WEEK OF MARCH 18, 2020

COVID 19 and Rotary

Greetings fellow Rotarians. As most of you have already learned, our weekly meetings are suspended until at least April 15th. Just because Rotary is suspended, however, does not mean that being a Rotarian is put on hold. Although our lives are very different right now, we can still serve the community in small ways during this time of crisis. It can be as simple as contacting a neighbor or loved one who may be feeling isolated during this ordeal. Or it may be making donations to causes that need your assistance more than ever. While we may be physically isolated, we can still make a difference as Rotarians.

Rotary Hockey Classic

We regret to report that the 36th annual Essex Rotary Hockey Classic scheduled for March 21st has been cancelled due to COVID 19. While it is unfortunate that these young men and women will not have the chance to play in this very special event, the health and safety of the players, coaches, Rotary volunteers, parents and ice-rink personnel comes first. In addition to being our second largest fundraiser, this event generates a great deal of positive publicity for our Club across the entire state. People from Essex to Brattleboro know that the Rotary Club of Essex puts on this event that means so much to the young men and women in their communities. With that in mind, we owe Jeff Cabanaw and the rest of the Hockey Committee a huge thank you for their tireless efforts in putting the Hockey Classic together every year.

Rotary Speech Contest

Another unfortunate casualty of this crisis is the Rotary Speech Contest that our Club was scheduled to host on March 25th. These contests provide a showcase for high school students to not only compete for prize money and the chance to advance to the District competition, but it gives these young adults the opportunity to learn more about Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self”. A special thank you goes out to Amy Jackman for her efforts in coordinating these events.

Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf

The Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf is assessing how to proceed in the face of this pandemic. Sharon Dettenrieder will soon have updates about upcoming shifts and how the Food Pantry plans to operate during these difficult times. As most of you know, this is an ongoing service project that has a significant impact on our community. Twice each month, members of our Club graciously volunteer their time to assist community members in need at the Food Pantry. None of this would be possible without the efforts of Sharon Dettenrieder who has coordinated our Club’s involvement with the Food Shelf for several years. Thank you very much to Sharon for your continuous efforts with the Food Shelf and thank you to all of our members who volunteer there.

District 7850 Conference

District Governor Richard Fox announced with regret that the District 7850 Conference scheduled for May 1-3 has been cancelled due to the pandemic.

Upcoming plans for the next few weeks – The newsletter will still be distributed each week to provide our members with any updates on our Club and Rotary in general. In the meantime, please stay safe.

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