John and Charlotte Huffaker intended to spend a few days in Egypt as part of a Holy Land tour this past January. They got much more than they bargained for when they landed in Cairo. Past President John Huffaker told us of his adventure while he and his traveling party witnessed the initial blooming of what has become known as the Arab Spring -- with uprisings toppling authoritarian regimes in the Middle East.

The Huffakers and their party of nine other Holy Land "pilgrims" landed in late January, just as the unrest in Cairo was beginning. Their hotel was about five miles from downtown Cairo, where most of the "action" was occurring. Because of the chaos that was building, the party was restricted to their hotel, which prompted John to joke that his party "may be the first tourists ever to visit Egypt without seeing the Great Pyramids." They witnessed young men with weapons prowling the streets. They heard about violence downtown. They also witnessed a convoy of about 30 Egyptian tanks rumbling by their hotel.

Then it was time to leave. The State Department ordered all Americans out Egypt. The Huffakers needed to get a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, about an hour's flight time from Cairo. "So I did what I usually do in times like these," John said, "I called John Kanelis," who put John in touch with Rotary friends he met in 2009 while leading a Group Study Exchange group on a tour of Israel. One of them, Yehuda Brin of Tel Aviv, became the Huffakers' eyes and ears. John told us that their party was unable to get much travel information at Cairo's airport, which he said was flooded by a "sea of people" waiting to get out of the country. Yehuda was able to call John constantly with flight information that was being updated frequently at David Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv. Eventually, the El Al Airlines jetliner arrived in Cairo, and the Huffakers', along with their companions, were able to board in the wee hours. "We were very glad to see the airplane sitting there," John said. They flew to Tel Aviv, where they completed the rest of their Holy Land tour.

Thanks so much, John, for telling your compelling story of landing in the middle of a revolution. And welcome home.

OK, we still don't have a winner for the Rotary Foundation drawing. Past President Melvin Edes drew the Queen of Clubs, leaving us with just six cards left in the deck. The pot now contains more than $3,500. Be sure to buy your tickets to (a) fund the Foundation and (b) try for a chance to win the Ace of Spades; if you draw the big card, you get to keep half of what's in the pot. The rest of it goes to the Rotary International Foundation.

Our numbers continue to grow ... and grow some more! Two new members are being proposed. Matt Sherwood, a lawyer with the Underwood Law Firm, is being proposed by Thomas Knapp under the classification of Employment Law/Insurance Defense; also, Dale Bippus proposes Rocky Gafford, owner of Papa Murphy's Pizza, under the classification of Restaurants Retail. Welcome to you both. 

And speaking of membership growth, the membership drive led by President-elect John Early has produced great success so far. Our rolls are up considerably from the first of the year. The membership drive ends June 30, at the conclusion of the Rotary year. Good job, everyone.

A big thanks go to the following Rotary Club members for their help with this week's meeting: John Early for presiding; Jess Ghormley for leading us in song; Renee Wilson for playing the piano; Dick Weddington for his invocation; Eddie Melin for introducing guests and visiting Rotarians; Julie Ontiveros for selling drawing tickets; and Dale Bippus, Mark Haworth and Bob Russell for greeting us.