It was another enjoyable day for our weekly meeting. Probably not going to get too many more of these this year, but if we are still all virtual next spring, we should think about a weekly picnic meeting! Pre-meeting discussion topics included who would run the meeting if President Sue did not make it. Not too many volunteers there. Good thing that Alex Wisz came online. Ruthie and Neal joined late, so no need to listen to them drone on about the Red Sox. The meeting proper began at noon with Past District Governor Marc Glass ringing his bell. Anwar then presented the invocation via YouTube video. You can see it here: And Still I Rise.Caring Moments
- Bob Buettner reported that Dick McCarthy is recovering from congestive heart failure. Ruthie saw him recently and he is doing much better.
- Dan Larson is recovering from Covid. He is doing well also.
Announcements
- Having received no objections to the application of Rob Rosa to join the club, we will be proceeding with the info session for him. Hopefully, we can formally induct Rob at our first in-person meeting which is currently scheduled for Nov 3.
- Water Station - Went well and everyone had a fun time. 8 Rotarians, five misc. volunteers, and 14 Coast Guard Cadets. Location was new and presented some challenges, but under Neal Cunningham's leadership they were overcome, and the runners all got the hydration they needed.
- The Paul Harris committee is accepting nominations. Please send them to jimw@jwatts.com. All nominations should be in by the middle of November.
- Koats for Kids will be purchasing winter wear this weekend.
- Trunk or Treat - the club will be handing out candy at Rentschler field again this year. Next week's noon meeting will have volunteers (more are needed) meet at the East Hartford YMCA to package up bags to be handed out, while the rest of the club meets as usual via Zoom.
- Ten people are signed up to help with the Veteran's BBQ on Nov 10 at the Senior Center
- Nov 6 is the day to help the elderly and ably challenged get their yards raked. Plenty of kids have volunteered but some more adults are needed for supervision. Please contact Bob Buettner if you can help.
- Dierdre Stolte has started to accept donations of feminine hygiene products to be given out at the schools. You can drop off donations at her house, or at the YMCA. You can also send monetary donations into the Treasurer at: PO Box 380035 East Hartford, CT 06138-0035. Donations can also be sent in via Venmo (@EastHartfordRotary), PayPal (treasurer@easthartfordrotary.org) or CashApp($EastHartfordRotary).
- Ceil Collins is waiting on the final proofs for the Dictionary project.
- Marc Glass will oversee the elite runners for the Manchester Road Race this year. While this is not a Rotary sponsored event, he could use some volunteers to help with setup, check passes, etc. 9-11 on Thanksgiving morning.
- The Hartford Courant had a front-page article Wednesday on the Refugee Resettlement program that our club is assisting with. He will have more information for us next week.
Our speakers today were District Membership Chair Laura Watson and District Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair Virginia Pepe. Laura shared many tips for not only recruiting members but also retaining them. Graphics and social media can play key roles. Wearing Rotary gear is also helpful, and you can find a list of vendors on Rotary.org. Virginia focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and how DEI awareness can help build our club as well. Becoming aware of your Unconscious Bias is a good first step in promoting DEI. You can discover your own unconscious biases at the Harvard Project Implicit web site: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html
This graphic sums up the definition of DEI:
My favorite quote from Virginia's presentation is: Once you permit, you promote.
Reminder:
District Foundation Recognition Brunch, Sunday, November 7 the -- any new club members, joining our club since June 1, 2021, can attend as guests of President Sue (let her know via email by October 20 the) -- Artisan Restaurant in Delmar Hotel in Blue Back Square. Registration desk opens at noon; event begins at 12:30.
District Governor 's message re. The Rotary Foundation:
POLIO PLUS IS THE SIGNATURE PROGRAM OF THE ROTARY FOUNDATION OF ROTARY INTERNATIONAL
PolioPlus supports global efforts to eradicate polio. It was launched in 1985, with the help of Dr. Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine, as a worldwide program to protect children from the cruel and fatal consequences of polio. In 1988, the World Health Assembly challenged the world to eradicate polio, and since that time, Rotary's efforts, along with partner agencies, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and governments around the world have achieved a 99 percent reduction in the number of polio cases worldwide.
As of 2019-20, The Rotary Foundation has raised over US$1.8 billion for polio eradication. By the time the world is certified polio-free, our contributions will make Rotary the largest non-governmental financial contributor to the global polio eradication effort.
October 24th is World Polio Day. What is your Rotary Club and District doing to celebrate the day? To register your event or project and get your Polio toolkit, go to endpolio.org.
You can help end polio by making a gift to the PolioPlus Fund at endpolio.org.
Until next week - Wes