Greetings fellow Rotarians! Even though the weather forecast suggests that it is not time put the skis away just yet, the Essex Rotary Golf Tournament is just around the corner!  This year’s event will take place on Wednesday, June 13^th at the Links at Lang Farm. For our newer members, this is not only a fun event, but it is our Club’s largest fundraiser!  Last year, this event raised close to $27,000.00, all of which was donated to the many charitable ventures and projects we support.  To get people in the right frame of mind, we held our annual Club putting contest at the beginning of the meeting.  Beth Cobb won this year’s contest which arguably featured the highest number of qualifiers yet.  Congratulations to Beth on taking home the prize of a freshly-baked pie by The Essex bakery!  We then witnessed the ceremonial passing of the torch from the Hockey Committee to the Golf Committee.  Hockey Chair, Jeff Cabanaw passed a puck to Golf Chair, Dave Johnson who, through some slight-of-hand, transformed the puck into a golf ball.  Dave then moved right into telling his golf jokes, which is an Essex Rotary tradition that has become as beloved as the Rotary song and the Battle of the Bands. All joking aside, Dave stressed the importance of every Rotarian taking a role in this event by volunteering or playing at this tournament and by soliciting as many hole and cart sponsors as we can.  The goal is for every member of our Club to bring in at least one $50.00 cart sponsor this year.  With everyone pitching in, we can all make sure that this tournament is once again a success!  Brochures and information about the charities supported by our Club can be found on our website and are excellent tools to show potential sponsors the things their sponsorship dollars support.

 

 

            Essex High School is playing host to the Vermont All-State Music Festival from May 9^th through May 12^th. Young musicians and singers from across the state will be coming to our community to take part in this event.  The organizers are looking for local families who are willing to provide lodging and transportation to and from Essex High School during the festival.  Please contact Dave Johnson if you are interested in serving as a host family.

 

 

            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 11, 2018 – Our speaker will be Fred Kenney, the local organizer for the Feed My Starving Children service project.

 

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