Speakers

Again this year, Miss Vermont joined Essex Rotary at our annual Golf Tournament to greet golfers and encourage purchase of our 50/50 raffle.  Danielle Morse weathered a storm (literally) to help us raise money.  At our Oct 20 meeting, we will hear her story - and understand why she is committed to the UVM Children's Hospital.  

Miss Vermont 2021, Danielle Morse is a lifelong resident of Addison County. Her social impact initiative is “Championing for Children’s Hospitals” which she became passionate about after her time as a patient at the UVM Children's Hospital. Danielle is a recent graduate of Castleton University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and has been a firefighter for seven years. Her talent is speed painting and she will represent the Green Mountain State at the 100th Anniversary of the Miss America competition in December.

The Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) at UVM helps Vermont consumers resolve disputes with businesses, protect themselves from fraud and access available services. The Consumer Assistance Program: 

• Runs a consumer hotline for information and assistance
• Provides a letter mediation service for consumers and businesses
• Tracks scam trends and provides educational resources
• Finds answers from Vermont State government and connects you with other resources

In this presentation Lisa Jensen, Assistant Director of the CAP will talk about scams on the rise and how the SLOW method can prevent a loss of money and/or personal information.  Scammers use every tool available to steal money and information from consumers. Vermonters filed 5,021 scam reports with the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) in 2020. Unfortunately, many scam encounters result in monetary loss in Vermont. In 2020, 249 Vermonters lost approximately $1.5 million, in total, to scammers. The most common scams associated with monetary loss were imposter scams (scammers posing as friends, family members, or romantic interests) and online classified listing scams (scams perpetrated on sites such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace). Scammers ask their victims to send money using a variety of methods, including gift card transactions, peer-to-peer payments apps like Venmo or CashApp, wire transfers, and cash or checks in the mail.  During the presentation, we will share prevention tips and invite you to become a CAP Ally to help protect your family, friends and neighbors. 

Dave Johnson has arranged a third reprise of Mike McGovern's visit of 2019 and 2020.  Essex Rotary is very lucky to have Mike McGovern from Cape Elizabeth, ME and the Chair of the PolioPlus International Committee, join us once again.  He was a Trustee of the RI Foundation from 2012 to 2016 and has been involved with the PolioPlus committee from 2014 to today. 

His work on the PolioPlus Committee is described here.   Volunteer chair of Rotary International PolioPlus Committee providing strategic direction to Rotary's polio eradication program. Represent Rotary on the Polio Strategy Committee of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Responsible for working with Rotary leaders around the world and Rotary staff in raising over $100 million each year and in advocating to governments and others to contribute additional sufficient funds to end polio.

Professor Chris Koliba and grad student Emma Spett will offer insights into a report - Amplifying Vermont's Economic Resilience - published in August 2021 by a consortium of groups including: the UVM Office of Engagement, the Center for Rural Studies at UVM.  Chris and Emma are the principal authors.

 

Challenge to Essex Rotary members:  READ THE REPORT (or parts of it!!)  You can find it here!!  Members, please be an active participant!! It matters.

From the Reports Introduction: 

The state of Vermont, like every other state in the country, faces unique challenges and opportunities as the result of the COVID-19 pandemic that are shaped by longstanding demographic, infrastructure and cultural realities. During the late winter of 2021
a team of researchers from the University of Vermont’s Office of Engagement (OOE) and Center for Rural Studies (CRS) set out to learn from leaders to surface the impediments to economic resilience facing our state and identify solutions to overcome them. Eight roundtable sessions were convened virtually with 75 leaders representing a diverse set of interests and sectors from across the state.

The findings from these conversations will not surprise those who care deeply about the health and well-being of Vermonters. A consensus around what “successful” economic resilience looks like for our state emerged: one that sees our state’s private and nonprofit sectors thriving, our poorest residents elevated to higher qualities of life, full employment, few job vacancies, affordable housing, healthcare and childcare for all, a welcoming and inclusive society where newcomers are able to make a living and a life here in the Green Mountain State.

Beginning on Page 32 of the report, you will find principal findings: 

1. Invest in Growing a Skilled Workforce

2. Focus on building racial equity and inclusion and belonging in communities 

3. Build investments for entrepreneurial enterprises 

4. Promote and sustain a remote workforce while maintaining thriving town centers 

5. Leverage Vermont's quality of life as a critical feature in jobs attraction 

6. Appreciate the role of the non-profit sector as a critical feature of the Vermont economy

7. Invest in education, child care and pre-school 

8. Invest in broadband, housing, transportation, water and energy infrastructure 

9. Select an collective impact approach to economic and workforce development, rooted in social equity  

 

Now

Mark published Called: A Memoir in August 2021.  As an experienced story teller - he has been on "The Moth" on NPR - Mark will share insights into his life.  If you want to read Mark's book before you hear him talk, you can find it at Phoenix Books or here. 

Also, you can find a great review / summary of the book here.

Now

Now

Now

Now