Thursday, March 28, 2024
39.0°F

Rotary Club gets rosy

by ELLI GOLDMAN HILBERT
Staff Writer | September 11, 2021 1:06 AM

COEUR d’ALENE—The Friday Noon Rotary Club’s annual Rose Sale kicked off Friday with President Claudia Brennan wearing her happy face.

Under a “crying with joy” emoji mask that fit in perfectly with the club’s “emoji” event theme, Brennan danced into the luncheon with Janis Joplin’s “Cry Baby” playing over the loudspeakers.

“President Claudia wears her heart on her sleeve and it’s no secret that she tears up at the drop of a hat,” said Rotary member Candace Godwin of Godwin Marketing Communications.

Club members have divided into teams to compete for rose sales. “Sell, sell, sell,” President Brennan told the crowd.

The clock is ticking on the two and a half week timeframe for sales.

“Not only is this our biggest fundraiser, but it’s also one that is truly heartwarming,” Brennan said. “The joy seen on someone’s face when you deliver an unexpected dozen roses is really priceless.”

The sale will commemorate the club’s 31st year of holding the fundraiser. To date, the Rose Sale has generated over $960,000. All proceeds go to support local youth and civic organizations and for scholarships to be given to outstanding students in the area.

Last year the club sold 1,450 dozen roses, or 17,400 individual roses that were delivered across the community in one day. It set the Rose Sale’s all-time record.

Roses sell for $29 a dozen and can be purchased through any Rotary Club member or by calling Rose Sale Committee Chair Lucinda Ade at (208) 651-6164. Orders can be placed via email as well: lbade48@gmail.com

Coeur d’Alene Rotary Club members will make deliveries on Oct. 15.

The club also hopes to honor local nurses as they work through the COVID-19 pandemic. Buyers can have their roses delivered to a nurse at Kootenai Health in hopes of bringing a smile to their day.

“In these uncertain times, when our daily lives have been turned upside down, just think how a beautiful gift of colorful flowers can make us stop, smile and think, ‘Life is still good,'” Ade said.