High Gear - February 18, 2015
Posted by Anwar Hossain
If it weren't for the occasional glimpse of the sun, we would have thought that this year we are all living closer to the North Pole. President Mary was back at the podium full time with her usual smile welcoming us all. I do not claim to have a sharp ear for tone and tempo, but even I am getting the sense that we are gradually losing the unison and the usual gusto while singing the Rotary Song. Pledge of Allegiance was followed by the invocation from Happy Jack Martin.
Buffet lunch consisted of two kinds of fish, rice, mixed vegetables, bread rolls and salad followed by a delicious slice of cheesecake with toppings on the side. I do not know about you all, but this writer is clearly impressed by the quality of food and service so far.
Spelling out correctly the names of guests is always challenging for me for a good reason. At least one guest is always sitting at the far 
end of the room which causes the sound wave in the Lodge to get encrypted by the time it reaches me at the other end. Then my attempt to consult the attendance list gets me no closer to the truth because the written information appears to be encrypted too. I guess in this day and age when identity theft is a huge problem, who wants the correct spelling of their full names public? So here is what I was able to decipher: Paul Kelley, Steve Wasley, Rich B., Mike Walsh and Kevin K. were our guests today. (Editor’s note: Those unnamed guests were Rich Beebee,
who was presented with a check for $500 for the First Congregational Church food bank and Kevin Kickery, Farmington Bank VP. No one escapes identity theft when the Tech Guru is around!) President Mary, following her scientific system, picked George Agnelli and Jim Fallon to lead the Welcome Song. With nourishment in our bellies, our vocal chords perked up an octave or so to make our guests realize that we sing "pretty well".
end of the room which causes the sound wave in the Lodge to get encrypted by the time it reaches me at the other end. Then my attempt to consult the attendance list gets me no closer to the truth because the written information appears to be encrypted too. I guess in this day and age when identity theft is a huge problem, who wants the correct spelling of their full names public? So here is what I was able to decipher: Paul Kelley, Steve Wasley, Rich B., Mike Walsh and Kevin K. were our guests today. (Editor’s note: Those unnamed guests were Rich Beebee,who was presented with a check for $500 for the First Congregational Church food bank and Kevin Kickery, Farmington Bank VP. No one escapes identity theft when the Tech Guru is around!) President Mary, following her scientific system, picked George Agnelli and Jim Fallon to lead the Welcome Song. With nourishment in our bellies, our vocal chords perked up an octave or so to make our guests realize that we sing "pretty well".
Sergeant-at-Arms Neal, now officially under his own motor power, propelled himself to the podium to deliver the report. Dan Larson is a grandfather, Doug Willet is doing well, Jack Martin paid for his former boss (the guest speaker today who revealed a previously not know secret), Peter Klock's 25th Anniversary, Sue Klock's Birthday sung by all, early leavers and late comers. If I missed any, I have now a perfect cover; the "sound encryption syndrome" in the room.Scholarship Committee Meeting at 11:45 AM on 2/25/2015, Pot luck dinner on 3/27/2015 and Paul Harris Dinner on 4/8/2015 are some of the upcoming events. President Mary informed us that Marc Glass has now been promoted to President Elect, meaning he will take over from her this year and Alex Wisz will be the Acting President Elect for the following year. Did I get it right? No reasons were given. President Mary informed us that she would like our club to continue the tradition of getting the President's Citation each year by bringing two new members to be eligible for that honor this year. She noted that through Bill Saunders' and Susan Hansen's efforts a new print copy of the club membership directory is now available. District Grants gave Kotes-for-Kids a check for $2,470. President Mary also got a thank-you note from the school system.
Sheryl O'Connor gave a brief overview of the workings, as well as the financial health, of the Scholarship Trust Funds. She can provide a hard copy or will email you her full report if you want one.
Weekly raffle was won by one of our guests today.
Dan Larson introduced our guest speaker Michael Walsh, a former member of the club, and Director of Finance in 
Town. He has served under three mayors and is currently working on his 18th annual budget. As I said before he is also the former boss of Jack Martin. Bowing to the loud demands by the audience as to why Jack Marin was "fired", he revealed the big secret. The real reason was that Jack was found sleeping with the town's Grants Manager. Now hold on and do not jump to any conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, he might be referring to Mary Martin who had held that position at the time.
Town. He has served under three mayors and is currently working on his 18th annual budget. As I said before he is also the former boss of Jack Martin. Bowing to the loud demands by the audience as to why Jack Marin was "fired", he revealed the big secret. The real reason was that Jack was found sleeping with the town's Grants Manager. Now hold on and do not jump to any conclusion. To the best of our knowledge, he might be referring to Mary Martin who had held that position at the time.He gave a brief synopsis of the inner workings of the budget process, where the money comes from and how it is spent. State grants to towns is a big help. He believes that East Hartford's share of $50M will not change this year. His goal is to spend the money wisely where it should be spent, cut back expenses where it makes sense, and to NOT cut back programs which might appear frivolous but serve a much broader purpose.
ANWAR HOSSAIN