Greetings fellow Rotarians!  Today’s speaker was University of Vermont professor, Breck Bowden.   Professor Bowden discussed the University’s Sea Grant program, which is a collaborative initiative to develop and share science-based knowledge to benefit the environment and economies of the Lake Champlain Basin.  The program envisions a future in which the Lake Champlain Basin communities work together to anticipate and enable long-term changes that will accommodate both economic development and the health of the basin ecosystems.  Initially established in 1999, the program is now operated by both the University of Vermont and SUNY Plattsburgh with coordination from the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA). Professor Bowden explained that the program is currently recognized as a Coherent Area program in NOAA’s four-tiered system of recognition.  He indicated that the program administrators are working hard on attaining NOAA’s designation as a National Sea Grant Institution by 2021.  For more information about this program, please visit its website at: https://www.uvm.edu/seagrant/node/1

 

            Thank you to the 30 Rotarians and family members who have already volunteered for the Feed my Starving Children food packing event! This year’s event will take place on Saturday, October 20^th at the Albert D. Lawton Middle School in Essex Junction from 9:00am to 11:00am. Please contact Amy Jackman at amymj@us.ibm.com if you have any questions about this event.

 

 

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf in the next few months.  We will need volunteers for the following dates: Thursday, October 25; Monday, November 12; Thursday, November 15; Monday, December 10; and Thursday, December 20. Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder at sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com if you are able to fill any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, October 24, 2018 – Our speaker will Christina Alicia, Artistic Director of the Vermont Stage Company.

 

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