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Bulletin Editor
Gary Miller
Speakers
Jun 09, 2023
Jun 16, 2023
Aid to Haiti
Jun 23, 2023
African Education Partnership
Jun 30, 2023
July 4th Weekend
Jul 07, 2023
Guatemalan Water Project
Jul 14, 2023
Live Life to the Fullest
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Secretary
 
Treasurer
 
Immediate Past President
 
Membership
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Rotary Foundation
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Interact Chair
 
Club Information
Rotary of Avon-Canton - Founded 1973
Avon-Canton
Service above Self
Fridays at 7:30 AM
Golf Club of Avon
160 Country Club Road
Avon, CT 06001
United States of America
Fax:
(860) 760-6364
All meetings are hybrid both in-person and Zoom available
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District Site
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Venue Map
 
February 10, 2023
ELDER LAW and
Greetings from Farmington Rotary
Jeff Rivard, Attorney and Rotary President
 
The meeting will be held both in person and via Zoom. 
Watch for an email from the Club for Zoom access and
please note we use a recurring ID for your convenience.
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report 
Rotarians Present: 29 (including 7 on Zoom)
 
Visiting Rotarians:  None
 
Guests: Ryan Gorecki (Speaker)
Happy Dollars: 11
Raffle Winner: Sue Budde
Fines: None today.
Birthdays
 
Lisa Wright (Feb 3), Don Bonner (Feb 5), Deb Korner (Feb 5), and Larry Sullivan (Feb 5): None in attendance.
 
 
Happy Dollars
 
Phil Ferrari was happy to be done dog sitting for his daughter's dog and is happy with his decision not ever own another pet. He was flying to San Diego to meet his son's in-laws. 
 
Peter Vignati was happy to have Suzanne home from a week of jury duty.
 
Alicia Canning was happy to report that her daughter, Sara, had a clean PET scan. She wasn't very happy about $5000 of damage caused by mice eating the wiring in her car. 
 
Bob Cave had 20 showings for his latest flip house in Avon.
 
Salin Low would be serving jury duty next week.
 
Dick Kisiel was very happy not to have had a passenger in his car when it was broadsided by another driver. The passenger side was demolished.
 
Josh Gillooly is part of Norcom Cares which is returning following a COVID hiatus. They have two major fundraisers each year -- a golf tournament at Golf Club of Avon and a wine and beer event at the North House which is on Thursday, Feb 9th, with a Super Bowl pregame theme.
 
 
Announcements
 
Colleen Grasso reminded everyone that the 2023 TOTV Committee would be meeting at Dish 'n Dat on Tuesday at 5:00 PM
 
Calendar
 
May 6, 2023 -  Tastes of the Valley at Golf Club of Avon
 
September 11, 2023 - Annual Charity Golf Tournament
 
October 19, 2023 - Club's 50th Anniversary Dinner
 
Induction of New Members
None this week.
Awards
None this week.
 
Community and International Service Grants
None this week.
 
Habitat for Humanity
Ryan Gorecki
Director of Volunteer and Engagement
 
President-Elect Luke Violette who is a Habitat volunteer introduced our speaker. Luke and 20 of his colleagues did a Habitat build in Windsor at which Norcom employees made up the rest of the team. Luke hopes that our club can participate in a Habitat build in the near future. Ryan Gorecki is the Director of Volunteer and Engagement at the Habitat for Humanity's North Central CT chapter. Ryan joined the team in 2016 as Volunteer Manager and expanded affiliate programming to support every aspect of operations. Ryan manages the volunteer program and experience for over 4000 annual Habitat volunteers, including training, development, and specialized communications. Ryan also manages the HFHNCC Youth Advocacy & Engagement Program and works closely with our future leaders and next generation Habitat builders. Ryan is also an avid musician and currently resides in Windsor with his wife and two children.
 
Ryan said that Habitat houses are not give aways. They clients that occupy the finished project make the mortgage payments and put in 150 hours minimum of sweat equity. The local Habitat buildings 10-12 houses per year and has 4-5000 volunteers involved. The home owners receive an interest free 30-year mortgage that is held by Habitat. Applicants attend an information meeting to learn the responsibilities of home ownership and learn about the expectations of participation in the program. Habitat's Family Services Team reviews every application and meets with all applicants to review their current living conditions and determine eligibility.  Each successful applicant signs a partnership agreement and must attend financial management training classes. As a result of the sweat equity requirement the homeowners learn valuable skills that will save them money doing any repairs during their occupancy of the home. A typical build takes 8-12 months depending on the style of the home and materials used. Habitat has current builds in Windsor and Hartford. We may be able to attend the dedication ceremony of the build in Hartford and volunteer at the Habitat's ReStore in Bloomfield..

This home is one of the Forbes & Chester Street project builds in East Hartford, CT.  All the houses in each project are the same design and consist of 2 single-family, standalone new construction homes. This project began in May 2021 and was dedicated March 2022.​ Each unit is 1612 sq ft​, 4 bedroom​s, 1.5 bath​s, 1 car garage​, on a slab with no basement​. All the builds are energy efficient and can eventually have solar panels installed.

The International Habitat Organization provides funding and partnership benefits with lots of resources for training and sourcing materials. Habitat also works locally for fundraising with businesses and other organizations.

Bob Cave stated that he started his house flipping business as a result of volunteer at a Habitat build 20 years ago. He decided he could do his own projects. Bob hopes that we will be able to work on a Habitat project in our area. Bob asked how projects are chosen. Ryan said that H4H works through partnerships with land owners and the municipalities. Cities such as Hartford identify blighted properties that can be potential locations. 

Since Habitat holds the mortgage, they remain a safety net for the homeowners. The local chapter has existed for 36 years and has seen many of their mortgages paid in full. H4H builds both single family and multi-family homes. The average home is about 1600 square feet. The average value of the homes in the Windsor area are about $270,000. 

 

 

Special Announcements

None this week.
 
Mail Bag
None this week.
 
Photo Credits
Screen Shots by editor
 
Technology Credits
Zoom platform management expertise by Mike Mezheritskiy.
 
Editor's Notes
Submission Deadline: Members are kindly encouraged to submit all materials for each week's Early Riser as early as possible. Please note that some editions may be published and distributed as early as the Saturday following our meetings, and during those weeks further contributions to the Early Riser will be included in the subsequent week's edition.
“The FOUR-WAY TEST of the things we think, say or do”:

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?