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Avon Rotary Newsletter |
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President's Message
Dear fellow Rotarians and friends.
Well, did you miss the newsletter last week? Yes? Good! That means you get something out of it. Barb's reflections are wonderful, especially for memory-challenged folk like me! And it serves a sizable contingent of absentees very well, too. Since we didn't have a formal meeting two weeks ago - we had a wonderful poolside get-together at Ted & Dorothy's instead - Barb and I took a week off from our writing and editing jobs. But if the letter isn't what you think it could be, please give us your suggestions.
Speaking of absentees, a lot of members are off doing other things in the middle of summer, which is to be expected. The meeting attendance is noticeably down, one consequence of which is that we're coming up short with meal orders. [While you're reading this, don't forget to order your next meal!] Several members have asked whether the non-meal fee was really necessary - it didn't seem that way when we first started the new meal program. But it's clear that we definitely need a buffer. Our diligent Treasurer Kelly is keeping track, though, and we'll make adjustments after we gain more perspective.
Speaking of absentees some more, Rotary International has pretty specific rules about attendance requirements. Traditionally, our club has been pretty lax about enforcing them, in part because some of the regular absentees make significant contributions to the club in their own way. I do want to underscore, though, that the rules came about because there is real value in regular attendance. Fellowship is a big component of the Rotary experience, and it's the driving force behind our goal to serve others, together. Fellowship is like the moon - it's either waxing or waning. When you attend, you build and sustain our community, as it builds and sustains you. Our club is pretty homogeneous in many ways, and yet some of our views -- political, social, cultural, ... -- are so widely different from each other that we could be from different continents!
So, fellow Rotarians, attend and share in "building our community, bridging our mental continents"!
Looking back on...
| Tue 7/13 | Regular Meeting |
| Program: | Assembly, Corn Fest Prep |
| Attendance: |
Absentees were not reported.
President Hans encourages all who missed a meeting to call
another absentee and do a make-up together. For nearby make-up
options, check the back of our paper directory or the on-line list of
District
club meeting times and places. If you do a make-up, please tell
Secretary Barbara
about it right away, so the correct numbers are reported to the District.
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| Reflections: |
Our meeting of July 27 opened with "You're a Grand Old Flag" led by Gladys Iler on the piano and Tom Ippolito on the vocal cords. Then a blessing offered by Pastor Dan Jones. We are particularly mindful of the O'Hearn family this week, with the death of Rotarian Sue's husband John. Welcome to this week's guest, Julie Carney's mom, Kathleen, Julie's husband, Police Chief Jim (see below), and celebrating Julie's one year membership in our Club. What a year, Julie! And other celebrations:
Some fines imposed this week: Tom Ippolito reports that Jim Tompsett gets confused between zucchini and cucumbers. And, that Jim, in getting his free senior coffee at McD's, ordered one of those egg/cheese things, got so busy with the coffee that he forgot to take the egg/cheese, and drove back to retrieve it. Expensive free coffee, wasn't it? Ernie Wiard and Wayne Warriner were apparently also recipients of Ippolito veggies, which they did not appropriately celebrate, eh, Tom? An excellent presentation tonight by Avon Police Chief Jim Carney. He has completed a 10-week F.B.I. National Academy training program, established in 1935 by J. Edgar H. to standardize training for law enforcement leaders, limited to 250 persons in each session. The Law Enforcement Memorial and Museum in Washington commemorates the 20,000 officers killed in the line of duty. There were a number of photos of participants in the rigorous exercises and fitness challenges. Jim's presentation during the training addressed "Terrorism in the Rural Community" and discussed potential dangers to food sources and water supplies, some sobering information, indeed. Final announcements for the Club:
50 / 50 this week netted $27.00 to our lucky winner. He got away so fast, I couldn't identify him. |
Looking forward to...
The Avon Rotary calendar is also available at http://www.avonrotary.org/calendar.php.
Other news
Please submit your favorite sayings, noteworthy
events, etc, and we'll gladly include it here.
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The Avon Rotary Newsletter
is published more or less weekly during Pres. Hans Koomen's reign. Day of issue tends to be Sunday. If you have any items you'd like to include in the newsletter, please send Hans a note by Saturday! |
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