Rotarians arrived at the Lansing Center for the 94th Annual Children’s Christmas Party to find a very festive setting. Two screens displayed roaring fires and the children were already present, many dressed in their holiday finery. John Dale Smith provided Christmas tunes from his spot on the stage as we dined on roasted turkey and all the fixings.  President Darwin took to the platform with Ta’Marion Wells from North School, who rang the bell to call the meeting to order at 12:21. Ta’Marion presented a Christmas card from the students and gave the invocation. The invocation was followed by “God Bless America”. President Darwin turned the meeting over to Mr. Christmas himself, Ken Beachler. Ken was dressed for the occasion in a red shirt, blue vest with lively characters, white pants and what appeared to be a phone with a blingy red cover. He began by reporting that there was a problem with the reindeer that just might prevent Santa from attending the party. It seemed that the reindeer had come down with colds and that Rudolph’s red nose wouldn’t light. A veterinarian was looking at Rudolph, so there was a glimmer of hope that Santa might still make it. Ken introduced our wonderful Rotary Singers – Heidi McNaughton, Lisa Smith, Ed Culberson, Mark Hooper and Ken Beachler. This group of talented Rotarians started the program off by singing “Winter Wonderland” and “Silver Bells”. These selections were followed by Lisa Smith’s rendition of “Merry Christmas Darling”, a tune that might be remembered by Rotarians of a certain age as being originally recorded by The Carpenters.  As Ken got ready to begin his narration of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to John Dale’s accompaniment, he reminded us that Santa likely won’t be making an appearance. The children clearly enjoyed the story, although some were clearly having trouble containing their excitement. The Rotary Singers took the stage again for “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (maybe) and then invited us all to join them for “White Christmas”. Although there was no news on the nose, the Rotary Singers decided to sing “Here Comes Santa Claus” in the hope that it would be true. It wasn’t long before we began to hear Santa’s jolly “Ho, ho, ho” from the back of the room as he entered with his bag of gifts thrown over his shoulder. When he saw all of the gifts under the tree, he surmised that they must be for the children “because Rotarians aren’t normally nice”. (Thanks a lot Santa!) Santa’s helpers made their way to the front and delivered gifts to the children as Santa called each of their names. It was clear that the children appreciated their gifts as the wrapping paper quickly fell to the floor! After the gifts were distributed, Santa pulled one last gift from his bag – a Spartan hat from Tommy Izzo and Marky Dantonio for Jimmy Harbaugh. Unfortunately, Jimmy wasn’t with us, so the gift couldn’t be delivered. President Darwin returned to the podium with James. He thanked Kelly Dean and Dean Transportation for transporting the students to the Lansing Center, the staff of the Lansing Center for all of their hard work and the wonderful dinner, and Mary Moreno from North School for her help in coordinating this annual event. James rang the bell with gusto and we were adjourned until after the first of the year. |
Accidently, Marisela Monti was completely left off the list of students with their first, second or third choice. Her top choice was a Hatchimal (very coveted this year). Justin Sheehan immediately called stores looking for this hard to find toy. Not only did he find it, but drove to Meijers to purchase and deliver to Marisela in exchange for his name badge, which Justin had given her before promising to return. Thank you so much Justin! You made a Christmas wish come true for a very special little girl!