If anyone was hoping that the quality of our lunches might help attract some of these fine students into joining Rotary at some point, they were sadly disappointed. It is my sincere hope that everyone spread the word to our guests that we are normally served a better class of meal.

 

I suppose the students might have enjoyed the macaroni and cheese, but the nuggets were hard and dry, without any of the usual sauces in sight to help make the chicken go down easier. The sweet potatoes and salad tried their best, but they were not able to save this meal. Many were the complaints that this author heard at his table.

 

Our guests were on a tight schedule, so we did not follow our usual order of activities. The Sergeant at Arms gave his report, first welcoming the students and explained that the Sgt. at Arms role was to collect money for various fines, and that that money was later put towards scholarships. Payments today were made by:

                Dan Larson because he was happy to see Officer Bob Rohner,

                Frank Collins paid for his new Lincoln Continental,

                CPA Dan Firestone paid because he was happy that Tax Season was over,

                Bob Buettner paid for his incredible shadow student,

                Jim Fallon paid for a Seventy-Something birthday,

                Ned Lynch paid but was unable to say why,

                Anwar Hossain paid for the signs of spring that we have seen recently,

                Kevin Kickery was booed for his donation celebrating the Yankees. I’m behind you Kevin!,

 

               And, finally,  Nick Cecere paid for leaving early, and also to announce that Andy Andreo and Rodger Nicholson celebrated their mutual 89^th birthdays. Andy donated 1$ for each of his and Rodger’s years, a tidy sum. We all sang Happy Birthday.

 

We then did introduction of guests. Vince Crawford introduced us to Veronica Marion, who is a fellow East Hartford Schools corporate member. We should be seeing more of her. President Bill recognized Bob Dugger from the Glastonbury club.

 

Jim Fallon related an incident that occurred as he was coming in today. We were joined by several East Hartford Police Officers and there were a couple of cruisers parked in the lot. As he was coming in, another cruiser pulled up and asked Jim what was going on. After he explained, the officer asked Jim to tell the other officers to get back to work. When Jim told the officers having lunch with us who the other officer was, there were scoffs heard along with a comment about that person only being on the job for a short time. Needless to say, the officers did not rush out the door.

Alex Wisz then took the podium to talk about the Job Shadowing Experience. It was a very successful day, with a lot of participation from both students and hosts. He thanks all involved, calling out Bob Buettner for special thanks for volunteering every year.

 

We then heard from Michelle Vigue, the Career and Technical Education Department Head at EHHS. She highlighted some other programs that are always happy to see more volunteers. Junior Achievement is always looking for volunteers to act as a teacher for a day. The Academy of Finance is looking for internship opportunities for their students. They might be able to sponsor an intern’s salary for a local business.

 

After the presentation we had our announcements :

 

                There is a Board of Directors meeting Monday night, 5:30.

 

                District Training is May 3rd.

 

                The District Newsletter has a picture of the CIBA Interact club.

 

                The Scholarship Committee will be evaluating 21 applications. There is a meeting next Wed, Apr 26th, at 11:30 (11:00 for Steve Jacoby). Four or five people are needed to help do evaluations, so please come help if you are able. Of the 21 applicants, 18 have already been accepted at the college of their choice, which is a much higher percentage than in past years, so we have a good crop of candidates.

 

                The New Britain Bees “End Polio Now” game is Saturday May 13th. The price is $22 per ticket, $4 of which goes to End Polio Now. Unlike past years, you will need to sign up online at www.rotarydistrict7890.org if you want to attend.

 

                Jay Stewart would like to know if anyone has the famous mongoose that always attended the District Conferences. It no longer resides at 207 Country Lane. If you know where it is please contact Marc Glass at 860 644-2930 as he would like to take it to this year’s conference.

 

And so ends this week’s gathering. Off into the world to do good and provide “service above self.”

 

Wes Willett