chesney has been nominated for the District 5870 Hall of Fame.
7. RYLA has been cancelled for summer 2021 and our money will be refunded.
Program: Frank Ivy shared the experiences of a week-long road trip he and his family took to Atlanta this past week. With one overnight stop in Jackson MS, they arrived in Kennasaw, a city a bit northwest of Atlanta and home of their daughter. During their visit they hiked to the top of Kennesaw Mountain, now protected as the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, the last holdout of the Confederate Army protecting Atlanta from General Sherman’s “march to the sea.” They also enjoyed a visit to Atlanta’s Botanical Gardens, a vast green space in the middle of the city, a cookout at their daughter’s home, and a celebration of her 26th birthday in a French Cafe. On the way home they stopped to tour the campus of Auburn University, where they learned that the Heisman Trophy is named for a former Auburn football coach. For a stop in New Orleans, they stayed in a unique boutique hotel just off Bourbon Street, visited the World War II Museum, and Frank and his son were able to enjoy a night of jazz. Surely this was a warm family time combined with a wonderful and educational adventure. Thanks for sharing, Frank.