Under a cloudy sky on this cold typical New England winter day a relatively small number of us Rotarians gathered at the Lodge. Weather, seasonal migration to warmer places and attendance at conferences at other cities all seem to have contributed to the low attendance.

President Mary used just the right force of the gavel on the bell so as not to overwhelm the limited number of auditory receptors that were present in the room.  We did make an attempt to compensate for the scant attendance by giving an extra oomph to the Rotary song followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Jack Sayre's invocation was brief and consistent with the Rotary philosophy.

We lined up for the buffet lunch of Chicken Parmesan (or was it another kind of chicken), pasta, pasta sauce, salad and rolls. Cookies were self serve. Since I was away after the Holidays, this is my first lunch provided by the new caterer. I can clearly see a vast improvement in food quality and service.

We only had one guest, Joe ...... from Glastonbury Rotary Club. President Mary broke from tradition and asked our guest speaker John Shemo to join Susan Hansen for the Welcome Song. Despite the long absence from weekly meetings, John did not have to lip sync it. Impressive!!

Neal Cunningham, our Sergeant-At-Arms, made the long journey from his table to the podium propelled by his own two legs. Crutches gone! Congratulations on your recovery! He first complained about getting no respect from Jack Martin and Marc Glass. Notable among his report are Art  and Charlotte being blessed by their 13th grandchild; John Shemo is a grandfather; Marc's son received the honor of Scholar Athlete; Doug is doing well after his triple bypass surgery in Florida; the writer happy to be back among fellow Rotarians; early leavers and our ace late comer, we all know who he is.

Susan Hansen announced that the Club Facebook has 700 admirers from all over the globe. Our members can view this on Club Runner. She will also post tidbits about our weekly activities.

President Mary received overwhelming affirmation from the members present for a Pilot Program to attract corporate membership which might lead to potential new members. She will send emails to the entire membership to ensure that 2/3 of the members are in favor. She also informed us that the Board has added a new position of Sergeant-At-Arms to be filled by Ned Lynch. Roger Driggs passed away at age 93. Many remember his style as a drum major when asked to sing the Welcome Song.

Lightning does not strike twice in the same spot, but Guy LaBella, as the winner of the last raffle, surprised us all by pulling his own winning ticket today. Is it time for the Rules Committee to take note?
President Mary, in the process of introducing John Shemo, remembered fondly meeting both Jack and John the same day 35 years ago when she started work in East Hartford. Who made the most impression on her shall remain a mystery. John gave us a well-balanced picture of the Connecticut economy, present and future. On one hand the industrial and office markets are doing well with numerous new projects under construction and low vacancy rates, yet on the other hand 69% of families in Hartford and 47% in East Hartford do not have enough income to afford basic necessities. Air Lingus will be adding a flight from Bradley to Dublin, regular commuter train service to NYC, CT FastTrack starting operation in March 2015 and Rock Cats stadium breaking ground soon are some of the other news he shared with us. He did express concern about CT not being able to retain the younger and educated population. The ratio of working to non-working individuals is growing at an alarming rate.

Last but not the least, the writer was surprised and honored at the same time when President Mary presented the Paul Harris Certificate and the pin to the writer.