Our first speaker is Libby Kotei-Fearon, a junior at Kimball Union Academy. She hails from Accra, Ghana, in the western part of Africa. She is a STEM Scholar and outside of academics her interests include: singing, being a part of the annual winter musical, soccer, softball, taking leadership roles in the form of proctoring and clubs and being a part of the Campus Activity Board. At the end of speeches, Libby went on to tell us that she was a shy, timid student who has grown into a social butterfly at KUA. She is committed to helping new students to having some of the opportunities she has had to grow through a variety of experiences; and work to develop confidence. She plans to attend college in the USA. Bruce Pacht asked both students what food they missed from home, and what food in the USA has become a favorite. Libby described the food she misses is a bean and rice dish (Waykee). She is now very fond or Sushi.
Jintao Yue
Up next, we have Jintao Yue, also a junior at KUA. Jintao’s from Tianjin, China, and he has great passions in acting, singing, video-production, and public speaking; above all, he is very dedicated to being a global citizen. Following his talk, Jintao shared he loves performance arts and looks for opportunities, like our speech contest, to find his voice. He reinforced that he lover the performing arts and public speaking. He believes he will stay in the USA for college. Again, Bruce Pacht asked both students what food they missed from home. Jintao is missing dumplings. He then shared that he really likes cheeseburgers and onion rings.
Libby and Jintao used the Rotary 4-Way Test as the foundation of their speeches.
This is a short excerpt from Libby Kotei-Fearon:
Well, during the summer of 2020, I was fortunate enough to have worked with a company called Suit up Corporation. One of their core values is to train young adults to nurture their talents in marketing, design, and strategy. In groups of five to seven students, we had to work together to strategize, market, and design a new product for a company in four days. Throughout my five-week stay with Suit up, I discovered my love for marketing, made friends with teens who are as ambitious as I am, and became an ambassador for Suit Up. This program did not only prove to be beneficial for me, but for all the participants who put their heart and soul into their projects and learned a skill that would give them an edge in college.
Local Rotary Clubs could also do the same for their students. Firstly, they could partner up with teachers, entrepreneurs, medical personnel, music instructors, and many more to organize online programs in different fields of interest for students. It could range from a program in the field of music theory to a program in linear algebra. Every week, students would be grouped based on their interest to collaborate on a project. That would be the Rotary’s way of fostering new friendships but at the same time helping their students to cultivate the spirit of collaboration. Secondly, keeping in mind the core values of the Rotary Club, students will still be encouraged to do what they can to aid the less fortunate in their communities.
Students in the same locality could meet in small working groups of three to four students to maximize social distancing. Students would make food packages to hand out to the less privileged in their community. They would also educate their society on the importance of doing their part in contributing to the fight against COVID-19.
This is a portion of Jintao Yue's speech:
“Loser!” “Sissy!” “Boys will be boys!” “Pink is a girl’s color!” “Dude, you’re still a virgin?” “You cry during movies?” … According to a survey done by non-bullying.gov, more than 61% of young men aged 18 to 24 living in the United States have heard those phrases. Toxic masculinity, a term coined by professor Shepherd Bliss in the 1980s, was first used to dissociate negative traits from positive aspects of masculinity. As the Good Men Project defines it, “Toxic Masculinity is a narrow and repressive description of manhood, designating manhood as defined by violence, sex, status, and aggression.” Have you ever witnessed a man making sexist jokes to women, or a man being unwilling to show his emotions because he believes it demonstrates weakness and femininity? If so, you just witnessed behaviors of toxic masculinity…
… Perhaps actions of toxic masculinity are in response to a world rapidly changing to benefit more than just males. By trying to maintain the power of patriarchy, toxic masculinity reassures men’s dominant position in society while excluding groups such as gender non-conforming people and women. But just like the term has suggested, toxic masculinity can be extremely toxic to the development of our society. By limiting the definition of masculinity, we are limiting the possibilities of our own future, which creates no benefit to us at all. So where do we go from here? Professor John Pryor, in an article in The Atlantic says, quote “Toxic masculinity can be diminished if the social setting has no normative pressure to do it. While trying to prevent the fixed judgments towards a gender, we should also realize that people with a mix of positive masculine and feminine psychological traits are more flexible, competent, and mentally healthy than their masculine or feminine counterparts.” Unquote. Imagine the potential for building goodwill and better friendships in a world where we embrace positive masculine traits. I am going to work towards this goal, and I hope that the Rotary Club can help everyone achieve this end.
Both students challenged us in different ways to consider the role of Rotary in supporting students at this moment in time. We congratulated them on being a part of this event.
We also learned that when it comes to exploring colleges, both are doing most of their visits virtually.
Our judges will be meeting on another Zoom meeting to select the winner of this round of the speech Contest.
Kilton Library Children's Book Donation
The book this week for Libby Kotei-Fearon and Jintao Yue is Bear Goes Sugaring by Maxwell Eaton III:
Did you know that it takes forty gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup? "How many pancakes can I eat with that gallon?" wonders Dog.
Every step of the process of making maple syrup is covered in this sweet (but never saccharine) informational picture book by Maxwell Eaton III, the creator of the popular "Truth About" series. It begins with Bear assembling the tools she'll need for the project, continues with a discussion of the types of maples found in the area and why sugar maples are best for tapping, then on to drilling, tapping, evaporation and at the end of the process, real maple syrup and best of all, PANCAKES!
Along the way there are hilarious asides from increasingly ravenous Dog and Squirrel, making this a book as funny as it is informative. Helpful back matter and suggestions for further reading complete the package.
During our pre-chatter, Tim let us know he has work gloves for our food bridge project at Baker's Crossing.
Marilyn Bedell rang the bell at 5:33 PM to start the meeting. President Ron Bedell welcomed everyone to the meeting, especially our student guests from KUA. He then introduced Phil Rentz who introduced the two student speakers, Libby Kotel-Fearon and Jintao Yue. See story about the speech contest above.
Announcements and Updates:
IMPORTANT>>>Change in Meeting Times Starting on March 2, 2021<<<<
The Board of Directors and those interested club members have discussed changes in the time of some of our meetings to better accommodate all members. Starting in March we will be meeting at 11:55 a.m. on the First and Second Thursdays and we will be meeting at 5:25 p.m. on the Third and Forth Thursdays. This will be an opportunity to participate for those nine members that have not been able to come to the weekly 5:30 p.m. meetings.
100th Anniversary Planning Committee
Dave Crandall and Marion Steiner will be chairing our 100th Anniversary Committee. Our Club was chartered on May 11, 1923. Dave gave a brief overview of planning done to-date.
The following members have already agreed to serve on the 100th Anniversary Committee with Co-Chairs Dave Crandall and Marion Steiner: Cindy Jerome, Bruce Pacht, Jim Damren, Bill Secord and Ernst Oidtmann. Still looking to grow the committee. They would love to have some newer members join the planning team.
There will be three components:
A significant community project
A celebration
A History Book
General Timing (approximate)
January 31 form committee
February 15 first online meeting
March 15 present initial ideas to membership
June 30 decide on framework of 100th celebration
Marion and Dave are gathering community project ideas. Ideas so far have included:
Playground at Twin Pines in West Leb. Possibly a “music playground”. Twin Pines would own it, but Rotary would have naming rights. Rotary could maintain it annually. West Lebanon currently doesn’t have anything like it.
Teen Room at Lebanon Library
New Lebanon Community Center – possible naming opportunity
Fixing up other town parks.
Adding a water feature at a park
Update the outdoor skating park off of Bank Street Extension.
Funding the project
It is hoped that we will pick a project that has community interest, and will garner financial support from members of our community. We have $50,000 in our Charities fund that can be used for a project. For the right project it could be a larger sum of money.
Members present at the meeting:
Dan Affeldt
Bill Babineau
Marilyn Bedell
Ron Bedell
Paul Boucher
Dave Crandall
Hank Clarke
Rudy Fedrizzi
Ed Friedman
Joy Gobin
Tim Guaraldi
Garland Hoskins
Will Koppenheffer
JoAnn Lemieux
Jane Mason
Ernst Oidtmann
Bruce Pacht
Phil Rentz
Bill Secord
Paul Tierney
John Yacavone
Speakers — Libby Kotel-Fearon and Jintao Yue
Tyler Lewis — KUA Headmaster
Dave Weidman — Faculty Advisor at KUA
Meeting adjourned at PM 6:26 PM
They Profit Most Who Serve the Best
Happy Thoughts/Concerns
Dave Crandall announced that he has accepted a new position in Development at Twin Pine Housing. Congratuations!
Paul Boucher announced son had his debut as the girl's Junior varsity coach at Lebanon High School, the team beat Mascoma.
Paul Tierney acknowledged the Presidential Inauguration which made him happy. Hoping we a can find a way to come together as a nation. He is looking forward to having additional foundation work done on his new home on Friday or Monday.
Ernst is happy to have his grand-daughter Luna visiting.
John Yacavone shared he was wearing a hat as the room he was in was not heated, and he was working to keep warm as he could loose a lot of heat from his head.
As a Rotary brand specialist, I see Rotary signs everywhere. I guess you could say it’s an occupational hazard. Even my children spot Rotary signs wherever we go. So when I attended a local Rotary event in my hometown last year, I couldn’t help but notice how Rotary’s logo was being used.
At first, I was thrilled to see the club’s logo featured on a banner welcoming attendees. But then, I spotted another banner featuring the Rotary wheel as a pancake. Inside the tent, the club hung up a huge banner displaying the old, retired Rotary wheel. Club members who greeted us were all wearing polo shirts with the old wheel on them, but they were handing out brochures that included their newer club logo. Here were five different opportunities to promote the club, and each used different Rotary logos. It was bewildering.
So what?
When a club logo isn’t used properly, it can create confusion and mistrust. In 2012, Coca-Cola temporarily replaced the iconic red can with white cans that featured polar bears on it for the holidays. But they had to pull them from shelves when retailers and customers reported being confused. The cans looked too much like Diet Coke cans, and that’s not what consumers wanted.
This is one example of what happens when a logo is altered. By just changing the can color, the public was frustrated. They didn’t trust the product anymore. And that impacts the brand.
Now imagine that each Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact club had its own logo. How would the public know which Rotary club to trust, to join, or to donate money to?
When a club alters the Rotary logo – like turning the Rotary wheel into a pancake, changing the fonts, or adding additional colors – it weakens our global brand. That can impact our ability to attract future members, earn the trust of donors, encourage volunteers to help on our service projects, and even secure partnership opportunities. Old branding tells the public that this club is outdated. Inconsistent branding sends mixed messages of who we are.
Correct use of the Rotary logo.
Studies show that consistent logo use builds organizational trust and awareness. Isn’t that something we all want for Rotary — to be a trusted organization in our communities?
Over the next year, we are going to talk a lot more about branding and how to use Rotary’s logos properly. We are working with you to build a strong Rotary because a strong Rotary – one that is recognizable, trusted, and united – has a much greater chance of attracting members, donors, volunteers, and partners. Our regional and district leaders will join us in sharing that message.
You can help by taking a look at your club logo. Do you see your club name along with the Rotary or Rotaract logo? Are you using the correct Rotary color palette? Is the Rotary wheel clearly visible, free from other graphics or designed elements? If not, then it might time to update it. It’s really easy—just visit the Brand Center to get started.
We are meeting via
Zoom!
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
