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Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Bulletin Editor
Larry Haber
Getting to Know our Members
Getting to Know Gary Roman
Gary Roman was born in Torrington, Connecticut and remained there through his college years until 1976. Since then, he has lived in Enfield, Suffield (thirty years) and now Canton (almost five years). Gary has a background in accounting. He earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Connecticut and his Master of Business Administration from Western New England University. He began his career at Combustion Engineering, where he worked for six years. Before entering banking in the mid 1980’s, he worked as a CFO in the Massachusetts real estate management industry. He has been at Collinsville Savings Society since 2012.

Among his many volunteer activities, Gary served for five years for the Town of Suffield Board of Finance and as Treasurer for the Suffield Volunteer Ambulance Association. At Johnson Memorial Hospital in Stafford, Connecticut he held various Board positions over twelve years and served as Chairman of the Board for five years. He has served as a Board member and treasurer of Canton Main Street for five years. He has also served on the Board of the Canton Chamber of Commerce since 2012 and was President from 2017 to 2018. Gary was a member and Treasurer of the Windsor/Windsor Locks Rotary for twelve years and has been a Rotary of Avon-Canton member since 2012, where he currently serves as Community Services Committee Co-chair.

Gary and his wife Angie have been married for forty-two years. They have one daughter, Amanda, who is now a stay-at-home mom after working as a hotel consultant. Her husband is a retired Air Force Major and pilot, now working for Delta Airlines. They live in Southbury, Connecticut with their two children - Sam (six years) and Emilia (one year). To quote Gary: “My wife would say our two grandchildren are the most important part of our lives. I agree.” They do enjoy having them nearby in Southbury as well as having them down to their Groton, Connecticut beach house, adjacent to UCONN Avery Point.

In his spare time, Gary likes to fish and play golf. In addition, he has been a UCONN men’s basketball season ticket holder for over forty years and has attended three Final Fours (of which two were winners). He is also a Red Sox fan and was able to attend game one of the 2018 World Series in Boston.

Read more...
Speakers
Mar 08, 2019
Our Struggles Have Purpose
Mar 15, 2019
AFRICA EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIP in Nigeria
Mar 22, 2019
Beanz, an inclusive coffee cafe'
Mar 29, 2019
KATERI MEDICAL SERVICES in Nigeria
Apr 05, 2019
Watkinson School-project with the Good Samaritan Hospital in La Romana Dominican Republic
Apr 12, 2019
Using Outdoors to Connect to Youth
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Immediate Past President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Foundation Chair
 
Membership
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Asst Treasurer
 
Interact Chair
 
EarlyRiser Presentations
The Annotated Guide to Ending Polio
GLO Fall 2017 Mission Trip
Eastern Europe Trip to Vienna and Prague Presentation
Avon Village Center Project Presentation
Club Information
Rotary of Avon-Canton - Founded 1973
Avon-Canton
Service above Self
We meet Fridays at 7:30 AM
Avon Old Farms Hotel
279 Avon Mountain Rd.
Avon, CT  06001
United States of America
DistrictSiteIcon District Site
VenueMap Venue Map
Upcoming Meeting Speaker
Shawn George
Our Struggles Have Purpose
 
 
 
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
March 1, 2019
 
Members Present: 39
 
Make-Ups: None  
Guests:
 
Andy Buckle (guest of Kevin Case), Dave Murphy (guest of Joe Raycraft) and former State Representative Tim LeGeyt
Visiting Rotarians: None
Happy Dollars: $21
Raffle Winner: Donated back to the club by Kevin Case
 
Birthdays
 
Alicia Canning (March 3)
 
 Alicia tried to use her position to avoid having her birthday acknowledged by the club which would have none of that.  Alicia just loves being a member here and wonders why it took her so long.
 
Larry Sullivan (February 5)
 
 The club had a spirited debate as to whether or not somebody whose birthday is in early February and who spends the month in Florida, should have their birthday acknowledged.  After the club insisted that Larry stand and be acknowledged, Larry tried to share a joke with the club but had to be schooled by Phil Ferrari on how to do Italian.
                                                                                                                                                    
 
Happy Dollars
 
Arnie Goldman who is very happy for the ER doctor at UConn who figured out that he had a kidney stone and not something else that required an operation.  He "enjoyed" what could be called a 24 hour period of Rock and Roll.
 
Sarah Leathers let the club know that Mumford & Sons, Gentlemen of the Road Fund is supporting the Healing Meals Community Project.  Deering Banjos is hosting an online  auction of a custom Connecticut themed banjo that is signed by the band with the proceeds to support Healing Meals.  Healing Meals will be hosting its first community dinner tonight and they are sold out.
 
Kevin Case reported that the Rotary Interact Club was doing well at Canton High School with between 20 and 30 students attending the meetings.  Kevin will be accompanying the club tomorrow to Food Share in Hartford to sort food.  This was all arranged by the students who ask Kevin to go along.  He also reported that after the meeting he was heading to Hartford to testify at the legislature against the proposal to force small districts to merge.  The proposal would impact towns with fewer than than 2,000 students.  Canton has 1,600 students.
 
Don Bonner brought up the issue of the date and location of the President's Dinner.  The club approved moving the dinner to The Golf Club of Avon for a dinner on June 7.
 
Don Rossler let the club know that his wife Nancy had lost her dad and that she had lost her mother not too long ago as well.  He spoke about both the sadness of the loss but also being able to move on from the care taking duties of the last few years.  a
 
Gary Miller had 3 Happy Dollars.  Last Friday he was in the midst of the happy chaos if taking care of 3 of his grandsons.  He also announced that he was getting the applications out to Avon and Canton for RYLA where we get to honor a rising junior by sending them off to a program at Springfield College.  The club normally sends 2 or 3 students and he would like to see a priority given to our Interact students.
 
Dale Bronson spoke about his 7 year old grandson Levi, who once, when asked what he wanted for Christmas, said "flood insurance", told his Grandfather that, "hell wouldn't be so bad, if they had Tacos."
 
Salin Low had 3 Happy Dollars.  She will be away for the next two weeks going to Palm Springs and San Antonio.  She also thanked the club for not commenting on her not being able to tell Black from Navy Blue as she was wearing navy blue slacks with everything else being black.  (Editors Note:  I don't see the problem having been know to wear 1 black shoe and 1 brown shoe to work.)
 
Alicia Canning thanked the club for all their prayers for her daughter Sarah and continues to need them as Sarah is going to be having a double mastectomy on Tuesday followed by radiation.  Sarah is in very good spirits and her friends are throwing her a "boobs voyage" party. 
 
 
Announcements
 
Rotary Foundation chairman, Joanne Santiago, seeks nominees for our annual Community Paul Harris Fellow recognition. Please contact Joanne or any of the Rotary Foundation Committee members with your suggestions. We typically honor 2-3 citizens each from Avon and from Canton.
 
Gary Miller is seeks a few members to purchase Rotary website ads, at the excellent price of $100/yr. This funding supports our use of ClubRunner software and our website subscription. The ads cycle every few seconds at the upper left-hand corner of the website and are a good way to promote member businesses. Contact Gary if interested.
 
 
Calendar of Upcoming Events
 
March 22th: Club meeting at BEANZ - behind New England Pasta on Rt. 44 in Avon.
 
March 30th: Tastes of the Valley will be held Saturday, March 30 at 6 PM. 
 
May 3rd & 4th: The Rotary District 7890 District Conference will be held May 3rd to 4th  at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Danvers, MA. Five districts including 7890 will be represented. The event starts with the Rotary Foundation luncheon on Friday. For a full schedule and registration information follow this link: District Conference Registration
 
May 16th: Rotary Night at Hartford Yard Goats, Thursday May 16; Game time 7:05 PM. Contact Paul Mikkelson for details.
 
Induction of New Members
 
None today
 
 

Community Service Grants
 
None this week.
 

 
Presentation
Deene Morris, MA
"Psychological Safety"

Deene Morris MA is certified to provide assessments that offer powerful insights and practical application for individuals and teams. She is a practitioner of Servant-Leadership with a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and concentration in Servant Leadership from Gonzaga University. She also teaches as adjunct faculty at the University of Hartford in the Masters of Organizational Psychology program.

For organizations to be successful, teams need to be able work together in a way that brings out the best in all.  For that to happen, Deene says the team needs to feel psychological safe.  She thinks we need to ask the following questions to know if we are creating an atmosphere of safety:

1.       Team members are comfortable discussing what’s working and what’s not working well.

2.       Team members are curious and ask a lot of questions to better understand one another.

3.       Team members engage in spirited discussion and debate.

4.       Team members readily share credit – they speak using “we” not “I”.

5.       Team members are visibly supportive and encouraging of one another.

6.       Team members regularly ask for feedback and guidance from one other.

7.       Rarely, if ever, do I need to intervene because team members can’t get along.

8.      Rarely, if ever, do I solve problems alone. Ideas and solutions are regularly developed and implemented by my team.

9.      I receive regular feedback on what I’m doing well, and what I could be doing to better support the team.

10.    I am energized by the motivation and accountability of my team.

 

If your teams are not where they need to be, one of the major steps to helping them get there is to provide useful feedback.  Deene shared the following tips on feedback:

 

Top 5 Tips
 
The Quality of Your Relationships Depends Upon the Feedback Received
 
  • Poor feedback yields poor relationships
  • Critical/abusive feedback yields critical/abusive relationships
  • Positive feedback yields positive relationships
 
The 4 Types of Feedback
 
  • Positive feedback yields behavior repetition
  • Corrective feedback yields behavior change - e-mail us for the specific strategy!
  • Insignificant feedback yields little or no results
  • Abusive feedback yields a result, and a likely, negative outcome
 
The 5:1 Feedback Ratio Rule
 
5:1 Positive to Corrective Feedback to encourage behavior repetition or to motivate positive change
 
The 4 Steps to Successful, Positive Feedback
 
  • Describe the specific, positive behavior
  • Be timely and give feedback as close to the behavior as possible
  • Describe how the behavior made you feel – grateful, relieved, proud, etc.
  • Describe the impact on you/team – people need to know WHY their behavior is impactful
 
The Consequences of No Feedback
 
No feedback is a form of psychological punishment and the fastest way to decrease motivation and performance.
High-performing teams deliver 6xs more positive feedback than average teams. Positive performance deserves positive feedback or the behavior may not be repeated!

 

 
Listening to feedback requires trust.  Deene went on to share the following exercises which can be used to help build trust:
 
1) To Increase Emotional Intelligence & Open Sharing:
 
At the end of each team meeting, ask for one takeaway from each team member: a word or a sentence about what they are thinking or feeling.
 
In the beginning, you’ll want to lead and model the way. You might say: I’m excited about this initiative; I’m encouraged by our conversation; I’m concerned we’re ran out of time; I‘m frustrated that we got stuck; I’m energized by your ideas….
 
As you go around the room, you may hear from others things like: Relieved, puzzled, concerned, distracted, tired, frustrated, grateful….
 
You’re letting your team know how you feel, and by example inviting others to openly and honestly contribute. You’re also gaining invaluable information on the next steps forward while building trust for better problem solving and stress management.
 
2)To Increase Spirited Discussions, Risk Taking & Psychological Safety:
 
Create a new role in your team meetings of Devil’s Advocate.
 
Rotate this position to a different person in each meeting. Their job is to generate deeper questioning and curiosity by asking the WHY behind the ideas, decisions and discussions.
 
Some team members will embrace this role with ease, while others may find it uncomfortable. Regardless, it instantly grants permission for team members to speak up, and will shift the team dynamic to a new (or renewed) norm that welcomes the dissenting voices.
 
3)To Increase Trust, Communication and Motivation:
 
Practice Positive Feedback
 
Think of a colleague or direct report with whom you’d like to have a better relationship.  Once a week, for the next three weeks, provide a person ONE piece of specific and positive feedback regarding something they’ve recently done that you appreciate, admire or value.

 
Mail Bag
 
No mail this week.
 
Photo Credits 
Photographs courtesy of Phil Worley unless otherwise noted.
 
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?