President Carla Lineback welcomed all to the April 23rd meeting of the Brattleboro Rotary Club held via ZOOM. <ED NOTE: 33 Rotarians attended.> Sandy Rouse offered the following meaningful invocation:
Most people feel powerless in the face of this pandemic. We see it in a devastating way, how widely a virus can spread person to person. But we are confident that God allows the good that we do, both our prayer and our actions, to make a positive impact. And as Marie Curie once said “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
This was followed by the pledge of allegiance. Birthday greetings were extended to Cyndi Ferrante.
Since this was a virtual meeting, everyone was on their own for lunch.
TRIVIA QUESTION
Why it is called COVID-19?
(Answer below.)
JOKE OF THE WEEK
For the joke of the week, Marty Cohn told the following on behalf of Roger Miller:
There once was a man and a woman who had been married for more than 60 years. They talked about everything. They kept no secrets from each other except that the old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she cautioned her husband never to open it or ask her about it.
For all these years he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would never recover. In trying to sort out their affairs the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife’s bedside. She agreed it was time that he should know what was in the box.
When he opened it, he found 2 beautifully crocheted doilies and a stack of money totaling over $25,000. He asked her about the unusual contents.
“When we were married,” she said,” my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doily.”
The little old man was so moved, he had to fight back tears. Only two precious doilies were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with joy and happiness.
“Sweetheart,” he said “that explains the doilies, but what about all this money? Where did it all come from?”
“Oh,” she said, “that’s the money I made from selling the doilies.”
At our April 30th meeting, Jeff Morse will tell a joke or lead us in song and Stan Nowakowski will offer a Rotary Minute. 2019-20 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
ROTARY MINUTE
For today’s Rotary Minute, Dave Neumeister reminded us of the history of Rotary motto, “Service Above Self.”
At our April 30th meeting, Jeff Morse will tell a joke or lead us in song and Stan Nowakowski will offer a Rotary Minute. 2019-20 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
04/30 – Randy Holhut, editor, Commons: "How COVID-19 impacts local journalism"
05/21 – John Willis, author/photographer, “Mni Wiconi/Water Is Life: Honoring the Water Protectors at Standing Rock and Everywhere in the Ongoing Struggle for Indigenous Sovereignty”
NOTE: 2019-20 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
REMINDERS
Please bring your bottles and cans to Putney Road redemption center to benefit Pure Water for the World. Please remember to inform the staff that the bottles and cans should be credited to the club.
This is the 39thnewsletter of the new club year.
If you like this newsletter, please brag at next Club meeting.
So far, there have been only 7 brags!
Since everyone is home, there should be an increase in readership and subsequent brags!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
On Saturday, April 25, the Rotary District 7870 Leadership, Education, and Development Seminar will take place. For more info, click here.
On Monday, April 27 at 3 pm, there will be a brainstorming ZOOM meeting about how the Rotary Clubs of Brattleboro can respond to the COVID-19. For more info, contact Marty Cohn
Please consider contributions to Rotary Foundation. For more info, contact President Carla Lineback <ED NOTE: You can send your contributions to Rhonda Calhoun, Treasurer, Brattleboro Rotary Club, P.O. Box 336, Brattleboro, VT 05302-0336>
Please consider contributions to the Gateway Foundation. For more info, contact Marty Cohn. <ED NOTE: You can send your contributions to Bill Vermouth, Treasurer, Gateway Foundation, PO Box 6433, Brattleboro, VT 05302-6433>
BRAGS / HAPPY DOLLARS
<ED NOTE: Yes, we are keeping track of these happy dollars and brags.>
Mara Williams ($5) – for the photo of Marty Cohn’s adorable granddaughter in the club bulletin each week.
Meg Donahue ($5) – for her company, MamaSezz, donation of meals and food to not only community members but also providing free meals to employees.
Lisa Mendelsund ($10) – for the video produced by the Brattleboro Area Interfaith Youth Group who are missing their trip to South Dakota Native American reservations.
Gina Pattison ($5) – for Peter Eden and Landmark College’s donations to BMH of n95 face masks.
Mara Williams ($5) – for the tremendous impact Landmark College has had on her nephew.
Marcy Jones – for Bill Vermouth’s hairstyle during these difficult times.
Rick Manson – for the impending birth of his grandson in August.
Dave Underhill ($10) – for the number of current club members who were members when he was club president.
Jeremy Coleman ($5) – for the state of Vermont being a model of managing COVID-19.
Bill McKim ($5) – for the Yellow Barn Music Haul that is touring the region, uplifting spirits by bringing music to relief workers, volunteers, neighborhoods, and individuals.
Jenifer Ambler – for the Putney Road Redemption Center that continues to operate. <ED NOTE: Bring your bottles and cans so that money collected will go to Pure Water for the World.
Jerry Theberge – for Hannaford-to-Go. <ED NOTE: all tips go to buy food for those in needs.>
Ron Stahley – for Peter Eden’s leadership in the Dual Credit Courses and Middle School Leadership project that benefits students at Brattleboro schools.
Bill Vermouth – for Dave Underhill being the only Brattleboro Rotary Club president to go to be District Governor.
Rob Szpila – for the video produced by the Brattleboro Area Interfaith Youth Group who are missing their trip to South Dakota Native American reservations.
Marty Cohn – for the Whiteclay Makerspace global grant project that will benefit artists of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. <ED NOTE: Marty will be attending ZOOM meeting on Monday to discuss progress on this grant.>
Had time not run out, Marty Cohn would have bragged for his 10-month old granddaughter Talia who loves trying new foods.
PROGRAM
Marcy Jones presented Landmark College president Peter Eden who discussed the challenges smaller colleges are facing not only in the economy we were having but also in the new COVID-19 economy.
<ED NOTE: A recording of Dr. Eden’s informative presentation will be available in a few days.>
Rotary Cares - TV Show
Rotary Cares, Episode 25 – Rotary Takes a Bite Out of Hunger
In episode 25 of the award-winning, monthly show, Rotary Cares, Brattleboro Rotary Club past president Marty Cohn discusses two Rotary community nutrition projects with Gayle Ottmann, Community Service Chair of the Rotary Club of White River and Lorelei Morrissette, Resident Wellness & Services Manager for the Brattleboro Housing Partnership. Directed by Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary Club past president Kevin Yager in the studio of Brattleboro Community Television.
Past President Martin Cohn who attempts to give a gist of the meeting respectfully submitted this bulletin. However, it is always better to attend. If you have any complaints about the contents of this bulletin...
ANSWER TO TRIVIA QUESTION
On February 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease that is causing the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak, first identified in Wuhan China. The new name of this disease is coronavirus disease 2019, abbreviated as COVID-19. In COVID-19, ‘CO’ stands for ‘corona,’ ‘VI’ for ‘virus,’ and ‘D’ for disease. Formerly, this disease was referred to as “2019 novel coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV”. There are many types of human coronaviruses including some that commonly cause mild upper-respiratory tract illnesses. COVID-19 is a new disease, caused by a novel (or new) coronavirus that has not previously been seen in humans. The name of this disease was selected following the World Health Organization (WHO) best practice for the naming of new human infectious diseases.
