Cogitator Dec 8, 2010

VISITING ROTARIANS

Nancy McKay joined us for lunch, all the way from South Puget Sound (Washington)!  Also, Warwick Rotary past president Steve Hinger was with us. 

GUESTS

Jerry Martin, guest of Bill McHale and Morgan Stanley financial advisor; Doug Fusco, Laura Krohn's dad and Vietnam War veteran and Marine; Betsy Stevens, guest of Mike Gemma, from Stevens' Oriental Rugs.   

CLUB ANNIVERSARY

Lou Lepry rejoined the club 7 years ago.  Happy anniversary, Lou!

NOMINATING COMMITTEE

The committee is still in the process of putting together a final slate for 2011-2012.  Any suggestions or comments can be sent to Pat Lenihan or President Ed.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Betsy DePrimo will send out Happy Holidays postcards to phone book advertisers.  The postcards will include the EG Rotary group picture, put together by Soozie Sundlun and EG Photo.

Jane Boynton reminded her troops to be on time and ready for action on Citrus Pick-Up Day, Saturday, December 11th. 

George Popella awarded Betsy DePrimo her second Paul Harris Fellowship pin.  Betsy is a past president of the Portsmouth, RI Rotary Club, which is where she earned her first Paul Harris award.  Congratulations, Betsy!

President Ed attended breakfast at the Kent County YMCA recently, and he praised the 'Y' for its terrific updates and renovations.  

HAPPY BUCKS

Stan Reuter had a fantastic 6 days in the Dominican Republic with wife Joan, along with 40 or so guests who helped celebrate their son's 'destination' wedding.  

Alan Flynn gave a buck for his Pearl Harbor Day (Dec. 7th) birthday.  Alan also passed along warm Bahamian wishes to the club from former Rotarian and friend Doug Moody.  (Doug will be smiling this week as we get our first snow flurries.)

Laura Krohn was pleased to announce that Walgreens' top stores will be carrying her second edition of Rhode Island Senior Resource Guide, a comprehensive guide to local senior services.

Visiting Washingtonian Rotarian Nancy McKay was happy to be in RI visiting her son, who attends college here in the Ocean State.

Andy Erickson was glad to hear Stan Reuter loved the Dominican Republic.  He even gave Stan a special invitation to re-visit the island come springtime, this time with the good folks (including Andy and other club members) who work on the LaRomana hospital project!

Richard Waterman was thrilled over the Patriots Monday Night Football romp over their huge rivals, the New York Jets.  (GO PATS!)

George Popella's sailboat finally was pulled (kicking and screaming) out of Narragansett Bay for winter storage. 

And yours truly gave a happy buck for an eventful Thanksgiving Day.  Turned out to be a turkey of a morning for me as I ruptured an achilles heel while playing football at Academy Field.  (I know, I know...suppose that's what I get for pretending to be a teenager again.  Believe me, I'll be happily back to golf in the new year.)     

PROGRAM/SPEAKER

Harry Waterman, facilitator at Friends Way Bereavement Center

Harry Waterman joined Friends Way as a facilitator in 2003.  His work became especially important to him after watching his grand niece go through the tragedy of losing her young and vibrant 29-year-old dad to brain cancer.  

Friends Way, the only free bereavement center in RI, serves children from 3 to 18 years old, helping them get through grief associated with the loss of a loved family member (or friend).  They seek to provide a secure, warm, trusting environment for those in need.  Helping children grieve helps parents tremendously, too, since the parents must keep going after a loss, earning a living and continuing on in day-to-day activities while the family deals with its loss. 

Some of the activities kids will engage in are: reading books about death and dying; role playing; playing games; writing prose and poetry; using 'feeling pillows,' which are long, soft pillows which are encased by artwork of kids who have been through Friends Way.  Adults who bring kids to the center also meet to share experiences.  They are able to help each other as well while the kids are engaged in activities. 

In 2006, Friends Way partnered with Gateway Healthcare.  Harry notes that this partnership has been nothing but a blessing. 

Grieving family members are asked, when they first come to the center, to try at least three visits.  That's not always easy to do for some, but each person is strongly encouraged to truly give the center a chance to help.  The average length of visits is 18 months for those who do find help and comfort at Friends Way.  Friends Way usually serves about 100 RI families per year.   

Friends Way is located at 765 West Shore Road in Warwick.  They are always looking for volunteer facilitators.  They could also always use donations for things such as food, building supplies, and even guest speakers.        

Harry finished his program with a song, which he asked us to sing with him, called 'Today's Song.'  It was written by one of the many kids who've been helped by Friends Way, and, Harry.  Keep up the good work, Harry...