President Chris opened the meeting at the meeting site: Holiday Inn Express of Brattleboro, VT. Chris welcomed all to the April 23, 2026 meeting of the Brattleboro Rotary Club,www.brattlebororotaryclub.org
Invocation:
Greg W
President Chris the club with the Pledge of Allegiance
Gerry T led the club with the Rotary motto and Four Way Test.
Rotary Motto: Service Above Self
Four Way Test -
Is it the TRUTH? Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
27 Members, 0 Student Rotarians and 0 guest attended the meeting.
Guests:
JOKE OF THE WEEK - For our joke or song of the week:
Bill M told the millipede joke
EDITOR NOTE: 2025-26 weekly assignments are posted on the club website.
Rotarians for Rotarians:
New Members:
ROTARY MINUTE
Tammy P. read the RI DEI Statement
At Rotary, we understand that cultivating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realizing our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.
We value diversity and celebrate the contributions of people of all backgrounds, across age, ethnicity, race, color, disability, learning style, religion, faith, socioeconomic status, culture, marital status, languages spoken, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity as well as differences in ideas, thoughts, values, and beliefs.
Recognizing that individuals from certain groups have historically experienced barriers to membership, participation, and leadership, we commit to advancing equity in all aspects of Rotary, including in our community partnerships, so that each person has the necessary access to resources, opportunities, networks, and support to thrive.
We believe that all people hold visible and invisible qualities that inherently make them unique, and we strive to create an inclusive culture where each person knows they are valued and belong.
In line with our value of integrity, we are committed to being honest and transparent about where we are in our DEI journey as an organization, and to continuing to learn and do better.
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
Liz H. 23 years; President Chris 14 years; Dave T. 32 years.
On Behalf of our Club and all Rotarians, thank you for your Service Above Self
Greg W let us know the Welcome Center food day is August 14; Stan still needs volunteers for clean-up day Saturday 5/2, meet at 9:00 AM in front of Brooks Library; Mark A suggests we attend District Conference as it’s in Keene on 5/30; Mike M let us know Brattleboro on Wheels is set at for 9/26; John M informed us the Gateway Scholarship applications are being distributed throughout the various schools we support; Gina passed out Golf Tournament brochures, we need golfers, sponsors, and players for the 6/4, our major fundraiser.
Happy Dollars and Brags and Fines
Mark A for Roger, the incoming President of Sunrise Club; Greg W for Jim H scheduling the Sheriff Roadshow before the Distillery Roadshow; Rudy for daughter Ellie, who got a paid internship in DC in Physics; Stan for the volunteers for our March Groundworks Mexican feast; Cindy J for modern medicine at MGH and her own Dr. Rudy; Gerry T for the Sheriff’s lead abatement training, which he just completed; George W for his early asparagus; Grandmothers Rhonda and Chris for their babysitting duty, and coming home.
Fines: Bill McK for Gerry T adding River to Saxton’s Distillery, Rhonda defended after looking up the information on her phone and reporting the founding name included River; Rhonda ended up with the fine as she used her phone during the meeting.
ED NOTE: Weekly assignments for the invocation or motivational thought can be found on the club website.>
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
Jim announced the upcoming programs as follows:
Sheriff’s Office 4/30
5/7 Saxton’s (River) Distillery. If you can walk, park on the road and leave closer spots for those with mobility needs.
REMINDERS
Please bring your bottles and cans to the Putney Road redemption center to benefit APPN. Pure Water for the World is no longer operating in the USA; it continues in Honduras as APPN.
Maria Inestroza, the PWW country director for Honduras is continuing the work in that country under the name APPM, acronym for Agua Pura para El Mundo, or Pure Water for the World in Spanish Pure Water for the World. Please remember to inform the staff that the bottles and cans should be credited to the club.
With recent resignations (or moves to senior housing) we've lost 5 members and we are down to 48 members.
Cindy J: with dues and meals, being a Rotarian costs $2000 a year—before supporting fundraisers with time, talent, and treasure; Dart: we have no manufacturing representatives; Ted K: recruiting one-on-one, remember who/how you were recruited, recruit with the love and enthusiasm you have for Rotary, make it so they can’t say no, bring to lunch as a guest several times, speakers are excellent prospects, follow-up with your speaker after two weeks; Gina: can we get to businesses to send/support a new member; Rudy: Noon is a handicap for many professions; George W: busy people join, look to the Selectboard and BDCC; Gerry T: need more than one follow-up with potential members; Tammy: target managers and owners; Bill McK: target people in sales, they need to meet people; Mark A: RotarAct is for 18-30 y.o. crowd, should we form one (which gives us credit for the memberships on the RI roster); Rudy has experience with InterAct, perhaps he could work on this idea; Mara: perhaps start a “Young Leadership Fund” to support under-35 y.o. in our Club or through RoterAct”; Nina: guest time is important, it is the “soft” sell; Ted K: make Invite a Guest a requirement, Club should consider paying for prospect’s lunch.
Membership chair Ted observed, “this is a 5-alarm fire.”
Membership SWAT team: Ted K, Mark A, Nina , Mara , Cheri Ann , Rudy and I hope I didn't leave anyone out!
President Chris closed on the Short Form
Scribe: Mara
DISCLAIMER
Weekly changing scribes and questionable IT may have resulted in oversights and errors. We regret any mistakes.
