Director Maurice Sheppard of The Lasses and Lads of Enchantment introduces a song during their holiday performance at the Rotary Club Winter Holiday Party Dec. 12 at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by Linda Hull

The Lasses and Lads of Enchantment perform for the Rotary Club of Los Alamos during its Winter Holiday Party Dec. 12 at Cottonwood on the Greens. Photo by Linda Hull

By LINDA HULL
Rotary Club of Los Alamos

With Peace on Earth as the theme, the Rotary Club of Los Alamos held its Winter Holiday Party at Cottonwood on the Greens Dec. 12.

Peace on Earth is not only traditional to the holiday season, but Peace is one of Rotary International’s Areas of Focus. The evening’s decorations, predominantly blue and white and silver, acknowledged Rotarians’ pledge to seek peace in interactions with family and friends and across borders. 

As a small outreach of giving in honor of peace, over 60 pairs of new socks were collected through the Club’s Socks for Stockings activity. The socks will be entrusted to the United Church of Los Alamos, who will take a truckload of supplies to the Dignity Mission in El Paso and Juarez in January. The Dignity Mission supports asylum-seekers and homeless migrants at the southern border. As one member of the United Church said, “The socks will be delivered in mid-January, when the piles of Christmas donations are long gone.” (https:////www.lasplacitaschurch.org/ministries/dignity-mission).  

Special guests at the party included Tom and Deborah Simon of the Rotary Club of Santa Fe.  Tom is the Rotary District 5520 Governor Nominee; wife Deborah initiated a Rotary International Global Grant over 20 years ago to address clean water and child and maternal health in Guatemala, a grant the Rotary Club has supported since its inception.

Another special guest was Joan Gurrera, the Club’s youth exchange student from Mallorca. Gurrera described how his family celebrates together during the holiday season.

Club President Tim Bullock emceed the festivities. Following a banquet buffet, he welcomed Tom Simon to the podium to present a Paul Harris Fellowship pin to Nancy Cerutti. In 1905, Paul Harris, a Chicago attorney, founded Rotary to gather business leaders together to work in service to others. The Fellowship is named in his honor, its pin representing the generous contributions members have made to The Rotary Foundation. Cerutti received a gold pin with three garnets representing one of the highest Fellowship levels.

The holiday harmonies of the Lasses and Lads of Enchantment, under the direction of Maurice Sheppard, soon filled the community room with favorite sacred and secular selections of the season. The Three Nice Guys, a quartet featuring Maurice Sheppard, David Daniel, Daniel Sheppard, and Dick Heath, also performed. Who’s the Naughty Guy on Santa’s list this year?

In closing, members of Rotary who passed away this year, Paul Frederickson and Kerry Burns, were honored and fondly remembered for their volunteer service. Door prizes were also awarded, and thanks were extended to party planners Linda Hull and Alison Pannell and to restaurateurs Dorota and Pawel Listwan and the staff of Cottonwood on the Greens.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos, through its 1312 Club Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and one of over 34,000 clubs worldwide. Rotary, which now has 1.5 million members, was founded in 1905; the local Club was chartered in 1966. Rotary areas of focus include promoting peace; fighting disease, particularly polio; providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; supporting education; saving and enhancing the lives of mothers and children; growing economies; and protecting the environment.

The Rotary Club of Los Alamos meets in person 12-1 p.m. Tuesdays, in the Community Room, Cottonwood on the Greens, at the golf course. A Zoom option is available by contacting Linda Hull, 505.662.7950. Hull is also happy to provide information about the Club and its humanitarian service. The community is cordially invited to attend meetings and consider joining us in our projects, service, and friendship activities.

Rotarian Nancy Cerutti accepted her most recent Paul Harris Fellowship pin Dec. 12. The pin acknowledges her generous contributions to The Rotary Foundation and was presented by District Governor Nominee Tom Simon from the Rotary Club of Santa Fe. Cerutti noted her family’s long history of service to Rotary and shared her strong support for Rotary’s local and international projects. Photo by Linda Hull

Joan Gurrera, the Rotary Club’s youth exchange student from Mallorca, spoke about Christmas at home. Photo by Linda Hull

The Three Nice Guys Barbershop Quartet—Maurice Sheppard, David Daniel, Daniel Sheppard, Dick Eaton—sang recently for the Rotary Club of Los Alamos. Enquiring minds want to know who is on Santa’s Nice List and who isn’t? Photo by Linda Hull

Rotary Club President and Club party planner Linda Hull share a moment before awarding door prizes. Photo by Bob Hull