Greetings fellow Rotarians! We started things off by inducting Jen Burkhard as our Club’s 61^st member.  Jen works at The Essex and she and Hannah Choquette will be sharing the resort’s corporate membership through Rotary’s corporate Freebird rule. If you haven’t done so already, please take the time to introduce yourself to Jen and make her feel welcome. Our speaker today was Jill Evans, Director of the Essex Community Justice Center. While the overarching theme of this organization is restorative justice, Jill spoke specifically about the Center’s Circle of Support and Accountability Program (COSA).  Jill reported that 98% of individuals who are incarcerated are eventually released back into society.  Studies have shown that the rate of recidivism for those who have served sentences is very high. COSA was established to combat that trend. By providing individuals who are released back into society with circles of support, the process of successfully reintegrating that individual into the community as a productive member of society becomes much easier.  The program is funded by grants from the Department of Corrections and relies almost entirely on volunteers from the community.  A COSA team typically consists of 3-5 volunteers who are overseen by a Community Justice Center staff member.  The group is also supported by outside facilitators of the rehabilitation process such as parole officers. Jill provided quotes from participants who have stated that without this program, they likely would have drifted away from their courses of rehabilitation.  For more information about COSA and the Community Justice Center, please visit its website at:

 

 

            Thank you to all of the Rotarians who have signed up for shifts at the Corn Booth.  Thus far, we have filled a large number of slots, however, we still have a significant number of evening slots that remain empty.  We need to have the booth staffed for the entire Fair which means this is an all-hands on deck event. The morning shifts (10:00 to 2:00) each have 3 slots, the afternoon shifts (2:00 to 6:00) and the evening shifts (6:00 to 10:00) each have four slots.  Our hope is that each Rotarian will be responsible for providing coverage for at least two slots.  Members are encouraged to fill slots with friends and family members as well.  If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for shifts on our Club’s website. For more information about the Corn Booth, please contact either Mike Dimitroff or Ray Allaire.

 

 

            Please join Bill, Lois Parmelee and the rest of Team Life is Good for the Champlain Valley Walk to End Alzheimer’s event.  This fund-raiser will be held at the Shelburne Museum on September 16^th.  Bill and Lois are looking for fellow Rotarians who can either round out their team or come to cheer them on.  For more information about how you can support this cause please visit www.alz.org or contact Bill Parmelee at wparmelee@gmail.com

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, August 1, 2018 – We will be holding our first committee meetings of the 2018-2019 Rotary year.

 

 

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