Happy Tuesday, Rotarians.

Last newsletter of 2015!

Need to Know:

1. December has five Tuesdays so there will be no regular club meeting next Tuesday. If you signed up for our social event, the 5^th Tuesday bowling party is on Tuesday, December 29^th from 6:30-8:00 PM at Andy B’s, 1127 E. Battlefield, Springfield MO (formerly Battlefield Lanes). If you have not signed up, please contact Brian Drane to see if space is available.
2. We need to know how many pecans have been sold so please turn in money or unsold pecans to Marlena at MFA.
3. Upcoming speakers: there will be no meeting on December 29^th; on January 5^th, Lisa Farmer will be doing a presentation on Harmony House; on January 12^th, Mayor Robert Williams will be here to discuss economic development; on January 19^th, Rayanna Anderson with MSU’s Small Business & Technology Development Department will be with us; on January 26^th, Connie Stockton will be talking about the City’s Tree Committee. There are lots of great speakers on the calendar, so invite a guest!
4. Our next board meeting will be Wednesday, January 13th at noon. It will be held at Southern Missouri Bank. All members are welcome.
5. Webster County Friends of the Library will be hosting a trivia night at the United Methodist Church on January 23, 2016 at 6:15 PM. The cost is $50.00 per table.
6. Go ahead and put this on your calendar now: our 3^rd Annual Romance Raffle will be held on Friday, February 12, 2016. Start soliciting sponsors now!  If the donated item is a gift certificate/card, please turn it in with the form. Our goal is for all members to obtain at least $400.00 in sponsored items for the event. Romance Raffle tickets are at the printer.
7. Go ahead and put this on your calendar now: the Marshfield Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2016, with a rain date of March 19^th.

Meeting Recap

Due to the proximity to Christmas and kids being out of school, we had a small but cheerful crowd at lunch today.

Our speaker today was Marshfield Superintendent Alan Thomas. I am a huge fan of Mr. Thomas because I was fortunate to have him as a math teacher at Logan-Rogersville years and years ago. He was a wonderful classroom teacher and I am sure he brings the same level of excellence as an administrator. Marshfield is lucky to have him.

Mr. Thomas spoke about Ozarks Technical College offering classes in Marshfield beginning in 2016. Bringing OTC to Marshfield has been a group effort of school officials and city and community leaders. OTC wants to start small slow so they will begin by offering 5 evening classes (Algebra, Composition I, Public Speaking, Health & Wellness and Psychology). The classes will be in a room at the MAC, which has been remodeled with technology upgrades. Classes will begin on January 25^th and will last approximately 14 weeks. For more information on the classes and registration, check out www.otc.edu. Please get the word out about this exciting news. A more educated workplace will attract businesses, so this is a great opportunity for Marshfield.

Final Thoughts

“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!”

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), A Christmas Carol

It should not surprise anyone who clicks on the links to my newsletters, that I have been a lifelong fan of The Muppets. As a kid I wore out a cassette copy of the John Denver & The Muppets album, A Christmas Together. It is still one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums. This is the television version of “12 Days of Christmas” but for anyone interested, you can listen to the entire album on YouTube.

https://youtu.be/L_rMCwoCLv8

I hope all of you and your families have a wonderful Christmas. Please stay safe if you are traveling over the holiday.

Marshfield Rotary Club: Raising the bar through leadership, giving and education.
Yours in Rotary Service,

Kristin Grace Krebs