Pledge: Pres. Pat Devito
Prayer: Marty D.
4-Way Test: Pres. Pat Devito
First...
Is it the TRUTH?
Second...
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Third...
Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Fourth...
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Guests: Kathleen Ledwith, Kristina DeMaria, Ralph Stevens
Card Game Winner: Pattie D in a card-off
Raffle Winners: Guest Kristina, Pattie D., Mike O.
Happy Bucks: PZ for guests Kristina and Kathleen who will be joining Rotary, Mac dinner; JW for Charlie R and the golf tournament, John and the Macaroni dinner, Nathan's play acting; BM for the nice day, Mac dinner; JA for the great time at the Mac dinner and appreciative of everyone's help; CR for our speaker; GM for his trip to Portugal and Spain with Pat S and John A and wives; MO for the Yankees getting into the playoffs; RS ditto that; PD for the new members, Mac dinner, Golf tournament, etc.; PD for our guests, our club projects are done (for now), the NY Yankees; C,K,NM for the Mac dinner; GF for being here today; BA for the Yankees; Marty for the Mac dinner and the birth of his grandson Teddy!
President Pat Devito's Report
- The district managed grant application has been approved.
- The ARPA grant that Pat applied for to make up for the shortfall for cancellation of our Wine Tasting in 2021 has been approved for the full amount according to Jennifer Donahue. Money can be used for many things including scholarships, support for Alzhiemers programs, etc.
- We will be making a $5,000 donation for Hurricane Ian relief in the Sanibel-Captiva area. There are 4 organizations that will receive money from this donation. They are, FISH, Harry Chapin Food Bank, The Heights Foundation and CHR. Our honorable guest from Sanibel Island, Ralph Stevens, will coordinate with his Rotary Club to make this happen. The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Trust was set up to distribute the funds which is specific to locals on Sanibel and Captiva.
- Nov. 5 is the date of the District Conference. So far Bill O'Shaughnessy and Pat Devito are going.
- Capstone Project - high school students will attend one of our meetings to discuss this
- Bikes for Kids sent a note of thanks for our donation of $1,000. This is an organization the club has supported through the years beginning with its inception. The money goes to operation costs, helmets, and of course bikes
- Estuary breakfast meetings: They don't offer breakfast at this time but we are more than welcome to use their facility to hold meetings. It was decided that people can bring in their own breakfast. Coffee will be brought in.
- The Evergreen Walk is Nov. 20. Gail Fahey is working on this project and welcomes anyone who would like to help decorate the tree outside the Acton Library on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2PM to join in. Ornaments are welcome.
Macaroni Dinner: Chairman John Aforismo reports money is still coming in. Thanks to all for pitching in when they could. Special thanks to Chef John Giannini who prepared the meatballs and pasta. In rough numbers, $2900 expenses, $5200 revenue left a profit of $2600. This was a great activity for the club - many hands involved. John did a great job organizing the event!
Marty spoke about the Wine & Beer Tasting and Silent Auction scheduled for March 3, 2023. Pete Zucco has agreed to co-chair the event. A committee will be formed to decide on some things like ticket prices, menu, auction items and more.
Charlie Renshaw, chairman of the Golf Tournament stated it will net about $9500. We need to decide when to hold future tournaments. Charlie has thank you cards for sponsors. Please show our appreciation by getting a card to sponsors you solicted. The web page has a picture of the sponsors poster.
Joan Michaud, Outreach Committee chair stated that The Estuary is looking for a donation to replace old thermal bags used for Meals on Wheels. There are looking to obtain 8 bags at a cost of $1,025.00. This was approved.
Program: History of Rotary, Bill McLaughlin
The history of Rotary is really the story of Paul Harris, a Chicago businessman who started the organization in 1905 going door to door and enlisting other business people. It spread to San Francisco and Seattle in short order. Today there are over 32,000 clubs representing 292 countries. The Code of Ethics was written in 1915, the 4-Way Test in 1945. The Polio project began in 1960 with the advent of the first successful vaccine discovered by Jonas Salk. In 1982 $120 million was budgeted for polio and has increased since. Rotary has partnered with other organizations including Unicef. This was dangerous work. Healthcare workers would enter areas of unrest and war. The Pease House (Saybrook Point Resort & Marina) was the first meeting place for the Old Saybrook Club. Originally, the club covered the towns of Saybrook (not Old Saybrook yet) Deep River, Essex, Clinton and Chester. Ron Scott started the scholarship program in 1977, our foundation was started in 1987 by Atty. John Ellsworth with $50K. Ron Czepiel, a good friend of Brent Taylor, willed a large sum to the foundation making it what it is today. Our popular Dictionary Project was started by Charlie Norz in 2002 and has been adopted by other clubs in the state. Over 9,000 dictionaries have been distributed.
Committee Reports
- Membership: Pete Zucco recognized two people at the meeting who will be joining. They are Kathleen Ledwith and Kristina DeMaria both from AAA.
- Speakers: Bill McLaughlin went over the upcoming schedule
- Website: Marty reports no issues, new content going in constantly
Torchlight Parade: Dec. 10, mark your calendars!
