President Carl Lynde welcomed all to the February 25, 2021 meeting of the Brattleboro Rotary Club held via ZOOM. <ED NOTE: 28 members + 2 guests = 30 attended.> Tami Purcell recited Robert Frost’s poem, A Winter Eden, as a motivational thought:
A winter garden in an alder swamp, Where conies now come out to sun and romp,
As near a paradise as it can be
And not melt snow or start a dormant tree.
It lifts existence on a plane of snow
One level higher than the earth below,
One level nearer heaven overhead,
And last year's berries shining scarlet red.
It lifts a gaunt luxuriating beast
Where he can stretch and hold his highest feat
On some wild apple tree's young tender bark,
What well may prove the year's high girdle mark.
So near to paradise, all pairing ends:
Here loveless birds now flock as winter friends,
Content with bud-inspecting. They presume
To say which buds are leaf and which are bloom.
A feather-hammer gives a double knock.
This Eden day is done at two o'clock.
An hour of winter day might seem too short
To make it worth life's while to wake and sport.
ED NOTE: Weekly assignments for the invocation or motivational thought can be found on the club website. The following would be the next people on the list: Dane Rank (3/4), Andy Rome (3/11)>
This was followed by the pledge of allegiance. Birthday greetings were extended to Tom Franks, Mara Williams, and Dart Everett.
Guests: Andy Skarzynski and Visiting Rotarian Neil Cass (Hopkinton, NH – speaker)
TRIVIA QUESTION
When did the US adopt the 50- star flag?
(Answer below)
JOKE OF THE WEEK
For the joke of the week, Liz Harrison told the following:
A husband and wife were driving through Louisiana. When they were close to a town called Natchitoches, they started arguing about the pronunciation of the town. After a while of arguing, they decided to go to a local restaurant and have lunch. The husband could not wait to know the correct pronunciation, so he asked the blond waitress at the cash desk. “Before we order, could you please pronounce where we are very slowly?” “Burrrr-gerrrr Kiiing.”
At our March 4th meeting, Chris Hart will tell a joke or lead us in song and Marcy Jones will offer a Rotary Minute. 2020-21 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
At our March 4th meeting, Chris Hart will tell a joke or lead us in song and Marcy Jones will offer a Rotary Minute. 2020-21 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
03/04 – Jack & Karen Sugden “Intro to Transcendental Meditation”
03/11 - Russell Bradbury-Carlin, Executive Director, Youth Services
03/25 – Casey Haynes, Welcome Wagon
NOTE: 2020-21 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 32ndnewsletter of the 2020-2021 club year.
The editor would like to take this opportunity to thank the 4 people who have bragged so far. A quick check of readership reveals that over 50% of the club is reading this newsletter. Don't be shy to brag, readers.
FINES
NONE ;-(
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Marcy Jones was acknowledged for his 38 years of service.
The Gateway Foundation board will be meeting on March 11 following the club’s regular meeting.
There are available seats on the Gateway Foundation board. If interested, contact Foundation president Marty Cohn.
BRAGS / HAPPY DOLLARS
<ED NOTE: Yes, we are keeping track of these happy dollars and brags.
Unless noted, happy dollars and brags are $1>
Dart Everett ($80) – for his 80th birthday (ED NOTE: $40 for Pure Water for the World and $40 for Gateway Foundation)
Mara Williams ($65) – for her 65tth birthday (ED NOTE: $32.50 for Pure Water for the World and $32.50 for Gateway Foundation)
Rob Szpila ($10) – for student Rotarian Padma Mendelsund and Lily Charkey Buren testifying before the Vermont State Senate Judiciary Committee on a rewritten bill proposing bans on firearms at hospitals, government buildings, and child care facilities. They were featured in a front-page story in today’s Brattleboro Reformer. Click here to read the article.
Rick Manson ($20) – for the BMH Physical Therapy Department who are greatly helping him with his Parkinson's Disease.
PROGRAM
President Carl Lynde presented Neil Case who told us about the Hopkinton Rotary’s flag subscription fundraiser. The project began in 2012 with 76 flags along 4 routes and has grown in 2020 to 449 flags along 22 routes. The fundraiser generates about $13,000 for the club. To learn more about the fundraiser, click here.
<ED NOTE: You can watch past presentations on the BCTV show, “Brattleboro Rotary Club Speaker Series.” https://www.brattleborotv.org/brattleboro-rotary-club-speaker-series
Rotary Cares - TV Show
Rotary Cares, Episode 32 –
Meet the District 7870 Governor Steve Puderbaugh
In episode 32 of the award-winning, monthly show, Rotary Cares, Brattleboro Rotary Club past president Marty Cohn talks to District 7870 District Governor Steve Puderbaugh. The show is produced by 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
President Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Hawaii into the Union as the 50th state. The president also issued an order for an American flag featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows: five six-star rows and four five-star rows. The new flag became official on July 4, 1960.
