It’s a new month, and a busy one for our Club at that! As we prepare for our annual Mardi Gras Auction and Party, I urge you to give all the time and effort you can to help make it a huge success. It’s up to each and everyone of us to do our part by both selling tickets to our family, friends and coworkers and also obtaining auction items. This is to say we need the assistance and dedication of everyone in the club to make this a worthwhile, memorable event. successful.

Ann Pauley and her Mardi Gras committee team consisting of Eric Abuneel, Pat Blackwell, Rosemary Bryant, Steve Etheredge, Marissa Evans, Sally Langer, Cory Manning, Leighton McLendon, Valerie Russell, Debbie Sowell and Whitney Woolfolk are doing an awesome job of planning together an event of which we can all be extremely proud. Even so, they cannot do it alone – they need you, too. Each member needs to commit to working part of the day and/or evening on February 21^st. As we did at Sportsarama, we need all "hands-on-deck" to make this important fundraiser a huge success.

In the meantime, what we need now is for you to please sell at least six to ten tickets to your family, friends and co-workers; find sponsors and donors and solicit great auction items. All of the forms you will need are on our website and tickets can be ordered directly through the website.

In these challenging economic times, the needs are greater than ever before. Even in good times, raising money isn’t necessarily easy. But as you make those requests, please remember that those much needed funds go a long, long way in helping those who need it so very much. If an individual or business needs tax information, you can find a deduction letter online at our Club website. Please keep our goal in mind - the money we raise from this event will send children to Camp Sertoma, buy hearing aids and help needy families in our area. What a wonderful goal to achieve while spending time with some incredible people, our fellow Sertomans!

With considerable assistance from  Jason Richardson and Pat Mason, a membership satisfaction survey is now being sent to each member. By completing your survey, (it’ll only take you seven minutes), you’ll truly have a democratic voice in telling the leadership what you like, and what we need to improve. Through your contribution, you have a strong voice in the direction in which our Club should be going. Please complete and return the survey no later than Sunday, February 15^th.

I hope you’re planning to be a part what all is happening this month:

At our February 5^th Thursday Club lunch meeting, Rick Vandiver of the North Lake Sertoma Club give us the status of our Camp Sertoma at the Clemson Outdoor Lab. There will also be a check presentation to Camp Sertoma from the monies we raised at our golf tournament last October..

At our February 19^th Thursday Club lunch meeting , thanks to Marshall Taylor, Linda Etheredge and Linda Sterne students from Crayton and Sanders Middle Schools will read their award winning National Heritage Week essays and awards will be presented to the winners.

Saturday, February 21^st is our Annual Mardi Gras Auction Party at the Summit Club. 7:00 – 10:00pm and with tickets at only $40.00 each, you and yours really need to attend the best party in town!

I look forward to seeing you soon – and often! As always, thank you for ALL you do.

In SERvice TO MAnkind,

Steven Langer