Speaker(s): Dean Miguelina Howell and Theresa Greaves
Guests: Loren Clarke (Prospective Member), John Carmon
Raffle Winner: Not Won
Birthdays: None
Happy Dollars
Yvonne Gardner was meeting her guests (our speakers) and missed giving the invocation. She fined herself for $10 and praised the TOTV committee for a very successful event last Friday.
Peter Vignatiwas happy to be going to the Westfield Airshow on Saturday.
Ann Clark was having a very special family weekend. Her youngest grandson was graduating from Sienna College--the same place her late husband Pat attended. Next week she will be in Maine to watch her granddaughter graduate from medical school. She has her Residency at St. Francis in Hartford which is thankfully close by.
Salin Low enjoyed TOTV and thanked everyone for making the event a success. She and John were heading up to Boston for lunch.
Bill Barnes was pleased that his grandson has graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Larry Haber asked if anyone noticed that the content for last weeks Early Riser was generated by AI. Mike Mezheritskiy uses an AI program to summarize the Zoom recording of our meeting.
Bob Cave has passed the gavel after serving as his HOA President for 17 years.
Phil Ferrari has happy that Beanz & Co has nearly reached their fundraising goal.
Announcements
Peter Vignati, Membership Chair, announced that Loren Clarke, Branch Manager of the Avon branch of Northwest Community Bank has submitted an application to join our Rotary Club. She will meet with the Membership Committee on May 19th to review her application.
Larry Sullivan handed out a folder to each member with all the information for this year's golf tournament. He explained the contents and asked everyone to get business rounding up golfers and sponsors. The advertising book will be completely digital this year.
Ann Clark presented a card and a prize to Colleen Grasso for Chairing and doing the lion's share of work for TOTV 2023. Colleen in turn asked everyone to thank Lisa Wright and the staff at Golf Club of Avon for all that they do to make our events fun and successful.
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
Editors Special Note
Utilizing the technical wizardry of Michael Mezheritskiy in conjunction with this scribe, the last edition of the Early Riser was completed with the help of a computer program that automatically transcribed the Zoom meeting and provided an AI synopsis of the program speakers comments. Let us know your thoughts as we continue to move from Zoom, to QR Codes, and now to AI.
Church Street Eats
Ministry of Christ Church Cathedral
Dean Miguelina and Theresa Greaves
Yvonne Gardner introduced Dean Miguelina and Theresa Greaves. Miguelina is the 10th Dean and was the Vicar of the Cathedral. She is a Chaplain to the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Hartford Stage. Dean Lina is originally from the Dominican Republic where she holds a license in Clinical Psychology. She was ordained a priest in 2003. She is passionate about social and racial justice as well as the intersection of spirituality and the arts. Dean Lina is married to Daniel Howell and has three children. Theresa is a member of Christ Church Cathedral as well as co-convener of the ministry outreach program Church Street Eats. Along with participating in worship at the Cathedral, Theresa serves as a Congregations Committee member. She grew up and currently lives in Windsor. She holds two Bachelors Degrees from the University of Hartford. She is a licensed Practical Nurse who serves two optometry offices in Tolland and Hartford.
Dean Lina began her talk by offering $2 Happy Dollars for all the work that Rotary does. Christ Church is the home of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. The Church is committed to serving all the residents of Hartford, especially those with food insecurity. The goal of Church Street Eats is to build relationships not just give out food. Along with the food, they give spiritual comfort.
Dean Lina turned the program over to Theresa. Church Street Eats has been working with Church by the Pond since 2008. The services are open-air regardless of the weather. Bag lunches are handed out during the services which are organized by local clergy and their congregations. CSE also collects and distributes personal care items, clean white socks and t-shirts. The CSE leadership team also created Mother Rose's Boutique to distribute collected items in a store-like atmosphere.
Salin Low mentioned that she had worked with Church by the Pond. Ann Clark asked what time the services were held at Bushnell Park. Theresa said 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. They start a bit earlier in the winter. Yvonne Gardner attends Church by the Pond regularly with the Emanuel Lutheran congregation. Phil Ferrari asked about coordination with all the other agencies that serve the community. Theresa said some of the groups that provide food support are involved but not most. The food is donated by the participating organizations and churches.
Special Announcements
None this week.
Mail Bag
None this week.
Photo Credits
Gary Miller
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?
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