After some preliminary socializing, President Bob rang the bell at 12:15 and invited everyone to stand and say the pledge. The invocation was delivered by Dan Larson who asked that we not allow these hot, humid days of summer and the ongoing pandemic challenges to deter us from Rotary’s call for Service Above Self.
Pizza with Chickie this Friday at 5 p.m.
Our only guest was our speaker Chris Keating from the Hartford Courant
Announcements:
Re. Pizza Party -- Chickie Amberg’s last pizza party on Oak Street will be this Friday, August 21st. beginning at 5 PM. $5 per person. BYOB and chairs. Address is: 486 Oak St., East Hartford. For anyone not familiar with this home, it’s not right on the street. Look for a large green mailbox on left as you head toward Glastonbury; then head up a long driveway to the house.
Re. Scholarships -- Club has received one paid tuition receipt from Angelina Alfonso who will be attending St Joseph’s this fall. One student has been allowed to defer scholarship until fall 2021. Reminder letters have been sent to rest of the scholarship recipients.
Re. Ongoing service
Six members are now sending notes to 30 residents at Riverside Health Care. Thanks to President Bob for coordinating this.
Golf Tournament less than a month away
Liberty Bank has again offered to match $.25/$1.00 raised for Covid Relief and holiday projects. We will be able to use funds raised for Covid-19 relief as part of the money we will deposit with the bank to benefit from their offer. Currently we have over $2000 in that fund. (See more about how you can help build that fund in end note to this report.)
Re. Golf Tournament
Need sponsors, players and gift certificates for raffle prizes. Details and forms are available on the club’s website, https://www.easthartfordrotary.org/
Re. Dues are due – please pay if you have not already done so. Checks made out to East Hartford Rotary Club should be sent to George Schoen, 53 Duxbury Lane Glastonbury, CT 06033.
Courant's Chris Keating Always Informative
Anwar introduced today’s speaker, Chris Keating, a reporter at The Hartford Courant, who zoomed in to give us an update on happenings at the State House. Chris discussed four bills which were the focus of the recent Special Session of the State Legislature. The bills involved police accountability/transparency including important issues of body cameras and qualified immunity for the police. A second very important focus was on pricing of insulin and equipment used to deliver insulin to diabetics. Significant caps have been put on co-pay prices of both (insulin capped at $25/month and devices for delivery capped at $100/month). The final item Chris talked about were rules and procedures for absentee ballots. If you missed it, this was another of our fascinating programs which you really should have zoomed in for.
*The COVID-19 crisis is having a significant impact on our club’s ability to raise funds for the charities that we support. Please consider donating the money you would have spent weekly on lunches to help fund our COVID-19 related activities, such as additional food bank donations. Checks should be made out to EHRC Charitable Fund, include a memo that donation is for COVID-19 relief, and be sent to George Schoen at 53 Duxbury Lane Glastonbury, CT 06033. Thanks for your support!
Submitted by Sue Klock, taking notes for our August 2020 club meetings
