No members celebrated a birthday at the meeting. However - former British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was born March 18, 1869. He was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany. When Adolf Hitler later invaded Poland, the UK declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, and Chamberlain led Britain through the first eight months of World War2.
Happy Dollars
Paul Mikkelson - shared that he and Phil Ferrari went to Buffalo Wild Wings and watched the UConn men's basketball team play. They then went on to Bobby V's. On Saint Patrick's Day, Paul, Ann, Phil and Beth met at Saint Mary's in Simsbury for a corned beef and cabbage dinner. By the time the Ferraris arrived, it wasn't clear if there was any corned beef left. Fortunately, there was.
Don Bonner - enjoyed the recent PETS training. After all the workshops, Don is still looking forward to being Club President. Don spoke with Nancy Nation this week. Nancy has left the rehab facility. She will continue to recuperate in California, but looks forward to returning to Avon at some point in April. Nancy's husband Craig recently scored a hole-in-one on consecutive days.
Jackie Dionne - has been away for four weeks while on business in China. She is happy to be back. She brought her daughter Addison to the meeting.
Steve Harris - explained that his daughter Katie is in Prague shooting commercials.
Rick Heath - passed out Save The Date cards for the 13th Annual Seabury Charitable Golf With Purpose Tournament. Rick's event will be held at the Golf Club of Avon on August 29.
Robin DiNicola - is relieved her son Joe got back safe and sound from his Spring Break trip to South Carolina.
Craig Buhrendorf - will be soon be traveling for two weeks. Additionally, Craig and Jeane have booked a trip to Ecuador and The Galapagos for next February.
Steve Roberto - detailed that his daughter has been singing at Coffee Houses lately. She was invited to audition for a rock band. She has been asked back for a second audition. He joked that he might spend the summer touring as part of a rock band's entourage.
Tom Voorhees - pointed out that we're coming into "Amber Alert Season" again. He told members that it's not too soon to get their business/organization signed up to host an Amber Alert session.
Capri Frank - recently had surgery. "All is good" now. She added that we should be thankful when our health is good, because, when it's not, life becomes very stressful. Capri also outlined that this is an exciting time for her son. His basketball team made it all the way to the State Semi-Finals, and the college letters have started coming in.
Salin Low - is "very happy" that so many bottles of wine have come in for the TOTV Wine Pull.
Gary Miller - last Saturday, Gary taught a workshop for persons who are working towards becoming school superintendents. The 90 minute session turned into a three hour affair. Gary was invited to meet with the superintendent hopefuls by former Club member Dick Kiesel. Gary leaves for Vermont after the meeting and then heads down to Baton Rouge next week.
Announcements, Etc.
Lonely Rotarians This Friday!!
(Lonely Rotarians Society Circa November 2015)
Dear Rotarians:
Since our Club does not meet this coming Friday, March 25, the Lonely Rotarians Society (LRS) will gather 7:30 - 8:30 AM, more or less, at LaSalle Market in Collinsville. What's LRS? It's just what you need when you wake up on a Friday morning and realize that you will not be seeing your Rotary friends because the Club does not meet.
Your friends, neighbors, prospective new members, spouses, significant others, partners, children, etc. are all welcome. (You might have to buy them coffee or breakfast, however.)
Hope to see you all Friday morning.
Sincerely,
Josh Gillooly & Phil Worley Co-Chairs, Membership Committee
Bike Trail Cleanup Day
Every year the Farmington Valley Trails Council holds its annual trail clean-up day. Since many of our members use the trail to walk, run and cycle, I thought we could put some Rotarians out on the trail during the cleanup on Sunday, April 17th. The event runs from 10 AM to 2 PM and ends with a cookout at Flamig Farm for all volunteers.
If your are interested take a look at the attached press release and talk with me at one of our upcoming meetings.
We are always looking for community events to show our commitment. This is a perfect opportunity.
Thank You,
Gary Miller
Bike-a-thon/Friday, April 29
There will be a two-hour bike-a-thon at the Granby YMCA on Friday, April 29th. Paul Mikkelson will be the leader, and he promises an easy ride. (Generally the lights are low, so no one knows if you have any tension on your bike or not.) We will ride stationary bikes in half-hour increments. The cost to ride is $20 per half hour. The money raised will go to World Bicycle Relief.
Don't Forget!! The Club Bike Ride will be May 14th.
Be at Sperry Park at noon. The group will head north on the Rails to Trails path. See Paul Mikkelson for further details.
The April Rotary Pub Night will be held April 5th at Abigail's. You may check out the Abigail's menu at abigailsgrill.com.
RPN is all about socializing, networking and getting to know your fellow Rotarians and their guests better. Bring your spouses, significant others, partners, friends, prospective Rotarians, etc.
You may, of course, come and go whenever you want to. Should you wish to eat before, during or after RPN, there are plenty of choices at Abigail's. Contact Phil Worley for more information.
Phil Worley has announced that the May RPN will be held at the North House, formerly the Belle Terrace. The date will be May 3rd.
Dear District 7890 Members - Get Ready!!
Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the
District Conference - April 29 - May 1, 2016.
This year’s District Conference is being held at the
Cape Codder Hotel in Hyannis, MA.
Both the incoming and outgoing South African Vocational Training Teams will be at the District Conference.
Get to meet them up close and personal.
Learn about the outgoing team's trip to help South African teachers in their quest to improve the education of their young children.
What did they learn while they were there.
Hear about life in South Africa.
Find out what teaching skills the incoming South African team would like to take back to their country.
For more information on the Cape Codder go to http://www.capecodderresort.com/
Yours in Rotary service,
Kyóng Wilson
District Governor 2015-2016
District 7890
C: (860) 402-8061
Club member Craig Buhrendorf gave a photo presentation of his trip to South Africa. He and Jeane went there in February. Johannesburg, Capetown, the Cape of Good Hope, Franschoek and Port Elizabeth were among the locations they visited.
The Heart of Capetown, where Christiian Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant, and the District 6 Museum, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, were two stops that Craig found particularly interesting.
(Craig and Jeane at the top of Table Mountain overlooking Cape Town).
Craig asserted all of the terrain in South Africa is "rugged." The hiking trails are challenging, but they provide spectacular views of the land and the ocean.
Since the end of apartheid, native Africans have held most of the elective offices, yet most of the people Craig and Jeane interacted with, guides, innkeepers, drivers etc, were of white, European background. Craig asserts that this strongly suggests South Africa's socio-economics still tilt in favor of the Europeans.
Craig and Jeane finished their trip staying at a lodge located right on the Shamwari Game Preserve. They took six safari drives and photographed many animals including impalas, tortoises, birds of many types, mongooses, springboks, jackals, warthogs, cape buffalo, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants and lions. They saw one lion at a distance of 20 feet.
Next February, Craig and Jeane will visit the Galapagos Islands.
In The Mail
The Canton Flower Bridge
A note was received from Canton Main Street, Inc. thanking the Club for its $450 contribution. The money will be used to install a large, stationary planter at the entrance of the Canton Flower Bridge. The note was signed by Marge Harmon and Angie Roman.
Avon Dollars for Scholars
The Board of Directors of Dollars for Scholars thanked the Club for its "continued and generous support." (On March 6th, the Club donated $3,000).
Steve Hahn, Dollars for Scholars President, wrote "your gift will greatly help a deserving student from the Avon Community meet college expenses."
Photo Credits
Photos from the Meeting by Phil Worley
Lonely Rotarians Society Photo by Phil Worley
Neville Chamberlain Photo courtesy wikipedia.com
District 7890 Logo courtesy District 7890
South Africa Vocational Team Photo courtesy District 7890
Bicycle Graphic and Picture courtesy googleimages.com
Photo from The Philadelphia Story courtesy communityplayers.org
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