A modest turnout arrived today under bright skies and seasonal temperatures. Steve Jacoby was on time, Ruthie Sheehan was celebrating a significant birthday, Red Skelton made an infrequent appearance, and President Bill was insouciant as he officiated over the pre-penultimate meeting of his second term of office.
We Are Growing Attached to Our Seats
Following the opening song and the salute to the Flag, the Prez called on Kevin Kickery to provide our invocation. This being Flag Day, Kevin pulled out old Red Skelton material explicating the Pledge of Allegiance and the virtue of American patriotism. It was well received by the Club.
The buffet followed featuring Stuffed Sole with rice, veggie medley, salad and a choice of pecan or lemon square for dessert. Dan Larson was spotted carrying a handful of small plates to the dessert table so perhaps he had both. Our guests today were Lydia Ciccomb from Glastonbury and PDG Dick Borden from Manchester. Art Bradbury and George Schoen led the Welcome Song from a seated position.
Nick Cecere performed his Sergeant at Arms function from a seated position as well, requiring miscreants to report to him and fork over their money like naughty schoolboys reporting to the vice principal. It was apparent from the size of the haul that many of us have experience with this self-confessing ritual. Kevin Kickery paid for the arrival of a third granddaughter as did Doug Willett whose fourth granddaughter arrived in April on the West Coast. Uncle Wes declined to participate. President Bill paid to celebrate the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup and his new car.
Bob Buettner paid to recognize his granddaughter’s achievement of High Honors at Miami High School. Dan Firestone celebrated still another birthday with a generous donation and asked to hear the Birthday song sung by all but his bride, Hope. Not sure if he was sparing Hope or us with this request.
Our dear, long suffering Red Sox fan, Ruth Sheehan paid to celebrate her eightieth birthday, meaning she has almost lived long enough to match the 86-year drought her Beaners experienced between World Series appearances once they offered Babe Ruth to the mighty Yankees. (Could young Mr. Judge be his reincarnation and help lead to the same lengthy futility?) The Birthday Song was proffered with great enthusiasm.
Dan Larson paid for the waning days of the Saunders Administration, Jim Watts paid just for the privilege of being here on such a beautiful day and Ned Lynch paid to recognize his son’s achievement of a second straight State Championship with Somers Lacrosse team. A few people paid to leave early, the Empress was caught without a pin, and Dan Russell paid for being on the right side of the grass. All in all, not a bad take for our sitting scourge.
Enhanced Social Calendar Next Year
On the Announcements side, Bob Buettner reminded one and all that our Installation Dinner is June 28 with final signup closing next week. He also circulated an ambitious list of proposed Social Events for the upcoming year. The Social Committee wants to increase the number of events including possibly a Halloween Party, an off-site Pizza party, a Super Bowl party, a St. Patrick’s Day party, and a Kentucky Derby party. More social involvement, more guests, particularly significant others, and more help with staging events are under discussion. Feedback to Bob and Ceil Collins would be appreciated.
The Empress, Mary Martin, announced the final results for our recent Raffle. We sold 1437 tickets and made a net profit of $12,047. This matches the $12,038 we made last year and approaches the $13,645 we made in 2015 when the ducks were last dumped into the Hock. Yvette Roming, Ceil Collins, Jay Stewart, Bill Saunders and Alex Wisz all sold three books or more, and George Agnelli once again led the way with 315 tickets sold, 22% of our take. (Six members neither sold a ticket nor made any contribution to the event.)
In a classy move, Our Grand Prize winner, Jack Liner and his wife, Tracy, generously donated $250 of their prize back to the Club in honor of Tracy’s dad’s closing out his second term as our President.
EHHS’s Human Rights Class thanked us for funding their annual humanitarian project. This year they focused on the struggles that homeless women go through and the menstrual accessibility issues that occur at our high school. We also got a thank you from the Iron Hornet event held for the fifth year at the High School. Next week this year’s Scholarship Winners will be our guests and will tell us their plans for higher education.
The Golf Committee will meet next week at 11:30 a.m.
Art Bradbury won the Raffle without leaving his chair.
Rotary Innovation Grants Making a Difference
Our brief program today featured Vin Crawford from the School Business Partnership and Amy Holt, teacher at Mayberry School. They reported on the progress being made in the schools with the five projects Rotary funded this year by our Innovation Grants totaling $7,500.
Vin described the enrollment of 15 Synergy High School students at Manchester Community College to increase their preparation for college life when they graduate.
Amy Holt took all the 2nd graders at Mayberry School down to the Connecticut shore to explore both the sandy beaches and the rocky coastline. They learned about the shoreline ecosystems, held sea critters and got sand between their toes. For many of these kids it was their first time visiting the nearby ocean.
These innovation grants are off to a great start and provide another reason for East Hartford Rotarians to be proud of the service we are providing the East Hartford community.
That’s enough for now. Time to watch the U.S. Open minus Phil Mickelson. He, too, knows what priorities are all about. Talk to you next week.
her Beaners experienced between World Series appearances once they offered Babe Ruth to the mighty Yankees. (Could young Mr. Judge be his reincarnation and help lead to the same lengthy futility?) The Birthday Song was proffered with great enthusiasm.
