Greetings Rotarians!  We started today’s meeting with the formal presentation of the 2013-2014 Unsung Hero Award to Peter Lyon.  This award was presented to Peter in recognition of the behind-the-scenes work Peter does on behalf of the Club.  Congratulations again to Peter!  The main feature of today’s meeting was a visit by our District Governor, Bruce Pacht.  Bruce has been a member of the Lebanon Rotary Club since 1976 and he has been working at the District level for a number of years.  Bruce told us a bit about his background and what initially drew him to Rotary.  He then explained his philosophy on Rotary and how our focus should be more about what we do collectively as a global organization and less about our achievements as individual Rotarians.  He also spoke briefly about Rotary’s effort to re-brand its image and logo in an effort to entice younger members.  Bruce concluded his talk by sharing Rotary International President, Gary C.K. Huang’s theme of “Light Up Rotary” for the 2014-2015 year.  President Huang has compared Rotarians to candle holders. When one Rotarian lights a candle, the night sky stays darkened.  When 1.2 million Rotarians light candles, however, the sky will be illuminated. With that in mind, President Huang is encouraging Rotarians across the globe to work together to achieve our goals.  

 

 

            Believe it or not, the Champlain Valley Fair is not that far away which means it is time to start thinking about the Corn Booth. Once again, our corn will be generously donated by Sam Mazza.  By all accounts, we are expecting a bumper crop of fresh corn at the end of the summer. As a reminder to our newer members, our Club operates a corn booth at the Champlain Valley Fair each year.  This event serves the dual purpose of raising money for the Club and exposing Rotary to large numbers of people over a period of ten days. More details and opportunities to sign up for shifts will be available in the near future. Thank you to Ray Allaire and Holly Lemieux for their hard work in coordinating this event!

 

 

            You all should have received your invoices for annual dues from Kristin Winer via e-mail.  We ask that you please remit payment of your dues quickly as the Club needs that money to pay the District and Rotary International dues.  If you do not intend on renewing your membership, we ask that you please let the board know immediately so that this information can be accurately reported to Rotary International.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, July 16, 2014 – Our speaker will be Clary Franko from SunCommon Solar.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and general information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org  Be sure to also check out our Club’s Facebook page at:

 

                        https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Essex-Vermont/102267529834020

 

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet