Rotary Club of Norwich
August 21st, 2019
THE RONE
Presiding: President Mike Cooney
Invocation: Joel Etra
Fellowship: Jim Konrad
Birthdays: Jay Waitte-August 28th
Anniversaries: None
Guests: Gary Young welcomed Katie Villar, Mike Cooney welcomed former Norwich Rotarian Kathy Croteau and Mike Matera introduced soon to be Norwich Rotarian Jeff Brining.
Jim Konrad presented an interesting fellowship with a “Back to School” theme after delivering his daughter to college in upstate New York. Jim’s daughter is attending SUNY/Oswego which is located on a beautiful lakefront campus. The college has some famous alum’s featuring Al Roker and Jerry Seinfeld! They get a 125” of snow on average! Things have changed a bit these days in college as “Dorms” are now called “Residence Halls” and “Freshman” are now called “First-Year Students.” All the beds in the residences now have what are called Twin XL beds that are extra-long and difficult to find sheets for! Condom vending machines are now the norm and you can even arrange to have them delivered to your room! There are also apps so you can get the exact calorie counts for all the food you eat in the dining halls! Times have changed indeed!
Announcements:
President Mike Cooney had the following announcements:
*The 75th Norwich Rotary Anniversary booklet has been scanned. Look for the free PDF version coming soon. Printed copies will be available for purchase.
*The Rotary Golf Tournament has 24 foursomes as of today and the committee is looking for volunteers for September 4th.
The Celebrate Cultural Diversity Event is set for September 16th from 5 to 8 pm. Volunteers are needed!
*Happy Dollars committee is looking for deserving families or individuals to support.
*If you know of anyone who would be a good speaker at one of our Rotary Meetings contact Mary Richardson.
*President Mike Cooney made a special presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow to Past President Jim Daly for is service to the club during his year serving as President!
Happy Dollars: Nancy Gentes
- Nancy started things off saying she just returned from a very nice vacation!
- Bob Farwell had “Mea Culpa” dollars for a mistake he made in last week’s Rone on reporting that $1,500.00 was presented from Chelsea Groton Bank for the Golf Tournament and it was really for the Cultural Diversity Event!
- Bill Champagne reminded the club that the Norwich Historical Society will be holding their Norwich History Trivia Challenge on September 21st at the Courtyard Marriott and all are welcome to take part. Also, Lottie Scott will be presenting at the La Grua Center in Stonington on her book. Bill also told the story of how he and a friend took off to Woodstock 50 years ago and when they were within 5 miles of the event they turned around because of the traffic, something he has regretted in hindsight! Bill’s brother-in-law, NFL great Rocky Bleier, will be featured in a documentary on ESPN 2 this Thursday at 11:30pm. The program is about Bleier’s emotional return to Vietnam 50 years after he served in the US Army and was injured in battle.
- Jim O’Shea said for the first time in a long time he and his wife are “empty nesters” because all their kids are out of school and well on their way to successful independent lives! Jim said it will be his last meeting for a while as his teaching schedule at the college conflicts with our meeting times this semester. He will also take a leave of absence to take care of some medical issues but assures he will be back and that he loves Rotary!
- Rodney Green will miss next week’s meeting as he and Lucille will be attending a funeral with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery for a close friend who was a Navy Captain. The following week is the annual golf tournament to benefit the Chestnut Street Playhouse. There’s still room if you want to support a great organization.
- Barry Shead gave for Bill’s Rocky Bleier story and to remind the club of the ARC Strides Road Race on October 6th.
- Jeff Brining thanked Mike Matera for sponsoring him into Norwich Rotary and that their kids were born a day apart!
- Gary Young welcomed guest Katie Villar and former Norwich Rotarian Kathy Croteau!
- Mike Cooney had happy dollars for Jeff Brining and Jim O’Shea. His daughter Katie has been wishing for snow during this hot August weather! Mike gave a very sad dollar for his friend Nancy who died unexpectedly and was only in her late 50’s. Nancy was like a second mother to Mike and he will miss her terribly.
Auction: Bill Champagne auctioned off a framed 1929 calendar published by the Norwich Bulletin. Bob Farwell was the high bidder at $10.00!
Lottery: Mary Richardson. Kathy Croteau, Jim Daly, and guest Katie Villar drew cards to no avail.
Speaking Program: Gary Young spoke on behalf of Ben Lathrop who has created an organization called “Warriors for Warriors” that helps Veterans with PTSD, chronic combat-related illness & injury, addiction and other issues from their service. Warriors for Warriors is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2014. 21 veterans have given unsolicited testimony that Warriors for Warriors have saved their lives from suicide. If you would like to help you can make a donation to Warriors for Warriors and send to Ben Lathrop, 116 Mowry Avenue, Norwich, CT 06360
President Mike Cooney ended the meeting at 1:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter