Greetings fellow Rotarians! We started things off with a short talk from our Rotary exchange student, Pablo.  As many of you know, Pablo is a high school student from Spain who is attending high school here as part of the Rotary exchange program.  During his time here, Pablo has learned to ski and has taken to the slopes like a seasoned veteran.  He is also looking forward to playing on the high school tennis team this spring.  Pablo also took some time to discuss what he felt were the main differences between high schools in Spain and the U.S.  He indicated that teachers here tend to be a bit more patient and that there are more opportunities to play sports in our high schools than there are in Spanish schools. He also mentioned that our schools use more technology than the schools in Spain.  After hearing from Pablo, we broke off for our monthly committee meetings.

 

 

            The 34^th annual Rotary Hockey Classic is now in the books!  The women’s game saw the Austin Conference prevail in a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the Harris Conference and the Austin men defeated the Harris men by a score of 5-2.  Fans in attendance were treated to a special appearance by Team USA Gold Medalist and native Vermonter, Amanda Pelkey.  Amanda dropped the ceremonial puck prior to the women’s game and graciously signed autographs near the concession area during the game.  On the financial side, this year ended up being our most successful one yet.  Early indications are that our Club will net a record of close to $12,000.00 from this event! Thank you to all of our members who graciously volunteered to work at this event and/or provided items for our concession stand.  A special thank you goes out to Jeff Cabanaw and the rest of the hockey committee for all of their hard work in making this event such a huge success!

 

 

            The next opportunities to cover shifts at the Food Shelf will be on Monday, April 9^th from 5:30 to 7:30; Thursday, April 26^th from 3:30 to 6:30; Monday, May 14^th from 5:30 to 7:30; Thursday, May 24^th from 3:30 to 6:30; Monday, June 11^th from 5:30 to 7:30; and Thursday, June 21^st from 3:30 to 6:30. Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are able to fill any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, April 4, 2018 – As one large fundraiser comes to a close, another begins.  This meeting will serve as the official kick-off of our Club’s drive towards the 2018 Essex Rotary Golf Classic.  This is our Club’s largest fundraiser and we need the help of every Rotarian to once again make this event a success!  This year’s kick off will feature the annual Club putting contest and the ceremonial passing of the torch from the Hockey Classic to the Golf Tournament.  You may also have to hear some of Dave Johnson’s golf jokes . . . but please come anyway. All kidding aside, this will be a fun meeting that kicks the Golf Tournament off in style!

 

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