OUR PROGRAM THIS WEEK

AWARDS BANQUET – No Noon Meeting

WHAT’S COMING UP. . . .

Mar 6th  –    Lauren Clouse will speak about the Winchester Rescue Mission

Mar 13th – Chief Ronnie Lewis Winchester Police Department
Apr 26th  –  RUMMAGE SALE>Apr 3-6th  –  District Conference

AWARDS BANQUET – FEBRUARY 27TH

The banquet will be held at The Monument on February 27th. (186 N Loudoun St. – across from Clarke Co. Bank) Cocktails begin at 6 pm and dinner will be served at 7 pm. The bar is open from 6pm-8pm and the cash bar is open after 8pm. Village Square caters the dinner and will feature filet/salmon/vegetarian options. A video slide show from

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIR – MARCH 27TH

Tickets are on sale NOW. The committee is accepting silent auction items and is asking members to contribute a bottle of wine, with a value of $25 or more, for the wine pull.

EXTENDING OUR REACH

This past Saturday, our club participated in the Black Business Expo in Winchester, an event that provides Black-owned small businesses with opportunities to network and connect with the community. Our goal in hosting a display table was to increase the visibility of the

Winchester Rotary Club is across diverse sectors of our community. Representing our club at the event were James Imoh, Fritz Polite, Guss Morrison, and Jean Barch.

TRAVEL LODGE AWARD

Darla McCrary gave a brief history of the “Travel Lodge Award” which dates back to 2018 and was started by past President Paul Magness.

Darla passed the Travel Lodge sign to Dan Abel for all

OUR PROGRAM LAST WEEK

Club member Ben Weber described the work of Blue Ridge Independence at Home, which opened its doors in October of 2024. Blue Ridge Independence at Home is a PACE center or Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. The first PACE Center opened in 1973 in San Francisco and there are currently 180 PACE organizations in the U.S.

Ben said the goal of the organization is to keep seniors in their own homes as long as they would like to stay and can remain in their homes safely by being proactive with their care. Blue Ridge Independence at Home serves adults 55+ who are in need. The center helps reduce ER visits, provides transportation, and offers a medical facilities, and a day center featuring social, meals, and OT and PT services. The Center is funded through Medicare and Medicaid. The organization’s all-inclusive services help save the City, County, and State thousands of dollars for each participant.

Ben said that Blue Ridge Independence at Home is the third non-profit PACE Center in Virginia, serving a geographic area of 2,000 square miles and 76 different zip codes. As the need for their services continues to grow, there are plans to open centers in Leesburg and Woodstock. To learn more, those interested can vis- it www.BRIH.org or call Ben at 703-606-5002 .

FEBRUARY SERVICE PROJECT

WINCHESTER RESCUE MISSION!

Since our club was only able to meet twice this month, we are going to extend the collection of donations for the Rescue Mission through the first week of March. Between now and March 6th, grab something from the following list on your next trip to the store:

Paper goods

Paper towels Toilet paper Paper plates Napkins

Paper cups Plastic Cutlery (Knives, forks, spoons)

Cleaners

Fabulso Floor Cleaner

Concentrated Lysol hard surface cleaner

Cleaning & Sanitizing Wipes

Trash Bags (13 / 33 / 55 Gallon – Black)

Windex

High Efficiency Laundry Detergent (must be labed “HE”)

If you have any questions, contact Jean Barch at 540-247-8402 or barchfam@comcast.net.

KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS GRANT PROJECT

Tootie thanked all the helpers!

You have all been wonderful at volunteering for the Soup Kitchen Food Preparation at the Knights of Columbus Club! Thank you, but our mission is not completed.

We are staffing on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 2:00. We help Chef Maggie Peterson prepare the frozen meals that are delivered along with the groceries by the delivery teams each week. The meals are currently delivered to over 100 families, and they are very popular and appreciated by the families.

So to continue staffing the sous’ chef help for Chef Maggie Peterson, Kit Redner has created a Signup Genius where you can sign up to volunteer. See the link below. If you did not know your schedule when I sent around the clipboard at our meeting today, were not able to make the meeting or were on Zoom, here is your opportunity to help. Thank you and remember we can not all do great things, but we can do small things with great love. This is a way to make a big difference in a small way. https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B45A8AF22A4FBCE9-54305202-knights#/

OR Contact Tootie Rinker at: tootie1222@gmail.com

NEW WEBSITE

Our new club website is up and running! Thanks to Angie Housman for your good

RUMMAGE SALE IS A GO!

Mark you calendars now for APRIL 26TH! The sale will be held at the Ruritan Club in Stephenson, right next to the fairgrounds. Set-up runs from Wed.-Fri., 4/23- 25. The sale will be ONE DAY only. Start collecting your “treasures” now! Donations can be dropped off at the Ruritan Club. Call Wilson Gilbert (540-247-2770) or Jean Barch (540-247-8402) to coordinate time. Better yet, wait until April 23rd and bring them with you when you come to help set up! Watch for more information coming soon.

HEALTH REPORT >>Libba informed the club that Bob DeMott is in the last stages of his battle with pancreatic cancer. Please keep Bob and his wife Darline in your thoughts and prayers. >>She also told us that Gary Chrisman was undergoing triple bypass surgery on Monday, February 24th. Please keep Gary in your thoughts and prayers.

HEALTH TIP

Libba noted that February is the national month for a number of different foods but she encouraged everyone to not focus on just one food but to improve your health by coloring your plate with a rainbow of different foods. She highlighted grapefruits, bananas, avocados and sweet potatoes. Libba acknowledged club members celebrating Rotary Anniversaries in February including, Scott Arthur’s 36th anniversary and John Capehart’s 45th anniversary. Libba led the club in singing Happy Birthday to President John Lamanna.