Greetings fellow Rotarians! One of our largest groups in years was on hand at our annual Changeover Barbeque as we thanked those who made the 2018-2019 Rotary year such a huge success.  We started things off by recognizing the Club’s award recipients. The Rookie of the Year award was earned by Janet Cooper.  In just her first year, Janet has taken on the coordination of the Senior Luncheon and has always found time to volunteer at the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf.  She is also frequently seen taking attendance at weekly meetings.  Our Rotarian of the Year award went to Amy Jackman.  Amy is instrumental in organizing several of our Club’s efforts including, but not limited to, the Rotary Speech Contests, our participation in the Feed my Starving Children service project, and several other projects that are related to the youth of our community. The next two awards were bestowed upon our Unsung Heroes of the Year.  The first recipient was Jess Perreault.  Jess took over as our Club’s Treasurer and she has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure our Club’s finances are in order.  The second recipient was Max Seaton.  In addition to helping out at the Food Shelf on a regular basis, Max is a key member of our Club’s Hockey Committee and he stepped up to be the chair of the Local Committee. The final award was the President’s Award that was earned by Trish Porter.  As a board member and past president, Trish’s invaluable counsel and assistance throughout this year have been instrumental to the success of the Club. Congratulations to all of the award recipients on honors well-deserved.  Following our awards ceremony, Dave Johnson recognized several individuals who have attained the status as Paul Harris Fellows.  Earning the distinction of Paul Harris Fellows by donating at least $1,000.00 to the Rotary Foundation were Jess Perreault, Max Levy and Bill Ellis.  Amy Jackman and Betty Poulin attained Paul Harris Plus One status by donating at least $2,000.00 to the Foundation.  Pat Spielman was recognized as a Paul Harris Plus Three for donating over $4,000.00 the Foundation.  Finally, by donating over $6,000.00 to the Foundation, Dave Johnson was recognized for attaining Paul Harris Plus Five status.  Thank you to these seven Rotarians for generously supporting the Rotary Foundation.  Following the Paul Harris presentations, President Andy recognized his Board of Directors for their help this year.  The board members were President Elect, Heidi Brosseau; Vice-President/Membership Chair, Jeff Cabanaw; Secretary; Jean Ashe; Treasurer, Jess Perreault; Sergeant-at-Arms, Bill Parmelee; Members at Large, Damon Clark and Sharon Dettenreider; and Immediate Past President, Trish Porter. We concluded the meeting by thanking our outgoing President, Andy Love.  Andy’s even-keeled temperament and steady hand on the rudder was instrumental in guiding our Club of around 60 members through what was possibly one of the busiest and most productive years we have had as a Club.  Thank you to Andy for your leadership during this past year. 

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on the following dates: Monday, July 8th (5:15pm); Thursday, July 25^th (3:30pm); Monday, August 12^th (5:15pm); Thursday, August 22^nd (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, July 3, 2019 – There will not be a meeting that day in observance of Independence Day.  Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

     Have a safe and happy Independence Day!    

 

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