High Gear, August 8, 2012

The East Hartford Rotary Club was founded in 1928. This writer joined the ranks in 1979. One thing that has been consistent about the Club since 1979 and, I suspect, since 1928, is that this Club knows how to party. Whether it's the annual holiday gathering, the Paul Harris night, the Sgt. At Arms outings, the Past Presidents' Picnic, or the summer house and garden tour, this Club does it right. And tonight at Dave and Chickie Amberg's estate was no different.

We had a good sized crowd including several members of our extended Rotary family at the impeccably landscaped grounds on Oak Street and they were treated to a good old fashioned New England cookout featuring hot dogs, hamburgs, salads of every stripe, and a bounteous dessert table. Not to mention the well stocked bar. 

Lots of good conversation and catching up with old (sorry) long-time friends such as Bob  and Nancy Richmond, Rita Brown,  Jean Roland, Kathy McCabe, Bev Leone, and Dr. Happy Tooth, Tom Galvin. 

Thanks to the efforts of our coordinators, Ceil Collins and Jan Freschlin,  along with their many volunteers, the evening came together seamlessly and a good time was had by all. A slide show of the event featuring all the principal players can be viewed by logging on to www.easthartfordrotary.org. 

President Sheryl rang the bell to welcome guests and thank the workers and do all the other things an incumbent President does at these affairs. Unfortunately she forgot one small detail.  To her shame this early in her reign, she forgot to don the medallion of office prior to ringing the bell! As a result and in keeping with a long standing Club tradition, our beloved President owes us a Wine and Cheese hour prior to an upcoming meeting of her choice. Every job has a learning curve. 

And to prove she is staying on top of her game, our erstwhile President passed on the following information from a recent Board of Directors Meeting:

2.  Bob Buettner was nominated to fill a Director position and subsequently accepted the position; he will start attending BOD meetings in September;

3.  $200 was approved to sponsor a t-sign for Goodwin College's golf tournament;

4.  $500 was approved to sponsor the fall session of the East Hartford High School Boys Basketball Program;

5.  An LCD projector was ordered and will soon arrive; Dan Firestone will be donating a computer/LCD stand; both items will be available only for EHRC events. 

Our next meeting will be back at the Ridge on August 15th and guest speaker will be Catherine Grant-Alston, a graduate of EHHS's Academy of Finance and local business owner.  District Governor Eileen Rau will join us for her official governor's visit on August 22nd.

Anyone who would like to attend the Zone 32 Success Seminar on Sept 8 in Cromwell should let Sheryl know by August 22nd.  She will be sending in a group registration form and check to cover all registrants.  Also, anyone who would like to attend the Foundation Seminar at the Ridge on Sept 13 from 5-7 (free) should register online atwww.rotarydistrict7890.org, using the same ID and PW as on our club website.

Next week we are back at the Ridge, Wednesday at noon. For information on our speaker, please go to our website, www.easthartfordrotary.org.