Winter was a long time coming to Rochester, but it finally came with a vengeance (fortunately, in between RAVS meetings). Through it all, our RAVS activities have sustained our members and guests.

The program at our November meeting was a delightful slide show and commentary on their cross-country trip by Megan Shackelford and Derek Goodwin, with special attention to meeting the requirements of a vegan diet on the road (usually abundantly, by their account). We give a special thanks and farewell to Derek and Megan, who have moved to the Amherst, Massachusetts area.

Our December meeting was a gracious holiday party at the home of Flora and Bern Berg, replete with supper provided and cooked by Flora, and a grab bag of kitchen- and food-related gifts.

In January, our program was a showing of films on vegetarian-related themes, courtesy of Movies on a Shoestring and coordinated for us by RAVS members (and movie mavens) Shelley Adams and Ellie Cherin. Thanks also to David Cherin and Derek Goodwin for their help.

All three of our recent meetings have boasted attendance levels of about 60 members and guests. While we take this as a sign that RAVS is doing well, we also want to insure that RAVS meetings are a pleasant experience for all who attend. Please bring plenty of food to share. And please be welcoming to others, especially to guests and new members. After all, the compassion that is part of the vegetarian way of life can start at our meetings (especially at the food line if we are all really hungry!).

Thanks to Derek Goodwin, Leena Isac, and Megan Shackelford, who spoke on vegetarianism at a meeting of Sherry Gilchrist's SUNY Brockport class in Multicultural Communication. We hope to do more outreach events in the spring. Thanks to all the members of RAVS, whose enthusiasm has made our recent events so successful.