High Gear Archives July, 2008 to December, 2008
HIGH GEAR, Wednesday, DECEMBER 31, 2008
Winter was sure taking advantage of the last day of the year. A heavy wind driven snow, unplowed parking lot, and unshoveled walks greeted the 19 brave Rotarians who ventured out for our last meeting of the year. Inside, however, Ceil Collins had put together a great cheese, cracker, pepperoni, and mixed nut selection to go with the wines of the day. After watching the door for stragglers, President Sue called the meeting to order around 12:15. With no musical accompaniment we struggled through the Rotary Song and then saluted the Flag. Bill Saunders gave a brief blessing - God is Great, God is Good, and we thank you for this food! The brevity sort of fit the unofficial all time low attendance mark. The meal, with the opportunity for seconds, was a hot openfaced turkey sandwich, mixed vegetables, and cranberry fruited jello, followed by a nice slice of holiday ice cream roll.
President Sue reopened the meeting by calling upon Sgt, at Arms Jack Sayre for his report which was a good day for so few people - Bob Wood paid for a 48th wedding anniversary, Dan Russell paid for Granddaughter Emma's early acceptance to Vassar, Jim Reik for being late after trying to get to our meeting at the Cultural Center, and lastly, for a great note and check from Todd Gaertner who will be leaving our club due to a new job. George Stewart congratulated Bob Wood who was able to brave the weather with his two new knees, and then thanked our waitress, Brenda, for shovelling the back sidewalk to make it easier for us old folks to get into the building! Sue mentioned that the Polio Pig had a total of $34.78 for the week of 12/17. Good work!
Bill Leone stated that there would be NO ways and means committee next Monday, but that we would kick off our cash raffle next week -$10,000 first prize, $500 second, and $100 third!
Frank Collins explained that there was a challenge to Sue's appointment as District Governor nominee. All clubs will be asked to vote on whether or not to support the challenge. If 7 clubs support the challenge, the matter will be settled at the District Conference. Our club voted unanimously not to support the challenge. Sue is the official designated District Governor Nominee, chosen in the correct and official manner,
We closed in the time honored and traditional manner with our rendition of Auld Lang Syne led by Tom Westbrook.
May you all have a safe and prosperous New Year!
Bob Wood
HIGH GEAR, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17TH
A cold, damp, and dreary day greeted us as a reminder of the winter that is yet to come! Snow and more snow is in the immediate forecast, almost guaranteeing a white Christmas and holiday season. President Sue got us started with our opening routine, although in somewhat of a confused order. The Reverend Ted gave the invocation in which he gave thanks for the fellowship we share, and for the oppoprtunities to make a difference in today's world. Lord, help make us what you intended us to be! The luncheon was a super buffet of roast beef, chicken, various pastas, salad and breads, all followed by an assortment of cookies and brownies.
Following lunch, Pres. Sue called for the introduction of guests - Jennifer Fissette, Soundre Anguelles, Robert Dugger, and Scott Nozik. They were serenaded with the Welcome Song led by Stu Harris and returning Snowbird and soon to be a new Paul Haris Fellow, Sam Leone. Sgt. at Arms Roy Spiller admitted to not doing a good job and even paid a fine in repentence for his lack of diligence! Roy mentioned that only about one third of the club participated to date in the bell ringing. He still has some openings - so call him if you can help on the 20th. Collections seem to be down this year.
President Sue reported the following items concerning upcoming events and the recent Board actions.
1. $15,000 was turned over to the Board of Education to complete our $30,000 commitment to Project Lead the Way. We will have a program on this project in the near future.
2. We have paid for two Shelter Boxes at $!,000 each. We hope to get a $500 grant from the district.
3. We have given $2,000 to the Heifer Project.
4. We have received $500 from Pratt and Whitney for the Dictionary Project. Thanks to Heather Summerer.
5. We have sent $5809 to Polio Plus this year.
6. The Holiday Raffle netted $235 after paying for the DJ at the Party.
7. Membership is down to 87 active and 4 honorary members. The Board accepted the Resignation of Don Munson. He will be missed.
8. Steve Jacoby thanked Dave and Chickie Amberg, Cynthia and Jim Reik, and Herb and Reggie Barall for their part in the Holiday Fest Dance Festival.
9. Spurgeon Stokes talked to Albie Trieber who now lives in New Jersey. He is doing well and would appreciate calls from his Rotary Friends.
10. Bill Leone has called a Ways and Means Committee Meeting for Monday, January 5th at his house - 6: PM - He will feed you!!!!
11. Pres. Sue presented Helen and Brenda with their annual Holiday gratuity.
12. Bill Saunders won the Raffle.
13. Sue announced that Linda Secord's Mom had just passed away. Our thoughts are with Bill and Linda at this time.
NO MEETING ON DECEMBER 24TH
MEETING ON DECEMBER 31ST WILL BE AT SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH -
WINE AND CHEESE WILL BE SERVED
Sheryl O'connor was called upon to introduce our program - The Next Edition - a group of singers from East Hartford High School. This is a very talented group of about 25 gifted singers who provided us with a brief medley of songs. They started with a rendition of the National Anthem, and continued with a traditional Irish folk tune, a French Madrigal, and concluded with a more traditional holiday song. We enjoyed their music, but would have loved to hear more!
See you at SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ON THE 31ST. BOB WOOD
HIGH GEAR, Wednesday, 12/10/2008
It was a bleak and rainy night outside the Gallery, but on the inside, the Holiday Spirit was very much in evidence. About 100 Rotarians and their guests were amply treated to a great spread of hors d' oeuvres, antipasto, passed stuffed mushrooms, bacon and scallops. and a full open bar! What could be better? Our opening Rotary song gained some momentum as we got into it. The true name of "Holiday Party" came to fruition when our invocation was shared by Art Bradbury, Dan Firestone, and Anwar Hossain, representing the world's three great religions. Art asked for the blessing of this gathering, for family and friends. Dan briefly explained the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah as the happiest Jewish holiday and the 8 days of celebration. Anwar explained Islam's holiday of Eid-Ul-Adha as the 2nd most important holiday in their tradition and a day of celebration.
This was a great show of the diversity in today's world.
Following the invocation our meals of Roast Beef, Chicken, or Stuffed Shrimp were served. Accompanying the entre a great butternut soup, salad, potatoes, vegetables, and a dessert was served. Very nice - Thanks Kathy McCabe for arranging such a great meal! Tom Westbrook and Art Bradbury were called upon to lead the Welcome Song. New member Jonathon Ingalls even jumped in to help! We had some special guests - Lucile Bailey, Rita Brown, Mary Anne Horn, and Scotty Howat with his son and son's wife. Nice to see them all! Assistant Governor Mike Barnett and his wife were also our guests. Mike said a few nice words about our club and its importance in the District. We truly make a difference. We did have three birthdays - Carol Krantz, Dan Larson, and Guy LaBella who were sung to by the Italian singer CiamPaolo DiGrazia.
Some announcements by the President! Sue thanked Ceil and Frank Collins for hosting a new member gathering at their home last weekend.
She also thanked Ceil for organizing the Dictionary project. Bill Saunders, Pat Gately, Mary Sullivan, Ceil Collins, Peter and Sue Klock helped distribute them as did Don Pitkin who delivered to the Pitkin school. Great Project..IMPORTANT DATES -12/17 AT THE RIDGE - HOLIDAY ENTERTAINMENT BY A HIGH SCHOOL MUSIC GROUP -12/24 -NO MEETING -12/31 WINE AND CHEESE AT SOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH at 11:30.The winner of the Christmas Tree Lottery was George Schoen. Hope it's a good payoff!!!
The highlight of the meeting was the annual announcement of our club's Paul Harris Awards. This year our Board decided that we would present four awards - three to club members and one to a non member. Three are to be funded by giving to the Foundation, and one to be funded by donating to the Polio Plus campaign. The three funded through the the Foundation will see a 50% return to the District in three years. The Polio Plus donation will help in funding the current campaign to eradicate polio. A total of $4000 has been committed for these awards. The Paul Harris recipients for 2008-2009 are: Non Rotarian - Jean Roland. Rotarians - Bill Secord, Skip Guillemette, and Sam Leone. Congratulations to all!
Save March 25th 2009 for the Paul Harris Recognition Dinner.
The Meeting was adjourned to Dancing with the DJ and some singing by CiamPaolo! Happy Holidays!!!!!!
Bob Wood - Until next week at the Ridge!!
HIGH GEAR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2008
A great day at the Ridge and a great day to be an East Hartford Rotarian. A sunny December day made for the hearty Rotarian golfers.
President Sue gaveled us together close to the 12:15 mark - depending upon which watch one chose to use! After the appropriate opening activities Dan Russell gave the invocation and asked us to give thanks, praise, and promise for the new day, and to work to use our resources thoughtfully. A tasty meal of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and beets followed. Dessert was an apple crisp.
After lunch Pres. Sue announced that she had a ring and a handbag which was left at the International night. If it's yours, call Sue! We had two guests today - Scott Nozik and Luke Blanchard. They were serenaded by the Welcome Song, led by Ned Lynch and Mary Martin, with Sheryl O'Connor at the Piano. Sgt. at Arms Roy Spiller announced that he had a good day with annivesaries for Bill Saunders (9), and Sue Klock (11). a wedding anniversary (37) for Dan and Dorothy Larson, and birthdays for Kathy McCabe and Dan Larson. Even Sgt. at Arms Roy paid for a picture in the paper, and a new grandchild!
The Following announcements were made!
1. No noon meeting next week - Our Holiday Party is Wednesday, December 10th, at the Gallery in Glastonbury -6:30. Call Kathy McCabe if you need to make a reservation!
2. The Polio Pig netted $28.52, last week, and $70.00 for the prior 3 weeks.
3. Ceil Collins is looking for help delivering the 3rd grade dictionaries next week. Call her if you can help out.
4. Herb Barall and Steve Jacoby need help for the Holiday fest on Saturday. Call to volunteer!!
The Raffle was won by Ned Lynch - maybe it pays to lead the Welcome Song!
The Regular Meeting was adjourned and the Annual meeting was called to order. A quorum was deemed present, the minutes for last year's annual meeting were distributed and accepted as printed. The Treasurer's report was given by Peter Klock. As of 12/2/2008 our balance was $28,423.42, with project commitments of $15,000, or approximately $13,423.42 of usable funds. There are still funds deposited in the East Hartford Community Projects account.
Bill Saunders was called upon to announce the slate of officers for 2009-2010. They are as follows:
Past President Sue Klock
PresidentGeorge Schoen
President Elect Celia Collins
SecretaryPeter Klock
TreasurerSheryl O'Connor
DirectorPat Gately
DirectorAnwar Hossain
DirectorMary Sullivan
The slate was voted and approved. Another Director will be chosen by the Board.
In other new business, an amendment to the Club Constitution was made to allign it with the Rotary International Constitution in terms of attendance requirements. This change says that a member must attend or make up at least 50% of a club's regular meetings and attend at least 30% of the home club's regular meeting in any half year. Voted and approved. The Club Bylaws were amended to allow the Board to determine the method of voting on nominations for officer or board positions. This can now be either voice or ballot voting. The other change had to do with the assignment of directors to various Club service committees.
President Sue gave a brief President's report .
1. We will continue to work on membership, particularly new members under 55.
2. We will give 4 Paul Harris awards - 3 to the Foundation, and 1 to Polio Plus. We have already contributed $2970 to Polio program.
3. We will continue to support Heiffer, Shelter Box, a Dominican Republic Aids Project, and a new library project.
4. We have just charterd a new Interact Club at CIBA!
5. We will deal with local projects after the first of the year when we will have a better handle on our budget.
Meeting adjourned! High Gear by Bob Wood - see you next week!!!
High Gear, Wednesday, Nov.26, 2008
Well, without old reliable Ted Mosebach at the other end of a pen, the Chairman took over the job for the day. (Ted just underwent shoulder surgery and will be incapacitated for a few weeks). As he’d been requested to by Rev. Ted, PP Bill Saunders stepped up to offer a blessing when President Sue called on Jim Fallon to do the same, which he so ably did. Get all that, did you? Things really did get straightened out and we sat to a most tasty meal of pasta with sausage, topped off with chocolate cake. Of course, we’d started the festivities with a layout of wine ‘n cheese, ‘n crackers, ’n other tantalizing nibbles, so the decibel level was way, way up!
GUESTS today included East Hartford’s new Fire chief, John Oates, PDG Dick Seidman, SherylJohn O’Connor’s daughter Jackie, member-in-waiting Luke Blanchard, and this writer’s lovely wife, Charlotte. Pat Gately and Stu Harris, with Sheryl O at the keyboard, led a rousing Welcome Song.
Good to see back in our midst Leo Christmas and Todd Gaertner.
Sgt-at-Arms-for-the-day Jack Sayre told of a bundle of fines levied from Richmond (20th anniv), Schoen (his 7th), new father Finch, Sheryl O (2 kids home for the holidays), Pitkin (no picture!), Christmas (for being here), J. Stewart (birthday and for ratting out some others), Saunders (for wearing Heather’s badge), Peterson (14 years of marriage along with some bliss), and ABB’s pix.
President Sue told of The Pig’s having collected $17.55 polio dollars last week, and guest Dick Seidman reported that 2/3’s of the District’s clubs have thus far raised over $55,000 for the same. And while on fund raisers, Peter Klock reported Citrus sales of $611 (compared to $524 in 2007).
That well-known catering firm of Leone & Shemo, Inc. was given a standing “O” for their work in presenting the Southern Italian Carmen Extravaganza last Saturday night. Bill listed a whole raft of people (11) who worked their tootsies off making it such a grand affair, and especially thanked Labella, McCabe, Moshovos, Westbrook, Sullivan, and Krantz (sounds like a law firm!) for their day-long contributions. A really terrific party, you guys! And such music…Mamma Mia!
Of special note in the coming holiday daze (mark your calendars!):
- Toys will be picked up next Wednesday, Dec.3rd, got that, bring ‘em next week!
- Holiday Party (without toys) will be on Dec.10, the Gallery Restaurant –lower level- in Glastonbury, cocktails (open bar) at 6:30, dinner at 7:30. $40 per person.
- And a really official one: Notice is hereby given that the annual meeting of the Rotary Club of East Hartford, Inc. will be held on the 3rd day of December, 2008, at Veterans Memorial Clubhouse, Easy Hartford, for the purpose of electing officers and directors for the 2009 – 2010 Rotary year, for the purpose of amending the Corporation’s by-laws, and for such other business that may legally come before the meeting.
PROGRAM for the day featured Jonah Cohen, the grand Poobah of West Hartford’s Science Museum, telling us all we’ve ever wanted to know about liquid nitrogen. Fascinating experiments happened before our very eyes, bouncing, then frozen balls, the deadened sound of a pewter mug, when frozen, but turning mellifluous when warmed; and we were even treated to a taste of home made ice cream in any flavor we wanted (as long as we wanted chocolate!). “Mr. Science” presents this little show before all kinds of children’s groups and was pleased, we hope, at his reception before this one. (Just as a curious aside, and not meaning to take anything away from today’s program, this scribe wonders what happened to the age-old East Hartford Rotary club’s tradition [every year since I joined in 1968] of a Thanksgiving message on the day before Thanksgiving?)