May was another busy month for the Rotary Club of Placencia as we held one of our favorite annual events, held another Bingo game, prepared for Lobsterfest, and made plans for Rotary Year 2010 – 2011, which begins in July.

SENIOR LUNCH
Two years ago, Lydia Villanueva suggested that the Rotary Club of Placencia host a lunch for the senior citizens. The event, held at Cozy Corner, proved to be very popular with those attending and the Rotarians that participated resulting in the second one being held last year at Wendy’s with the guest list expanded. On May 16, the third annual Senior Lunch was held at D’Tatch with over 40 seniors from Placencia Village and Seine Bight Village attending including (we apologize for any names we may have missed) Jessie Eiley, Joyce Eiley, Celia Muschamp, Sonia Leslie, Lucille Villanueva, Carline Wiley, Louise Wade, Emma Westby, Mertis Villanueva, Elise Leslie, Udith Westby, Marie Martin, Lilly Eiley, Ruby Bull, Pearl Leslie, Hortence Cabral, Nick Nicolait, Lou Nicolait, Evan Fairweather, Alma Fairweather, Edith Latchman, Juan Caducio, Jim Weller, Bob Edmond, Suzanne Riegel, Josephine Leslie, Lily Andrews, Lawrence Augustine, Olivia Palacio, Petronino Alvarez, Florence Augustine, Rojelia Estrada, Estelle Augustine, Balbina Guzman, Ina Martinez, Daniella Flores, Esteline Castillo, Gregoria Moreira, Clara Thomas, Elizabeth Guzman, Dominica Augustine, Hendretta Augustine, and Ionie Augustine. Following an introduction from current Rotary Club President Harald Wallen, Lydia Villanueva led the blessing and a delicious lunch was served. After lunch, our Mistress of Ceremonies Maretha McCullock led our guests through several raffles and bingo games and prizes were awarded for the oldest men and women from Placencia Village and Seine Bight Village. Prize winners included Lawrence Augustine and Sonia Leslie (haircuts from Z Touch); Mertis Villanueva and Olivia Palacio (gift certificates from Tutti Frutti); Emma Westby and Petronila Alvarez (gift certificates from Wallen’s Pharmacy); Juan Caducio (2 months free water from Placencia Water Board); Florence Augustine (2 months free water from Seine Bight Water Board); Dominica Augustine, Edith Latchman, Rojelia Estrada and Lily Eiley (cash prizes); Estelle Augustine and Balbina Guzman (gift baskets from Everyday Supermarket); Ina Martinez (robe from Paradise Resort); and Daniella Flores (oldest woman from Seine Bight, cash prize), Lawrence Augustine (oldest man from Seine Bight, cash prize), Emma Westby (oldest woman from Placencia, cash prize), and Robert Nicolait (oldest man from Placencia, cash prize). Entertainment was provided by Evan Fairweather, who played a mix of songs on his accordion that had many up dancing (and asking if we could hold a dance for the seniors some time in the future). The afternoon ended with a thank you address from Lydia Villanueva and the handing out of gift bags, which were generously donated by Grace Kennedy LTD., to every senior attending.

We wish to extend our thanks to Paradise Resort, CCB Agency, Placencia Pharmacy, Wallens Market, Lydia’s Guest House, Miramar Apartments, Ilsa Villanueva, Wendy’s Restaurant, Ron Dickman, Julia Leslie, Tipsy Tuna, Sunova Beach Gift Shop, Z Touch, Gilbert Garbutt, Cozy Corner, Mikey Mike, Therese Sierra, The Joint Boutique, Jason Westby, Charles Leslie, Jr., Tutti Frutti, MnM Hardware, the Social Security employees of the Independence Branch, Mara Mayen, Yoli’s Restaurant and Merlene Bernard, Ruby Bull, the Everyday Supermarket, and the Placencia and Seine Bight Water Boards for their generous donations that do so much to make this event possible. We also wish to extend special thanks to Grace Kennedy Ltd. for the donation of the gift bags each senior took home, D’Tatch for providing an excellent meal in a beautiful setting, and Lydia Villanueva and Maretha McCullock for all of their hard work making this happen. Based upon the positive feedback we receive from our guests and the pleasure we get as a Club putting on this event, we hope to continue to do this every year and, possibly, look in to some additional events for the people that have made this Peninsula what it is, our senior citizens.

BINGO
On May 22, Bingo returned to the Paradise Resort as our monthly game was held. Caller Kathy Anglin led the players through 15 games with the winners being Celia, Blu, Bill, Ivan, Sandra, Kendra, Kim, Betty, Suzanne, Zazy, Miss Louise, Cheryl, Keith, Cheryl, and a split pot with Cheryl and Bob. The money raised will go to the Social Security Board’s “Ride Across Belize” (see next section) and will be matched by the Social Security Board. We wish to thank, once again, the Paradise Resort for providing the venue for the evening and everyone that came out to play and support us. The next Bingo game will be held in June, please watch the cable TV local access channel, look for flyers around the Village, or listen to LOVEFM for the date and time.

RIDE ACROSS BELIZE
On Sunday May 30, several members of the Rotary Club of Placencia made the boat ride over to the junction to Independence to assist the Social Security Board in the Ride Across Belize by handing out water to the riders as they made their way from Dangriga to Punta Gorda on the last leg of the ride. Unfortunately, we arrived just as the last of the riders was passing through, but, we were able to hand over the check for the funds raised at the last bingo game, so it wasn’t a total loss. The money raised from this year’s ride will be matched by the Social Security Board and all proceeds will go to the Rotary Gift of Life Program, which provides medical care to children with heart problems. We are grateful for the opportunity to assist in this important fund raiser and hope that a significant amount of money was raised for this worthy cause.

UPCOMING EVENTS
With Rotary Year 2009-2010 coming to an end, the Rotary Club of Placencia is preparing for the transition to the new President and the new Board of Directors by holding a joint Board meeting and making arrangements for the annual Handing Over Ceremony at the beginning of July. For the rest of this Rotary Year, work continues on the final planning for our shared booth (with the Peninsula Volunteer Fire Department) at Lobsterfest and the finalizing of details for the Scholarship Program (along with Mr. Longsworth of Independence High School). In addition, our monthly Bingo game will be held with details to come (see above). Several community projects have already been identified for the coming Rotary Year, which we will describe further when details are finalized, and larger projects are being reviewed for possible funding from outside sources, so, this next year shows promise to be our most successful year to date.

OUR CLUB
As can be seen in these monthly articles, our 15 member club accomplishes many things through the course of the year from small community projects such as the cemetery cleanup to raising funds (and obtaining funding from outside sources) for larger projects such as the schools and the Peninsula Volunteer Fire Department. We do all of these things, and have fun doing them, to give back to our community and try to make it the best it can be, but, without the help and support of the community, we are limited in what we can accomplish. Please consider stopping by one of our weekly meetings (Tuesdays at 12:30 PM at Yoli’s) to see what we are doing, speak to any Rotarian with any questions you may have, or visit our web site at www.rotaryclubofplacencia.org. The more people from the community that participate, the more we can get done.