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Club Information
Rotary of Avon-Canton - Founded 1973
Avon-Canton
Service above Self
Fridays at 7:30 AM
via Zoom
Avon, CT 06001
United States of America
DistrictSiteIcon
District Site
VenueMap
Venue Map
 
January 15, 2021
Tim Goodwin, Executive Director
Community First School
 
The meeting will be held on Zoom. 
Watch for an email from the club.
We are now using a recurring ID, etc.
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report 
 
Members Present: 36
 
Visiting Rotarians:   
Guests: Bob Bessel, Canton First Selectman, Guest Speaker
Happy Dollars Moments: More valuable when they are shared
Raffle Winner: No Raffle. No Winners. No Losers.
 
Special Presentation:
If you weren't at our meeting, you missed the hard work of Katelyn Kaplan, who put a video presentation  together on all that Rotary has been able to accomplish in 2020, in spite of the pandemic.  Hopefully, we can get it posted to Facebook or our web page.  Thank you Katelyn for that fabulous reminder of why we are all in Rotary.
Fines: None today.
 
Birthdays:
 
Gary Hyde (1/2)   has been a member for 25 years and has been treasures for most of that period, which has been very gratifying.  He said that it has been wonderful to join every Friday with great camaraderie and that he considers all of you a close family.
 
Jolly Lux (1/2)  is glad that 2020 is behind us and that she can celebrate another year. She wanted to thank all of her fellow Rotarians for how much they helped her grown throughout the year and has allowed her to become someone who can actually have an impact on the world.  When I joined I had no idea what it meant to be a Rotarian or to be of service.
 
Paul Mikkleson (1/4)  joined Rotary in 1989 when his office was in Hartford and he was part of the Hartford Rotary Club and served as its President for 97 -98.  He became part of our club in 2001 and is back after a brief (big mistake) stint with the Simsbury/Granby Club.  In spite of everything 2020 was a good year.  He reported that his grandson who was born with Cystic Fibrosis is doing well.    
 
 
Bob Cave (1/5)  This is a big birthday for Bob.  Every 10 years Bob buys himself a new set of golf clubs to keep up with improvement (:-} in game and he is currently looking for his next set.  He shared some trivia about what it was like when he was born.  A new home cost $4,100, rent was $32, but yearly income was only $1,750.  Paul Anka and Neil Simon were both born in the same year as Bob and Rotary was 33 years old.  While Bob did not tell us his age, he is donating $80 to the club in honor of his birthday. 
 
 
 
 
Happy Moments
 
 
Richard Heath Is happy that Ohio state which demolished Clemson is heading to the Championship game to play Alabama.  That is if they can get enough folks healthy from Covid.
 
Sue Budde had a shout out to Deb Stanwook and an acknowledgment that she had the best Christmas ever handing out meals and toys.  She also said that she has missed seeing Gary Miller since the changes at the chamber.
 
Gary Miller gave a plug to the 110th anniversary issue of the Rotarian Magazine and recommends that we read the articles on the future of Rotary.
 
Alicia Canning welcomed Lou Daniels back to the club as he is in the process of rejoining.  He missed last week as he was take care of some grandchildren as his daughter was having his 7th grandchild.
 
Jolly Lux reported that she has missed several meetings have been laid up with back pain for the last 5 weeks.  She has started PT and is glad to be back and on the road to recovery.  She also wanted to gratefully acknowledge a $1,000 contribution from Paul.
 
Kershwin Singh had told us previously that he was going to be leaving Pfizer at the end of December but has secured a 6-month assignment with them to work on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues within Pfizer’s law department.  He also thanked Larry for helping him get his daughter her first car, which is something scary.
 
Bob Cave bought a house in November and sold it in December.
 
 
Announcements
 
Alicia Canning reminded folks about the January 20th Foundation Dinner.
 
Induction of New Members
None this week.
 
Awards
None this week.
 
Community and International Service Grants
None this week.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PRESENTATION
 
Canton and the River
Robert Bessel 
First Selectman
 

 

 
Bob, a former and hopefully future member of our club gave us an overview of some of the town's plans for the Farmington River and an update on the hydroelectric project now under construction.  People keep asking if the hydro project is actually go to happen since it has been on the books in some fashion since 1979. 
 
 Here is the iconic view of the dam and the Collins Company.  If you turn to the right where those stars are, you will see the power house that was built in the 1930s.  
 
 The map extends up into MA because the needs of the plant was so great that they tapped into the Otis Reservoir.
 
 They have dug out the north side of the old building and if you look at that circular area, this is where the new turbine will be installed.
 
 This is one of the fish ladders under construction and we may be able to bring Salmon back to the river.
 
 This wall that you see was being built yesterday and will channel the water to the plant coming under the bridge to the turbine and generate 4.3 million KWH of electricity per year.  
 
This is just one of a number of things happening on the river.  He expects the tubing concession to be back this summer.  On a good day, it is putting 600 people per hour onto the river.  The town is also looking at other ways to provide access to the river.  They have a proposal in place to buy the boat lunch that is next to the Collinsville canoe and kayak company.   The former owners of Francesca have rented the deck of 41 Bridge Street and will be opening a new restaurant in April.  The board of selectman have been meeting every two weeks as a committee to discuss river access.  The river is a central focus that unites all of the towns in the valley and we need to preserve and enhance its's beauty.
 
 
 
 
 
Special Announcements
None this week.
 
Mail Bag
None this week.
 
Photo Credits
Scribe's screen grabs.
 
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?