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Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Bulletin Editor
Larry Haber
Speakers
Aug 31, 2018
Spirithorse Therapeutic Riding Center of Canton
Sep 07, 2018
#changethescript for our community
Sep 14, 2018
TBD
Sep 21, 2018
Digital Lens Grinding in the Optical Industry
Sep 28, 2018
New Tax Law
Oct 05, 2018
Korean Spirit & Culture Promotion Project
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Immediate Past President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Foundation Chair
 
Membership
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Board Member-at-Large
 
Asst Treasurer
 
EarlyRiser Presentations
GLO Fall 2017 Mission Trip
Eastern Europe Trip to Vienna and Prague Presentation
Avon Village Center Project Presentation
Club Information
Rotary of Avon-Canton - Founded 1973
Avon-Canton
Service above Self
We meet Fridays at 7:30 AM
Avon Old Farms Hotel
279 Avon Mountain Rd.
Avon, CT  06001
United States
DistrictSiteIcon District Site
VenueMap Venue Map
Larry Sullivan
Signers of Declaration of Independence 
 
  July 13, 2018
 
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
June 29, 2018
 
Members Present: 33
 
Make-Ups: None  
Guests: Arnie Goldman introduced his wife Jill Goldman, his daughter Allison Lee and her husband Philip Lee.  
Visiting Rotarian: None
Happy Dollars: $ 9
Raffle Winner: None
 
Birthdays
 
Robin DiNicola (not in attendance)
 
 
 
 
 
Happy Dollars
 
Joanne Santiago honoring President Mike at his first meeting.
 
Larry Haber is happy to be going to see Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers on Sunday
 
Salin Low is going to Iceland.  When she was a senior in high school she hosted a foreign exchange student from Iceland for a year.  While the student has been back many times, Salin decided that after 51 years it was time to visit.
 
Sue Budde won't be here next week as her baby sister is turning 50 and she will be at her birthday party.
 
Richard Heath broke 80 for the first time in 2 years for 18 holes and he will be joining his wife down in FL to celebrate their 20th anniversary. 
 
Announcements
 
Nancy Nation reminded the club that the golf tournament is 3 weeks earlier this year, meaning we have 3 less weeks to get the ads in.  No one likes to solicit but procrastinating doesn't make it any easier.  Let's get it done!!!   She also reminded members to fill out the ad cards completely to help in the processing of the ad book.
 
Salin Low reminded members about  the seniors luncheon on July 26. All members are welcome to participate. The time when most people can participate is 11:15-12:30. You get a chance to help senior citizens, to work with other club members, to get a make-up for your service, and most importantly you get a burger for your efforts. Contact Salin by email at salin@revslow.net if you can help.
 
President Mike and Brian O'Donnell have started a new chess club for students this summer at Westminster School.  Club meets Monday mornings, please come if you are interested in helping.
 
Peter Vignati is ill get well cards and e-mails would be appreciated.

Calendar of Upcoming Events
 
Thursday, July 26: Senior Citizens Luncheon. 12 Noon. Canton Community Center. Salin Low and Alicia Canning for details.
 
Tuesday, July 31: Pencil Box Assembly. Nancy Nation's House. Potluck. Stay tuned for details.
 
Monday, August 27:  Rotary of Avon-Canton Annual Charity Golf Tournament
 
Saturday, September 29: Celebrate Avon Day. Steve Harris for details
 
Awards and Community/International Service Grants
 
None this week.
Presentation
 
Club Forum
 
 
 Gary Hyde gave the treasures report.  Bottom line is that we operate in a fiscally sound manner and have sufficient funds in our Community Fund to meet our obligations.  Last fiscal year the club had  a surplus from operations of $1,020 and the community fund had a net income of $20,419 after distributing over $94,000.  We have total cash assets of $381,648 of which $219,223 is in our scholarship fund and $69,272 is reserved for our FAVARH initiative.  Speak to Gary if you have any questions.
 
 Craig Buhrendorf reported on the Scholarship Committee and the International Committee.  The scholarship investments are showing an annualized return of 7.3%.  Based upon the clubs agreed upon guidelines the investments are about 50% stock funds and 50% bond funds.  The goals are designed not to be at the top of possible returns but also to protect against loss.  Some discussion was held as to whether the funds could be invested in lower cost instruments.  The current guidelines are:

The Rotary Club of Avon-Canton Scholarship Fund (hereafter referred to as "the Scholarship Fund") is a separate account of the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton Community Fund {hereafter referred to as ''the Community Fund") for the purpose of helping to provide funding for scholarships in Avon and Canton.

The Scholarship Fund shall have an infinite investment time horizon and an expected net annual rate of return of 4%. Its goal shall be to grow in value while using distributions of income and/or appreciation to meet an annual commitment of $8,000 to scholarships in Avon and Canton. At the discretion of the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton's Board of Directors, additional funding for scholarships may be provided from the Community Fund's operating account. Periodic contributions may also be made from the Community Fund's operating account to the Scholarship Fund to enhance its growth. In order to preserve principal, no distributions shall be made from the Scholarship Fund if its value falls below $200,000. As the Scholarship Fund grows in value, the Board of Directors shall review whether the $8,000 annual commitment shall be increased.

The Scholarship Fund's investment allocation shall be as follows: 50% bonds, 30% large cap US stocks, 5% mid cap US stocks , 5% small cap US stocks and 10% non-US stocks. The primary investment vehicles shall be index mutual funds. The primary benchmark for investment performance shall be a composite consisting of the following: 50% Barclay's US Aggregate Bond Index, 40% Wilshire 5000 Total Stock Market Index and 10% MSCI EAFE Index.

The President of the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton shall appoint an Investment Committee Chair. The Chair shall assemble a committee of three additional members. One of the members shall be the Club Treasurer. The Investment Committee shall meet at least semi-annually - once in August after the close of the Club's previous fiscal year and once in February in the following calendar year, on mutually agreed upon dates. Three members of the Investment Committee shall constitute a quorum. At the semiannual Investment Committee meetings, the Scholarship Fund's investment allocation shall be rebalanced and its investment performance shall be reviewed. The Investment Committee shall also review this Investment Policy Statement to assure the continued relevance of its guidelines. The Investment Committee Chair shall make a presentation to the Board semiannually and submit any changes to this Investment Policy Statement for review and approval. The Investment Committee Chair shall also make a presentation to the Club as part of the Treasurer's annual report on Club finances.

The International Committee was rightly quite proud of its work.  The committee sees the organizations that they contribute to as our partners.  "Our funding priorities are for projects that provide clean water, basic healthcare, basic education or vocational training. We prefer to work with organizations th local, direct control over their projects and can provide feedback on our investments."  We work with organizations that have a local presence and can come and tell the club what they are doing.  This year we funded 6 projects.  The committee had $12,500 to spend plus a carry over from last year of $1,219.  They spent $13,420 and will have a carry over of $299.  The projects we funded are:

 

Guiding Light Ophans, Inc.

Medical equipment and supplies for Masindi District, Uganda

$4,950

Kateri Medical Services (Trinity Episcopal Church, Tariffville)

Medical supplies for clinic near Kaduna, Nigeria

$1,000

Africa Education Partnership

Bore hole for water and solar power in Nigeria

$1,000

Manchester Rotary Club/District 7890/Rotary Foundation

Water/sanitation projects in Pamazul, Vista Hermosa & San Vicente, Guatemala

$2,500

St. Patrick's Haiti Ministry

Computers

$2,000

Tanzania Nursing Scholarship Program

Funding for 2 students for 1 year towards their Registered Nurse/Midwifery Cert.

$1,970

 

 

$13,420

Len Dunstan reported on behalf of Phil Ferrari and the Membership Committee.  It is clear, we are the best in the district.  According to RI, we have 78 members.  The next closes one is Glastonbury with 75 members.  Membership in the district continues to be a concern as 10 clubs dissolved this year.  Overall in our district we have lost 79 members.  For those who may not be aware and it may have helped our growth is that it only requires 2 Rotary events a month to remain in good standing.  We have added 9 new members in our club this year.  The membership committee would like us to be involved in Rotaract this year which is geared towards college age.  Nancy reminded everyone that it also takes energy from the longer term members to involve the newer members in club activities.

Phil Worley reminded Rotarians of the Lonely Rotarian Society which meets at LaSalle Market when club meetings are not held and the Rotary Pub Night, which is held monthly at various happy hours around the community.

Salin Low reported on the time commitment from the Newsletter Editors group as it takes many hours each week to publish the bulletin.  She thanked Arnie Goldman, Gary Miller, and Larry Haber who along with Salin share the chore.  Phil Worley was also noted as our photographer whose work graces each bulletin.

Joanne Santiago spoke as chair of the Paul Harris Committee.  Our all time giving to the Rotary Foundation is $286,562.47. In our club we have 50 PH of whom 34 are multiple PH.  We also have 129 PH that include community members and past members of our club.  We have 3 major donors and 2 Benefactors of the foundation in the club.  RI recommends at least a $100 donation and we make it easy to give by check (cash) at a meeting, to honor your birthday, or on line.

Bruce Sayward reported on the efforts to launch a Rotary Means Business Networking Group in our area.  This group encourages Rotarians to support the success of other Rotarians by doing business with them and by referring to them.  Next meeting is July 18th at Rockledge Grille in West Hartford

Tom Voorhees spoke about our efforts with Amber Alert.  We did 6 events this year and registered 136 kids.  Since we started we have registered 4,532 kids.

Mail Bag
 
The club received a thank you note from Dan Shea for sponsoring his attendance at RYLA.  We received a thank you from Katherine Mankowski for her $2,000 Rotary scholarship from the Canton Dollars for Scholars which she will use to attend the University of Connecticut.  The Canton High School 2018 Substance Free Graduation Party organizers said thank you with a note that had pictures from the event.  Steve Roberto reported that his son had a great time at the event.
 
Photo Credits 
Photographs courtesy of Phil Worley unless otherwise indicated.
 
Editors Notes
Submission Deadline: Members are kindly encouraged to submit all materials for each week's Early Riser as early as possible. Please note that some editions may be published and distributed as early as the Saturday following our meetings, and during those weeks further contributions to the Early Riser will be included in the subsequent week's edition.
 
“The FOUR-WAY TEST of the things we think, say or do”:

1. Is it the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all Concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?