The Rotary Rooter
Volume 64
December 21, 2010
Service above Self
No. 51
Rotary Club of Coopersville
Founded March 10, 1947
Club #2785
Patrick R. Conran, President 2010-11
Ross Conran, Secretary – Peggy O’Dea, Treasurer – Marty Alexander PE
Rob Carr, LeeAnn Creager, Steve Patrick, Carrie Borchers, Directors - Past President Jim Alberts
“The most copied Rotary weekly club-level publication.”
THE FOUR WAY TEST THAT ROTARIANS USE IN MAKING ETHICAL DECISIONS:
Is it the truth? ~ Is it fair to all concerned? ~
Will it build good will and better friendships? ~ Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Quote for the day: We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and
without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.
~Seneca
Useless Fact: The 20 largest U.S. carriers collected $906.4 million in baggage-related charges
during the third quarter, a 23 percent jump from 2009 results, according to data released Monday
by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
Rotary Birthdays for December
Jerre Jean Conran joined Rotary December 1, 1990 and just passed her 20-year Anniversary.
Peggy O’Dea joined Rotary December 9, 2001. Happy 9th Anniversary.
Jim Alberts joined Rotary December 21, 2004. Happy 6th Anniversary today.
To put it all in perspective, Val Zoeller joined Rotary March 10, 1947.
2011 Car Show Committee Meeting
The next meeting will be held Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at the Coopersville Farm
Museum. The meeting begins at 6:30 PM. All members are invited to attend.
Understanding Dirty Stanley
White elephant gift exchange is a popular holiday party game. It has many variations in
both the name and the game play. White elephant parties (or Dirty Stanley) have been known to
result in playful rivalries between players trying to get sought after gifts. The
goal of a white elephant party is to entertain rather than to gain. To determine
their gift-choice play order, we draw numbers from a hat. The players take
turn in the corresponding succession as each person takes their turn choosing a
gift. The first person picks a gift, opens it, and shows it to the rest of the club.
Then, the number two participant picks a gift from the table or chooses to select
a previously unwrapped gift. If an unwrapped gift is selected, the person who
had their gift taken from them gets to unwrap a gift from the table or select a
previously unwrapped gift; and then, the turn passes. When all the gifts have been
opened, the game is over.
This game is sometimes called a Yankee Swap, Chinese Gift Exchange, Dirty
Santa, Thieving Secret Santa, or Parcel Pass. We call it Dirty Stanley, a name
tagged on to it by some previous Club President. There is a real “Dirty Stanley” in
our game. It is a wooden statue that is a sort of Old Maid. The recipient of this “gift” is to
prominently display the statue until Christmas of the following year.
December Programs
December 21 – Dirty Stanley gift exchange
December 28 – Family of Rotary Christmas Observation
January Programs by Ward Verseput
January 4 -- Club Assembly
January 11 -- Baron Henning von Steuben, Inspector General, U.S. Army, Germany
January 18 -- Lee Ann Creager/ Ward Verseput – Club Runner Presentation
January 25 -- Amy Shalley, Legislation Liaison, State Farm Insurance – Auto vs.
Health Insurance
December 21, Tuesday Rotary Board Meeting @ 11:00 AM at Museum
December 21, Tuesday Dirty Stanley Gift Exchange
December 28, Tuesday Family of Rotary Day with OK Choir
January 1, Sunday Date checks and correspondence “2011” Day
January 12, Wednesday 2011 Car Show Committee @ 6:30 PM at Museum
January 17, Monday Martin Luther King Birthday (Observed)
January 18, Tuesday Rotary Board Meeting @ 11:00 AM at Museum
February 2, Wednesday Ground Hog Day
February 6, Sunday Super Bowl XLV
February 14, 15, 16 M, T, W -- Texas Hold’em Tournament @ Holland
February 15, Tuesday Rotary Board Meeting @ 11:00 AM at Museum
February 23, Wednesday 2011 Interclub Meeting @ Lowell
February 24, Pre-PETS @ Muskegon
February 24, 25, 26, 27 F, S, Su, M -- Texas Hold’em Tournament @ Holland
March 1, Pre-PETS @ Rockford
March 9, Wednesday Ash Wednesday
March 10-12, President Elect Training Seminar (PETS) @ Kalamazoo
March 15, Tuesday Rotary Board Meeting @ 11:00 AM at Museum
Speaker Chairs
January – Ward Verseput
February – Bob Koch
March – Carrie Borchers
April – LeeAnn Creager
May – Rob Carr
June – Peggy O’Dea
July – TBA
August – TBA
Season’s Greeting from the Rotary Club of Entebbe, Uganda
Rotarian Ahmed Kibirige writes: Greetings Rotarians and friends of Rotary. We are the
Rotary Club of Entebbe, Uganda, District 9200 - Africa. We are proud to wish you
a harmonious transition into 2011 and pinacle festivities.
Where Luggage Goes to Die
This photo shows a luggage graveyard
being visited by hopeful mourners. This
particular graveyard is located in a train
station in London.
The luggage was
probably boarded onto a plane in Tokyo
bound for Canberra. It is alleged that when
the period of mourning is officially ended,
the luggage will be pilfered by employees of
Aeroflot. ( Carl de Souza, AFP/Getty Images / December
20, 2010 )
Coopersville Rotary Club
Rotary International District 6290
Rotary Graphics courtesy © Tord Elfwendahl/Library of Graphics for Rotarians
James Alberts, Past President
Marty Alexander, President Elect
TBA, President Nominee
R.I. President, Ray Klinginsmith
Rotary Club of Kirksville, MO
Tim Knaggs, Governor
Rotary Club of Cadillac
Lody Zwarensteyn, Senior AG
Rotary Club of Grand Rapids
Nancy Crandall, South Coast AG
Rotary Club of Muskegon