Greetings Rotarians!  Our speakers this week were Melissa Culver and Rev. Ken Hitch who were on hand to talk about the Essex Eats Out program. This non-denominational initiative was started by local community members and clergy in an effort to provide healthy free meals in a warm and inclusive environment each week.  The organization is entirely run by volunteers and is funded by the generous financial support of individuals, organizations like Rotary and local businesses.  Meals are held every Friday at one of five different churches, however, it should be noted that the events are secular in nature and are not associated with any particular parish or religious group.  The first dinners were held in April and averaged between 50-55 people per event.  With word getting out about this project, the average number of participants has swelled to well over 100 attendees per meal.  As this program grows, so does the need for more financial and volunteer support.  For more information on how you can get involved with this program, please visit its website at http://www.essexeatsout.org/home.html

 

 

            The Essex Rotary Corn Booth is just around the corner!  If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for shifts at http://admin.clubrunner.ca/1437/Volunteer/ManageVolunteerContacts?VolunteerSignUpId=bedf43d0-a353-4563-9fc1-0006f8b18cac.  Plenty of volunteer shifts are still available! Corn Dollars are now available for purchase as well.  For $20.00, you will be given 10 Corn Dollars (each of which may be redeemed for one ear of corn during the fair).  All Rotarians are encouraged to purchase Corn Dollars as a way of generating our seed money for this event.  They are also great to hand out to employees, co-workers, friends and family members as a means of enticing them to visit the Corn Booth and learn more about Rotary!

 

 

            Dave Johnson has generously agreed to host an official send-off dinner for Katy, our Rotary Exchange Student.  As many of you know, Katy is heading over to Iceland as part of the Rotary exchange program.  The Club would like to show its support by sending her off with a fun dinner at La Casa de Johnson (located on 3 Kiln Road in Essex Junction).  The festivities kick off at 5:00pm on Sunday, August 10^th.  Please RSVP to either Dave or Amy Jackman as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

 

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, August 13, 2014 – Our speaker will be Denise Smith from the Friends of Lake Champlain.

 

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 visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotary-Club-of-Essex-Vermont/102267529834020

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet