Greetings fellow Rotarians! A large crowd was on hand today as Governor Phil Scott addressed our Club.  Governor Scott spoke about some of the challenges that we as Vermonters are facing. He pointed out that our population growth has remained stagnant and that our population is one of the three oldest in the nation.  Enrollment in the public schools (K-12) has steadily dropped in every county in the state and for the first time ever, the number of deaths in the state has outnumbered the number of births.  Governor Scott also announced that our state has lost 15,000 people in the workforce since 2009.  While these figures are all alarming, the Governor remains confident that we can reverse these trends by encouraging younger people and businesses to come here.   He mentioned several initiatives that the state is undertaking to stimulate growth in our workforce.  The one many of us have heard about is the plan to pay a $10,000.00 bonus to individuals moving from out of state to work remotely from Vermont.  He also mentioned efforts to make the development of housing a bit easier which he hopes will make new homes more affordable.  When asked what is keeping businesses away from Vermont, Governor Scott mentioned that taxes and utility costs are the two factors that are most often mentioned to him by businesses.  Since these factors make it tough to compete against other states, Governor Scott stated that he is looking to attract businesses from Canada.  He feels this is a solid strategy due to Vermont’s proximity to the border and the fact that Canadian companies would face tax advantages by relocating their operations to Vermont.  The Governor concluded his talk by taking questions from those in attendance.

 

            Dave Johnson mentioned that there is good news and bad news about the Golf Tournament.  The bad news is that only 20% of our potential sponsors have been contacted about supporting this event.  The good news is that 100% of our team slots are full. In order for this event to once again be a success, we need every one of our members to hit the ground running and to ask as many businesses as possible to support this event.  Each week, Dave Johnson will update the list of sponsors.  He and other members of the Golf Committee can also point you in the direction of potential sponsors to solicit.  Please contact Dave Johnson at mdjkiln@gmail.com if you have any questions about this event.

 

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on the following dates: Monday, May 13^th (5:00pm);Thursday, May 23^rd (3:30pm); Monday, June 10^th (5:00pm) and Thursday, June 27^th (3:30pm). Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder at sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com if you are able to fill any of these shifts.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, May 8, 2019 – Our speaker will be Dr. Turner Osler, founder of QOR360, a company that has developed state-of-the-art ergonomic office chairs.  This company is a prime example of a successful business that has been able to develop and thrive right here in Vermont.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at rotaryclubofessex.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