Norwich Rotary Club
November 16th, 2022
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE
Presiding: President Susy Hurlbert
Invocation: Barry Shead
Fellowship: Barry Shead
Birthdays: None
Anniversaries: Barry Shead – November 16th -too many years to count! Kevin Wickless – November 17th – 12 years!
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: Mary Richardson introduced April Griffin and Charlie from the Norwich Housing Authority/Schwartz Manor. Bill Champagne introduced Sonya Fowler
Barry did a very interesting fellowship on how things have changed over the years with a “Here Yesterday-Gone Today” presentation! Some of the items in our lives that were here yesterday and gone today included the 8 Track Tapes, Bobbing for Apples, The Dial-up Modem, Portable TV’s, Pagers, Floppy Disks, VHS Tapes, Typewriters, Carbon Paper, Credit Card Imprint Machines, Phone Books/Yellow Pages and Kissing Booths!
Announcements:
*Susy Hurlbert had the following announcements:
*There will be no meeting on Wednesday, November 23rd. Happy Thanksgiving!
*The United Way is looking for volunteers to pack food boxes on December 2nd and 9th at their facility in New London.
*The District is looking for Rotary Club Past Presidents to meet at the Graduate Club in New Haven to nominate a District Governor for the following year.
*A thank you note was read from the Catholic Diocese of Norwich thanking the club for the winter coats that were donated. Special thanks go out to Rodney and Lucille Green.
*Mary Richardson & Andrew Nollman want to hear from you regarding the Nominating Committee and succession for officers and Board Members of the club.
*Rotarians are encouraged to please invite prospective members for lunch and introduce them to the world of Rotary.
*The club will be looking for speakers. Should you know of an appropriate guest speaker contact Bob Farwell or Kevin Wickless.
*Kindness gardens are now available for purchase on the Rotary Website. $150.00 for small, $250.00 for large and $500.00 extra large.
*President Susy then asked each member in attendance to say what they are thankful for this year.
Special Presentation:
President Susy called April Griffin from the Norwich Housing Authority to receive 48-$45.00 Gift Cards to distribute to the residents of Schwartz Manor for Thanksgiving. April gratefully accepted the gift and said that the residents appreciate the generosity of the Norwich Rotary Club!
Happy Dollars: – Nancy Gentes
*Nancy started things off wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
*Mike Matera was grateful that his boat is finally out of the water before the snow flies!
*Kevin Wickless gave to welcome our guests. Also he bought a quad and triple ski lift chairs and offered to sell them to Gary Young and Stan Lucas.
*Barry Shead is happy to be leaving tomorrow on a cruise to Mexico and wished all a Happy Thanksgiving!
*Our guest Sonya Fowler gave happy dollars to convey a very heart-warming story of how the Happy Dollars Committee donated money to her and her family 7 years ago and paid 2-months rent to help her and her kids get back on their feet during a rough patch in her life. She was more than happy to give back!
*Mary Richardson welcomed April and wished she would visit more often. Mary also said she had an 8-track player in her old Mercury Skylark!
*Andrew Nollman wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and was ready for the Patriots Game on Sunday!
*Gary Young is happy to be finally moved out of his house after closing on it. He said it’s quite stressful living out of boxes in the meantime while he and Romer find a new house to buy.
*Rodney Green had a very funny story about an old cell phone where an error resulted in a boondoggle trying to cancel the phone after a bill in the thousands of dollars.
*Susy Hurlbert is very thankful that the new hire in her office is working out well.
*Barry Shead also had a cell phone story where an error resulted in a bill that was in the thousands of dollars when he had a cell phone with a bank he worked for way back when.
*April Fowler is happy her kids are still at home and was happy to have Charlie from Schwartz Manor her with her.
Auction:
Kevin Wickless donated $20.00.
Weekly Rotary Trivia: Terry Congdon will test everyone’s memories on the first Wednesday in December, so be sure to read the latest edition of Rotarian Magazine>
Lottery: – Bill Champagne
Kevin Wickless bought so many tickets his numbers were drawn 3 times! He did not find the Ace of Spades! All was not lost however as Kevin’s number was drawn again and he won Barry’s cookies!
Program:
No program this week
Susy Hurlbert led the Club and all recited the 4-Way Test and the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 pm
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter