Greetings fellow Rotarians! Today’s speaker was Jim Carter rom Donate Life Vermont. Jim’s advocacy for organ donation was unfortunately shaped by the tragedy of losing his 17-year-old daughter in a car accident in 1991. Since then, Jim has been one of Vermont’s biggest champions for organ donation and the good that it can do.  Prior to the creation of Donate Life Vermont, the percentage of Vermonters who were organ donors was 5%.  At the time, this was one of the lowest percentages in the country.  Thanks to the efforts of this organization, however, the percentage of Vermonters who are organ donors has risen to 56%.  One of the biggest achievements made by Donate Life Vermont was to help convince the Department of Motor Vehicles to create a more visible donor option on driver’s licenses. For more information on this organization, please visit www.donatelifevt.org

 

 

            The only thing colder than the weather right now is the sponsor activity for our golf tournament. By now, you all should have seen the list of potential sponsors that members need to contact.  It is important that we get as many hole and cart sponsors as possible, so if you haven’t done so already, please contact your assigned sponsors.  If you have any questions on which sponsors need to be contacted, or if you have any thoughts on potential sponsors who are not on the list, please contact sponsor coordinator, Lois Parmelee or committee chair, Dave Johnson. We will also be looking for Rotarians to serve as volunteers at the actual event.  A sign-up sheet for volunteer spots will be circulated soon.

 

 

            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, 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 25, 2018 – We will be holding our monthly committee meetings. Please note that I will be on vacation next week which means the newsletter will also be on vacation.  I’ll see you all in May!

 

 

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