Greetings fellow Rotarians!  Today we were privileged to hear classification talks from three of our members.  First, we had the opportunity to learn about Jay Mirpanah.  Jay moved to this country 41 years ago to pursue his education. While here, he met his wife and together they raised three children. Jay’s career took him on travels across the globe but he is happy to be grounded here in Vermont and to have the opportunity to serve the community through Rotary. Our next speaker was Skip Oliver.  Skip provided some humorous anecdotes about his hitch-hiking days and the life lessons he learned from those experiences.  Like Jay, Skip has three children and enjoyed a career that involved travel throughout the world.  Our final speaker was longtime Rotarian, Don Messier. In the spirit of our Club’s 50^th Anniversary, Don provided some insight and stories about our Club that he has gleamed through his 30 years of membership. We also had the chance to learn about Don’s wife and two sons, both of whom served in the U.S. armed forces and went on to earn either doctoral or medical degrees.  Thank you to Jay, Skip and Don for letting us get to know you all a bit better.

 

 

            Currently we are running way behind on sponsors, so it is important that every member does what he or she can to try getting at least one business to support this event. Please inform the golf committee if you happen to know of any other businesses in the area that are not on the current list of sponsors to contact. Brochures to hand to potential sponsors are available at the meetings.  A sign-up sheet is also being passed around for volunteers at this event. If you haven’t done so already, please be sure to sign up for a shift. 

 

 

            On May 14^th, Essex CHIPS will host the FriendCHIPS 5k for Mentoring run at Founders Memorial School.  All proceeds from this event will benefit FriendCHIPS Mentoring, which pairs students in grades 3-8 with caring adult mentors who meet weekly to build meaningful, lasting relationships. You can register as a runner/walker at http://friendchips5K.eventbrite.ca or you can volunteer to help out by visiting http://vols.pt/DSytAW   Please contact Diana Ferguson at diana@essexchips.org for more information about this event.

 

            We are always looking for Rotarians who are willing to volunteer for shifts at the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf in Essex Junction.  The next volunteering opportunities will be on May 26^th and June 23^rd.  Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are interested in signing up for any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  May 11, 2016 – Our speaker will be Wendy Ryan who will discuss the Let’s Grow Kids Campaign.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org   Be sure to also visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet