Early Riser Newsletter (Apr 29, 2022)

Gary Miller
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)

Sep 30, 2022

Joanne Alfieri, PDG

Membership

Oct 07, 2022

Lisa Barall-Matt

Africa Trip

Oct 14, 2022

Brandon Robertson, Avon Town Manager

Town of Avon Updates

Oct 21, 2022

Tentative

Oct 28, 2022

Club Day

Nov 04, 2022

Michael Castro

Medicare

View entire list

President

Chris Lamadrid

President Elect

Rauf Majidian

Secretary

Luke Violette

Treasurer

Gary Hyde

Immediate Past President

Alicia Canning

Sergeant-at-Arms

Deborah Stanwood

Rotary Foundation

Joanne Santiago

Board Member-at-Large

Ike Eickenhorst

Board Member-at-Large

Gary Miller

Interact Chair

Michelle Traub

Rotary of Avon-Canton - Founded 1973

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

Send Email to Club

All meetings are hybrid both in-person and Zoom available

District Site

Venue Map

April 29, 2022

Hartford Boys & Girls Clubs

Sam Gray

The meeting will be held both in person at the Golf Club of Avon 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
Members Present: 36 participants, with 28 in person, and the rest virtually.
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: 2LT George Pavlakis, USA, live from Munich, Germany
Happy Dollars: $15 going to TOTV for the 50/50
Raffle Winner: None.

Fines: None today.

Birthdays: None

Happy Dollars

Sue Budde was at a Yard Goats game with Bill where her nephew was honored as a STEM Hero and threw out the first pitch. She and Bill were also going to the Avon Lions Club Pasta Dinner.

Salin Low was glad to have George speaking to us. She is planning on going to Munich this summer.

Phil Ferrari is looking for a 4th for a group of Rotarians playing in the Simsbury/Granby Golf Tournament at Hop Meadow CC on June 21st. Please contact him if you are interested.

Jolly Lux was grateful to back from her trip to Uganda. The water project is working very well thanks to funding from the District and our club. She was saddened by the loss of young Christine but happy to know she is in Heaven now. Jolly brought back some of her arts and crafts.

Bob Cave had fun playing golf with Phil Ferrari, Gary Miller and Paul Mikkelson at Simsbury Farms GC. He said he made them look and feel good.

Lou Daniels was sporting an old Avon-Canton Rotary shirt he found while cleaning out closets. He said he felt like Elvis coming and exiting from Rotary over the years.

Announcements

Heather Pantano reported that the Rotary Day of Service on April 9th was very successful. She thanked our volunteers for working the doors of Avon Big Y and ShopRite of Canton.

May 14th: Taste of the Valley at Golf Club of Avon needs assistance with about 20 more gift baskets and prizes. Please contact Cherie Walton or Heather Pantano. You can also use the sign up genius on our website. Members each have 2 tickets to buy or sell. Sponsorships are also available. Members can sponsor as a family if desired. We also need bottles of wine or booze for the bottle pull.

Alicia Canning announced that the President's Installation Dinner for 2022-23 would be on July 8th at the Golf Club of Avon.

Induction of New Members

None this week.

Awards

None this week.

Community and International Service Grants

None this week.

PRESENTATION

2LT George Pavlakis, USA

Live from München, Deutschland

Rollie Sterrett welcomed George and reintroduced him to our new members. George is in Germany on a two year program of study following his graduation from West Point. He applied for and received a scholarship from our club to cover his tuition and expenses. Rollie also congratulated George on his engagement to his girlfriend, Jainina, a former Avon HS exchange student from Germany. George proposed on a beach in Cyprus while on holiday with her.

George said that he has three main areas of focus with his program. He has been in Germany for seven months and has been reporting back on a quarterly basis as required under his scholarship agreement. The last report was included in the special edition of the Early Riser last week.

Academic:

-Broaden my political science background through courses, reading, and academic organizations -Contribute to the public discussion on important issues
-Take advantage of competitive opportunities at TUM

Professional:
-Connect with international experts and build relationships -Stay fit and participate in military training when available -Prepare for the internship semester

Cultural:
-Learn about Munich and Europe through Rotary
-Visit other countries when possible and learn about their culture and history -Strengthen existing and new friendships with international peers in Munich and beyond

Month by Month Activities

September and October

George settled into Munich and registered for courses. He and his girlfriend adopted a pet dog. Courses started in mid-October.
-Joined the Academic Association for Security Studies
-Met with Marina Bassilious from the Munich-International Rotary Club

November

-”ATHENS” Exchange program at Mines-Paris Tech
-Published article on the Belarusian migrant crisis
-Attended first virtual Munich-International Rotary Club meeting with former Rotary International president Holger Knaack
-Met with a researcher from the Hanns Seidel Foundation

December

-Visited Jordan for a few days with a friend from school and toured a tank and armor museum.
-Worked through projects and papers over the Christmas break
-Applied for and was accepted into Model United Nations TUM. George was active in the model UN program while at Avon HS and was happy to be part of it again.

January

-Visited Lisbon with Jainina and learned about the Portuguese dictatorship and colonial history
-Finished most projects and papers
-Met with an additional researcher from the Hanns Seidel Foundation

February

-Finished classes for the semester with three exams and all papers/projects completed about 3-6 weeks before the due dates
-Joined a Munich-International Rotary Club online meeting featuring a European politics professor covering the brewing Russo-Ukrainian war
-Organized and hosted an official side event of the Munich Security Conference as a member of the BSH and MUNTUM

March

-Visited Cyprus to learn about Cypriot history/culture and where he proposed to Jainina. Then Australia for a week to see his extended family in Sydney. He brought his uniform with him since none of the family had seen him in uniform.
-Spent a week with an infantry battalion from the 173rd Airborne Brigade while they conducted a training rotation at a facility in northern Bavaria. He was very psyched to see this elite unit in action.
-Volunteered at a donation center for humanitarian aid flowing to Ukraine

April

-Prepared for the summer semester and registered for courses
-Trip to Istanbul during which he visited two military history museums.

Next Few Months

-Winter semester internship arrangement
-Potential study trip to Ottawa
-Finishing formal coursework for the program
-Articles in the works and BSH events focused on the Russo-Ukrainian War
-Attending in-person Munich International Rotary Club meetings once they allow guests

George has learned a lot being in Europe during the Russia-Ukraine War. He has seen how the history from WWI and WWII has effected and amplified the impact of the war.

Special Announcements

None this week.

Mail Bag

None this week.

Photo Credits

Mike Mezheritskiy

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?