If You Need a Laugh, This Dad's Comics About Social Distancing With Kids Should Do It!....Found at this link...click here
May 14, 2020
Editor Marilyn Bedell/Meeting notes taken by Bruce Pacht (thank!)
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We are meeting via
Zoom!
The Board & Club made a decision to hold weekly Zoom meetings.
We will be meeting every
Thursdays at 5:30 PM
Please join us if you can!!
Need to learn how to join a Zoom Meeting? Click Here
Upcoming Speakers
Our Speaker on May 21, 2020 will be Susan Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, President and Chief Executive Officer at APD
Sue Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG has been the President and CEO of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital since April of 2013.
She completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University, her Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
She joined the Medical Staff at APD in 2000 as a fulltime Obstetrician/Gynecologist and continued in that role until 2005 when she took a leave of absence to pursue fellowship training as a Veterans Administration Quality Scholar. During that two year period of time, she received a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality Improvement from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth (now The Dartmouth Institute). Upon her return to APD, she became the Medical Director of Quality and ultimately the Chief Medical Officer before transitioning to her current role.
Dr. Mooney is passionate about improving the quality of care that APD provides to patients
May 28 Rudy Fedrizzi
Classification Talk
June 4 Marcos Stafna, Executive Director, Montshire Museum
June 11 Tracy Hutchins, Executive Director, Upper Valley Business Alliance
June 18 TBA
June 25 TBA - Maybe Changeover
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Moorings
Little time for conversation prior to the start of the meeting, as our speaker has another meeting for the Rotary Foundadtion following his one. Lis Mooney lead our meeting this evening. The bell rang at 5:29 PM, and we adjourned at 6:44 PM
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Our Speaker on May 14, 2020 was Rotary Foundation Trustee Julia Phelps
Julia Phelps is our 2017-2020 Rotary Foundation Trustee. She is from the Rotary Club of Amesbury, Massachusetts, USA
Julia Phelps, who began her career in education in 1976, is the associate commissioner for the Center for Curriculum and Instruction for the state of Massachusetts. She served on the board of the Amesbury Educational Foundation Inc. and the John Ashford Link House Inc.
A Rotarian since 1997, Phelps has served as director, vice chair of RI’s Audit Committee, Rotary Foundation alumni coordinator, and district governor. She is a member of the Operations Review Committee.
Phelps is a Major Donor, Benefactor, multiple Paul Harris Fellow, and a member of the Bequest Society. She is a recipient of The Rotary Foundation's Citation for Meritorious Service.
Julia’s remarks: — What I've Learned as a Result of COVID-19
I’m just finishing 3 years as Foundation chair of my club, the Rotary Club of Amsbury, Massachusetts; and I serve on the board as the Club's Foundation Chair.
Rotary is nothing if we don’t have members in the clubs. Clubs are our hearts, our hands, our kidneys . . .
This COVID time has caused us to change the way we do business. Julia’s club never had done an electronic meeting before. The only change they made before COVID was to add one evening a month until the end of March when, after two weeks of not meeting, they did Zoom.
2016 Council gave Rotary clubs lots of leeway to make changes. COVID time has forced us to make those changes!
Three things have struck home for Julia:
We have moved beyond our tag line “people of action.” That tag seemed artificial to her but now she believes it is true. Here we are meeting in a new format. Trustees and Directors all are meeting virtually. We dealt with budget, investments, etc. Districts, too, are doing things virtually. We did a 100-year celebration with three of our district’s clubs. RI President Mark Maloney was a guest speaker. Prior to this, folks would have spent many dollars; have gotten dressed up; traveled, etc. Rotary is going to have a virtual Convention – we are adapting to our changing world and doing it quickly. It’s easy to see the folks who are jumping in with both feet and those who are sort of waiting for next year. The advantage of virtual is that we can do it any time of day we want, folks don’t have to travel, no cost, etc.
March 7 at PETS was my last in-person interaction with Rotarians. Now I’ve realized there are so many other ways we connect. I spend a lot of time on the phone and Zoom.
I was reassured that decisions CAN be made quickly by The Rotary Foundation. The executive committee decided to move one million dollars into the disaster relief fund for 40 grants of $25,000 each. In three days, 40 grants were approved and the money went out.When we had our full meeting, we knew that Rotarians would use the disaster grant process.So we added another TWO million to the fund – 107 grants were waiting in the wings for that!Then we asked for DDF donations and personal donations to swell the fund.
We built the Rotary Foundation Disaster Relief Fund on the Shelter Box model. The money is there for when there is a disaster. Earthquakes, tornadoes, etc. Many Rotary Clubs see a disaster and then ask “What can we do?” or “Where can we send money?” Trustees wanted to give Rotarians a Rotary way to respond to disasters. Update on Tuesday: 306 disaster response applications; we’ve approved 193 and paid out 114, which means they’ve already spent the money allocated. We have 107 districts still in the queue asking for $20-25,000. We’ve raised $1.7 M atop the $3M = $4.796 M. We did a telethon which raised over $500,000! We’ve had 2,746 personal contributions to the disaster fund.
The District Grant process was modified so Club’s could apply for grants now, and invoices for the items in the grant could be spent now; prior to official approval, it the club and District was willing to risk the grant not being authorized.
Our partnerships are really, really important. Rotary’s work on polio for the last 40 years created an infrastructure being used for testing, dissemination, education, and sharing good health practices regarding COVID-19. We need to make sure every Rotarians knows that Rotary has been building this infrastructure. We’re working on an MOU with a health agency for another major effort because of Rotary’s reputation for getting things done.
Those are my three big takeaways from the COVID-19 Era. Knowing that Rotary makes a difference in folks’ lives lifts me up in the midst of the pandemic sadness.
QUESTIONS:
Steve. Christy: Thank you for joining us. I appreciate your work. I keep coming back to the issue that human beings are social animals. This is very atypical of the way we operate. First of all, we haven’t inducted a new member since the pandemic. The disaster grants mostly were raised by either existing Rotarians or funds they had before this started. We’re looking at a substantial reduction in our charity budget for next year because people cannot interact. I’m very concerned that Rotary as an organization is looking in the rearview mirror in terms of the things it has done with the money it has. That’s a finite resource, unless we can bring in new people, explain what this is all about. People are social, we need to be social, our fundraisers are social. We need to get on with business of this country and the world.
Julia: Speaking as “Julia,” we are going to come out of this with a hybrid model. We still will meet together, perhaps not as frequently. People will come in and out of the “live” meetings as it fits their schedule. We will also have Zoom and other online platforms as a way of conducting business so that people who cannot get away for in-person meetings can stay connected. Fundraising is going to be tough. Julia’s club is paying its meeting place HALF what was paid before, and is still charging members the full amount of their dues.
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The Kilton Library Children's book given in honor of Julia Phelps is Saffron Ice Cream
Rashin is excited about her first visit to the beach in her family's new home. On the way there, she remembers what beach trips were like in Iran, the beautiful Caspian Sea, the Persian music, and most of all, the saffron ice cream she shared with her best friend, Azadeh. But there are wonderful things in this new place as well -- a subway train, exciting music... and maybe even a new friend!
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SHARING HAPPY THOUGHTS OR CONCERNS:
Happy thoughts and concerns:
John Yacavone – Steve Christy and John spent the afternoon pruning bushes and trees at Baker’s Crossing based on guidance from Longacre’s two years ago. Two piles of brush will be removed by City of Lebanon. Thanks for doing this park cleanup!
Paul Tierney –District Governor-elect Jamie Milne hosted a meeting this morning of a group of presidents-elect. Paul thought the format was very useful. Lots of good ideas.
Bill Secord – Please subscribe to your local newspaper.
Marilyn Bedell and our Peace Scholar, Rachel Brooks are discussing an article for the Valley News about our Rotary Peace Scholar Program. Marilyn asked Bill Secord to help them develop the article. Rich Wallace says he can get an article in through the advertising part of the paper if the news side cannot.
Ernst Oidtmann – Correction to last newsletter: The Germans invaded 80 years ago not 18 years ago. (Marilyn was delighted that someone was reading the newsletter)
Hank Clarke – a commercial clean-up company was at Riverside Park this afternoon. Our thanks to the city if they arranged for this to happen.
Paul Tierney – question for Julia: Last time I looked at TRF investments it looked to me like you guys were spending a lot of time and money investing in tiny little pieces of stuff managed by a number of different investment advisors. You could cut the number of advisers and investments probably by going through fewer index funds.
Julia: We now have an investment person, Eric Jones, in house. A committee of Rotarians from North America advise him. We have three different strategies for 3 different funds.
Hank Clarke– Who are the faces of the non-club members on this meeting? Marilyn introduced our DG Richard Fox, DGE Jamie Milne, DGN Michael Carrier, PDG Eric Denu and PDG Larry Vars, who is back from Florida and re-settled in Lunenberg, VT.
Lis Moony has a cat. Marion has 7-week old cat named Sophia.
Marion Steinder– Her 16 year old daughter bought her first car; thanks to Tim for getting them through the insurance process.
Steve Whitman – we are having a family gathering 15 folks for a birthday party. His daughter-in-law is turning a significant number. It’s a surprise – a film was made for her. Thus, he had early release from our meeting.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS/UPDATES
From Bruce Bergeron:
Golf committee has secured September 17 Thusday as a new date for the Bedell Tournament. Probably a smaller event this year, but one where we can raise at least some money.
First grade readers were delivered to Mt. Lebanon School. Parents coming in to pick up assignments picked up their books. Hanover St. School books going out soon.
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From President-elect Paul Tierney
Paul sent updated version of proposed goals for the coming year. Looking for input and help to flesh them out. He would welcome additional goals as he’d like to see our club achieve more.
Paul sent finance committee an overall concept for the charities budget for the coming year based on what should be available July 1. Has some fundraising in it. We may not have the fundraiser that allows us to spend, so he is proposing we reduce some expense for this year so that in Hank’s year there will be money available.
Paul is spending a lot of time thinking about organization for the upcoming year. He is hoping for a more efficient organizational process involving more people to make sure we can better manage and follow up on everything we need to get done. Ex) A president has too many direct reports – another management structure may work better. Stay tuned for details as they are formulated.
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Other bits and pieces
Changeover — Paul Tierney
Marion told me the incoming president is responsible. Last time I did it, it was very short and anointed Willie who was the person to do it next. Asking Marilyn and Melissa to tell Paul what they did. All Rotarians are welcome to give suggestions to Paul for a Changeover with a nice program and fun, even though it will be virtual.
Paul asks if any Rotarian needs help. There are resources we can bring to bear.
Marilyn spoke to Ron Michaud. Hillary has gone into hospice care. Ron has Bayada home health. He misses us and wants to stay engaged. Paul plans to work with Ron to help him become comfortable with coming into Zoom.
Hank has been emailing Mike Weins with no response. Garlan is concerned because he isn’t responding to Garlan’s emails either. Garlan will try a phone call tomorrow morning.
Dan Affeldt — Zoom system is being revamped with encryption and other things. Dan was one of the people they called – he talked to them 3 or 4 times. We’re impressed. Dan may set up some meetings which, by logging into, our computers will be updated automatically.
Dan — District has a webinar version of Zoom that can handle hundreds of participants.
SteveChristy — I thought the Club had a Zoom account.
Marilyn: I’ve been trying to get Zoom make an email correction to our account from .org to .com. Louisa Tripp is now trying to get through to them for me, so we have no club account yet. Zoom says they have 1,000 accounts they are working on. Dan is letting us use his account until the typo is corrected or we get a refund and then a new account would be set up.
Steve Christy will use Steve Whitman’s account for the Mollica fund and the Youth Service committee. He’d like everyone in the club to know about the available Zoom accounts.
Paul Tirerney has an account that can be used too,
Paul Tierney — LISTEN meals have doubled from 100 to 200 every night.
People seeking pantry food is up about 80%. Inviting thoughts of unmet needs or programs that would be useful in the community.
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From a Retired DHMC Nurse Colleague, Peggy Plunkett
Consider participating in a Massachusetts General Hospital COVID-19 research project.
The Lyme Emergency resource person (Margaret Caudill-Slosberg, MD) asked everyone to consider being a volunteer member of this research project. It is super easy, you just have to sign in each day and report your health ( One very simple question). Bill and I do this and as you can see they need. The hope is to get at lease 217 volunteers in Grafton county to be able to report statistically significant data regarding COVID-19 for our County. Click here to learn more about the study, you will need to download an app to be part of the study.
If enough Americans share daily how they feel, even if they're well, this app can provide the healthcare system with critically valuable information.
Take 1-minute to report daily, even if you are well.
Help our scientists identify:
High-risk areas
Who is most at risk, by better understanding symptoms linked to underlying health conditions
How fast the virus is spreading in your area
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Programs
Next week – Sue Mooney, MD, CEO of APD Heealth.
Rudy Fedrizzi classification talk
Marcus Stafna, Executive Director of Montshire Museum
Tracy Hutchins, Executive Director – Uupper Valley Business Alliance
June 18 is open
June 25 being held for Changeover
Melissa thanked John for a year’s worth of great programs. A clamor of applause was heard from Newport to Lyme.
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Listen Dinners 2020
NEXT DINNER (very tentative) June 9, 2020
Cook team to arrive at Listen at 3:30 PM
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Stay turned for more information about events planned from
20-26 June 2020
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2020 Holiday Party and Yankee Swap
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.
During the lockdown enforced due to COVID-19, I have been reaching out to all my friends to see how they are doing. The other day I happened to call one of my girl friends who I know has been in an abusive relationship to find out if she was fine. She answered my call and we exchanged pleasantries. In the midst of the conversation she suddenly went quiet and then started to talk in riddles. I immediately sensed that all was not right and asked her if her partner was around. She could not even answer with a “yes” or “no” and so I quickly reassured her that I understood her situation and we could communicate further on WhatsApp.
This is not an unusual incident. Many women and girls are experiencing domestic violence – physical, mental, emotional, financial, and sexual abuse by an intimate partner. Due to the extended circumstances of forced lockdown with no other form of access to the outside world and in quite a few cases a phone or internet, the number of cases are spiking all over the world.
Christophe Castaner, France’s Interior Minister has reported that the number of cases of domestic violence has gone up by 36 percent since the country went into lockdown on 17 March. While the National Domestic Abuse helpline in the United Kingdom has recorded an increase of 25 percent in calls and online requests for help. In India too, there has been a surge in complaints forcing the National Commission for Women to start a WhatsApp helpline.
Unfortunately, it has taken a pandemic like the coronavirus to expose another pandemic – gender based violence. Global institutions including The United Nations, The World Bank and even the World Health Organization have labeled it as a pandemic since at least one in three women around the world experience some form of violence in their lifetime.
In fact recently, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appealed for “peace at home.” He said, “For many women and girls, the threat looms largest where they should be safest: in their own homes.”
My organization Red Dot Foundation has been working on sexual violence prevention for the last seven years. Through our crowd mapping platform we have been encouraging people to document their experiences in public spaces. With this surge in domestic violence, we have launched a new campaign to collect data on this particular form of violence. We have learned that the lack of data makes the issue invisible and in a way, neglected by city authorities.
COVID-19 is forcing local and national governments to think of remedial measures to find survivors the help they need. Imagine in a lockdown scenario, with no public transport available to you or travel passes for leaving your home or your abuser watching every move or call you make, the options are few. Just like my girlfriend was not able to communicate her situation to me, many women and girls are staying silent, locked up with their abusers. So we need to find new ways to deal with this violence and think out of the box to find solutions.
It is essential that everyone understands the issue as we all can be active interveners to prevent this violence. The lockdown is meant to be a proactive measure to help flatten the curve of the transmission of COVID-19, it is definitely not meant to be an enabler of violence. So let’s do our part to be better first-level responders by understanding the nuances of domestic violence and how we as individuals and communities can prevent it.
The Rotary Peace Fellowship Alumni Association held a webinar on Protecting the Vulnerable During COVID-19 to discuss how peace fellows and Rotarians can prevent and respond to this violence. Watch a recording of the webinar.
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In Italy, Members help launch site so merchants can sell goods, organize supplies to make sanitizer, and provide food to health care workers.
by Ryan Hyland, Rotary International
While Italy has been largely locked down to fight the coronavirus, members of the Rotary Club of Morimondo Abbazia have galvanized support — and a measure of hope — for people and businesses reeling from the effects of the pandemic.
Their efforts are addressing both immediate and long-term needs: donating meals to health care workers, organizing a supply chain to get the ingredients for liquid sanitizer, and helping businesses that depend on in-person commerce move their operations online.
We are obviously in an unprecedented time. In the spirit of Rotary, we again used our network and expertise to help communities.
– Pier Metrangolo, member of the Rotary Club of Morimondo Abbazia, Italy
Italy has been hit hard by COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, with more than 183,000 cases and 24,000 deaths, mainly in its northern region. The government took sweeping action in early March, essentially prohibiting all movement of people in the northern region and closing all nonessential businesses. Soon after, it expanded those restrictions to the entire country.
Italy’s economy will be badly damaged, with small and medium-sized businesses affected the most. Club members in Morimondo, a town in northern Italy near Milan, wanted to help shops and merchants through the crisis.
Delivering lifeline for businesses
Club member Davide Carnevali, co-founder of an information technology firm, proposed an initiative that would involve the club and the company, Mitobit. They would work together to create an e-commerce platform where small and medium-sized businesses could promote, sell, and deliver their products.
In Italy, where only 10 percent of all businesses sell goods online, the website gives these merchants an important boost now and in the future. “We want to change their whole approach to their business that will be sustainable long after the shutdown,” Carnevali says.
The club and Mitobit launched the site, Consegnacasa, meaning “home delivery,” during the second week of March. Mitobit developed and designed the site, and the club members handled legal support, communication, and promotion. The site offers merchants free advertising to showcase their goods and offers customers an easy online payment system and delivery service.
One of the biggest challenges for Italy is what happens after the pandemic ends … We wanted to do our part in setting them up for success when things get back to normal.
– Rotaractor Alina Dorosenco
Carnevali says the first deliveries began in early April. The club outlined safety measures for merchants to take during deliveries, including wearing masks and gloves and, if possible, avoiding in-person contact with customers.
Members also worked with the Rotaract club that Morimondo Abbazia sponsors to contact businesses that already had some online or social media presence, such as a Facebook page, even though the companies weren’t conducting business online. Rotaractors developed a social media strategy to communicate directly with these merchants. The club also created social media lessons to help business owners learn more about advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other channels.
“One of the biggest challenges for Italy is what happens after the pandemic ends. No one really knows what the future holds for businesses. We wanted to do our part in setting them up for success when things get back to normal,” says Alina Dorosenco, president of the Rotaract Club of Morimondo Abbazia. “We don’t have much money, as a Rotaract club, but we have social media and technical skills that will help shops modernize their business.”
The streets of Abbiategrasso, Italy, are deserted as shops, schools, and public places were shuttered during the countrywide lockdown. Italy prohibited movement of people for much of March and April to help stem the spread of the coronavirus.
Photos courtesy of The Rotary Club of Morimondo Abbazia, Italy.
About 20 merchants have started using the site so far — businesses from Morimondo to Milan to nearly as far south as Rome. “We don’t have a limit,” Carnevali says. “We want this to grow to help as many businesses as possible. This is just the start.” He estimates that 60 percent of the merchants on the site will be food-related, 20 percent will be personal goods like clothing, and the rest will be other businesses like pet stores and jewelers.
Supporting frontline medical workers
The Rotary club of Morimondo Abbazia has been supporting health care workers as well as businesses. Member Pier Metrangolo, a professor of chemical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Milan, learned that the university was going to produce desperately needed hand-sanitizing liquid and he looked for ways the club could help. It was difficult, because of the shutdown, to find the ingredients that the World Health Organization suggests using. He and fellow club members contacted their business associates and acquaintances to create a network of manufacturers that help supply the ingredients and distribute the product.
“We are obviously in an unprecedented time. In the spirit of Rotary, we again used our network and expertise to help communities,” Metrangolo says.
The club also donated money to help the university continue producing sanitizer. The school makes up to 5,000 liters (1,320 gallons) of the liquid each day and distributes it to local hospitals, the Red Cross, police officers, and a prison. Metrangolo says the university recently received a license to produce masks. “Our club will continue to help in any way we can. This emergency needs Rotary,” he adds.
At a local nursing home, health care workers made what Metrangolo called a heroic decision, opting not to go home but to stay at the facility to try to stem the spread of the virus and keep caring for patients. The club donated nearly $3,000 to help feed the staff until it’s safe for workers to go home. Once a week they buy pizza for the staff and residents. When the Rotary Club of Helsinki –Finlandia Hall, Finland, a twin club of Morimondo Abbazia, learned about the initiative, it donated $550 toward future meals.
Members of the Morimondo Abbazia Rotary club admit that not meeting in person has been difficult, but the energy and resourceful spirit of the club have not waned. Carnevali says most of the club’s 40 members attend the weekly online meetings.
“We miss seeing each other in person, but there is a lot of enthusiasm during our online meetings because we know we have to help bring hope to those suffering,” Carnevali says. “This is a dark time for Italians, but we will persevere.”
From Andrew Chan, MD,
