Newsletter 3-17-15
Needham Rotary Club
Tuesday: March 17, 2015
Location: Needham Sheraton
Pledge of Allegiance: Glen Davis
Song: God Bless America; Led by Ron Sockol
Prayer: Led by Reverend Darrell Minnich
Announcements:
•Next week will be a Club Assembly
•.Libby is still out recuperating from shoulder surgery (Tommy John?). Spring training ends soon and we hope she is back in the rotation. Her email is libpero@verizon.net and her cell is 508-660-1061.
-Our fine tem of Lois, Kathy and Marty participated in the NEF Spelling Bee this past Sunday and got through a number of words successfully. However, the ‘stumper’ question remains a secret!
Guests:
Paula Kahr who works for Salem 5 Bank, friend of Bill Paulson. Her application has been submitted!
Ellen Paulson, Bill’s daughter, and her friend Gwen.
Ellen Clapper of Eastern Bank, guest of Charles Nelson.
Razia John, our guest speaker and Rotarian from the Duxbury Rotary Club.
Ratesh Thomas, who was introduced to Needham Roaty at the NEF/Rotary Pancake Breakfast. His Dad is a Rotarian back in India, and will be visiting soon.
Happy dollars: Kathy to welcome Ratesh; George to welcome his neighbor, Ratesh; Ratesh-Happy to be here; Jim, Roz for seeing so many visitors; Rick Davis for being back from vacation; Andy for the rain, not the snow (Amen brother!); Darrell for the Celtics; Tom for seeing/hearing son Greg perform at Symphony Hall; Chuck O’Buyer Happy to be here; Scotty for seeing the snow reduced while he was on vacation; Charles Happy to be here; Lois for being a proud Irish women! Ellen and Gwen-Happy there is no school; Bill P welcoming all of our guests; Erica for the 2015 snow record; Bob for ‘Spring’; Ted Shaughnesy for Rotary’s great turn out at the NEF pancake breakfast.
Presidential Minute: This person was born on March 16, is considered the author of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. He was Secretary of State under Pres. Thomas Jefferson; was responsible for the Louisiana purchase, and led us into the War of 1812. James Madison!
50/50 drawing: Chuck O’Buyer had the right ticket, but the wrong card. Pot is at $51.
Joke of the day: Both Doug and Greg attempted. We’re not sure either succeeded.
Today’s Speaker: Today’s guest speaker was Razia John, who is President of Razia’s Ray of Hope Foundation. She is a past President of the Duxbury Mass. Rotary Club, and started ‘Razia’s Ray of Hope’ by rallying the people of Duxbury to send over 400 homemade blankets to ground zero on Sept. 11. She expanded by sending care packs to the troops in Afghanistan, and she coordinated the delivery of 30,00 pairs of shoes (In Operation Shoe Fly) to needy Afghan children.
She was born in Afghanistan and moved to the USA in 1970, and was the proprietor of a small tailoring business in Duxbury for 20 years. She is a member of the Interfaith Council and No Place for Hate and a member of the Board of Directors at Jordan Hospital. In 2012, she was named a CNN Top 10 Hero.
With Ray of Hope, she has helped establish a school for girls in Afghanistan, something that not all the locals have agreed with. She travels frequently to Afghanistan, and was with us today to detail her involvement, as the Ralph Hammond is rounding a number of local Rotary Clubs to support her on a fundraiser. Our club has been asked to contribute up to $800, and based on her presentation, the Board of directors has okayed the donation.
Take a look at her web site raziasrayofhope.org as this woman has accomplished a lot for all the right reasons!