This weekend is all about family and friends - we wish you safe travel and a joyous Thanksgiving weekend. That said, we hope you will plan to join us next Friday, December 6 - and that you consider bringing family members or friends. There are two great reasons to do that:

• Our speaker will be Sandra L. Thurman, the Chief Strategy Officer in the United States Department of State’s Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy. Sandra is a renowned leader in the HIV field and a global advocate for vulnerable populations and rarely speaks to groups outside AIDS organizations, so it is a rare privilege for us to be able to hear from her as we mark World AIDS Day. For over 30 years, Sandra has collaborated with a wide range of partners to advance development and management of HIV/AIDS programs and policies at the local, national, and global levels. While she is known most for her focus on HIV prevention, care and treatment, and policy, Ms. Thurman has made important contributions to polio eradication, women’s health and children’s health.
• After the meeting, we invite everyone who can to stay with us at Flemings and help prepare our annual gift to the students of Dresden and Kingsley - a new book for each student at those schools. It's a 20+ year tradition that reflects our commitment to literacy, one of Rotary International's six areas of focus. If the past is a good indicator, we should be finished with our "book work" in about an hour.