Early Riser Newsletter (Dec 16, 2022)

Birthdays

Yvonne Gardner December 17 - is grateful to be a part of this club and finds the club to a blessing especially in making new friends.

Ann Clark December 19 - this club is Ann's second family, she doesn't know what she would do without Rotary - she has met some of the most wonderful people in the whole world through this club.

Mike Mezheritskiy December 21 - is happy to celebrate his birthday which he shares with his daughter and his dad's birthday follows shortly after on the 25th

Tom Voorhees December 24 - said too many birthdays are bad for your health! This will be his 49th year in Rotary, we have fun here and do good work and hope it all continues!

Chuck Joseph December 25 (Not present).

Happy Dollars

Joanne Santiago is happy to share that her daughter Joelle was published in the Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic. She was the lead writer.

Sue Budde had a great time ringing the bell with Yvonne last week even though it was freezing! She is also looking for more $20 grocery gift cards for the Christmas giving event at Dish n Dat. Last year they ran out, if anyone would like to donate you can drop the cards off at the restaurant.

Gary Miller went to a wrestling match to watch his grandson who won 3 out of 5 matches. Gary shared a story of how he donated quilts to Uvalde and they arrived to the families in the knick of time before they all left for DC.

Peter Vignati is enjoying his busy holiday season. He recently had a dinner in Little Poland and attended a Walnut Hill Jazz series at NBMAA which he highly recommends and is looking forward to seeing a Celtic Christmas at Ridgewood Playhouse this weekend and attending a wedding in Maine.

Jolly Lux is happy to be happy! She chooses to be happy and is happy for everything; the birthdays, our mission, and the impact our members have on the lives of those abroad.

Larry Haber enjoyed his 25th annual trip to the Portland Symphony Orchestra in Maine. He did not like waking up to texts from his bank notifying him that someone spent $240 for tickets on a Christmas horror show somewhere else in the country.

Heather Pantano has been ringing the bell for Salvation Army all over the state and enjoying meeting others.

Phil Ferrari was happy to have lunch with Craig Nation this past week, Craig says hello to all.

Announcements

Sue Budde discussed membership survey results and club retention and engagement. In her research, she found two very interesting aspects of Rotary that she was previously unaware of and shared with the group; the Rotary Community Corps and Rotary Peace Fellowship. She highly recommends navigating Rotary.org because it is a wealth of information.

Peace Fellowship

Each year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our peace centers.
Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses.
Since the program began in 2002, the Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,500 fellows who now work in over 115 countries. Many serve as leaders in governments, NGOs, education and research institutions, peacekeeping and law enforcement agencies, and international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank.

Community Corps

A Rotary Community Corps (RCC) is a group of non-Rotarians who share our commitment to changing the world through service projects.RCC members plan and carry out projects in their communities and support local Rotary club projects. Sponsored by a Rotary club, an RCC leverages Rotary’s network, brand, and mentorship by partnering with clubs to plan and implement service projects. RCCs increase Rotary’s impact and expand its reach by bringing the knowledge and talents of local people to strengthen their community through sustainable projects.

There are more than 11,000 corps in 105 countries and 257 districts. RCCs are active everywhere Rotary is present: in urban and rural areas, and in both developed and developing countries. Read more about RCC trends worldwide in the annual Rotary Community Corps report.

2022 - 2023 Board for the remainder of the year (ends June 30, 2023):

Alicia Canning will continue as the Immediate Past President
Chris Lamadrid will continue as President with the help and support of the Board
Luke Violette will move into the role of President-Elect
Colleen Grasso will fill the role of Secretary
Deb Stanwood will continue as Sergeant - At - Arms
Gary Hyde will continue as Treasurer
Gary Roman will continue as Assistant Treasurer
Ike Eickenhorst and Gary Miller will continue as Members at Large

23-24 Board (begins July 1, 2023)

Chris Lamadrid will serve as the Immediate Past President

Luke Violette will serve as President

Colleen Grasso will fill the role of President-Elect

Deb Stanwood will serve as Secretary

Sue Budde will serve as Sergeant - at - Arms

Gary Roman will serve as Treasurer

Gary Hyde will serve as Assistant Treasurer

Gary Miller and Salin Low will serve as Members at Large

Calendar

December 23 - NO Meeting Lonely Rotarians will meet at LaSalle Mkt

December 30 - Meeting will be held with a party like it is 2023 theme.

Induction of New Members

None this week.