High Gear, September 22, 2021

Today’s meeting was excellent, thanks to our guest speaker and to all the enthusiasm and participation of the club members.  There were 22 participants in the meeting, including our guest speaker.  After a few minutes of free talking (primarily about when and where in-person meetings will be).  President Sue rang the bell at 12 noon and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Alex Wisz then gave an inspiring invocation which ended in “only in the valleys, can you find true opportunities to grow.” 
 
GUEST SPEAKER
Anwar then introduced our guest speaker, Chris George.  Chris is the Executive Director of IRIS, Connecticut’s largest settlement agency.  Chris talked about his career and his work with refugees, in the US and abroad (A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee from his or her country because of persecution).  Chris discussed the process of resettling refugees in the US. He also said community groups like Rotary are needed to help refugees adjust to life in the United States.  He mentioned two Afghan families who will be resettling in East Hartford and how they could use our help.  There will be more Afghans arriving in Connecticut after October 1, and they, also, can use our help.
Many of our club members expressed enthusiasm in helping refugees coming to Connecticut. Deidre Stolte mentioned that her bakery is open to hiring Afghans coming to the area.  Guy LeBella said Goodwin University can help with ESL classes and employment training.  Peter Klock suggested giving gift cards at places like Stop & Shop to help the refugees. 
 
If anyone is interested in helping refugees and going through the necessary training, please contact Chris at cgeorge@iris.ct 
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
  1.  There are several birthdays this month:  Connor Martin  and George Schoen had their birthday on September 17, and Peter Klock will have his birthday this Saturday.  Happy Birthday to all of them!
  2. There are two Rotary anniversaries worth noting:  Dan Russell who joined Rotary in 1973 (49 years), and Wes Willett, who joined Rotary on September 2, 2015.
  3. Rotary In Motion will be on Saturday, October 2.  All members are encouraged to be involved.  Please contact Bob Buettner at bobbuettner29@aol.com  or call him at 860-416-7433.
  4. The Hartford Marathon is on Saturday, October 9.  Volunteers are needed to man the water stations.  Please contact Neal Cunningham at nealsbsp@aol.com
  5. Our dictionary will get going soon.  For more info, please contact Ceil Collins at ceilcollins@aol.com or call her at 860-568-3497.  Vince Crawford will be helping on the school side.
  6. We are hoping to sort and bag candy for Halloween on Wednesday, October 20.  Please contact Bob Buettner for more information (see contact information above).
  7. Jim Watts orchestrates our Paul Harris Recognitions each year.  If you wish to nominate someone, please contact Jim at jimw@jwatts.com
 
District Governor’s Weekly Message re. The Rotary Foundation
 
WHAT IS THE ROTARY FOUNDATION’S ENDOWMENT FUND?
 
Gifts to Rotary’s Endowment ensure that future Rotarians will have the resources they need to design and implement sustainable projects year after year.  Donations to the Endowment Fund can be made as an outright gift or a planned gift, such as a bequest in your estate.  As of the 2019-20 Rotary year, Rotary’s Endowment totals US$414.3 million and has US$838.3 in commitments.
Contributions for this fund are invested for the future.  Only earnings from their investments are used to support Foundation so that your generosity does good in the world in perpetuity.
What’s your legacy?
 
That is all for now.  It was a great meeting this week.  In closing, I just want to thank everyone for giving me the opportunity to write High Gear and for all the positive feedback.  I enjoyed writing High Gear, and I hope to do so again.  Now I must go work on my golf game and be ready for our golf tournament next year.  I wish all a wonderful weekend.  Go Red Sox!
Jason Primus