Rotary Club of Norwich
July 21st, 2021
Location-The Courtyard Marriott
THE RONE
Presiding: President Andrew Nollman
Invocation: Barry Shead stepped in for Gary Young who showed up late and then did another invocation! We had two excellent invocations today!!!
Fellowship: Ray Baribeault
Birthdays: None
Anniversaries: Rodney Green – 15 years
Visiting Rotarians: Bonnie Johnson from the Colchester Club
Guests: Zak Stover from the Rotary Community Corps!
Ray started things off with some more puns! “I once knew a pig who knows karate! His name was Pork Chop!” OK you get the idea!
Announcements:
*Andy had the following announcements:
*Next week’s meeting on July 28th the club will begin to meet at Bella Fiore! Lunch will be served and the weekly fee will be $20.00. Business Meeting will start at 12:15pm!
*The Rotary Flag Project is moving forward and there will be a work party to be organized at the Rotary Flag Pole at Norwich Harbor.
*If you know of anyone who would be a good speaker at one of our Rotary Meetings contact Bob Farwell or Kevin Wickless. Speakers can be done virtual (ZOOM) as well if needed.
*Gary Young reminded us that the Rotary Golf Tournament will be on September 1st. Golfers, sponsors and volunteers are still needed. Crunch time and everyone needs to get involved!
*Andy reminded members to please invite prospective members to a lunch.
*”Clean-Up-The-Streets” program will take place on July 31st at Reliance House.
*The “National Night Out” will take place August 3rd at Brown Park from 4pm to 8pm. Mike Matera is looking for volunteers for the Rotary “Amber Alert” Booth that evening. Contact him if you can help out
*On Saturday, July 24th there will be a Global City Norwich event at Castle Church at 3pm.
*The Rotary Community Corps is looking for sponsors for the “Harbor Fire” event on August 21st on Norwich Harbor. Fire starts at 8pm.
*On September 25th the Norwich Chamber will be hosting a Healthy Living Event at Dodd Stadium! Mike Matera is looking for volunteers to man the Rotary “Amber Alert” booth from 10 to 2pm. Needs 4 volunteers!
Happy Dollars: Andy Grant
*Andy started things off with sad dollars that he just attended his good friend’s funeral that morning.
*Gary Young was sorry he got to Rotary a little late and read a great Invocation he prepared for the final meeting at the Courtyard and our first meeting back at Bella Fiore! Gary was also beat-tired from his recent Yard Sale at his house over the weekend! Gary also reminded the club that he will be bringing some Auction Items to the weekly meetings for bidding before the golf tournament.
*Jay Waitte gave to thank Bob Reed for stopping by and visiting his wife Kate Waitte’s grave during his recent visit to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Kate died unexpectedly in January of this year and is interred at the cemetery at the academy which is Jay’s Alma Mater and where they lived for a number of years.
*Mike Matera gave to thank Andy Grant for a couple of beers when he was walking by his house on the Sound last week. Mike was also grateful to have had a great day fishing out on a very foggy Fisher’s Island Sound with his father Joe Matera! It was a great day together and his dad caught a huge Fluke to add to the fun!
*Barry Shead was proud he completed his first 5K race in Ashford over the weekend, even though he walked it! He came in 2nd from last! He also conveyed he is very secure with his marriage as he bought a hand gun for his wife!
*Kathryn Tracy was happy she had her mom visiting from Florida! She also reminded the club of a fundraiser for Madonna Place that will take place at Jonathan Edwards Winery on September 23rd. The entertainment will be the group “Sugar” and she is looking for people to buy tickets and there are also Sponsorship opportunities available.
Auction: No Auction today.
Lottery: Bill Champagne: Andy Grant, Mary Richardson and Gary Young drew cards to no avail! An additional ticket was drawn for a package of cookies for ARC! Ray Baribeault was the winner!
Program: There was no scheduled program for today so the meeting was called to a close early so volunteers could clear out the club’s items from the Marriott and store at the club’s storage unit and Bella Fiore.
At 12:43pm Ray Baribeault led the club members in the 4 Way Test and the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter