Greetings fellow Rotarians! We started things off by inducting Dean Bartlett into the Club as our newest member. Dean has already jumped into the thick of things by joining the Hockey Committee. If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to introduce yourselves to Dean and make him feel welcome.  Our speaker today was Dr. Paul Reiss.  As a private medical practitioner, Dr. Reiss gave us his perspective on the manners in which healthcare is delivered and paid for in our state.  He pointed out that while Vermont is one of the healthiest states in the country and has excellent resources for healthcare, it is also one of the most expensive states when it comes to healthcare and insurance costs.  He pointed out several inadequacies of the current system and discussed ways in which the system can be made more efficient and less costly for our citizens. He lamented the fact that most Vermonters do not have the information they need to effectively shop around for better prices as the insurance carriers make it very difficult for them to do so.  Ultimately, Dr. Reiss hopes that Vermont will move to a model that covers the costs of primary care for all of its citizens.

 

 

            Preparations are underway for the Rotary All-Star Hockey Classic.  Each March, our Club organizes and runs this event that recognizes the top senior men and women high school hockey players in Vermont. The event itself is made up of both a men’s and women’s game that each feature the selected all-star players.  This is not only a great opportunity for these young men and women to play one last high school game, but it is our Club’s second largest fundraiser. This year’s event will be held on Saturday, March 24^th at the Essex Skating Facility.  We will need a large number of volunteers on game day to once again make this event a success.With that in mind, we ask that all of our members strongly consider serving as volunteers that day. Please contact Committee Chair, Jeff Cabanaw at Tarrisonus@comcast.net for more information.

 

 

            Don’t forget to put the annual Service Above Self Dinner on your calendars.  This year’s event will be held on the evening of Wednesday, February 21^st at The Essex. In addition to recognizing several first-responders who have gone above and beyond the call of duty this year, we will be recognizing an individual from our community who best exemplifies the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self”.  The cost for this dinner is $35.00 per person. 

 

 

            Thank you to all who have volunteered to cover shifts at the Food Shelf in January.  Presently, we have enough volunteers for this month. We are currently looking for volunteers for dates in February (Monday, February 12^th and Thursday, February 22^nd) and March (Monday, March 12^th and Thursday, March 22^nd).  Please let Sharon Dettenreider know if you are able to fill any of these slots.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, January 17^th - Our speaker will be Bob Bick, CEO of the Howard Center.  He will be discussing the opioid crisis in Vermont and the impact it has had on Essex.

 

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