Tri-City Rotary - Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Braving the painfully frosty November morning, the Rotary clubs of Geneva, Saint Charles, and Batavia huddled in the beautiful Riverside Receptions venue on the banks of the Fox River. Despite the chill of the outdoors, the sun shone through the windowlined wall, bathing the diners with welcome warmth though accompanied with an overzealous and intruding brightness. The members gorged themselves on a rich assortment of warm breakfast staples and fresh fruit, topped off with piping hot coffee. After a prayer, Pledge of Allegiance, and the Four-Way Test, each of the clubs made their announcements: Calendars to benefit Lazarus house, citrus for sale, and of course, the Batavia Corvette Raffle.

Our speakers, Batavia’s Scott and Caroline Olinger, gave a Veteran’s Day presentation to the group on the difficulties of a dual military marriage, the role of women in combat, the perks of flying the world’s coolest hardware, and the current state of the U.S. Armed forces during time of belt tightening. The presentation was interesting and informative and the audience was very engaged, despite the fact that the vast majority had never been in the service. We are happy to have the Olingers back in the Tri Cities and look forward to their support of Batavia Rotary.