Bruce Sayward (Prospective Member), Karen Sterrett, Jerri Bonnell
Visiting Rotarians
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Happy Dollars
$42
Fines
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Raffle
No Winner
Birthdays
No member of the Club celebrated a birthday at the April 1st meeting. However - legendary actress Debbie Reynolds was born April 1, 1932. Her movie career spanned from 1950 to 2013 and included memorable roles in The Tender Trap, A Catered Affair, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (which brought her an Academy Award nomination) and, one of the greatest movies of all, Singing' In The Rain. (Reynolds was just 19 years old when she performed those incredible song and dance numbers with Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor).
In 2015, Reynolds received one of the movie industry's most prestigious recognitions, The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Happy Dollars
Don Bonner - introduced his guest, Jerri Bonnell. She took the initiative to sell 16 TOTV tickets. Don also alerted the club that he would be appearing on the next morning's Channel 3 News to talk about Tastes of the Valley.
Rick Heath - next week, Rick will be golfing at Pinehurst, one of the country's best golf courses.
Lisa Barall-Matt - will be traveling to New York City to meet her daughter.
Rollie Sterrett - shared that his trip to the Bahamas was good, and the fishing was good as well.
Salin Low - stated that the staff at M&R Liquors had fun finding $20 bottles of wine for the TOTV Wine Pull.
Bob Cave - toured a modular home factory on March 31st. He said "you can now call me Bob The Builder."
Chuck Joseph - asserted "tomorrow is Tastes of the Valley. Sunday is not."
Dale Bronson - clad in a New York Yankee jersey, Dale talked about Opening Day of the baseball season which was coming up on April 3rd. He added that, for the first time in his ten years of playing fantasy baseball, he drafted two Red Sox players, Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia.
Larry Sullivan - gave Happy Dollars in recognition of Dale Bronson, a lifelong Yankee fan, drafting two of the Red Sox.
Joanne Santiago - was excited that TOTV was just a day away.
Steve Roberto - had what he termed "a selfish Happy Dollar." He feels really good that "everything has come together for TOTV."
Linda Pendergast - was looking forward to watching the UConn women's basketball team make its way through the NCAA tournement. (They play tonight, April 5th, in the title game).
Gary Miller - "survived" Easter in Louisiana.
Chuck Joseph - asserted that everything is ready for Saturday night, and the Club is $5,000 ahead of where TOTV stood at this time last year. He added "it's Rock 'n Roll time!!"
Announcements and News
Rotary Pub Night Tonight, April 5th!!
(Recent Pub Night)
The April Rotary Pub Night is tonight, April 5th at Abigail's. You may check out the Abigail's menu at abigailsgrill.com.
RPN is all about socializing, networking and getting to know your fellow Rotarians and their guests better. Bring your spouses, significant others, partners, friends, prospective Rotarians, etc.
You may, of course, come and go whenever you want to. Should you wish to eat before, during or after RPN, there are plenty of choices at Abigail's. Contact Phil Worley for more information.
The following Rotary Pub Night will be held May 3rd at the North House Restaurant (directly opposite Avon Old Farms Hotel on Route 44).
We Will Meet May 27th
The decision has been made that the Club will meet the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend. The Speaker that day will be Jill Fletcher. Her presentation is titled "Youth Forum."
Kateri (Nigeria) Medical Services' Dinner Invitation
(Father Tom with a Kateri resident)
Rollie Sterrett has announced that our Club members have been invited to the KATERI MEDICAL SERVICES BENEFIT DINNER at 5:00 pm on Saturday, May 7, at First Cathedralin Bloomfield(1151 Blue Hills Avenue). The invitation is in appreciation of the Club's recent $2,000 grant in support of Kateri's vital medical services mission. In December, Father Tom Furrer spoke to the Club about this medical clinic which has been in operation since 2003 and has served over 150,000 poverty-stricken individuals in rural Nigeria. The purpose of this dinner is to inform friends and supporters about the progress of the clinic and related medical outreach efforts. It will also encourage continuing support.
There is no cost to Rotary members to attend this dinner. Please contact Rollie ASAP for more information.
Scenes From Tastes of The Valley
Bike Trail Cleanup Day
Every year the Farmington Valley Trails Council holds its annual trail clean-up day. Since many of our members use the trail to walk, run and cycle, I thought we could put some Rotarians out on the trail during the cleanup on Sunday, April 17th. The event runs from 10 AM to 2 PM and ends with a cookout at Flamig Farm for all volunteers.
If your are interested take a look at the attached press release and talk with me at one of our upcoming meetings.
We are always looking for community events to show our commitment. This is a perfect opportunity.
Thank You,
Gary Miller
Bike-a-thon/Friday, April 29
There will be a two-hour bike-a-thon at the Granby YMCA on Friday, April 29th. Paul Mikkelson will be the leader, and he promises an easy ride. (Generally the lights are low, so no one knows if you have any tension on your bike or not.) We will ride stationary bikes in half-hour increments. The cost to ride is $20 per half hour. The money raised will go to World Bicycle Relief.
Don't Forget!! The Club Bike Ride will be May 14th.
Be at Sperry Park at noon. The group will head north on the Rails to Trails path. See Paul Mikkelson for further details.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016 is the date of the District Training Assembly at the Holiday Inn in Enfield, CT. We are thrilled to offer a variety of training options together with a terrific keynote speaker.
The Assembly includes breakfast and breakout sessions for the 60 presidents-elect, secretaries-elect, treasurers-elect, a Foundation overview, membership, public relations, strategic planning and new member orientation. Rotary 101, Rotary Basics, is not just for new members, but for anyone who would like to learn more.
PDG Toni McAndrew will be the keynote speaker. She is an exciting and motivating speaker. You will learn more about her at a later time.
Please encourage club and board members to come and be part of this District Training Assembly on Wednesday, May 11th at the Holiday Inn, Enfield, CT.
Details and registration can be found at www.rotarydistrict7890.org and click on “District 7890 Assembly 2016” under “upcoming events.”
Registration is $30 and $15 for new club members.
I look forward to seeing you there!! You will learn something and have fun!!! I am really looking forward to working with you, and I appreciate your support.
Frank Wargo, DGE
Dear District 7890 Members
We are running out of hotel rooms!!
Cape Codder, Hyannis, MA
Do not delay, Register for the District Conference today!! Conference dates: April 29th to May 1st.
If you would like to stay at the Cape Codder during the Conference, register before we use up our room block.
This year’s District Conference is being held at the
Cape Codder Hotel in Hyannis, MA.
Both the incoming and outgoing South African Vocational Training Teams will be at the District Conference.
Get to meet them up close and personal.
Learn about the outgoing team's trip to help South African teachers in their quest to improve the education of their young children.
What did they learn while they were there.
Hear about life in South Africa.
Find out what teaching skills the incoming South African team would like to take back to their country.
For more information on the Cape Codder go to http://www.capecodderresort.com/
Yours in Rotary service,
Kyóng Wilson
District Governor 2015-2016
District 7890
C: (860) 402-8061
Craig Buhrendorf gave a photographic presentation of the trip he and Jeane took to South Africa in February. Locations visited included Johannesburg, Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, Port Elizabeth and Franschoek. The Heart of Cape Town Museum, where Christiian Barnard performed the world's first heart transplant, and the District 6 Museum, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, were among the stops that Craig found particularly interesting.
(Craig and Jeane atop Table Mountain)
All of the terrain in South Africa is "rugged." The hiking trails are challenging, but they offer spectacular views of the land and the ocean.
Since the end of apartheid, native Africans hold most elective offices, yet most of the people Craig and Jeane interacted with, guides, innkeepers, drivers, etc, come from white, European backgrounds. Craig stated this suggests that South Africa's socio-economics still tilt in favor of South Africa's white population.
Craig and Jeane finished their trip staying at at a lodge situated right on the Shamwari game preserve. They enjoyed six safari drives. Among the animals they saw and photographed were impalas, tortoises, birds of all type, mongooses, springboks, jackals, warthogs, cape buffalo, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, and lions. At one point, they were just 20 feet away from a lion.
Next February, Craig and Jeane will visit the Galapagos Islands.
Lonely Rotarians Society: March 25th Meeting
In The Mail
P.O. Box 11 ran silent, ran deep this week.
Photo Credits
Photos from the Meeting by Phil Worley
TOTV Photos 1 and 2 by Phil Worley
TOTV Photo #3 by Robin DiNicola
Lonely Rotarians Society 3/25 Photo by Phil Worley
All Photos from South Africa by Craig Buhrendorf
Debbie Reynolds Photo courtesy wikipedia.com
Cape Codder Hotel Photo Logo courtesy District 7890
South Africa Vocational Team Photo courtesy District 7890
Bicycle Cartoon and Picture courtesy googleimages.com
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