Salin Low was happy to be back. The previous Friday she had to report for jury duty. She was part of the only panel of prospective jurors called that day. The jurors were to serve for a murder trial, which would probably take more than a week. Salin was worried about care for her dog when the judge stated that the trial would begin on February 22. That's Ash Wednesday, and Salin as an Episcopal priest has services to lead. That got her excused. She was not heartbroken.
Phil Ferrari was happy about being in San Diego, where it was 75 degrees, and he got to play golf. The main reason for the trip was to meet his son's future inlaws. Phil was a bit worried about the impression he would make on these folks when he realized he might never see these people after the wedding, so he didn't have to worry. Then he was able to relax and enjoy his time with his son. Phil figures his son is staying in San Diego for the long haul - good weather and lots of friends.
Brandon Goodrich was happy to be at the meeting and have a chance to talk about Rotary Youth Exchange.
Announcements
From President-elect Luke:
We have teamed up with Habitat for Humanity and have secured an opportunity to volunteer at the ReStore in Bloomfield, CT on Saturday 03/04/2023 from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM with a total headcount of up to 10 volunteers.
Registration will be on a first come first serve basis, so please register as soon as possible if you would like to participate. In the event that we gain enough interest, we can potentially also secure availability from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM that day for a second group. Rest assured, we hope to visit the ReStore on a quarterly basis if our schedule permits, so there will be additional opportunities to participate. There will also be a house awarding ceremony in Hartford on March 30. A group from our club may attend.
The link below is for our team where you can register and sign up for this day of service. Feel free to reach out directly to me at any time for additional information or for any registration support!
Rotary Youth Exchange - There were several visiting Rotarians to fill us in on the return of the youth exchange program. A lot of the paper work and detail needed for the state department is now being handled by a regional group - the Eastern States Exchange. Other than that much of the program is similar to the program in which Avon-Canton participated in the past. The new program involves two-way exchanges for a school year with participants living with three different families during the year, all of which live in the same school district. At this time our area needs a host family for an inbound student. Matthew Wan was a foreign exchange student and talked about the way the program can be life-changing. We will be considering whether this is a good program for our club in the future.
Calendar
May 6, 2023 - Tastes of the Valley at Golf Club of Avon
June 9, 2023 - President's Dinner
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
ImmaCare
Community Service Chair Gary Roman presents a check for $1,500 to Teresa Wierbicki, Director of Strategic Development for ImmaCare. Immacare was founded in 1981 in Immaculate Conception Church in Hartford. In addition to running a shelter and helping the homeless find permanent housing, ImmaCare has a mobile outreach program to provide food and other necessities to those people who are only comfortable living under bridges, near railroad tracks, or other places outside. Our grant is to help with this program. We were assured that ImmaCare can obtain such items at very good prices, so that the money we give can go further. ImmaCare also has many volunteer opportunities for those who want to help.
Gary Roman also presented a check for $1,200 to Karen Cook who is with the Summit Adaptive Sports group. This money is to provide helmets to the adaptive athletes Summit helps. Karen was also the speaker at our meeting.
Summit Adaptive Sports
Karen Cook, Director
Nancy Queirolo, wife of mmember Ed, introduced Karen Cook. They met on a hike, started chatting, and have worked together on adaptive sports for many years.
Many of us have been familiar with the Stride program at Sundown ski area in New Hartford. The name has been changed to make the program truly local and allow more flexibility in programming. The adaptive ski program is still the center piece, and the leaders want to expand the programs to fill a gap in sport opportunities in the northwest corner of Connecticut.
Summit leaders want to expand the adaptive sports available, so that there are opportunities for those who need assistance in many sports throughout the year.
Sometimes individuals come with their families and sometimes they come as members of various organizations. There is a $90 per session charge which includes lift tickets, equipment, and all other expenses of the session. Scholarships are available when needed.
Adaptive sports require many volunteers. Often the athlete needs the help of two or more volunteers assisting and guiding the athlete. As the slide above shows, volunteers find their involvement very satisfying and return for many years. There is as much as a 90% return rate in some years.
Summit wants to take the success in providing adaptive skiing into providing other sports. That will require more volunteers and additional funding. Such an expansion will offer the experience of accomplishment and independence to many more people. Our club has a number of volunteers, and this expansion may inspire the participation of additional members to work with adaptive athletes.
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?
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