Norwich Rotary Club
June 14th, 2023
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE
Presiding: Susy Hurlbert
Invocation: Gary Young (aka “Invocation Dude”)
Fellowship: Bob Farwell
Birthdays: Mike Goldblatt – June 14
Anniversaries: Mike Matera – 21 Years
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: Molly Bruno & Jim O’Shea
Bob gave a very timely fellowship as Juneteenth “Freedom Day” is being celebrated on June 19th. On June 19th in 1865 Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger led Union Soldiers to Galveston, Texas to announce the end of the war and the freedom of all enslaved people. This day went down in history as Juneteenth “Freedom Day.” Juneteenth has been celebrated as a holiday within the African-American community since 1866. The Emancipation Proclamation officially freed all enslaved people in the rebelling Southern states in 1863; however, some areas without the presence of the Union army didn’t enforce it. June 19th, 1865 marks the day Granger, commanding the Union Army in Galveston, formally announced the order had been in effect for over three years in Texas, the last part of the Confederacy to learn of the order and have it consistently enforced. Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writer’s Project, 1936-1938 contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930’s as part of the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration, later named the Work Projects Administration. In 2000-2001, with major support from the Citigroup Foundation a library of narratives were digitized and are available online from the Library of Congress.
Announcements:
* Susy had the following announcements:
*THE JUNE 21ST MEETING (next week) WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE ROSE GARDEN! There will be a cake (chocolate, Bob’s Farwell’s favorite!) at the meeting to wish Bob a happy retirement from the Otis Library and sadly from the club. Food will be catered by Rodney’s Olde Tymes, so you know the meal will be great! Please make every effort to attend and wish Bob well!
*The Change of Command will take place at the June 28th meeting. Make every effort to attend and welcome back Mary Richardson as President as well as thank Susy Hurlbert for her successful year President!
*Golf Tournament will be September 6th this year! Only $150pp per golfer. One of the cheaper tournaments to take part in this season! Gary said there is still a need for volunteers, golfers, sponsors and prizes.
*The Grants Committee reported that they had 16 applications and approved 5 for grant awards. Some of the awardees included Catholic Charities, St. Vincent DePaul Food Center, Norwich Race Equity Committee, South East Connecticut Center for the Blind, TVCCA-Meals on Wheels and St. Jude Common. $5,000 will be distributed.
*Log on to our website and donate for the Rotary Clock that will be placed at Brown Park on Norwich Harbor. So far $14,000, half the $34,000 needed, has been raised. The net proceeds of the Whisky & Cigar event $3,295.00 has been added. Andrew Nollman has donated $1,000.00 matched by Andy Grant! Susy Hurlbert has donated $500.00 to the clock and $500.00 for the Kindness Garden.
*Former Rotarians Molly Bruno and Jim O’Shea will be returning to Rotary in the near future!
*Rotarians are encouraged to please invite prospective members for lunch and introduce them to the world of Rotary.
*Speakers wanted for our meetings. If you have an idea for a good guest speaker contact Kevin Wickless to get one on the schedule.
Happy Dollars: – Barry Shead
*Barry welcomed Molly and Jim to today’s meeting and is happy they will be rejoining us soon. He will miss next week’s Rose Garden meeting as it the ARC’s Golf Tournament that he will be at. He wishes Bob Farwell well in retirement. He also enjoyed a mini-vacation to Lake George with his family!
*Stan Lucas was happy to present a gift to Gary Young of a very nice coffee cup containing some great words of wisdom!
*Bill Champagne had sad dollars to announce that his long-time friend David Anderson died. He also said after a year he is very happy with his plug-in car, a Prius. He ran into Rich Pascal and Theresa Madonna and they send along their best wishes to everyone. He will miss the Rose Garden meeting as well as the Change of Command as he and his wife Patrice will be in Chautauqua, New York for their annual visit there. He wishes Bob Farwell well and said his presence will be greatly missed.
*Rodney Green gave thanks to the Grant’s Committee for supporting the St. Jude Common as it important to keep seniors living independent as long as possible. He was also thrilled to report that the Chestnut Street Playhouse now owns their building free and clear and is debt free!!
*Andy Grant said he was sorry to see Bob Farwell leave the Otis Library and the club, but wished him well. Upon hearing of Andrew Nollman’s $1,000.00 donation for the Clock project he pledged to match that donation! Also, his daughter gave birth to twins!
*Jim O’Shea gave to wish Bob Farwell well. He also wishes Mary Richardson the best for returning as President and thanked Susy Hurlbert for her service as President this past year. He’ll be returning to Rotary in the fall. He also said “Juneteenth” is a combination of June and 19th.
*Mike Matera gave to say what a great time the Native Son Luncheon was honoring Wally Lamb and loved Wally’s speech. He also congratulated Rodney on the mortgage being paid off at the Chestnut Street Playhouse. Mike also said that 21 years ago Vic Ebersole sponsored him into Rotary only to resign a few months later saying that he hadn’t the time! Mike is also happy to have his boat in the water and is looking forward to some R&R aboard it!
*Gary Young had his golf clubs re-gripped and it cost him over $300.00! The cost was covered by all the Norwich Golf Course gift certificates he has accumulated over the years! He hopes his game improves! He welcomed Molly back to the club and said he will be picking up his sisters at the train station this week for a visit. He thanked Stan for the excellent coffee cup!
*Molly Bruno said she is glad to be back and really missed the fellowship and camaraderie of Norwich Rotary. She also reminisced about meeting Jim O’Shea many years ago at a networking session and how he helped her gain confidence when she was shy and just starting out in business.
*Lottie Scott said she was pleased to be in attendance at today’s meeting!
Auction: Andrew Nollman donated $20.00! Susy Hurlbert auctioned off a pair of tickets the club got for being a sponsor for the “Meet the Author” series at Otis Library. Andy Grant took them for $100.00!
Monthly Rotary Trivia: Stay Tuned.
Lottery: – Barry Shead
Molly Bruno (twice) and Rodney Green did not find the Ace of Spades. Andy Grant was the winner of Barry’s ARC Cookies!
Program: No program.
President Susy led the club with the 4-Way Test and the meeting was adjourned 1:03pm