The meeting will be held on Zoom.
Watch for an email from Alicia.
We are now using a recurring ID, etc.
Sgt-at Arms Report (Secretary Katelyn filling in for Rauf., whose wife was about to give birth)
Members Present: 31
Visiting Rotarians:Rick & Chris Heath
Guests: Jonathan Brennand ( Speaker)
Happy Dollars Moments: More valuable when they are shared
Raffle Winner:No Raffle. No Winners. No Losers.
Fines
None today.
Birthdays
Phil Ferrari
Phil has been in Rotary for more than 20 years. He came in with Craig Buhrendorf who was better at remembering the exact date. He enjoys the service aspect of Rotary and is involved with the pencil box project, as well as being co-chairman of the golf committee. He misses being with Rotarians face to face and looks forward to having in person meetings soon. Zoom is tolerable, better than nothing, but not a lot better. Happy Birthday, Phil! Thanks for all you do.
Happy Moments
Sue Mitchell was happy to offer meeting space on her property on Waterville Road. They have a tent and lots of open lawn. She thinks it's sad that we are not together. Many members agree with her, and this might be an option.
Jenny Gonzales has been affected by the slow work in general aviation (She works with Travelers in the company planes.) Many flights have been cut as well as staff. She is now involved in EMT training as a substitute responsibility until aviation picks up. The Shepard Meadows gala is on schedule, which is a bright spot in a difficult time.
Jolly Lux was happy that GLO is seeing about 200 patients per month. Many of these patients receive medication for epileptic seizures. It has been Jolly's hope that these patients could contribute to the community through some sort of work. GLO has now acquired some land and planted pineapple. The plants will take 18 months to produce fruit. The farm will provide employment for some of the patients, and the pineapple can be a money crop for GLO and the community. GLO is having a fundraiser at Blue Fox Run on October 3.
Sarah Leathers has been interested in having a youth retreat for voluneers at Healing Meals. A youth leadership program is now starting Sixteen young people were invited to apply, and eleven responded. The team will be headed by team members. There will be three youth representatives to the Healing Meals board. On September 26 staff, board, and youth will meet to determine what is next for Healing Meals. In October the Hartford Marathon will be a fundraiser for Healing Meals. It will be held virtually on October 8-11. There are various events for runners, walkers, and bikers. One exciting aspect is that people can participate from locations around the world.
Gary Miller, who heads the district foundation committee with Prasad Menon, reported that the entire African continent is now polio free. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only remaining countries with polio. Many national innoculation efforts were put on hold due to the pandemic. It is hoped that they can resume shortly.
Katelyn Kaplan had a bittersweet moment telling the club that September 11 will be her last day at Roaring Brook Nature Center. She has worked at the center for 14 years and will miss it. She is not sure what is next for her, although some form of teaching seems likely.
Announcements
Golf Tournament Update:
Gary Miller gave an update. We have about 150 golfers and a changed format that includes tee times with 10:00 minute starts on each of three 9- hole areas. Registration will start earlier and may be easier with the staggered start. Programs and other gifts will be in bags provided by Collinsville Savings. FAVARH will be getting golf clubs from cars. Dinner will be served as golfers come off the course - around 4:00 to 6:00. Prizes will be awarded by email.
Chris Lamadrid announced the winners of the sales contest:
ROTARIANS MOST ADS SOLD
1st Place: Larry Sullivan (13 ads)
2nd Place: Sue Budde (9 ads)
3rd Place: Lisa Barral-Matt (8 ads)
4th Place: Alicia Canning (6 ads)
5th Place: Heather Pantano and Brian O’Donnell (5 ads each)
MANY THANKS TO SALES CAPTAINS: Luke Violette, Scott Nardozzi, Robin DiNicola, Michael Mezheritskiy, Sue Budde, Deb Stanwood, Alicia Canning
Members who want to join the group for dinner will pay $35. Sue is trying to arrange tee times, so that most Rotarians can join the group for dinner.
Chris Lamadrid reported on the Senior Luncheon on September 24th at the Canton Community Center. The Golf Club of Avon is donating the lunches. The seniors will drive in to pickup their bag lunches. Volunteers will be needed for 2-3 shifts.Canton Interact will be helping with some music during the event. This is in addition to the traditional Seniors Lunch, which we hope to hold later in the year.
President Alicia announced that the club is contributing $2,000 to assist Sean Blacker with his medical bills after a major heart attack. There is also a GoFundMe page for Sean where individuals can donate: https://gf.me/u/yuntxy Sean was still in ICU at UCONN as of last week.
President Alicia also announced that the club's charter was issues August 20, 1973. Plans are bound to be under way any time now for our 50th anniversary bash. We missed the 45th, but we won't make that mistake again.
Induction of New Members
None this week.
Awards
None this week.
Community and International Service Grants
None this week.
PRESENTATION
Challenges of Performing Arts Groups in the Age of COVID-19
Jonathan Brennand, Farmington Valley Symphony
Bill Barnes, who has played with the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra for 32 years, realized in March when the pandemic hit that the orchestra would have to be doing things differently - maybe for the short-term and maybe forever. He was happy to introduce Jonathan Brennand, the musical director of the orchestra for the past six years. He is a native of Middlesex in the U.K. and is now a U.S. citizen.
Jonathan thanked the Good Reverend for the introduction. He then played a short video of a concert which the symphony played in November, 2019. It was so different than now. There was actually an audience, which is so important. The sense of community is missed in these days of Zoom concerts. The orchestra members who are volunteers enjoyed meeting weekly to practice and performing for people who appreciate music. This came to a screeching halt in March.
It is easy to forget how much an orchestra or other performing group can mean to a community. Restaurants depend on performance nights to support their businesses. Groups who have more paid staff also make a significant contribution to their communities. One survey calculated that their were 2.7 million jobs lost during the second quarter of 2020, which represents a $150 billion loss during that period.
There are questions now about how the public will support the arts after the pandemic. Will there be pent up demand or will patrons be hesitant to attend performances with a crown. There are some similarities for the 1918 flu pandemic. New orchestras, such as the Cleveland orchestra, were formed. Some orchestras rehearsed in private in order to welcome and celebrate returning troops. There were even new concert halls built about this time. And this was in spite of the fact that many concerts had to be outdoors with audiences wearing "cloth around their faces."
The measures which have been taken to keep music available during this time, such as online programs and recorded videos, have increased the access to music while leading to a lock of community feeling. There will likely be several models that orchestras and other performing groups develop to respond to changed demand and to new opportunities and limitations created by COVID. It is our hope that the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra will continue to bring music to the Farmington Valley for many years to come.
Special Announcements
None this week.
Mail Bag
None this week.
Photo Credits
Lauren Gardner, Editor & Simply Smiles Website
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?
