Norwich Rotary Club
March 29th, 2023
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE
Presiding: Barry Shead
Invocation: Rodney Green
Fellowship: Barry Shead
Birthdays: Theresa Madonna – 3/30 and former Rotarian Jan Mallett TODAY!!
Anniversaries: Mary Richardson – 3/30 12 Years. Mike Goldblatt – 4/1 38 Years. Jay Waitte – 4/1 28 Years.
Visiting Rotarians: None.
Guests: Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Angela Adams accompanied a half dozen or so Chamber members to the luncheon.
Barry in honor of March being Woman’s History Month gave a wonderful tribute to our own Lottie Scott. Barry met Lottie in March of 2008 and said he was taken by her soft spoken demeanor and was truly an impressive woman. Lottie is counted among the Top 10 of Famous Women of Norwich and her home on Church Street is one of the stops on the Downtown History Freedom Trail Tour by the Norwich Historical Society. Lottie was a founding member of the Norwich Branch of the NAACP in 1963; by the 1970s, she was president. She established a NAACP job bank program in 1973, helping hundreds of African American residents gain employment. Lottie’s leadership was instrumental in improving race relations at the Norwich Free Academy during the 1970s. Concurrent with her civil rights advocacy, she was a founding member of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. Lottie was a past president and founding member of the Norwich Arts Center. She is a lifetime member of the NAACP and the Norwich Historical Society and a member of the Rotary Club of Norwich for more than 20 years. She has served on several city commissions, including the City of Norwich Ellis Walter Ruley Committee, the Norwich Sachem Fund, and the Norwich Disabilities Committee. In addition, Scott has served on numerous local nonprofit boards, chairing the board of Backus Hospital and serving on The Bulletin newspaper’s diversity committee and the Otis Library’s board of directors. In 2018 she self-published her memoir Deep South–Deep North: A Family’s Journey, an account of her childhood experiences with poverty and racism and of her family’s journey in the Great Migration. In 2021, she donated her papers to the UConn Library’s Archives and Special Collections. Her collection includes hundreds of binders, scrapbooks, letters, photos, clippings, and meeting minutes dating from the 1960s through the early 2010s. Lottie has just released he 2nd book Waiting for Kitty.
Announcements:
*Barry had the following announcements:
*May 3rd will be the Whiskey, Wine & Cigar Event at Bella Fiore. $75.00 per person and tickets will be on sale right now on Eventbrite. Log on to the club’s webpage and follow the link to purchase tickets!
*May 20th will be a “Rotary Day of Service” and our club will be doing a joint project with other area clubs that day. It will most likely be packing meals this year. Location is 3 Rivers Community College.
*April 4th will be the next Race Equity Event to be held at 3 Rivers College.
*Bowling with the Ledyard Rotary Club will be Sunday, August 13th! Let’s get a team together and show em’ how it’s done!
*Golf Tournament will be September 6th this year!
*The Native Son/Daughter Lunch will take place in June 7th and our club will be sponsoring the event along with the Norwich Woman’s City Club. Nominations deadline is March 15th.
*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 or Bob Farwell to get one on the schedule.
Barry welcomed all our guests visiting from the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce and gave a rundown of what Rotary International does both internationally and locally.
Happy Dollars: – Jen Granger
*Jen said she was going to take her first business trip in 4 years. Her dad also turns 96 years old next week. She welcomed all our Chamber of Commerce guests and gave Bill Champagne kudos for informing her on the current exhibit at the Lyman-Allyn Museum.
*Jim Daly welcomed all our guests. He also said he is moving his office and has a ton of file folders for the taking if anyone is looking for some. He also has a conference table available as well. He’s also looking forward to the Red Sox Opening Day and for the UConn Men’s Basketball team to go all the way in the final 4!
*Andy Nollman welcomed his guest Steph Rush and reminded the club to get their tickets to the Wine, Whisky and Cigar Event!
*Mike Matera said he was happy to have lunch with two of his favorite civic groups! He also said that his son’s indoor soccer team won the championship.
*Barry Shead welcomed all the Chamber guests.
*Mike Goldblatt was happy to be back and said he had a tough go of it back in January with Covid.
*Bill Champagne welcomed our guests from the Chamber. He reminded that the Norwich Race Equity Committee will meet in Tuesday at 3 Rivers College and there will be 5 young people as part of the program to speak about race in their lives. He also gave Lottie a ride to the meeting and was happy to have a spare cane and a $20.00 bill for lunch!
*Susy Hurlbert welcomed the Chamber guests and said she was a little late to arrive at the meeting as she broke her ankle playing pickleball and thanked Barry for filling in.
*Jeff Bruning wished Susy a speedy recovery and was happy to see Mike Goldblatt back.
*Lottie Scott said how much she enjoys being a member of the club and still has plenty of energy. Rotary has been an important part of her life and thanked Bill Champagne for the ride. Life is good right now and she like’s chillin’ out!
*Andy Nollman said that the past week was super stressful and he looks forward to spending Easter with his wife’s family and then a Passover Sader with his family.
*Bonnie Johnson said she was traveled to Bermuda recently and did a make-up at a Rotary Club there that still does not admit women. They thought that her husband was the Rotarian when they arrived! She did stay for the meeting! Also, the insurance company has finally settled and the damage her boat incurred during the hurricane last year in Florida.
*Gary Young welcomed all the chamber guests and thanked Lottie for pointing out how grey his hair is! He also reminded that the next “Miss Lottie’s Café” program at the NAC will be a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr.!
*Angela Adams gave Happy Dollars to say she was happy to he here today and that her daughter has bought a house closer to home so now she can see her more often.
Auction: Mike Gordon will donate $20.00.
Monthly Rotary Trivia: Stay tuned.
Lottery: – Bill Champagne – Rodney Green, Mike Goldblatt & Jim Daly drew cards and did not find the Ace of Spades. Rodney won the cookies.
Program:
Barry asked Angie to get up and say a few words about the Chamber. In her comments she was happy that Rotary has been a member of the Chamber for many years and that she liked the passion of the two organizations and would welcome to collaborate on future projects in the community.
Barry then said that the Rotary Clock Project is moving ahead to the fundraising stage and information was passed out to all in attendance about how to give and at what levels for both the clock and the Kindness Gardens. Log on to our Rotary Website for information and to download the form for supporting the project.
Barry asked Gary Young to lead the Club in reciting the 4-Way Test and the meeting was adjourned at 1:20pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter