President Gina Patterson opened the meeting at our lunch meeting site: Heart Rose Club in the former Shriner’s building, Gina welcomed all to the March 14, 2024 meeting of the Brattleboro Rotary www.brattlebororotaryclub.org

Invocation:

Stan shared some Irish blessing and proverbs:
•   May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold and at the end of your rainbows may you find a pot of gold.
•   A good friend is like a four-leaf clover. Hard to find and lucky to have.
•   May the lilt of Irish laughter lighten every load. May the mist of Irish magic shorten every road.
•   May your heart be light and happy. May your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside.

Gina lead the club with the Pledge of Allegiance

30 Members, 0 student Rotarians and 0 guests attended the meeting.

Guests:

Rotarians for Rotarians:
• Dart shared that Milt Gilmore had surgery for detached retinas. Milt welcomes phonecalls.
• Dart also shared that there will be a remembrance for Phil Steckler on May 18 from 1-4pm at the Brattleboro Country Club. If you are interested in attending, please let Dart or Greg know. Marcia Steckler is trying to get a rough count in order to plan accordingly.

New Members:

ROTARY MINUTE

Ted Kramer spoke about recruiting new members by looking at people you come across in business and personal life and ask yourself if they would benefit from being a member and would the club benefit from them being a member. Think about the relationships.

Note for future presenters; The Rotary Minute could also have the speaker talk about their personal involvement in Rotary or personal background.

Years of Service in our Club for March:

Rick Manson - 34 years of solid service.

On Behalf of our Club and all Rotarians, thank you for your Service Above Self

Student Rotarian updates:

Birthday greetings -

BIRTHDAYS FROM RUBIN -

• Mike Mandracchia – March 10 – who then stood up and acknowledged that since another birthday has come, anyone wanting to join the Brattleboro on Wheels committee please let him know. It is scheduled for September 14.
• Teddy Kramer – March 14

Meeting location - The Heart Rose Club – 11 Green Street in Brattleboro

Announcements

See Fines, Happy Dollars below.

ED NOTE: Weekly assignments for the invocation or motivational thought can be found on the club website.>

JOKE OF THE WEEK

For our joke or song of the week:

presented by Rob with a little help from Greg.

A few punny responses to, “I mustache you a question.”
•   Is it hairy important?
•   Can you shave it for later?
•   Let me mullet over.
•   Not now, I goatee go.
•   Bearder late than never.
•   Just don’t stubble over your words.
•   Can you whisker it in my ear?
•   I mustache you to back off.

ED NOTE: 2023-24 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.

UPCOMING PROGRAMS

Jim Haine announed

•   Kurt White from the Brattleboro Retreat
•   Dr. Jennifer Scott, Executive Director of Southern VT Area Health Education Center
•   Andy Reichsman, filmmaker, successfully reclaimed art stolen from his family by the Nazis

NOTE: 2023-43 weekly assignments, are posted on the club website.

REMINDERS

Please bring your bottles and cans to the 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.
“Like” the club’s Facebook page

FINES & Happy Dollars

FINES – Happy Dollars: (Scribe’s note: this was a particularly lively and amusing session which was difficult to capture in the notes.)

•   Mark and Nina were fined for having their images in the paper. Mark for Guilford town meeting and Nina for Brattleboro Winter Carnival. There was some breaking of the 4-way test as the amount of the fine was not properly reported.
•   Cindy J. has also appeared in the paper for discovering the error on the Dummerston ballot.
•   Mark fined Ruben for missing his birthday.
•   Rick stood up as former sergeant-in-arms to remind others that it was protocol to stand to address the President.
•   Carla announced that an SIT alum and Polio survivor will be speaking at SIT on Wednesday, March 20 at 2pm. She will be talking about her newly published memoir, I’m Able.
•   Rob bragged for Rick’s many years of service as sergeant-in-arms and for George A’s good job currently.
•   Chris gave a happy dollar for her granddaughter who received early acceptance to UVM in agriculture and science.
•   Jenifer shared that her grandson arrived early and is currently at Dartmouth’s NICU.
•   CheriAnn gave a happy dollar for her son who continues to take time to call his mom.
•   Ron gave a dollar hoping that CheriAnn’s son will come do a hip hop class.
•   CheriAnn followed-up explaining that her son spent 3 years at Clark as their choreographer
•   Mara also gave a happy dollar for CheriAnn’s son who is studying to become an eye doctor
•   George A gave a dollar for a great talk by VT Cartoonist Laureate, sponsored by VT Humanities Council at the Putney Library
•   George A also gave a dollar because his wedding anniversary is March 15

PROGRAM

Guest Speaker:

PROGRAM

Speaker:

Today was a club assembly with presentations by various committee chairs.

Rhonda, Finance:
Rhonda shared a spreadsheet of our finances as they break out by project. Some highlights are:
•   This year’s Disc Golf fundraising was the most successful ever.
•   The new fundraising (Gallery Walk, Ski Jump, Artful Shanties, Cotton Candy) have netted $2100 which is only $700 short of last year’s tree sales. So as replacement activities, it has gone well so far.
•   Betsy gave a happy dollar for Rhonda for the amazing work she does with numbers.

Ted, Membership:
It’s been a good year for recruitment. New members give the club new life.
•   Mark Speno has had a fireside chat and looks like he will become a new member.
•   Would love to have the Chief of Police and the Town Manager join.
•   Bill Daly may come back.
•   The official membership is currently 57 people (last year it was 54)

Rob, International:
•   The Afghan family the club supported is doing very well. They live on Grove Street now. The dad has been at Integrated Solar for a year and a half with two other Afghans. They are a team that installs solar and heat pumps by themselves now. He took a month off to get his CDL license in Utah (course given in Pashto) which he will get transferred to VT (the VT interpretation of the federal guidelines are more strict than elsewhere.)
•   The girls are in 8th, 7th, and 4th grade. The baby boy is 1 year old.
•   The girls are helping new arrivals and helping to translate for the parents.
•   Rob wanted to plant the seed for creating another group of Rotarians to support another family.
•   Frank shared that in the school system, they had 3 ELL positions (English Language Support) and now there are 6.
•   Bill McKim bragged for Rob’s work.

Stan, Service:
•   Continuing with Groundworks meals. Next date is April 17.
•   New project at the Living Memorial Park helping to clean up the outdoor theatre in time for summer season.
•   April 20 is the tentative date to clean up the garden by BSL/Library.

John M, Scholarships:
•   Gateway authorized giving $17,000 in scholarships this year.
•   The Jesse Corum scholarship application is at CCV. $2500 for early childhood education.
•   The college scholarship applications will go to the high schools in April, will be due and reviewed in May, and given out in June.

Mara, fundraising:
•   Thank you to the committee and especially Betsy for shouldering the work. This was a committee to think of replacement fundraising instead of Christmas Trees
•   People didn’t want to give up trees because of the visibility and the camaraderie.
•   Mara had been concerned about serving food in hot summer and that cotton candy doesn’t work in humidity.
•   She is proposing a 50/50 raffle. Tickets to be sold during 6 food truck round-ups, some Gallery Walks, people could sit with banner and then one drawing at end of summer.
•   The club members seemed to think it was a good idea, and Mara will follow-up on learning about the regulations on a raffle of that sort.
•   Greg asked if we should still do Welcome Center which is a lot of work. Rhonda reminded the club that that money is not earmarked for anything and is very helpful.

The meeting was adjourned.

Scribe – Carla L

REMINDERS

FINES & Happy Dollars

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