Carmi Rotary Club meeting
The Carmi Rotary club heard about a great trip from two Carmi men on Thursday. Rotarian Randy Douglass and past Rotarian Richard Roser told the club about their recent trip to Florida to attend the Cardinal spring training.
Richard explained that this was a trip he had always wanted to take, and that one point, he and Pastor Randy had talked about doing it, but he noted, that left on their own, they probably would have never pulled it off. Richard remarked that he had been a baseball fan since he was eight years old, and this was a dream he’d about that long.
That’s when Richard’s four daughters got involved, and decided to make it a birthday present for their dad’s upcoming 90th birthday. With that plan in mind, they arranged the airline tickets, the hotel, and the tickets to three games.
So, fulfilling a lifelong dream, Richard and Randy made the trip from Evansville to Orlando, where they rented a car and drove the last 140 miles to Jupiter, Florida, where they would be staying. While there, they attended two Cardinal games: one against the Tigers, and one against the Atlanta Braves. They were also able to make the short trip to see a game between the Washington Nationals and the Tigers.
The pair of travelers told a story of being at the Nationals game, when they spotted a man sitting all by himself in right field. A die-hard Cardinal fan, Pastor Randy realized right away that the man was John Mozeliak, the president of the Cardinal organization. He decided to “go for it”, and made the trip around the park to where the Card president was sitting. He introduced himself and explained that they were there for Richard’s 90th birthday. He also told the president that Richard had actually been given the chance to try out for the Cardinals a short 70 years ago! Mr. Mozeliak wrote a note on the program, wishing Richard a happy 90th birthday!
The two Carmi men said many times, that the trip was a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday, and that they had the time of their lives just being around baseball and the Cardinal organization.
In club business, Morris McCall won the 50/50 drawing but failed to capture the day’s cash prize, which is growing week by week now. Sheri Logan was named as the day’s phantom.
The Carmi Rotary club meets every Thursday at noon at the First United Methodist Church on Main Street in Carmi. Anyone wishing to learn more about this civic organization is welcome to attend a meeting or speak with any Carmi Rotarian.
