Weekly Update from President Scott Emley

Fellow Rotarians,

 

This will be my final email to you as President of the Manhattan Rotary Club. Although my term officially runs to the end of June, I will be out of town and miss our June 25th meeting.  As such, I will pass the gavel to Incoming President Betty Stevens this Thursday. The end of June will also mark the end of a term for outgoing board members.   Outgoing board members who have served our club over the past few years are Dawn Deeter, Megan Loftin, Jay Merrill, Bill Wolf and Past President Dick Wertzberger.  I am extremely grateful for their commitment to our club and I have enjoyed serving with them.  Our newly elected incoming board members are Vern Henricks, Dale Bradley, Allison Disbrow, Shawnn Martin and David Kreller.  Under the leadership of President Betty, along with the commitment and creativity of the Board of Directors, our club has a bright future and will continue to make a positive impact in the community.

 

This past year, the Rotary International theme has been "Light Up Rotary."  As I reflect on my year as President of the Manhattan Rotary Club, I'm not sure I've accomplished anything that would light up Rotary. However, I can say definitively that my life is brighter for the experience.  It takes many people's involvement and commitment to accomplish all that we do.  Many of you have not only contributed and helped me along the way, but many have  offered words of encouragement and support.   I cannot adequately express my gratitude and appreciation for the support you have shown me.  The year has been very rewarding for me and hopefully our club will survive any collateral damage I may have left behind! 

 

Each year our club participates in the annual Juneteenth celebration downtown.  This year's event will be Saturday, June 20th.  We will participate in the parade at 10:00am along Poyntz Avenue and then distribute ice cream later that day.  If you cannot attend this week's meeting to sign up but want to participate, please contact Jeff Guether or Dave Denning.  If you want to participate in the parade but don't think you can walk the entire route, we will have a car in the parade in which you can ride. 

 

I hope you will join me this week as we officially welcome Betty as our new President.  Our program this week features Secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections,  Ray Roberts.  I hope to see you this Thursday for lunch!

Scott Emley