The meeting will be held both in person at the Golf Club of Avon and via Zoom.
Watch for an email from the Club for Zoom access and
please note we use a recurring ID for your convenience.
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
Rotarians Present: 33(30 in person, 3 virtually)
Visiting Rotarians: Paul Mikkelson (virtually), Dick Kisiel (Suffield)
Guests: Carol Fitzgerald, Carol Kirkwood, Aesha Cartier, and Stephanie Tetreault fr omNew Horizons
Happy Dollars: $40.00
Raffle Winner:None. ($120 at next meeting)
Fines:None today.
Birthdays:
None today
Happy Dollars
Bill Barnes cautioned everyone to be careful today. It's Bill's favorite day, Friday the 13th, which only happens once in 2022. Next year we will get two. The most this can happen is three times a year as in 2026. Bill loves to remind us about the Norse Goddess, Frigga, for who Friday is named. Thus the fear of Friday the 13th becomes Friggatriskaidekaphobia. For more info, check out the Wikipedia entry: Triskaidekaphobia.
Gary Miller was in Alexandria VA last weekend for his friend's 46th annual Kentucky Derby Party. Neither the rain or the horses cooperated. The mostly outdoor party had to be held inside or under large tents. As we all know the winning horse came out of nowhere to win the race. Surprisingly two people at the party had bet on the highest odds horse and split the pot.
Debbie Altschwager had helped her daughter with a recent move. (There was more to her story but the scribe was unable to hear it--apologies)
Rollie Sterrett recently returned from his annual bone fishing trip to the Bahamas. He was amazed at the lingering damage from Hurricane Dorian in September 2019. The lodge where they normally stay had been destroyed but rebuilt. The mangroves had been flattened, but the fish survived. There were plenty to catch and release. The number 13 is also important to Rollie. His alma mater, Colgate, was founded by 13 Baptist ministers with 13 prayers and 13 dollars.
Cal Miller-Stevens had 7 thankful dollars for the time she has been able to spend with her grandchildren including two new grandbabies. She refers to her stepchildren as "bonus kids".
Larry Sullivan reported that his oldest son is now a grandfather of twins.
Steven Horenstein was happy that his daughter Amy is engaged with a wedding planned next April.
Paul Mikkelson was happy to see the ladies from New Horizons at the meeting. Paul is a Board Member. He also reported that his century bike ride to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis was very success.
Announcements
President, Chris Lamadrid, thanked Colleen Grasso and her committee for all the work they have done to plan Tastes of the Valley this year.
The Rotary Foundation Committee nominated and has had the Board approve four of our members to received Paul Harris Fellowship awards at the President's Installation Dinner in July. The recipients will be Larry Haber, Ike Eickenhorst, Mike Mezheritskiy, and Chris Lamadrid.
Salin Low is looking for at least one additional scribe to prepare the Early Riser one time a month. The current crew has worked together for about six years. They have a number of scheduling conflicts this summer, so it's a good time to try out your editorial skills. Gary Miller is a pro at training new scribes, so it's a fairly smooth learning curve. If you are willing to be a summer intern, please let Salin know.
Calendar
July 8th: President's Dinner at Golf Club of Avon. Dinner cost is $55.
Induction of New Members
None this week.
Awards
None this week.
Community and International Service Grants
Gary Roman, Community Service Committee Chair, presented $1010 to New Horizons for two catalytic converter theft guards. New Horizons operates their Sunshine Wheels van service for both New Horizons Village residents and the Cherry Brook Health Care Center. Carol Fitzgerald, CEO, talked about their housing facilities and a new building going up. They are proud that they go beyond the requirements of the ADA. They are also expanding their Sunshine Wheels service to cover other facilities in the surrounding area.
PRESENTATION
Literacy Partnerships with Non-Profit Groups
Lacey Byrne, Barnes & Noble
Brian O'Donnell introduced our speaker, Lacey Byrne, who is the Business Development Manager for Barnes & Noble. She is responsible for 7 stores including Canton and Hartford. Brian became friends with Lacey due his weekly book club that meets at the Canton store. Likewise, Lacey knows Brian through their shared love of books and his business which services her cars.
Lacey enjoys working with the town public libraries and the school districts in the towns covered by her stores. She also works with a number of non-profit groups that help with literacy and raise funds to provide books schools and other organizations. She can prepare book lists for fundraising events that get more books into the hands of kids. She can help leverage the funds with discounts, etc.
The young adult section is growing in the stores which proves that young people still read "real" books. She is looking for ways with work with Rotary to do a literacy project. She can help with specific topics, such as, social emotional, social justice, diversity, and other areas.
Bob Cave asked about censoring. Barnes & Noble does not censor books. They work with towns in the area to order wide varieties. Bob also commented that in his experience children whose parents read aloud to them are often much more literate. Lacey said we need to get more books into homes that often have few books.
Heather Pantano said "Manga" books are very popular. Lacey explained that Manga is an umbrella term for a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels originally produced and published in Japan. This section of B&N is growing. Some of these books can be quite graphic and are packaged in cellophane.
Rollie Sterrett wanted to know how to evaluate what books are needed in a library. Lacey said that best way is to find out what students are asking for. Tic-Toc is a surprisingly great way to find out what books are the most popular. The stores can tell what's popular by noting the most commonly pilfered books. These sections are often moved near the checkout area. Many school libraries have moved to a better browsing layout similar to the B&N stores which provides a more inviting environment for exploring than the shelved books.
Kershwin Singh wanted to know what book Lacey would recommend. She said she is normally in the middle of 4-5 books, but is currently reading "Change the World Before Bedtime".
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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Gary Roman, Community Service Committee Chair, presented $1010 to New Horizons for two catalytic converter theft guards. New Horizons operates their Sunshine Wheels van service for both New Horizons Village residents and the Cherry Brook Health Care Center. Carol Fitzgerald, CEO, talked about their housing facilities and a new building going up. They are proud that they go beyond the requirements of the ADA. They are also expanding their Sunshine Wheels service to cover other facilities in the surrounding area.
Kershwin Singh wanted to know what book Lacey would recommend. She said she is normally in the middle of 4-5 books, but is currently reading "
