At Thursday’s meeting of the Carmi Rotary club Fran Matheny was on hand to speak about the Red Cross. Fran started by talking about the importance of smoke detectors, and how she has witnessed first-hand the devastation fires can cause families. As she said, the thought of a house with young children without a smoke detector is horrible to even consider.
She told the Rotarians that she speaks at schools sometimes about the alarms, and as part of her talk she plays the sound of the smoke alarm. One time she did this and asked the kids if anyone had ever heard that sound. A young girl raised her hand and nodded. Fran asked her when she heard that noise. The girl responded, “Every time my mom makes toast.”
Fran went on to discuss how the Red Cross is on hand after disasters to help with clothing, food, and money for a place to stay. She also pointed out, that sometimes the victims aren’t thinking about money immediately afterwards, but what they really need is someone to talk to.
At the local level, Fran said that plans are already in place if a natural disaster struck our area. Temporary shelters, food for immediate consumption, and longer term groceries are already mapped out if the need ever arises. Fran stressed that’s why she always urges people to shop local whenever possible, because those local businesses are the ones that will jump in to help whenever they are needed.
In other business, the club heard an update from Cindy Conley on the Carmi Senior Center’s plans for “Zip Code Day”. This year on June 28th, the numeric date will be 62821. While in the early stages of planning, the center is hoping to have food and possibly a wine tasting downtown on that evening. Other ideas include a raffle, with a grand prize of $628.21 to the winner. Mayor Pollard will be making an official proclamation to celebrate that day, and other ideas are in the works. Anyone who has an idea to make this big day even bigger is encouraged to drop by the Senior Center and let someone hear your thought.
At the Thursday meeting, JR Hubele won the 50/50 raffle but did not claim the day’s cash prize, meaning the jackpot rolls over and grows with next week’s meeting. Cindy Conley was named 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.
