Greetings fellow Rotarians!  Today we were joined by members of the Colchester-Milton Rotary Club as we welcomed Governor Phil Scott to our meeting.  Governor Scott addressed his first 100 days in office and described the approaches he has taken to his first days of governing.  He stated that early childhood development and education is a significant priority for him and that our State can afford to finance these programs by streamlining the way our government operates.  He pointed to the operation of the prison in Windsor as an example inefficiency that can be cured by closing it.  He also opined that instead of spending millions of dollars on point of sale systems for Vermont liquor agencies, the State could make the process more efficient by simply selling liquor directly to the licensed liquor stores and let them handle their own sales.   Governor Scott further emphasized the fact we have a greying population and that we as a state need to do more to encourage younger people to stay in Vermont.  Governor Scott followed his talk with a quick question and answer session.

 

 

            We are just a few months away from the big event, but there is still a lot of work to be done!  We are asking all Rotarians to find at least one cart sponsor for this event.  If you are having trouble identifying potential sponsors, please contact Dave Johnson and he will provide you with names of potential sponsors.  Nancy Freeze will also be circulating a sign-up sheet for volunteers for this event in the next few weeks.  Remember, this is our Club’s biggest fundraiser and we need every Rotarian to pitch in on making it a success!

 

 

            Our Changeover Barbeque has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 28^th.  During that event, we will be handing out awards for Rookie of the Year; Rotarian of the Year; Unsung Hero of the Year; and the President’s Award.  The Club is currently seeking nominations for the first three awards.  Please get your nominations in to Sharon Dettenrieder by May 2^nd.

 

 

            Thank you to everyone who signed up to volunteer at the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on April 27^th. The next opportunities to volunteer will be May 25^th and June 22nd.  Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder if you would like to sign up for shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  April 26, 2017 – We will be holding our monthly committee meetings.   Committees are reminded that we are approaching the end of the fiscal Rotary year, so you should be making every effort to wrap up your charitable donations for the year.  On another note, I will be on vacation next week which means the newsletter will also be on vacation.

 

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 follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/essexvermontrotary/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/essex_rotary

 

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet