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Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Bulletin Editor
Larry Haber
Speakers
Apr 13, 2018
A Sibling’s Viewpoint
Apr 20, 2018
District 7890
Apr 27, 2018
2018 Recipients
May 04, 2018
Kateri Medical Clinic in Nigeria
May 11, 2018
Tanzania
May 18, 2018
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
President Elect
 
Immediate Past President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Foundation Chair
 
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 Club 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
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Bruce Corbett - FAVARH
April 13, 2018
"A Sibling's Viewpoint"
 
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
April 6, 2018
 
Members Present: 34
 
Make-Ups: None  
Guests:  Brenda Haber-Sutter (Larry Haber's Sister), Jim Gordon (Prospective Member), Elaine Chagnon (Speaker), and Moe Lavalle (Speaker AV support) 
 
Fines: None  
Happy Dollars: $ 49.00  
Raffle Winner: Gary Miller
 
Birthdays None today.
Happy Dollars
 
Alicia Canning was very happy to report that her liver disease is under control and she doesn't have to go back for another checkup for a year.  She also reported that she has celebrated her 6 month anniversary of quitting smoking.  Alicia also said she was heading down to to Atlanta to watch her grandchildren for a week.
 
Salin Low is off to St. Louis to see her sister and all of her family.  She also has tickets to see Hamilton, while there.  
 
Gary Miller who was in Louisiana visiting his family went out to Avery Island which is the home of Tabasco sauce.  They had lunch at the restaurant where every dish had Tabasco and multiple choices on the table.  Gary reports that "Scorpion" was the hottest.
 
Brian O'Donnell ran into former member David Burgh who sent his greetings to the club.
 
Steve Harris has returned from a great winter in FL but wants to know "when the hell is winter over."  This is a question that the entire club would like to have answered.
 
Bill Barnes is happy for the start of the baseball season.  Red Sox 6 and 1; New York Mets 5 and 1.
 
Capri Frank was greeted with a great hug from Gary Miller and she noted how good the new Rotary shirt he was wearing looked.  She is happy to be here and she also wanted to let us know that her mother who joined us last time Capri was here is still happy.  She made a choice to change her life and just did it.  She bought a new house in Pond Place with the help of Scott Nardozzi.
 
Rollie Sterrett was bone fishing in the Bahamas last week.  He has promised (threatened) to bring in the 287 pictures he took next week.  Rollie let us know that after 2 1/2 years of intense martial discussion he and his wife decided to have a baby.  So they picked up an 8 week old Yellow Lab puppy.  After the long marital discussion, Rollie's wife wrote him a letter acknowledging that he will have nothing to do with the puppy.  However, as soon as he saw the puppy, he tore up the letter.
 
Paul Mikkelson is heading down to NC to ride bikes with his buddies.  When he gets back he and Phil Ferrari are going up for Patriot's Day in Boston.  Phil is worried that he may be getting ill, as he is starting to appreciate the Yankees.
 
 
 
Member Induction
 
Chris Lamadrid was inducted into membership in our Rotary Club.  Chris was sponsored by Salin Low who is a neighbor of Chris.  Chris grew up in Miami Beach, FL.  She had a career in education in the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area.  Chris has relocated to Canton to be near her family. Please make my fellow Beachite welcome.
 
General Announcements
 
Dale Bronson had surgery and will be home bound for awhile
 
Peter Vignati lost his mother this week
 
Calendar of Upcoming Events
 
 
Wednesday, April 18: Rotary Business to Business Regional Organizing Meeting; Jackson Room, Avon Old Farms Hotel.  See Bruce Sayward for details.
 
Saturday, April 21, 10 AM - 12 PM:  Amber Alert, Farmington Valley YMCA.  Contact Tom  Voorhees if you can help.
 
Friday, May 18: Joint Rotary - FAVARH Yard Goats Game Event. See Paul Mikkelson for details.
 
Friday, June 8: 2018 President's Installation Dinner at Farmington Woods Club House. President-Elect Michael Mezheritskiy and a new slate of Officers and Directors will be installed for the 2018-2019 Rotary Year. Don Bonner, Heather Pantano & Colleen Grasso will receive Paul Harris Fellowships for club service. Tickets will be $45 each.
 
Monday, June 11:  Canton Chamber Silver Jubillie Golf Tournment See Gary Miller for details.
 
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10:  AVON/CANTON ROTARY GOLF TOURNMENT
 
 
 
 
Awards and Community Service Grants
 
 
None today
 
Presentation
 
"Africa Education Partnership / Grace International School"
 
 
Rollie Sterrett introduced Elaine Chagnon a long-time educator with a Master's Degree in Special Education.  She is currently a Consulting Teacher/Instructional Coach for the Granby Public Schools.  Elaine has a passion for Nigeria and its people.  She has made 7 trips as a member of the Executive Board of Africa Education Partnership, a non-profit organization based out of St. Peter's Church in South Windsor.  The Board is sponsoring the building of a secondary school in Nigeria.  She has been involved with the project since its beginning in 2009.  She makes yearly trips to conduct teacher training.  She shared that until recently, it was too dangerous for her to travel to the school and the teachers had to come to her. 
 
Elaine brought a slide show to show us the progress being made at the Grace International School to which we contributed a $1,000 last year.  The Grace International School is being built in the Nigerian state of Zamfara.  The 12 northern states in Nigeria are under Sharia which highlighted the cultural and religious divide that makes a project like to build a secondary school so difficult but so important. Travel to the school for the first time in 5 years was finally possible in 2016.  In Nigeria, the equivalent of our SAT exam is the West Africa Board Exam.  35 of the Grace International School students took the exam and all students passed, with one of the girls receiving the highest score of all in the Samfara State.
 
 
Elaine spoke about how quickly the school has attracted students, not only Christian but Muslim students as well.  In Nigeria parents are responsible for books and the school uniforms.
 

A summer trip for teacher training was held near the school site in the far north with twenty-five teachers in attendance.  Expansion plans are going forward as a second floor is being added to the Exam Building so that a computer lab, media center, and administrative offices can be added on the first floor.  The wall (needed for safety) around the school buildings was extended to include additional land that was previously purchased in order to prevent encroachment.  A hospital building is started on land bordering Grace International School.  This will hopefully provide our students with real-world opportunities to mentor with professionals from the medical community.
 

 
Mail Bag
 
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?