Happy New Year! 

To keep everyone safe and healthy, we’re moving back to Zoom meetings for the short term
Due to the spread of the omicron variant of COVID, we’re making a temporary return to virtual meetings for the month of January. We will assess the situation in February. The Zoom link for the meeting link will be sent out to all members a day or two before the meeting. We still meet every Thursday morning from 8-9 AM, with social time starting at 7:30 AM.

Mt. Zion Cemetery Project
An update on an important project for our Club: MBR member Ellie Gill has taken a leadership role to coordinate our Club’s effort with Rotary Club of Washington, DC to help restore and preserve historical Mt Zion Cemetery in Georgetown. Mt. Zion Methodist Church is the oldest Black church in Washington, and its cemetery is one of the most historic Black cemeteries in DC. In the 19th century, there were over 6000 burials there, but the cemetery long ago fell into disrepair and now only about 310 markers have been recovered and identified. To add to its history, it’s highly likely that the cemetery was a key stop on the Underground Railroad. Over the past year, members of our Rotary Clubs have been doing regular cleanup projects at the cemetery. Now the Clubs have joined forces to fund a new storage shed that will provide secure storage for tools and supplies used by volunteer groups to restore and preserve the Cemetery grounds and stone artifacts. The availability of a shed enables tools and supplies to be removed from the cemetery vault – the vault is an important element of cemetery and underground railroad history and is featured in education programs. Rotarians and other volunteers will assemble the shed in early 2022. MBR will continue to support Mt. Zion’s restoration and cleanup work in 2022. Our next planned cleanup is January 16.

In-Person Social Events Postponed
Our January 8 Whiskey Fundraiser and January 22 Post-Holiday Party have been postponed until we can gather safely indoors. Keep an eye out for an announcement for an outdoor firepit get-together.

Upcoming Speakers
Our Program Committee has arranged some great speakers, including Isidre Sala, liaison between Catalonia and the US (Jan 13); scientist, artist, and author Bulent Atalay (Jan 20); and author Nicole Bell (Jan 27). Check our Calendar of Events for the latest schedule.

Club President 2023-24
We are looking for nominees to be president-elect in 2022-23 and advance to club president in 2023-24. To apply, you must have been a member of MBR for at least one year and have served on the board or done similar service. Deadline to express interest: January 20th

Purple Teaser #1: Long Weekend at Bethany Beach!
The Purple Tee Golf Tournament is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and to raise even more, we’re trying something new – offering raffle items, Purple Teasers, throughout the year. The first Purple Teaser 2022 raffle item is a long weekend in a lovely ocean block Bethany Beach, Delaware home (February, March, or April only). $25 tickets can be purchased by MBR members ONLY until January 20, with the drawing held during the January 20 meeting. View and bid at charityauction.bid/PurpleTeaser

Movie Nights continue!
Every Tuesday at 7:30 pm the group discusses the film they watched on their own time the week before. See the calendar for upcoming films.

Stay safe, everyone!