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Cogitator May 29, 2013
VISITING ROTARIANS
Joe Marusak, President of the Top of Lake-Mooresville (North Carolina) Club joined us for lunch. Joe is a native of East Greenwich and today works as a columnist for the Charlotte Observer.
GUESTS
Jonathan Soule from Inspired Giving was a guest of Chuck Sauer’s one final time before his upcoming induction.
BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES
We wish three Rotarians ‘Happy Birthday’ this week—Beth DeGerlia on May 29th, Walter Monroe on May 29th, and Chub Clement on June 1st.
ROTARY ANNIVERSARY
June 1st, 1971 was certainly a fine day for the Rotary Club of East Greenwich. Andy Erickson from Amica Insurance was inducted, upon being sponsored by none other than club founder and first president, Howard Russell. A past president himself, Andy has been an indispensible club leader for four decades, constantly and significantly involving himself in every club undertaking. So today, we thank him for 42 years of dedication and his ceaseless, generous, and inspirational Service above Self.
INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS BANQUET
Don’t forget—no lunch at Chianti’s on Wednesday June 5th! Instead, head to 1149 Restaurant at 6pm for our annual Installation of Officers banquet. President Ken Colaluca will offer a review of the 2012-2013 Rotary year, President-Elect Jodi Gladstone will take the gavel for the 2013-2014 Rotary year, and the club’s general officers and board of directors will be sworn in for upcoming service. Also, the prestigious Bipin Pancholi Award will be presented to this year’s Rotarian of the Year.
TASTE OF THE TOWN
Pat Lenihan will host a debriefing meeting for Taste of the Town committee members on Wednesday, June 12th, 4pm, at her Coldwell Banker office. She invited members to offer comments and suggestions for next year’s big event.
NEW COMMITTEES
Jodi Gladstone announced that we’ll have two new committees under her leadership next year—a Literacy Committee and a Public Relations Committee. Jodi’s already at work putting together her leadership teams for each.
PERFECT ATTENDANCE
Membership Chair Janet Essex gave hubby and Sergeant at Arms Jim Essex his pin of attendance perfection for 7 years. Congratulations, Jim!
HAPPY BUCKS
-Sue Dorne looked forward to her vacation to Mexico.
-Meanwhile, Jane Boynton was happy to be back from her fun-filled family trip to Bermuda.
-Vin Meola also got in on vacation happy bucks, having just spent a great weekend in New Hampshire.
-John Wolcott was happy about his opportunity to, after today’s Rotary meeting, read to elementary school students in Cranston.
-Bob Petrucelli was on vacation recently, too. He was in Vero Beach, Florida, and temporarily enjoyed being on the good side of ‘weather gloating’ when calling family back in Rhody.
-Ron Winde said there’s nothing he’d rather do than babysit granddaughter Quinn, as he prepared to get his wish this weekend.
-Bonnie Sauer thanked Steve Lombardi for great auction items at Taste of the Town, and she praised husband Chuck for his ‘jack-of-all-trades’ efforts with our big night at St. Francis.
-Steve Lombardi happily responded that he was glad to contribute.
-Jodi Gladstone mentioned that her son Caleb, who graduated this week from East Greenwich High School, ran his 4 by 100 relay lap in 52 seconds!
SPEAKER/PROGRAM
Paul Mercer and Susan Gustaitis, from the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale
The Jonnycake Center officially opened in 1974 by community members who saw a need for an agency which could help people who might not qualify for support through established agencies. They named it after jonnycake meal, a basic necessity in colonial days, because their goal was to provide basic necessities for local people in need. The Center was operated from a store front in Wakefield before moving to our present location at the rotary in Peace Dale.
The Jonnycake Center has primarily been a food pantry for 40 years, serving the Narragansett and South Kingstown communities. They have helped thousands of individuals in many ways including donating household items, turkeys for the holidays, and even diapers for single moms in need.
Today, Susan Gustaitis spoke of the Jonnycake Center’s newest effort—opening a community café in South County. The community café motto is ‘feeding all regardless of means.’ These cafes throughout the United States, including the Denver Farm Café she visited, offer a ‘pay what you can’ concept while addressing food insecurity problems locally. ‘Pay what you can’ means that everyone is expected to chip in some way, be it small or large, whether it’s monetarily now or volunteering to help the café later.
Susan is leading the charge in Rhode Island with its own such novel enterprise, The Hope Café. She and her Jonnycake Center peers plan to secure a location in the Peace Dale/South Kingstown area and to be up and running by late 2013.
Susan noted these days they see more and more elderly people and younger people at the Jonnycake Center, people who struggle with feeding themselves and their families. And so, their mission is as important as ever.
The Jonnycake Center is always looking for donations of canned food, non-perishable items, household goods, clothes, and even light furniture. They of course are also always happy to bring on new volunteers.
Here are the websites to find out more about the Jonnycake Center and the Hope Café: