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Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Bulletin Editor
Arnie Goldman
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
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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
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Kristi Larsen
Cornelia de Lange Syndrome
  June 1, 2018
 
 
Sergeant-at-Arms Report
May 25, 2018
 
Members Present: 31
 
Make-Ups: None  
 
Guests:
Cindy Ingram, director of the Farmington Valley Arts Center was introduced by Phil Worley
Lisa Wright, general manager of the Golf Club of Avon was introduced by Larry Sullivan
Our speaker and his wife, Rick & Ellen Lawrence, of the Manchester Rotary Club was introduced by Rollie Sterrett
 
 
Fines: See Salin Low's confession under "Happy Dollars", below.
 
 
Raffle Winner: No winner!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Birthdays
Rollie Sterrett rose to acknowledge his 75th birthday, which he described as a "milestone." [Ed. Note: Readers should please be alert to distinguish here between the nouns "milestone", and the similar sounding "millstone", which has a very different meaning. Rollie clearly meant "milestone."]
 
With three & three-quarter-score years behind him, Rollie noted a confluence of multiple milestones that surround his life in Rotary. This year also marks his 40th as a Rotarian, having joined in summer 1978 during Bob Caves' presidency. He notes that Bob keeps getting younger while he has not, though we all know Rollie to be young at heart:  See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG7suS4YJWk
 
When Rollie joined, he was 35 and the club had just 35 all male, members, and a mere $3,500.00 in the treasury. Rollie reminisced about how Steve Harris convinced the Club to try some new fundraising endeavors, one of which was casino nights. Steve, with his parents, helped get that effort underway and it worked really well, right up until they burned the house down, an accident I'm sure. Even more entertaining, following the fire it was learned that the Club had no insurance.
 
Rollie served as Club president in 1981, a fact Heather Pantano marveled at, noting she wasn't even born as of yet.
 
Rollie concluded by noting "this year has many interesting milestones for me" and then he threatened to kiss all the women members. The room cleared immediately, as if there was a second fire. Whether or not that project was completed is unknown.
 
 
Happy Dollars
 
Salin Low confessed and fined herself for mistaking Brazil for Guatemala, for leaving Craig's daughter's name off the guest list and for forgetting her Rotary pin. [Ed. note: Salin, if these are the worst mistakes you've made, give yourself a break! You are an exemplary Rotarian!]. On a more celebratory note, Salin was pleased to share that her niece recently graduated college, Magna Cum Laude! Way to go young lady!
 
Larry Sullivan noted a missed opportunity on the part of the Avon Chamber of Commerce. The Avon Chamber recently held a nice event, but failed to acknowledge a "Biggest Loser Award" in their omission of Chuck Joseph, who has lost 50# over the last 12 months. Way to go, going, gone Chuck!
 
OPM Biomedical Engineered Biomedical Implants
 
Greg DeManche announced the recent accomplishments of his daughters Katelyn and Elissa. Katelyn, a high school student, will, receive an academic award from her school and Elissa, who is pre-med at UCONN, was selected for an internship at OPM Biomedical, a manufacturer of custom, 3-dimensional printed, biomedical implants.
 
Larry Haber, recently vacationing in Florida to celebrate a cousin's 70th birthday, was thankful that the rain dance of his people is still as effective today, as it was when he was much younger. It rained every day during his entire stay in Florida. Nice job Larry! FOGA, the Florida Orange Growers Association has sent a nice thank you letter.
 
Bob Cave recently attended his college reunion at Grove City College (GeDunk!) in Grove City, Pennsylvania and was surprised to find his name prominently included in the donors brochure. Perhaps it's a subtle hint Bob?!
[Ed. Note: GēDUNK is a word that resonates with Grove City College alumni and friends. Named after the on-campus gathering place/snack bar for students since the early 1950s, the word GēDUNK made its way into the Grove City College vernacular when Korean War Navy veterans returned to campus, bringing with them the word that defined the place where snacks could be purchased aboard ships or the snack items themselves, everything from potato chips and candy to ice cream and sodas. The name stuck. For decades, the Grove City College GēDUNK has been the place to come together to share news and ideas, kind of like our Rotary Club!]
 
Dale Bronson was pleased to acknowledge the previous week's piano recital by the Castros. He noted he has also played piano, in his case for 60 years, but has not come close to the skill demonstrated by last week's guests. He went on to note his joy, in having been informed by his Yale transplant doctors that he need not follow-up for 2 months, as he is doing so well. This is the longest doctor-free interval he has yet been granted. Great news Dale!
 
Tom Voorhees donated happy dollars to acknowledge former Club member Kaye Kellogg, who remembers her membership in our Club fondly and sends an annual donation on her birthday. She has reported to Tom that her granddaughter is active in an Interact Club.
 
Phil Worley was pleased to report that our guest, Cindy Ingram, along with her husband, will soon walk 600 miles through Spain and France during a charitable event to be held there. Phil's glad he doesn't have to do it. ;-)
 
General Announcements
 
Ike Eickenhorst reminded the group that we still need speakers for July.
 
Tom Voorhees reminded Rotarians of the need for additional Amber Alert volunteers on June 1st, 4 to 8 PM.
 
Phil Worley reminded the Club that the next Pub Night will be held on June 5th, location TBD.
 
 
Calendar of Upcoming Events
 
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 Jubilee Golf Tournament See Gary Miller for details.
 
Thursday, July 26: Luncheon for the Senior Citizens of Avon and Canton. Noon. Canton Community Center. Salin Low and Alicia Canning for details.
 
MONDAY, August 27:  Rotary of Avon-Canton Annual Charity Golf Tournament
 
Saturday, September 29: Celebrate Avon Day. Steve Harrisfor details
 
Awards and Community/International Service Grants
 
See concluding paragraph of Presentation section, below,  for details.
 
 
Presentation
 
Rick Lawrence
Improved Water & Sanitation in Rural Guatemalan Villages
 
 
Rollie Sterrett introduced Rick Lawrence who was accompanied by wife Ellen. Rollie was filling in for Craig Buhrendorf who is absent this day. Rick is a member of Manchester Rotary Club and for his work and dedication has accumulated 5 Paul Harris Awards and in 2014 also received the "Service Above Self" award. The Service Above Self Award is Rotary International's highest honor for individual Rotarians.  This award recognizes up to 150 Rotarians annually who have demonstrated their commitment to helping others.  Rick has been our district's chair for water and sanitation projects for an extended period of time.
 
Taking the podium, Rick described his evolution in leadership of sanitation projects in Guatemala. Originally visiting Guatemala on vacation, Rick attended a Rotary club meeting where he learned of the health crisis facing many rural Guatemalan villages related to lack of potable water and sanitation facilities. Connections he made there resulted in the eventual completion of 19 water and sanitation projects between 2006 and 2017 which continue today. [Ed. Note: Since 2014 the Rotary Club of Avon-Canton has donated $12,500.00 in support of these projects.]
 
Asking "Why?", Rick went on to describe the grim circumstances of poor people living in rural villages across the world: Worldwide 1.1 billion people, approximately 1 in 5, lack access to safe water, 2.5 billion people have no sanitation facilities, 30,000 people die daily due to water related illness and 90% of them are children less than 5-years-old.
 
Further, the communities are primarily agricultural and women and children must typically walk 20 minutes each way, 4 to 6 times a day to get water from springs.
They must carry 20 - 25# jugs containing the water on their heads to get it back to their villages..
Rotarian Jolly Lux demonstrating water carrying technique.
 
Their program has a track record of success in saving lives: Since inception they have raised $625,295.00 between 2006 through 2017. As a result 7664 people have fresh water due to the project. For the first 7 years they worked with ALDEA, an NGO founded by the late Dr. Carol Behrhorst of Tulane University. After his death Dr. Behrhorst's family and employees continued the program. Later, working with another NGO, WASRAG (Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group) they were encouraged to form alliances with local NGOs due to barriers identified due to local languages and general cultural familiarity.
 
Rotary Foundation matches all funds raised independently at $0.50 to the dollar. Further, when districts such as ours, District 7890, gives "DDF", district designated funds, the District itself matches those funds dollar for dollar, doubling the money raised. In June 2017 Rotary Foundation matched to raise 96,000+ dollars. There will be a similar presentation on June 21, 2018.
 
Local residents must contribute both in kind labor and ongoing project maintenance for the completed projects. That provides an incentive for both, allowing the projects to survive beyond the initial development period. Local people are also required to purchase the land on which the springs are located that serve their villages to avoid landowner conflict from undermining their water access. Rotary plaques naming each contributing club are placed on water reservoir structures. Often built on high ground for gravity feed. Some are below the village so electricity is generated by a diesel generator.
 
Collateral benefits derived from these water projects include allowing time for children to attend school rather than acting primarily as water carriers. Also the women can avoid carrying 25# jugs full of water in their heads which has a number of negative health consequences, as you can well imagine.
 
On a recent trip to Guatemala, Ellen Lawrence, a former teacher, brought school supplies in four suitcases weighing just under the limit of 50# allowed by the airlines, and then brought back handmade Guatemalan goods for eventual sale to Rotarians. In the past they have also brought bilingual dictionaries and soccer balls., which were deflated to fit inside the suitcases. "We started "deflategate" not Brady", said Rick, tongue-in-cheek, referring to the soft football scandal of a few years ago involving the New England Patriots. In addition to goods for sale to support the program, the Guatemalan people created small tapestries to give to the American Rotary Clubs. Don Bonner received ours today, which is inscribed:  "Thanks to the Rotary Club for supporting our community."
A second component of the project is a three-part-sink which separates waste from water used in washing such that pollution is prevented from entering the aquafer downstream. Vented pit latrines are the third component of the overall water hygiene projects. Pits are 5 meters deep, are vented and replace more primitive and less hygienic methods previously in use.
 
A fourth and further component of efforts to improve the health of residents is a fuel-efficient stove, which vents cooking smoke out of the living space. It replaces traditional pedestal fires. The smoke damages residents' lungs especially the children, even before birth. Further, the system avoids burns by providing nearby cooking work space allowing the keeping of hot water and food away from children playing on the floor. The hot vent stack is also protectively insulated.
Volunteers pay all their own travel expenses, to maximize the benefit to residents. To date they have received 4 global grants totaling $160,273.00 and Rick reported he is working on the next.
 
Rick informed the group that Rotary International has bestowed its "best cooperative project award" on this program, saying "Its a great way of interclub and district collaboration." Clubs and Districts in Florida, Indiana and Canada are also involved.
 
Rick concluded with "To get the service above self-award has been the most humbling thing to have happened in my life." As a Guatamalan child has said, "Sin agua, no hay vida." .........  "Without water there is no life."
 
At the conclusion, Don and Rollie presented a ceremonial check for $2500.00 to Rick for his project, as well as a Club banner, and a book for the Guatemalan counterpart club.
Rick Lawrence, Ellen Lawrence, Don Bonner, Rollie Sterrett
 

 
 
 
 
Mail Bag
None this week.
 
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?