Greetings Rotarians!  We started today’s meeting with President Phil’s informative lesson about honey bees (this discussion was prompted by an article on the same subject in the last issue of The Rotarian, so it actually did have some bearing on Rotary).  Phil gave us all of the information we wanted to know about the apis mellifera and even some information that we probably didn’t want to know.  For example, we learned that the honey we spread on our toast is actually bee vomit. We all appreciated the fact that Phil shared that specific piece of information with us immediately after we ate.  In keeping with the zoological theme of the day, our speaker was State Trooper, Michelle LeBlanc and her K-9 companion, Casko.  Officer LeBlanc explained that Casko is a ten year old German Shepard and that he is the longest active serving K-9 in Vermont.  Casko holds the record for the most number of finds for a K-9 in the state.  This means that Casko has located more people than any other Vermont police dog.  Unlike some other jurisdictions, the Vermont troopers put a great deal of emphasis on training their K-9s through positive reinforcement.  Vermont K-9s are also socialized at a very early age so that they are able to interact with people in everyday settings.  Officer LeBlanc described the training methods that are used with K-9s and even demonstrated some of them with Casko.  She also relayed some interesting anecdotes about the adventures she has shared with Casko on the job.

 

 

            Our next big fundraiser is just around the corner!  The sign-up sheet for Corn Booth shifts should be on the website soon and a physical sign-up sheet will be passed around at the next meeting.  Just as a reminder, this is an “all hands on deck” event and we really do need all of our available members to fill shifts.  In addition to raising money for charitable purposes, this event gives our Club a great deal of exposure as thousands of people pass by our booth each day over the course of the ten day period.  Please contact either Ray Allaire or Holly Lemieux if you have any questions about this event.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, July 30, 2014 – We will be holding our first charitable committee meetings of the new Rotary year. 

 

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