Scuttlebutt May 2, 2021
This Tuesday we are in for another treat. Our speakers committee has been outstanding this year. Frank and Gabi Yetter will talk with us about “Just Go" describing their International Travels. Please see below a description of them.
Springtime is a busy Rotary time. Can you believe we need to think about POPS again? We need to determine the type of event we want: in person (at which venue), virtual, or both. If we decide virtual is part of our offerings to the community what about last year’s event do we want to keep, what change, or add to. The most regular Rotary members of last year’s committee included: Judith B, Jessica, Cindi, Linda B, Pam P, Lauren, and me. (hope I did not forget anyone) We had others from the community as well. Who would like to be on the committee again? Who would like to join us? If we think it is possible to have some type of gathering at Abbot Hall we need to check if the decorations are still there or do we get new, and we need to schedule the date. Along with POPS is the artist’s reception. So first we need to choose an artist. Thoughts?
Instillation committee has determined that the event will be on zoom the evening of June 22. At this event the Paul Harris awards will be announced. Rather than try to have an in-person event we have decided that later in the summer we will have an in-person fun event to celebrate that we have survived.
Paul Harris nomination papers will be sent separately. Attaching to Scuttlebutt does not always work.
Membership Committee Update: By now, you most likely have received (or will receive in a day or so) a Membership Packet that should update you on any information you will need to be current on the club's history, operating procedures, and different membership type opportunities. It is hoped that the new member orientation materials included in the packet will also assist you when you talk to prospective members about our club's activities and programs.
A very interesting piece of information came to light when the Committee was working on the packet: Ten members (almost 1/3) of our total of 33 members have chosen to be Active-Rule of 85 (years of service plus their age).
What does that mean? It means that...
*RCOMH has a wealth of Active-Rule of 85 members who have devoted many years of dedicated service to community and international projects that improve the lives of needy and underserved populations...and they're still committed to continuing that tradition!
*RCOMH, during the pandemic, has had the strong support of a majority of the Active-Rule of 85's, witnessed by their dedicated attendance at Zoom meetings and contributions to our programs for alleviating food insecurity locally.
*RCOMH has a significant number of Active-Rule of 85 members who not only have maintained their passion for service but who are also willing and able to pass along their experiences and support to new members.
Our club has a challenge, though...To continue to be a healthy club in the upcoming years, we need to recruit and embrace an increasingly diverse membership. Active-Rule of 85's will remain an integral part of the strength of this wonderful club and they will be instrumental in passing along lessons learned from participating in service and fellowship with like-minded individuals. It is, however, incumbent on every Active member to look for, and be open and welcoming to, prospective members. Let's all follow incoming Rotary International's President Shekar Mehta's plea, "Every one, bring one!"
The
Marblehead Community Charter Public School's annual fundraiser is set for Friday May 14 at 6:30pm. This virtual event will feature fun for the whole family and an opportunity to learn more about our school. An online auction will also take place. To purchase tickets to attend the event, purchase raffle tickets to win a brand new kayak, or to become a sponsor please visit
https://www.marbleheadcharter.org/navnight/ Contact Peter Cohen for more information
pcohen@marbleheadcharter.com
-Peter, Peter Cohen, Ed.D, Head of School
About our speakers: Gabrielle (Gabi) and Frank (Skip) Yetter are former Marblehead residents, authors and lovers of food, travel, and disparate cultures. After quitting their jobs and selling or giving away their property and possessions in 2010, Gabi and Skip accepted volunteer positions in Cambodia, working with Volunteers in Asia to support two separate non-governmental organizations in the Kingdom's capital of Phnom Penh. While living in Cambodia, the couple traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia and wrote about their experiences in their blog, The Meanderthals.
In 2013, they joined a house sitting network that over five years took them from Europe to Panama, New Zealand to Melrose, Mass., and 34 other destinations around the world. In 2019, they unpacked their suitcases and settled in East Sussex, UK, to be close to Gabi's elderly mother and watch the sunrise over the English Channel from their seaside flat in Eastbourne.
Gabi is a former journalist who was raised in Bahrain, worked in South Africa, and moved to the US, where she and Skip met. She is author of a travel guide (The Definitive Guide to Moving to Southeast Asia: Cambodia, 2013); a cookbook on Cambodian desserts (The Sweet Tastes of Cambodia, 2012), two children's books (Ogden, the Fish Who Couldn't Swim Straight, 2016, and Martha the Blue Sheep, 2017), and recently published her debut novel, Whisper of the Lotus. She is working on a sequel to Whisper of the Lotus.
Skip is former editor of the Marblehead Reporter, publisher of Bay State Community Newspapers, and Senior Vice President/Global Sales of Business Wire, A Berkshire Hathaway Company. He is the author of two novels, (Rilertown (2016) and A Reasonably Viable Marriage (2019)), a cookbook (KISS Kooking: Simple Cooking for Simple Kitchens (and Simple Minds) (2015)), and, with Gabi, co-authored a personal experience/how-to guide on their chosen lifestyle, Just Go: Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure (2015). He is working on his third novel.
As England begins to ease its third lockdown, the couple remain active by volunteering through the National Health Service and at a local food bank in East Sussex, and maintaining in close contact via video conferencing with Skip's two daughters, Emily, in Los Angeles, and Kirsty, in Beverly with her three sons, Lasky, 6, Tal, 3 and Ollie, 1.
Frank Yetter
Available now! My second novel, A Reasonably Viable Marriage, a story of love and loss, mistakes and forgiveness, and the human capacity to defy forces that threaten what matters most. Based on the writing of my friend Nguyen Tua Nghiep. Find it and my first novel, Rilertown, on Amazon. Instagram: #author #authors#bookrelease#indieauthors
