The closing Club meeting of 2017 was marked by freezing temperatures outside the Hall and warmth, wine, and conviviality within. Thanks to Ceil Collins and Hope Firestone, members and guests enjoyed some libations and snacks prior to the ringing of the bell. After President Dave rang said bell, George Schoen offered his thoughtful invocation as well as his wry comment on the performance of the Opening Song, “not a good start.”
The buffet today featured chicken parm, ziti, carrots, salad and left-over Christmas cookies. The gastronomes among us seemed reasonably pleased.
Our guests today included Rachel Buck, T.J. Sun and Edith Oteng from EHHS’s Interact Club, Attorney Frank Leone, and Rotary spouses Charlotte Bradbury and Diane Willett. Art and George lead the Welcome song and we outperformed our opening number.
Ned Lynch, our Sergeant at Arms, achieved the remarkable feat of successfully fining every single Rotarian in the room. This of course lead to an extensive report on the offenses which led to each fine and this writer doesn’t have the gigabytes in his computer to list them all here. Suffice it to say that the Annual Picnic fund ends the year in good shape. Well done, Ned.
Jim Fallon announced the Scholarship Committee will be meeting next Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Dan Firestone wants to get together with the Program Committee on January 10th.
The Empress gently (as only she can) reminds you that semi- annual dues are desired by January 1st. Please get them in ASAP to avoid disturbing the Empress’ equilibrium. Forget Santa, no one wants to be on her “naughty list”
Interact Club Getting It Done
President Dave presented Interact Club representatives T.J. Sun, Edith Oteng and Advisor Rachel Buck with a check for $200 towards the Michael Abelon Memorial Walk to be held on May 19, 2018. This Walk supports research on pancreatic cancer which claimed CIBA’s first principal in 2005. This year the very active Interact Club is focusing its efforts on aid for Puerto Rico in their fund raising and other events. They also participated in our recent bell ringing efforts for the Salvation Army. Lots of service above self being demonstrated by this group.
Expressions of appreciation were received this week from the Intercommunity Mental Health group, the Goodwin College Scholarship Board and the YMCA for donations and support received from East Hartford Rotary.
Ms. McGettigan's Generous Gift
Our speaker today, Attorney Frank Leone, began his remarks with a legal task he was required to perform for an estate he is handling. On behalf of the late Gioconda McGettigan, Frank presented us with a check for $100,000 for our scholarship fund. That is correct - $100,000 for scholarships. Ms. McGettigan lived quietly in East Hartford and on her passing, generously distributed her considerable wealth to a variety of organizations and causes she judged worthy. We have our late buddy, Bill Leone, to thank for bringing our work to her attention. Quite a Christmas boost to our scholarship efforts.
Frank went on to talk about a new approach to settling disagreements commonly called Dispute Collaboration. Frank is among the 16 lawyers in Connecticut who have been trained in this discipline which attempts to resolve disputes in cases where both parties and their attorneys are committed to a fair resolution and are prepared to share information to get it done. Its value includes a reduction in the emotional toll mediation and arbitration can exact on participants as well as saving money, saving time and protecting privacy for proprietary information. This approach is in its infancy here in Connecticut and is relying mostly on word of mouth to spread the news. Thanks, Frank.
Appropriately enough, Ceil Collins was our Raffle winner this week. More cheese and crackers to follow.
That’s it for this last-minute substitute for Bob. It’s time to get my thinning blood on a plane before this cold weather sets in for the duration. After all, in the words of one of my smarter nephews who lit out for southern California long ago, “Ain’t no reason to be freezing!” Happy New Year to all.
