Greetings Rotarians!  Tonight we enjoyed our Changeover picnic during a beautiful evening at Maple Street Park. Many Rotarians and their family members were on hand for the barbeque and festivities.  President Nancy Freeze kicked things off by announcing our Club’s annual award recipients.  The Rookie of the Year award went to Bill Ellis in recognition of his hard work on the golf committee and the fact he has volunteered at every Rotary event during his first year as a member.  Our Unsung Hero award was bestowed upon Penny Pillsbury in recognition of the many things she has done for the Club this year.  In addition to serving as the chair of the literacy committee, she spent hours meticulously researching our Club’s history and writing, directing and producing the skit that was performed at our 50^th Anniversary Dinner in April.  The Rotarian of the Year award went to Sharon Dettenrieder.  Sharon is one of our most active members who has been involved in some way, shape or form with all of our Club’s activities. In addition to this, her work in organizing the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf has truly exemplified our motto of “Service Above Self”.  Last, but certainly not least, President Nancy presented the President’s Award to Betty Poulin.  Betty has been one of our hardest working and most involved members of our Club for several years. She has been the point person for membership and has been responsible for putting together the packets for all of our new members. She has diligently kept track of birthdays, anniversaries and other member milestones and can always be seen assisting at the reception table during meetings. Betty has also served as a member of both the golf and the hockey committees and as a member of our Club’s board of directors. Congratulations to all of our award winners on honors that were richly deserved! Following the award ceremony, Nancy took the time to thank each individual who served as a member of her board this year.  The meeting concluded with the figurative “passing of the torch” from outgoing President, Nancy Freeze to incoming President, Sharon Dettenrieder.  Thank you very much to President Nancy Freeze and her board of directors for an amazing year of leadership and thank you to Sharon Dettenrieder and her incoming board for stepping up to serve our Club for this next year!

 

 

            The next volunteering opportunities at the Food Shelf will be on July 28^th, August 25^th and September 22nd.  Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are interested in signing up for any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  July 6, 2016 – This will be our first meeting of the new Rotary year!

 

    Have a safe and happy Independence Day!    

 

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