Wednesday night I will fill the speaker’s bill with a presentation I developed on the topic of the political divide we are experiencing in our country. Many believe that the divide threatens our Democracy (Republic). I am certainly one who thinks it is bad for our country. My propensity is to try to understand how we got so divided and what could bring us together. The conventional wisdom is that a natural emergency would bring us together, but a pandemic has only divided us further. I believe you will enjoy this important discussion. Of course, this will not be a partisan presentation. That’s not what we do at Rotary. I do believe it is a consequential discussion. I hope you will zoom in. It’s about 20 minutes so we will have time for discussions.
 
Looking forward to the party this afternoon. Should be fun.
We have been informed by Mount Vernon that thy will extend their January shutdown to include January 19th. This coincides with what is being forecast as the peak of the current COVID surge, so meeting that week via zoom is probably a good idea.  
 
Dave Brewick has updated his financial forecast based on the latest trends. He will be presenting that night. You will not want to miss this annual highlight.
 
Now, on to discussion of the Ice Melt. A big part of the strategy is to maximize ticket sales at King Soopers and at Evergreen Liquors. We have shortened the selling schedules to only two hours and each Rotarian will be paired with a high school volunteer who will handle credit card sales and assist as needed. We will only sell between 11 and 1 on Sat. and Sunday which are the best hours. We will deliver supplies to the site.
So, we are asking each Rotarian to volunteer for one selling date of two hours. If everyone or most of us will do so, we can sell over $7,000 more tickets than we would otherwise sell. So, the ask is small and the reward for our charities is significant. Please sign up for at least one time on the sign-up genius here  and by separate e-mail later today.  We all joined to serve our community. Here’s a way to make a difference.  
 
No word yet when the barrel will be placed. Will certainly let you know.