Greetings fellow Rotarians! We kicked things off by inducting two new members into our Club.  We first welcomed Patrick Hutton as a member.  Patrick is a retired University of Vermont professor.  Our next inductee was Eliza Kuchuk.  Eliza is the Youth Engagement Director at Essex CHIPs.  If you haven’t done so already, please take the opportunity to introduce yourselves to Patrick and Eliza.  Our speaker today was Steve Schmida, the co-founder of Resonance Global.  Following college, Steve’s travels took him to the former Soviet Union where he worked in economic development.  He spent time in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia before deciding it was time to return home to the states.  He and his wife moved to Vermont and formed the consulting firm known as Resonance Global.  Steve describes this company as a for-profit organization with a social conscience.  Presently, the company has offices in Vermont, Washington, D.C., Seattle, and Manila.  Since its founding, the company has assisted dozens of companies in their efforts to unlock opportunities in emerging markets across the world.  Resonance also guides companies and investors through the process known as “Impact Investing”.  This process involves the identification of investment opportunities that will have positive social, environmental and sustainable economic impacts in the regions in which the investments are being made.  For more information about this company, please visit its website at: https://resonanceglobal.com/

            The months have now ticked down to weeks as we are inching much closer to the Rotary Golf Tournament.  In order for this tournament 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.

            As we approach the end of the fiscal year, our Club is seeking nominations for end of the year awards.  In particular, we are seeking nominations for Rotarian of the Year; Rookie of the Year; and Unsung Hero of the Year.  The winners will be chosen by a committee and announced at this year’s Changeover Dinner on June 26^th at Maple Street Park.  If you know of any Rotarians who are deserving of these awards, please get your nominations to Sharon Dettenrieder at sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com by May 17^th.

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on the following dates: 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 22, 2019 – We will be hosting our annual Scholarship Luncheon at which we will be awarding scholarships to high school seniors from Essex High School, Mount Mansfield Union High School and the Center for Technology in Essex.

 

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