Editor Marilyn Bedell/Meeting notes taken by Bruce Pacht (thanks!)
A top priority for Rotary is growing and diversifying our membership to make sure we reflect the communities we serve.
We're creating an organization that is more open and inclusive, fair to all, builds goodwill, and benefits our communities. We want people with differing perspectives and ideas who will help Rotary take action to create lasting change in communities around the world
Now less than a month away! Don't wait.., Now is the time to recruit golfers, sponsor and raffle prizes. This may be our only in person Fundraiser in 2020-2021.
We need you help to make this a success.
A Committee member, Bill Babineau, Dean Cashman, Ed Friedman, Sean Mullholland, Rich Wallace will be calling you for updates. Asking if you have found teams of golfers, sponsors and raffle prizes. Raffle prizes don't have to be all that expensive.
Golf Team has been trying to understand COVID re: golf. We understand that our golfers will be given tee times to keep the number of people at registration to a minimum. Two teams will head out at the same time to the 9th and 18 tees,
Some of the changes due to Covid-19: everything outdoors (registration under a tent); after-golf events very limited. Golfers can go to the bar for drinks but no gathering in the large banquet room. Team will work with golf course staff to understand requirements for set up and managing raffle.
Committee has decided that even a smaller raffle would be lots of fun. We think there are people who would like to donate. It can be done with social distancing, so we will reach out to donors and sponsors.
Food – box lunches are being planned as of now.
No rain date; we go, rain or shine..
Eastman’s restaurant is open for inside and outside dining now. So Player may be able to eat there after the tournament if they want to do this. But no large gatherings.
Call for volunteers at the Tournament will go out soon.
Remnder...GO THROUGH THE LISTS YOU GOT FROM BRUCE BERGERON. LET TEAM GOLF KNOW RIGHT AWAY IF YOU CANNOT FOLLOW UP WITH RESPONSIBILITIES FROM LAST YEAR. If you have concerns about contacting a biz because of their economic challenges, let us know – we don’t expect you to ask someone if you are confident that they are not in a position to help out. Bruce Bergeron does see that some businesses are doing better than you might think and are willing to help out.
You are welcome to contact others – let us know so we can add them to the list.
The committee will divide and contact Rotarians for updates.
YMCA Camp Coniston has celebrate over 100 years of building healthy spirit, mind and body for all. The camp is a community composed of individuals with different background and experiences. An organization helmed by local, regional and world leaders and Innovators.
John Tilley, CEO started his presentation talking about the role Camp Coniston had back in the mid-90s. They welcomed protestant and catholic children from Northern Ireland, and children with Irish heritage to talk about division and conflict in Northern Ireland. At this time, Senator George Mitchell (ME) was working to broker the peace accord in Northern Ireland. He came to meet with these children to get a firsthand account of their views about the conflict/unrest happening in Northern Ireland. John believes that this exchange for views helped Senator Mitchel eventually reach the Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998
He then transitioned into talking about the camp today. He had been asked to tell us how they are managing during the pandemic. It quickly became apparent that creativity is at the centerpiece of managing the beautiful piece of property through a crisis.
John let us know that kids from Hanover and Lebanon were in the top 10 zip codes of kids coming to Camp Coniston. He reflected on how they have missed having overnight camper on the property. They miss watching kids jump from the high dive in front of some spectacular sunsets. It seem to epitomize the carefree days of summer for kids as they challenged themselves to jump from the high dive. A reminder that children need an opportunity to grow and develop with their peer group. The kids learn rules, work to do challenges safely, and learn to trust others and themselves.
Kid who come to camp, not only learn the skills of the out of doors, but also learn simple skills like how to use a broom, to clear tables, and clean up after themselves. The children learn how to make friendships and develop strong relationships with others.
In February/early March, plans were underway to fund raise to expand the dining hall. John had headed to San Francisco to talk to a donor who was interested in helping with the project. Then the Covid shut down started. John headed to San Francisco on a fully occupied aircraft, only to return on as plane that was almost empty. It wasn’t long after that that he came to terms that the camp would not be able to function as it had in the past.
This summary from the Camp’s web news page in John Tilley’s words describes in detail what happened this summer:
JULY 2020 COMMUNITY UPDATE
It’s been almost two months since we announced the closing of Camp for the summer.
Those two months feel like years. Years of quarantine. Years until the end of school. Years of watching the world grapple with hatred, racism, and ultimately—love.
While our goal is always to work for others, it is difficult not to make these times personal—especially when it is easy to feel like all we have is ourselves.
So we have set about to intentionally bring a little light to what can feel like a very dark time.
A generous donor has enabled Camp to open this summer for Community Days at no charge. These days at Camp are open to essential workers, local families, and the community in which Coniston exists. We hope grandparents can feel safe to see their grandchildren for the first time in months. We hope families can be together and boost their mental well-being at the lake. We hope to share our beautiful facility with local day camps and perhaps help their programs with the 15 summer staff the grant enabled us to re-employ. Find more details here.
As you may have heard, the Coniston Community has banded together to make certain Camp is here in future summers. While there is still work to do on the fundraising front, another donor has stepped forward to encourage the Coniston Community to volunteer near their homes this summer. There, campers, alumni, families, and you can sponsor your favorite program area by volunteering close to home this summer. Your children can help a neighbor, your family can work in a soup kitchen, teens and college students can work to bring justice for others. Those hours will help color in a beautiful hand-drawn map of Camp and keep their program areas “on the map.”
I want to state that I am unequivocally committed to making Coniston an antiracist organization that is welcome and reflective of our larger community. To that end, we have begun to examine our training, culture, and traditions operationally. In addition, we have assembled a board committee to promote diversity, equity, and anti-racism at the organizational level.
On August 7, we will host Carolyn Finney, PhD, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors. This event will be open to community and board members and will be uploaded to the camp website so that all community members can watch and participate.
We are also preparing and grappling with opening Coniston’s five afterschool sites that serve over 200 families throughout the Upper Valley as we all prepare for what school schedules will bring this fall.
In conclusion, I look forward to the constructive changes 2021 will bring to our community. With over 800 applications already in, we can tell our families are as well. Our efforts at creating a small light during this time are reinforced by the fact that the first program to fill for next summer was a Service Trip. The concept that we can make a difference in the lives of others is one that lives in our community.
I look forward to a world where those lives help change the world in which we live.
With much love,
John
This summer the camp has served over 3,000 individuals. All of the camp’s employees and volunteers have worked to keep the community together. On one of the building facing the lake are the values of honesty, caring, respect and responsibility. These words describe what is most important to the camp community.
John shared several stories, that reflected many of the emotions we all have felt recently:
Anxiety, related to the what’s and what ifs
Anger and hurt due to feeling out of control
The missing…not being able to touch and see those we care about.
It was reminder that this these thoughts, feeling and emotions are common, and ones we can work through even in the land of social distancing.
John invited all of us to consider watching Virtual Vespers. The videos can be found on the Camp Coniston’s Facebook page. Click Here
We would like to extend an invitation for you and your family to join together with the Coniston Community for our weekly Virtual Vespers.
Just like every evening at Camp, a little after 5:00pm (EST) the Camp bell rings and cabins make their way in silence to Boys & Girls Vespers. To so many Conistonians, this reflective time as we come together and sit by the lake is an extremely important time. Vespers begins by a counselor who shares a personal message or life lesson that helped shape them into the person they are today.
John encouraged us to listen to a presentation by Middlebury College professor, Dr. Carolyn Finney, author of Black Faces, White Spaces. Coniston is working hard to be a more inclusive community and willing to put in the work to get there. Click Here Finney did presentation at the camp this summer.
After a walk down to the lake, to take in the full beauty of the camp, it was time to head back to Lebanon.
Here is a thank you to all the Rotarians and friends who helped with Saturday's Ticknor trail clean up. Here are their names and some pictures. Bruce Bergeron, Phil Rentz, Angela Nelson, Dave Crandall, Hank Clarke and our friend/former Rotarian Cathy Schneider. We moved stepping stones onto the wet trail, cut 2 hemlocks and used one of them for a log bridge and dug several waterbars. As you know trails are never finished, so we will be back in a few years. We decided by unanimous vote to work on the Boston Lot trail the last Saturday of September, the 26th.
Our Rotarians at work:
Boston Lot Trail Project - Saturday , eptember 26, 2020
Ernst Oidtmann will share more information as we get closer to the date.
What a spectacular day to have a social distancing gathering at Camp Coniston. 1600 acres of New Hampshire beauty in Croydan. In aviation, the conditions were CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited).
Despite full sunshine, the air temperature was in the 60s, and there was breeze, but not enough to cause a significant wind chill. It was truly as chamber of commerce Day in Croydan and the Upper Valley. It was the type of day that made it difficult to head back to Lebanon; and for some I could tell they didn’t want to go back to work.
We relished in being able to see each other in person, and not on Zoom. We enjoyed spending time with Hanover Rotarian friends too. We were a reasonably small group…under 20 Rotarians and partners came to the outing.
Hanover President, Todd Allen, welcomed us. He shared how he learned about Camp Coniston and CEO John Tilley when he arrived in the Upper Valley. He had ties to the YMCA in the Midwest, and a person there told him he needed to meet John Tilley.
As the program progressed, it was easy to understand why John was the type of person who would be well known in the YMCA community.
David Bradley did an invocation. We wished Ginia Allison as happy birthday despite her not attending the meeting.
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SHARING HAPPY THOUGHTS OR CONCERNS:
Althought we all seemed very happy, there was no time to share happy thoughts today.
Bruce Bergeron and Tim Guaraldi – Epilogos Soft Goods Collections – Help needed to get 250 bags of Donations to Manchester, Savers.October 10, 2020 [NOTE CHANGE OF DATE!!] Arrival time in Manchester is 11:00 AM. Tim and Bruce need help loading into a truck/trailers, then get them to Manchester, unload them. Bruce will send an email with details. READ ABOUT EPILOGOS CLICK HERE
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Club News and Other Announcements
Request from Cindy Jerome - Looking for housing:
Cindy Jerome, health care administrator, is looking for a small condo or apartment, a studio or one bedroom, 400 square feet or more, in NH and within 15 minutes of APD. Also willing to consider a room with private bath in a someone’s home. Will use 3-4 nights/week, returning to my home in southeastern Vermont on weekends.
It's never to early to plan...Mark you calendars now, our 2020 Holiday Party and Famous Yankee Swap! It will be on Thursday, December 17, 2020, at the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farms. Cost will be the same as 2019...$40/person
Keep or Swap?
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Rotary International News
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Training Talk
August, 2020
Training Rotary leaders around the world
Watch the Rotary Virtual Convention breakout sessions
Thanks to all who participated in the first Rotary Virtual Convention. Recordings of the breakout sessions and other resources are available in the Learning Center through May 2021. Look for them in the 2020 Virtual Convention Breakout Presentations learning topic. You can find more information about learning topics at the end of this newsletter.
Engage Young Families with Service and Alternative Meetings
Call for breakout sessions — Taipei 2021
Do you have an idea or project that you want to share with your Rotary family? Breakout sessions can inspire attendees, help them polish their leadership skills, and give them new ideas for projects, fundraising, strengthening membership, and more!
Help us build a breakout program that celebrates Rotary’s diversity. We are seeking proposals in Chinese, English, Japanese, or Korean. Submit your proposal online by Wednesday, 30 September 2020, 23:59 Chicago time (UTC-5).
My Rotary is now faster, easier to navigate, and accessible on your mobile device. There are other great features, too, like improved club and member search functions and more privacy controls. See for yourself at my.rotary.org. While you’re there, update your member profile and privacy settings. Look at the My Rotary: Club Administration course in the Learning Center for guides on how to report and manage members and club officers. And refer to the Using a Club Management System course for updated material on choosing or changing a club management vendor.
The courses below, developed by Toastmasters International, are part of an eight-course series on leadership development. They include practice exercises that allow people a chance to practice the concepts they’ve learned and an evaluation component so users can get feedback on what they did well and how they can improve.
Leadership Basics
Understand how to set goals, motivate team members, and learn the skills you need to lead a group to accomplish a goal.
Leading a Team
Learn more about making ethical decisions, recognizing contributions, and other components of team leadership.
Learn more about Rotary’s alliance with Toastmasters.
Note: If the direct links to the courses don’t work for you, use your desktop to sign in to the Learning Center at rotary.org/learn and use the search box under the Course Catalogs heading to find the course you’re interested in. If you’re already signed in to My Rotary, hover over the Learning & Reference tab and select Learning Center to access the course catalog.
Conducting online club meetings and more
If you’re looking for ideas about conducting and participating in online meetings, as well as ways other than meetings to virtually engage members, visit the Online Club Meetings page in My Rotary.
Training tip
Finding materials in Learning Topics
You can use Learning Topics to find valuable resources for training and events. You’ll see documents, presentations, and courses shared by your colleagues.
To improve your search in Learning Topics, use the Type filter to narrow the kind of material you’re looking for. Then use the SORT BY function to put the results in order alphabetically or by the date they were posted. These features will help you find what you want more quickly.
By David Peterson, Club and District Support Manager, and Victoria Schiffman, Member and Club Management Product Owner, Rotary International
Imagine this: You meet a fellow Rotarian at an event. You are interested in collaborating on a project and promise to follow up. A few days later, you realized you’ve misplaced their contact information. Now what?
You could search Google or social media. You may even try to call us, hoping Rotary International could help, but we can’t share our members’ information. So now what?
You go to the newly updated My Rotary website and use the member search function to find that member! You can search by name, location, role or club. And based on that member’s privacy settings, you can make an instant connection.
This is just one of the many updates we recently made to My Rotary – our members-only website for Rotarians and Rotaractors. The site has been around for a long time, providing access to resources, tools and information that improve the membership experience. Over the years though, we’d hear that it was too slow, hard to navigate, and difficult to use. Our members were frustrated and My Rotary was no longer meeting their needs.
So, we set out to give you what you asked for. And this month, we launched an improved My Rotary.
Many of the initial changes are focused on functionality for club officers since they are the site’s heaviest users. But there are plenty of improvements that all members can benefit from. My Rotary is now faster and easier to use. It’s more accessible from mobile devices. It even has an updated look and feel. It also has improved member profiles and security settings so you easily make connections with other members, while also protecting your personal information. No more missed connections!
It’s simple:
Log in to My Rotary.
Complete your member profile by adding your contact information, the Rotary programs you’ve participated in, and your professional expertise.
Set your privacy settings. You control what information you want to share and with whom. You can customize your profile so some information is only visible to your club, while other information is available more broadly (or not at all).
And when you’re done, check out the other new features, like the enhanced club search function. The old “Club Finder” functionality is being replaced by a simplified club search tool that allows members to look up and filter clubs more easily using a variety of search parameters, including meeting day, time, location, and, brand new in this release, meeting format (online, in-person or both). Clubs can also now add more than one meeting to better accommodate the many innovative approaches they are using to address the needs of their members and attract new ones.
We’ll be making even more updates in coming months (including improvements to functionality for district officers and fully incorporating Rotaractors and satellite clubs) so the site is continuously being improved to meet your needs. In the meantime, give it a try and let us know what you think!
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