Windy day in Connecticut with some towns along the shoreline without power due to the Nor’easter that came through the past 24 hours. Our scheduled High Gear writer is one of those stranded on the beach in Niantic, so the dear reader will have to settle for the more seasoned version of the Willett adult male this week. Pre meeting conversation ranged far and wide with President Sue denying any responsibility for the sedition being plotted in the Willard Hotel prior to Jan 6th. Most of us took her at her word.
President Sue rang the bell and turned it over to Bob Buettner for the Pledge and Bill Saunders for the Invocation. Bill urged everyone to “Give us time to do the things that need to be done and to appreciate the gift of being a Rotarian. Nice thought.
Anwar Hossain then introduced today’s speaker, Sonya Stemmer, the Supervisor for Teacher Evaluation & Professional Learning for the East Hartford School System and most importantly, Vince Crawford’s boss. Her office encompasses work with families, university partners, community partners with the intent of providing equitable access for all East Hartford students.Sonya spent most of her presentation discussing the One Book, One School” project being planned for this school year. All grades 3-5 students in East Hartford Elementary Schools will take part in a shared reading experience that highlights the adventures of Cleo Edison Oliver, an ambitious young child in search of fame and fortune.
The book honors the many definitions of family, the value of friendship and the lessons learned when determining why something should be created and shared with the world. Students will gain insight into financial literacy, becoming an entrepreneur, and values closely aligned with those of the Rotarians.
This project is supported by our Club and fits very well with our emphasis on promoting literacy in our community this Rotary year. Sonya is an impressive presenter and a welcome addition to our professional staff. Interesting program once again, Anwar.
(You can view Sonya’s presentation using the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/
Caring moments Laura Floyd missed the meeting dealing with some bronchitis and Ruthie Sheehan is recovering from eye surgery. Hope it was not caused bemoaning the Bean towners inglorious exit from the post season.
Following up last week’s story of Wes Willett’s stepson, Lucas has safely arrived back in Connecticut just in time to endure the loss of power at Wes’s Niantic home. But he is home and under his mother’s care, praise the Lord.
Details of Upcoming Rotary service projects and volunteer opportunities:
Oct. 31. Trunk and treat. Last week at the meeting we packed five hundred bags of candy to hand out at this event. On the 31st between 12 and 3 we will hand out this candy to five hundred cars on the runway at Rentschler. We are staffed for this event.
Nov 1-4, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. Dictionary Project. Ceil has twenty boxes of dictionaries that need a sticker applied before distribution to school kids. She is looking for volunteers to join her at her house on Phillips Drive to do the applications. She is asking that you contact her with your preferred date from Monday, Nov. 1 to Thursday, Nov. 4.
Nov 6 EHRC partnering with CIBA, a church youth group and EH Social Services. We will be raking leaves for fourteen seniors in East Hartford. We have sixty kids that have volunteered. At this point only 5 Rotarians have volunteered to supervise the rakers. CIBA will provide five adults and the youth group will provide a few. We could use more help. We will meet at the church parking lot on Olde Robert St in East Hartford at 9:30 Saturday and break into raking groups. At noon we will meet back at the church to feed the kids pizza.
On Wednesday November 10 we are hosting a BBQ for Vets at the new Senior Center at noon. EHRC will be cooking and serving. Would love to have as many members as possible to help. Ten have already. volunteered. We will have a birthday cake honoring the Marine Corps birthday. Four grocery stores have donated gift cards to defray the costs.
If you have questions email Bob at: bobbuettner29@aol, com. (Note: There will be no noon Rotary meeting that day.)
Our upcoming in-person meetings in November and December will be at Goodwin College on November 3rd and 17th, December 1 and 22nd. They will be held in the Community Room in the main building at 211 Riverside Drive. A buffet lunch will be provided by Roma’s for a fee of $15. Bottled water will be available, and you are free to bring additional non- alcoholic drinks if you choose. These meetings will have a Zoom component as well.
Because of Rotarian support, more than 2.5 billion children have received polio vaccines and have been protected against this crippling disease for life. There are currently only two countries that are endemic: Afghanistan and Pakistan. We must not stop our efforts until we give the children a Polio Free world!
Will you help the Rotary Foundation make history by eradicating Polio from our planet? Give today at www.endpolio.org.
Until next week’s meeting at Goodwin College Community Room and Zoom,
Willett. The Elder