We had 31 Rotarians in attendance this week. That’s good news and bad news; the good news is that over 70 percent of our Rotarians were in attendance, the bad news is we had no visitors and thus no prospective new members in attendance.
We sang Happy Anniversary to Lori Jalbert who celebrates her wedding anniversary August 28. There were no birthdays to celebrate.
Ted Colburn completed 13 weeks perfect attendance but was not there to collect his Rotary Four Way Test Ball-Point Pen. There was some confusion over one Rotarian’s years of service, so we won’t make an announcement about that until we get the facts all sorted out and agreed upon.
No speaker this week since it was a club assembly. Many items discussed at assembly; included were:
The club intends to participate in the Groton Fall Festival on Saturday, October 11. In past years we have sold caramel and candy apples; this year we want to diversify into popcorn and possibly cotton candy. We are also considering an amber alert registration booth.
We will also participate again this year in the annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive with Liberty Bank. As you will recall, this drive has been very successful in the past when we have partnered with Groton Lyons Club. Last year we were able to contribute a total of roughly $13,000 thanks to that partnership and the matching contributions from Liberty Bank.
We are encouraging all Rotarians to get involved in a committee in the club this year. We have a total of 8 committees, which are: Membership, Fund Raising, Foundation, Club Service, Vocational Service/Interact, International Service/Chikumbuso, Public Relations, and Bylaws. So, as you can see, there is something there for everyone. So far, 28 Rotarians have signed up to be on at least one committee so there are still plenty of opportunities. The goal/expectation is that every Groton Ledyard Rotarian will be involved in at least one committee. To those who have already signed up, thank you!
The annual auction will be held on Saturday March 28 2009. So why am I talking about it already? Because, we want to improve both the amount and quality of items available at the next auction and the number of folks participating in the auction. There were several ideas kicked around at the meeting regarding how to improve the auction, including having an on line auction to increase the reach to potential bidders. If you have ideas please submit them to fundraising chair R.B. Kent.
Lastly, please remember the Red Cross Blood Drive, coming up September 19 at Groton Regency. So far only 6 Rotarians have signed up to give blood. That’s less than 15% of our club. I know we can do better; at our first drive last year we had almost three times that number!
Have a great Rotary week! And remember, bring a guest and ask them to consider joining Rotary.
P.S. Ed, travel safe!
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Regular Meeting of August 19th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We enjoyed the company of 33 Rotarians and guests this week; including one prospective new member.
Bob Perry has completed 40 years of perfect attendance; now that is real dedication to Rotary. Bob received a 40 year pendant for his Rotary Pin. Congratulations Bob!
Dave Stryker and Mike Riegel completed 13 weeks perfect attendance and received Rotary Four Way Test Ball Point Pens.
One of our guests this week, Mr. Tyler Olsen representing the Red Cross, attended the meeting to announce our Fall Blood Drive conducted with Groton Regency.
The Blood Drive will be held at Groton Regency, 1145 Poquonnock Road, Groton, Connecticut, on Friday September 19, 2008 from 1:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Anyone wishing to donate blood may sign up by calling 1-800-GIVE LIFE or register online at www.bloodct.org. We will also have a sign up list at each Rotary meeting up through September 16 and you may sign up there as well. GIVE BLOOD, IT FEELS GOOD!!
Speaking of Groton Regency, please remember to stop by there and say Hi to fellow Rotarian George Letz. George is undergoing rehab at Groton Regency and would really enjoy the company.
Our speaker this week, introduced by Dave Stryker, was Rob Simmons. As many of you know, Rob is a former congressman from the second district and is currently serving as the State of Connecticut Business Advocate. As such, he acts as an information clearing house and tries to help small businesses make sense out of the “alphabet soup” they have to deal with in attempting to break through the bureaucracy to get things done. Rob has conducted over 200 site visits to CT businesses in the past year to learn about the individual business, find out what their issues might be and try to help them navigate through to a solution. To find out more about the Office of Business Advocate, visit their web site at www.ct.gov/oba.
So, have a great Rotary Week and please put September 19 on your calendar for the blood drive.
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Regular Meeting of August 12th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
Our speaker this week was to have been Ms. Jessica Bachelor providing an update on Medicare benefits. Unfortunately, she was called away with a work related item at the last minute and had to cancel. Too bad; hopefully we can reschedule her sometime in the future as the topic would be useful and beneficial to almost all of our members.
We sang Happy Birthday to Lea Doran (August 12) and Happy Anniversary to Richard Abston (August 18) and Bill Johnston (August 19). BTW, Lea’s birthday and Richard’s anniversary were not on the president’s list for some reason so President Mike paid the fine for the faux pas.
Walter Brown and Bruno Giulini were both congratulated for completing 13 weeks of perfect attendance.
We learned this week that George Letz is undergoing rehab at Groton Regency. Please, let’s all wish George a speedy recovery and if at all possible stop by and say hello to him at the Regency. I’m sure he would enjoy the company.
Glenn Arthur was inducted into the club this week. It is great to have Glenn back in the club. As is our custom when we induct a new member, we allot the new member with time to talk about his background, what he does why he is interested in Rotary etc. Following Glenn’s talk, someone commented they didn’t think Glenn was old enough to have accomplished all that. I think that was a complement (it was, really).
To all board members, a reminder, we have our regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday, August 20, at 8:00 am in the Council Chambers at the Groton City Municipal Building.
Have a great Rotary
week.
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Regular Meeting of August 5th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
Attendance was a little lighter this week, with 28 Rotarians and guests present.
Bill Johnston celebrated his birthday on July 31 and he paid us $2 not to sing to him. Jim and Marguerite Mitchell celebrate their anniversary on August 10.
No years or thirteen weeks of perfect attendance to acknowledge this week.
In the good news category, Stu Murray was back this week after a long absence. It was great to see him. On a sad note, he announced he would be moving out of the area this coming fall.
Club Vice President, RB Kent, will be chairing a fundraising committee and is looking for volunteers to help him on the committee. So all Rotarians with good fundraising ideas and a desire to help out, please contact RB.
Membership Committee Chairperson, Gina Kolodnicki is looking for membership committee members. We have some ambitious goals for membership this Rotary year, so please consider this committee as an area for your Rotary involvement. No experience necessary!
RI Foundation seminars will be held on 20 September in Deep River and 27 September in Westport. We will be sending members to the seminar in Deep River. Anyone interested, please contact Cathy Lathrop.
Our program this week was brought to us by Jane Giulini (wife of Rotarian Bruno) and Jeanne Steinnagel. Jane who is principal of Pawcatuck Middle School, introduced Jeanne, the special education teacher. Jeanne told us about the year long project during the 2006-2007 school year to support the Chikumbuso project in Lusaka Zambia. In all, with help from other charities, they raised and provided $24,000 in funds and product for Chikumbuso. They provided a 5th grade classroom for the school, 4000 books, and health care for the students for one year. They sent lot’s of items including school supplies, tee shirts, Beanie Babies, Xmas ornaments, and playground equipment. Jeanne was able to go to Zambia and meet many of the grandmothers, mothers and children associated with Chikumbuso. Hearing this report and seeing the results accomplished by Pawcatuck Middle School was an inspiration to us all and for the coming Rotary year. After seeing this presentation, we at Groton Ledyard Rotary will be setting our sights a little higher for our Chikumbuso support project. More to follow…
Here are some dates/events to put on the Rotary Calendar:
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August 23 Youth Exchange Welcome Picnic: Hammonassett State Park
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August 24 Youth Exchange Host Orientation: Hammonassett State Park
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September 1 GSE Team Leader Applications due for Central American team
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September 6 Foundation Lunch with RIP DK Lee in Philadelphia
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September 8 International Literacy Day
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September 14 Foundation Alumni/ Ambassadorial Scholar Picnic: Milford
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September 20 Club Foundation Chair Training Seminar: Deep River
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September 27 Club Foundation Chair Training Seminar: Westport
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September 26-27 Ambassadorial Scholar Orientation/ NELink: Worchester, MA
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October 1 GSE Team Member Application deadline: Central American team
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October 4 District-wide Make a Difference Day to clean a stream, pond, lake or beach with your families, youth groups, etc; hold an evening fellowship event
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October 10 Youth Exchange trip to Washington DC
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October 11 Rotary Leadership Institute: New Haven
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October 17-19 RYLA: Stratford
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October 18 Club President’s Mid Year Assembly: New Haven
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November 6 Foundation Dinner featuring TRF Chair Jonathan Majiyagbe
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November 8 UN Day: New York City
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November 15 Youth Exchange trip to Newport, RI
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November 23 Outbound Youth Exchange Interviews
FYI, District Governor Rick Benson will visit our club on Tuesday October 14.
Hey!
Have a great Rotary Week.
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Regular Meeting of July 29th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We enjoyed the company of 37 Rotarians and guests this week, a considerable improvement over last week.
Stan & Diane Cardinal celebrated their wedding anniversary July 29. We convinced Stan we should sing to him and so we did.
There were no other birthdays or anniversaries to celebrate. There were no years of perfect attendance or thirteen weeks of perfect attendance to announce this week.
The board has recommended Glenn Arthur for membership in the category of Community Service. Glenn is, as most of you will recall, a former member of Groton Ledyard Rotary & we are looking forward to having him rejoin the club.
The results of last week’s Groton Ledyard Community Awards Foundation Board election were announced. The members at large for 2008-2009 are Lian Obrey, Bob Perry and John Scot. Congratulations and thank you to all.
2007-2008 grant awards
were announced and presented this week.
Grants awarded were:
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West Side Middle School was awarded $500 for the Mentoring Program
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Fairview Odd Fellows Home was awarded $500 to purchase three 17 inch flat screen monitors
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Hospice of SECT was awarded $500 for its Hospice Regatta Series
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Christopher Trammell was awarded $500 for his Eagle Scout Project which consists of designing and building raised gardens at the Riverfront Children’s Center
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The DNA Epicenter was awarded $1050 for summer camp scholarships for science students from Fitch, Westside and Cutler Middle Schools
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The Lighthouse Vocational Education Center was awarded $500 for scholarships for children with disabilities to attend programs
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Town of Groton Parks and Rec Dept was awarded $1000 for rubberized safety surfacing for the Tercentennial Playground
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Maritime Education Foundation was awarded $500 to sponsor Groton Maritime Academy graduates to sail the Mystic Whaler from NYC back to New London, a three day two night cruise.
Congratulations to all awardees.
We also gratefully thank all the businesses and individuals who support our fundraising activities and make these grants possible.
Have a great
Rotary Week.
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Regular Meeting of July 22nd, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We enjoyed the company of 28 Rotarians and guests this week, a slight improvement over last week. Our guests were Glenn Arthur, a former club member and prospective new member; and Josh and Ben Abston, sons of fellow Rotarian Richard Abston.
Stan & Diane Cardinal celebrate their wedding anniversary on July 29. There were no birthdays to celebrate this week.
John Silsby announced he is looking for volunteers to serve on a committee to review and revise the club by-laws. Anyone interested should contact John.
Membership Committee Chairperson, Gina Kolodnicki, is looking for volunteers to serve on the Membership Committee. Anyone wanting to help recruit and retain new club members should contact Gina and sign up now.
We held the annual Groton Ledyard Rotary Community Awards Foundation meeting this week and therefore there was no speaker this week. As part of the foundation meeting, an election was held by secret ballot to elect new foundation board members for the 2008-2009 Rotary year. Results will be announced at our club meeting next week. Foundation financial reports are delayed due to all bank records not being available in time to prepare the reports. The financial reports will be presented at a future meeting.
All of our 2007-2008 foundation grant awardees have been invited to join us next week. Hopefully all or most will be able to join us. Rotarians, you don’t want to miss this meeting; come see where your local foundation dollars are going.
I hope to see
you all next week
And, please bring a friend as your guest to our next meeting!
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Regular Meeting of July 15th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We had 24 Rotarians and guests at our meeting this week; so you can see, attendance was down from previous weeks which some say can be expected in the hot summer season. Our only guest was the guest speaker, meaning no prospective members this week; come on Rotarians, the prospective members are out there, let’s bring them in.
There were no birthdays or anniversaries this week, and no new years of service or thirteen weeks of service to celebrate.
Our speaker this week, introduced by Lea Doran, was Mr. Ron Agostini. Ron is a licensed Physical Therapist with Mystic Physical Therapy and Healing Center, located at 481 Gold Star Highway in Groton, CT. He has been a practicing PT since 1986 and started out like most, doing regular so-called manipulative PT. In 1993 he started following what he called the Osteopathic Model which involves taking a more homeopathic approach. He says you don’t always have to adopt the “no pain/no gain” philosophy to help people and it’s good to be willing to try new methods and techniques, such as acupressure and to look for emotional ties to physical conditions so those ties can be dealt with as well.
Ron demonstrated one of his favorite exercises to the group and had everyone give it a try. The exercise is called “diaphragmatic breathing” and as the name implies, involves trying to use the diaphragm to pull air into and expel it from the lungs. It was a very interesting and informative presentation.
Have a great Rotary week.
And, please bring a friend as your guest
to our next meeting!
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Installation & Annual Meeting of July 8th, 2008
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We enjoyed the company of 35 Rotarians and guests this week. Guests included four Rotarian’s spouses, Sharon Stryker, Robin Silsby, Jeanne Kolar, and Sue Riegel; one prospective member (and former member) Glenn Arthur; and Assistant Governor Catherine Foley.
Cliff Hurley celebrated his birthday on July 3; Ted and Doretta Colburn celebrate their wedding anniversary on July 13.
Ed Kolar was presented a Rotary Four Way Test Ball-Point Pen for completing 13 weeks perfect attendance.
Assistant Governor for Area 12 (our area) Catherine Foley addressed the club with District Governor Rick Benson’s goals for the year and presented each Rotarian with RI and District pins.
Yours truly attended the District Governor installation in Westport on Monday evening. All club presidents in attendance at that gala affair were installed in addition to the District Governor. A total of 300 plus Rotarians and guests participated in and witnessed these festivities.
Groton Ledyard Rotary installed all remaining officers and directors at our regular meeting this week.
Officers installed were: John Silsby, President Elect; R.B. Kent, Vice President; Michelle Mencer, Secretary; Lori Jalbert, Treasurer.
Directors installed were Lee Vincent, Assistant Secretary; Bruno Giulini,
SGT at Arms, Programs/Club Service; Ted Colburn, International Service;
Gina Kolodnicki, Membership Chair; Cathy Lathrop and Bo Bohannan,
Foundation Co-Chairs; Paul Lapides and Diane Thomas, directors at large;
and Ed Kolar, Web Master.
This year’s Scarano Award was presented to Nolan Nixon. 
Nolan has always tried to be sort of a behind the
scenes guy, but in doing so he has contributed significantly above and
beyond the call of duty to the cause of Rotary and his community. Nolan
is most deserving of this recognition. Well done!
That’s all for this week;
Have a great Rotary Week
And, please bring a friend as your guest
to our next meeting!
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Regular Meeting of July 1st, 2008 (1st meeting of our new Rotary Year)
Greetings Fellow Rotarians!
We
enjoyed the company of 29 Rotarians and guests at our regular
meeting this week.
Cathy Lathrop delivered the weekly Rotary Foundation thought and
Dave Stryker delivered the Rotary Membership Minute.
This
week we celebrated Michelle's birthday (July 1); Mike led the
singing which was terribly off key, but it was done in love.
Anniversaries to be celebrated this week were Bruno Giulini (July
1), Frank Eppinger (July 5) and RB Kent (July 6); Michelle led the
singing and believe me it was much better!
Thanks to all Rotarians and friends who turned out on Saturday to
help with the dinner at
Groton Senior Center. It was a great success as usual.
Dues
for Rotary year 2008-2009 are now due. Dues are $125 and full
payment would be appreciated ASAP but in any case no later than July
15. Our semiannual dues to RI are also due now and we need the club
dues obviously so we can pay the RI dues.
The
board of directors for the 2008-2009 Rotary year was unanimously
elected this week.
The board consists of all club officers:
Mike Riegel: President
John Silsby: President Elect
Richard B. Kent: Vice President
Michelle Mencer: Secretary
Lori Jalbert: Treasurer
Frank Winkler: Past President
And the following Rotarians:
Lee Vincent: Assistant Secretary
Bruno Giulini Program/Club Service/Sgt. at Arms
Ted Colburn International Programs Chair
Gina Kolodnicki Membership Chair
Cathy Lathrop Foundation Co-Chair
Paul Lapides
Diane Thomas
Thanks to all who have agreed to serve.
Our speaker this week, introduced by Paul Lapides, was Susan Bailey from the Riverfront Children's Center. The center is located at 476 Thames Street in Groton. It was started in 1983 as the preschool childcare component of the YWCA. The program purchased the building and was incorporated as the Riverfront Children's Center, Inc in 1995. They are a state licensed Early Learning Center and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. They provide preschool care on a sliding fee scale to help parents in difficult economic circumstances. Riverfront Children's Center is always looking for volunteer support. Anyone interested in assisting and for more information please visit their web site at www.riverfrontchildren.org.
That's it for now. Have a great Rotary Week, a safe and happy Independence Day Celebration and we'll hopefully see you all next week,