April 29, 2008
Len Vilandry 'got his feet wet' and had good practice in running the meeting this evening in President Mark's absence.
Prayer: Bill Oksanen read the prayer.
Song: Charlie Bilionis chose one of his favorites "God Bless America" - which we sang with much gusto.
Happy Fines: Carol Schwarzer for being "almost done" with the RYLA applications; Visiting Rotarian Gary Evans for how well we sang the song this evening; Brian Donovan put down $10 in celebration of his new job after 18 years with Bonville & Howard, although he will miss the old firm (Congratulations and Good Luck, Brian); Not to be 'outdone' Ed Howard also paid $10 for Brian's new job and stated how much he will be missed; Len Vilandry is happy to be running the meeting in President Mark's absence.
Sad Fines: Ed Woodcome for missing last week - although he looks relaxed and tanned so he must have had a great vacation; Mary Pepin for not being able to make the meeting next week and for Brian leaving Bonville & Howard - she will miss him; Len Vilandry is sad that rain over the past couple of days has washed away all his daffodils.
Announcements:
- The District Conference will take place on Friday May 2, Saturday May 3, and Sunday May 4, at the Holiday Inn Boxborough Woods. DG Greg will host a hospitality suite on Friday and Saturday and would like our club to participate on Friday evening. Finger foods, beverages, paper goods, etc. will be needed. As this is a multi-cultural event, all foods will be welcomed. Food may be dropped off with Aisha and she canl take the items to Boxborough on Friday,
- DON'T FORGET!!! We will meet on Sunday, May 4 at 8:00 AM on the bridge downtown Fitchburg to start prep work on the flowerboxes. Please make every effort to attend and help out - many hands make light work!
- MARK YOUR CALENDARS: TheFirst Annual Teachers Celebration & Recognition Dinner will take place on May 13 at the Best Western Royal Plaza, 150 Royal Plaza Drive, Fitchburg, 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. $35.00 per ticket/$350.00 table of 10. As this will be our regular meeting for the week, members are asked to arrive early (around 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM) to help set up the room. Those donating a basket for the raffle may take them early that evening to the hotel or to Mary Pepin at Bonville and Howard prior to that date. (Please note that Mary will not be at the meeting on May 6, so please make arrangements with her to drop off baskets at Bonville and Howard.) With everyone's help this can be a very successful evening.
History of Rotary: As April is Rotary Magazine Month, Carol spoke this evening on the history of "The Rotarian". The first magazine, the "National Rotarian", was published in January 1911. The very well received publication contained an essay by Paul Harris together with various articles and advertisements. Six months later the second issue was printed in July 1911. Due to the magazine's popularity it was henceforth printed on a monthly basis, and renamed "The Rotarian" in 1912. A milestone was reached in February 1995 when issue number 1,000 was published. Over the years the magazine has contained many articles by well known writers including Nobel Prize winners and Pulitzer Prize winners. The magazine now boasts 1,209,000 readers worldwide and is printed in a number of languages.
On the subject of the magazine - Aisha Jones will collect old editions to recycle to various locations including doctors offices/waiting rooms. For confidentiality purposes, mailing addresses will be covered with a "Fitchburg East Rotary Club" label. In our "throw away" society this is a wonderful recycling project.
Program: Rich Duncan stepped in at the last moment and spoke to us about our website. This Vocational Project was developed by Rich in conjunction with two of his students at Monty Tech. Rich took us step-by-step through the site pointing out the information available. Several suggestions were put forward from the floor including scanning in the club's historical photographs and banners from other clubs we have received. This website is a great asset and contains much information on "The Can Do Club".
Birthdays/Anniversaries: Ed Tarquinio paid a dollar for wife Sue's birthday last week and we sang a rousing verse of "Happy Birthday" to Bob Gallo for April 26th.
Attendance:
20 Fitchburg East Rotarians
1 Visiting Rotarian: Gary Evans (Lunenburg Club)
1 Guest: Claire Carroll
Raffle: Due to previous confusion regarding raffle tickets and absent members, Ed Woodcome had the first pick - but no luck in finding the Joker. Both Herb Pratt and Bud Fortin then tried, but again with no luck. Eventually Ed Tarquinio, this week’s winner, picked the Jack of Hearts so the Joker remains in the deck.
Desk Schedule:
May 6 - Bill Oksanen/Gwen O'Neil
May 13 - Teacher Appreciation Dinner at the Best Western Royal Plaza
(Hosts: Bob Campbell/Mark & Seema Williams)
May 20 - Pat Glover/Bob Gallo
May 27 - Ed Tarquinio/Carol Schwarzer
June 3 - Mary Pepin/Len Vilandry
June 10 - Brian Donovan/Maria Gallant
June 17 - Rich Duncan/Aisha Jones
June 24 - Seema Williams/Mike Hewitt - Installation of New President
(Oak Hill Country Club)
Program Schedule:
May - 6 Joyce Campbell
May - 13 TEACHER APPRECIATION DINNER
May - 20 Ed Tarquinio
May - 27 ANNUAL PRESENTATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS
June - 3 Ed Howard
June - 10 NO PROGRAM - MONTHLY BOARD MEETING
June - 17 Mark Williams/President's Forum
June - 24 INSTALLATION OF NEW PRESIDENT
(Oak Hill Country Club)
PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL GUEST SPEAKERS MUST BE APPROVED IN ADVANCE
If you are unable to find a speaker for your scheduled night please ask another member for help or switch nights. It is nearly impossible to find someone at the last minute and meetings are much more enjoyable when we have a short program. Thank you.