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2021 Educational Awards

St. Johnsbury Rotary Names Education Award Recipients

St. Johnsbury Rotary Club recently announced the recipients of the club’s annual Educational Awards: David Richardson, of St. Johnsbury, a graduate of Danville School; and Kylee LaPete, of Danville, a graduate of St. Johnsbury Academy. These students were chosen based on their community service, exemplifying Rotary’s motto of “Service Above Self.”

Every year, the St. Johnsbury Club presents education awards to area high school seniors going on to post-secondary education or pursuing technical/vocational training. Students from schools within the Club’s service area are eligible to apply and include St. Johnsbury Academy, Danville School and Hazen Union School. An application process takes place and includes: a letter from the student, outlining their community service and their plans for the future; a statement of need; letters of recommendations; and a resume of community service.

David plans to attend the University of Vermont this fall, majoring in Political Science.

Kylee plans to attend Montana State University this fall, majoring in Nursing.

Each of these students will receive $1,000 to use toward their college plans.

Rotary Changeover 2021

St. Johnsbury Rotary Club Welcomes New Leadership For 2021-2022

The St. Johnsbury Rotary Club held it's annual Club Changeover on June 21, conducted by outgoing president, Katheryn Laferriere, and welcoming 2021-2022 club president, Brynn Evans, along with the new president-elect, Jay Miller.

To begin the meeting, Katheryn spoke of the challenges presented to her during a year of a pandemic: "I want to take a minute to just recognize the strange and unprecedented set of circumstances that Covid-19 threw at us this year … and how our club rallied and turned those lemons into lemonade.

"For me, I’d never thought about meeting virtually before. Then, just as I was supposed to take over as President last summer, I also was offered a job out of town that would have prevented me from fulfilling my obligation as President. Any other year, I would have had to resign. But because of the strange circumstances of this past year, because of Zoom, and our club’s willingness to change, I was able to preside over all the meetings from my office in New Hampshire.

"What a blessing that was for me. It was such a comfort to stay connect to all of you and my community during that time. Thank you for being there for me and for being willing to be so flexible."

Katheryn then recognized the special efforts made by several Rotarians during the 2020-21 year.

Red Cross Blood Drive - August 4th

The next Red Cross Blood Drive sponsored by St. Johnsbury Rotary will take place on Wednesday, August 4th from 12:00 -5:30 pm.

To sign up to give blood, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: moose.

We are also seeking club members to volunteer to assist at the event. Sign up online, or contact Jim McFaul to learn more.

March for Kamp Boosts Opportunities for Local Youth

SJA Director of Recreation Joe Fox accepting a donation from St. Johnsbury Rotary Club. The check was presented by President Elect Brynn Evans.

The recent March for Kamp community fundraiser sponsored by St. Johnsbury Rotary Club, successfully raised funds to provide scholarships for local youth to attend St. Johnsbury Recreation Department’s Kamp IWannaHavFun!

St. Johnsbury Rotary President Katheryn Laferriere stated, “Our club is so grateful for all the work that Kamp IWannaHavFun does for the benefit of the children in our community. We’re thrilled for the outpouring of support for our 1^st ever March for Kamp event and thank all those who participated.”

Participants donated $31 to walk 31 miles in the 31 days of March and their efforts raised just over $2,800 for the scholarships. The Rotary Club donated an additional $1,000 to the effort.

COVID-19 Vaccine Registration Help

St. Patrick's Day Fundraiser - Order by March 10th

Click here to order today!

Welcome to Mary Parent

On February 22nd, Mary Parent was inducted as the newest member of our club. Mary was welcomed during our regular weekly zoom meeting.

Mary is a corporate and commercial attorney with Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC, practicing primarily in Vermont and New Hampshire. She is a native Vermonter and has lived in the NEK with her family since 2005. Mary is committed to being a part of the community and adds Rotary to her long list of past and present involvement.

Mary currently serves as Vice-Chair for the NVRH board and is on the St. Johnsbury regional advisory board for Union Bank. She also chairs a professional responsibility panel for the Vermont Bar Association.

Mary resides in St. Johnsbury with her husband and two sons. In her spare time she enjoys gardening and hiking with her dog.

March for Kamp!

We are excited to sponsor this fundraiser for St. Johnsbury Recreation Department's popular Kamp IWannaHavFun.

MARCH FOR KAMP is a challenge to walk 31 miles in the 31 days of March. Registration is $31 with all proceeds supporting Kamp IWannaHavFun scholarships!

Can YOU spare a dollar and a mile a day to help send kids to Kamp?

St. J Rec will email you closer to the event with how to log miles, info. on fun raffles, and a link to submit photos of you Marching for Kamp!

District 7850 Event - Shari Hollett and Chris Earle

Rotary District 7850 is offering a great opportunity to club members and the community. Register today for this FREE virtual event being held on January 16th at 9:00am. Register online: https://rotarydistrict7850.regfox.com/hollett-and-earle

Rotary District 7850 presents Shari Hollett and Chris Earle teaching communication, collaboration and presentation skills by Zoom.

Writer-Actor-Directors alumni of The Second City improv comedy troupe, Shari Hollett and Chris Earle have been teaching communication, collaboration and presentation skills for over 20 years to corporate, government and non-profit clients across North America. As longtime directors and actors in theatre and comedy, they have developed their own special brand of workshops - using their performing and improvisation "know how" to create a fun, challenging and invaluable experience for your group or business. With improvisation as their foundation, these workshops enhance existing skills, and develop new ones that help take your team to the next level.

November's Veggie Van Go

Cars lined up to participate in the November Veggie Van Go.

Thank you to our Rotary Club for your continued support of the monthly Veggie Van Go held at NVRH. Our Rotary Volunteers are especially helpful with traffic control.

This month, healthy food was provided to 423 families. In addition to food, recipients received recipes for beet and carrot salad and no crust pumpkin pie. These recipes can be found at foodhero.org.

St. Johnsbury Rotary Donates Masks

Amelia Evans (middle), daughter of Rotarian Brynn Evans, donates masks to Barnet School. Staff from the school are (L to R) Ruth Vaal, Eric Bogie and Angel Roy.

Thanks to the Ted Rossi Foundation and the New England Rotary Million Mask Challenge, St. Johnsbury Rotary has been donating masks to area schools and day care providers. Our local Rotary Club received 2000 medical disposable masks for donation to the community.

We still have masks to donate. If you know of a community group or business that is in need of masks, please let us know. Jay Miller is the current contact for tracking the mask donations.

St. Johnsbury Rotary Holds Successful Drive for NEKCA

St. Johnsbury Rotary and NEKCA garnered $260 in donations and nearly 700 pounds of food and supplies.

Rotarian and NEKCA representative Joy Ely and Rotarian Jay Miller man the table at The White Market in St. Johnsbury on October 24th.

St. Johnsbury Rotary and NEKCA teamed up on October 24, 2020 to solicit donations from the community of food and supplies for Northeast Kingdom Community Action. Rotarians Jay Miller and Joy Ely, with support by fellow club members, worked together to inform the community of the needs for NEKCA's Parent Child Center through the Give a Little, Help A Lot Drive. In addition to collecting donations, the group also handed out free masks, children's books and activity kits, and community resource information.

Polio: A Personal Experience

Heather Winkler joined us at our Monday, October 19th meeting and shared her moving and inspiring story of her family's personal experience with polio. She specifically shared stories about her mother's experience with having polio and becoming a disability rights advocate. Her mother, Sue Williams, went on to help form the Vermont Center for Independent Living, which is still active today. There is a fund at VCIL named after Heather's mom, the Sue Williams Freedom Fund, that provides funding for services and equipment to help people with disabilities achieve or maintain independence in their own homes. Heather's words tell the story best so we encourage you to watch the video (above) of her presentation to our club.

Never Lose A Customer Again!

Rotary District 7850 is pleased to announce that Keynote Speaker and Author Joey Coleman will be presenting on how to “Never Lose a Customer Again” by Zoom on Saturday, October 17^th at 5 pm. Joey will share his insights with Rotarians from Rotary District 7850 (an international Rotary District that is comprised of areas of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Quebec) as well as members of the public who will enjoy learning the recipe for retaining customers in this competitive business environment.

St. Johnsbury Rotary Supports 2020 Relay for Life

St. Johnsbury Rotary took part in the recent Relay for Life - a drive through Relay event at the Caledonia County Fairgrounds held on September 19th. Thank you to all who attend the event and/or sent in donations for our team in support of this important cause. Rotarian Melynda Miller did an amazing job sharing her survivor story at the event. You can view her portion of the event on our Club YouTube Channel here.

St. Johnsbury Rotary Distributes Masks from District 7850

Jay Miller presenting masks to Waterford School Principal Chris Miller.

Thanks to a grant received by Rotary District 7850 from the Rotary Foundation, reusable and washable masks were distributed to two local schools - Danville and Waterford.

Rotary District 7850 received a $25,000 Disaster Relief Grant specifically related to COVID-19 response from the Rotary Foundation. The District purchased $12,000 worth of masks and used remaining funds to support the Vermont Foodbank, New Hampshire Foodbank and a Foodbank in Quebec.

Veggie Van Go Serves Record Number in September

This month four St. Johnsbury Rotarians volunteered at Veggie Van Go and assisted the program to serve a record number of families - 500 families in total!

Frank Empsall, Joe Fox, Jay Miller, and Melynda Miller helped to distribute food and provide traffic control. They were joined by volunteers from NVRH, Vermont Foodbank, and the St. Johnsbury office of the Vermont Department of Health.

Veggie Van Go is offered monthly at NVRH, in partnership with the Vermont Foodbank, to provide fresh seasonal produce to members of our community.

TeleHealth for Seniors Drop Off Day a Success

Thank you for all the support with the TeleHealth for Seniors service project! Last Monday, August 31st, we collected 18 devices and $320 to help Lia Rubel and the team of students from TeleHealth Access for Seniors; who are dedicated to helping Seniors access healthcare from the safety of their homes. An extra big thank you to St. Johnsbury Academy for their large donation of iPads and to Brynn Evans for helping arrange the donation! It was so much fun to see so many Rotarians in-person after such a long time of meeting on Zoom. A good time was had by all!

-President Katheryn

Katheryn was interviewed by Alexandra Huff of News7/NEWSLINC from Northern Vermont University. This can be viewed here and the story starts around 7 minutes into the video.

Jamie Milne Assumes Role As Governor For Rotary District 7850 For 2020-2021

Jamie Milne, a resident of Joe’s Pond in West Danville, and a long-time member of the St. Johnsbury Rotary Club, became Rotary District 7850’s Governor for the 2020-2021 Rotary year on July 1, 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the District was unable to hold a formal ceremony with an in-person gathering, however Jamie was presented with the District’s Rotary Bell (with Jamie’s name engraved on it) by Ron and Marilyn Bedell, members of the Rotary Club of Lebanon in New Hampshire, who have both served as District governors in the past and continue to hold offices and chair committees in the District.

August 17th Speaker - Roderick Owens

Our club welcomed Roderick Owens as our speaker on August 17, 2020. He provided us with a brief introduction on the topic of equality vs. equity. Roderick has recently founded the Orleans County Coalition for Cultivating Equity and is currently organizing, facilitating, or presenting on topics such as: Celebrating Diversity, Promoting Racial Equity, Developing Cultural Humility, and on Alexander Twilight and other notable Vermont African Americans.

August 10th Speaker - Jennifer Grant

Jennifer Grant joined us as our speaker at our August 10, 2020 meeting. She is a Community Resource Coordinator with Northern Counties Health Care, Inc. and she is involved with the Physically Health Community Action Network through NEK Prosper. She spoke to us about an exciting community wide wellness campaign called Energize Expedition. The recording of our meeting can be viewed here.

August 3rd Speaker - Lia Rubel

We welcomed Lia Rubel as our speaker at our August 3, 2020 meeting. Lia is a rising sophomore at Emory University and is from Barre, Vermont. She spoke to us about a new organization, Telehealth Access for Seniors.

July 31st Veggie Van Go Volunteers

Thank you to our Rotarian volunteers for assisting with an additional community food drop. This took place at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital on July 31st. The event provided food to 205 families.

July 27th Speaker - Dr. Sharon Howell

We were pleased to welcome the new St. Johnsbury Academy Headmaster Dr. Sharon Howell to our club and community on July 27, 2020. Dr. Howell officially started at SJA on July 1st and is the first woman headmaster to serve in this role.

The meeting and presentation were recorded and can be viewed here.

July 20th Speaker - Laura Valcour

Thank you to Laura Valcour of the NEK Council on Aging for joining us as our speaker on July 20, 2020. Laura is the Director of Nutrition and Wellness working with 17 Meals on Wheels programs in the NEK. She expressed her appreciation for our Rotary Club, as they received some of the mac and cheese meals that we helped bring to the community. There has been an increase in the number or meals being served throughout the pandemic. The meal programs have risen to the challenge thanks to additional funding through the COVID CARES Act and support from the local community. Laura has helped to provide training resources to programs on safety precautions to ensure the continuation of meal services. Mask wearing and sanitizing are important aspects of these precautions. Most meals are delivered by volunteers. They provide meals and an important safety check to recipients. This is an important program for a vulnerable population in our community - helping to keep them well-nourished and safe during the pandemic.

President Frank Empsall

2017-07-31 St. Johnsbury Rotary Meeting

2017 Rotary Changeover

St. Johnsbury Rotary Club Visioning: Strategic Planning for the Future

Our Club recently conducted a visioning session. Information related to the session and the results are outlined in a paper contained in the Download area.

Rotary Meeting - Tanya Martin
To be determined

Oct 18, 2021
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Veggie Van Go -October
NVRH

Oct 21, 2021
9:15 AM – 11:15 AM
World Polio Day
Oct 24, 2021
ZOOM MTG: Paul Brochu
Zoom

Oct 25, 2021
12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Basketball Tournament Planning Meeting
Zoom

Oct 28, 2021
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Guest Reader - October
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum

Oct 29, 2021
9:45 AM – 10:45 AM

2020-2021 Year in Review

Kiwanis Lions Optimist Rotary join for week of service to Celebrate Community

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The Best Chance to Eradicate Polio is Now

World Health Organization’s polio chief, Aidan O’Leary explains why now is our best chance to eradicate polio.

Join us for Rotary’s World Polio Day Online Global Update

Join us for Rotary’s World Polio Day Online Global Update Rotary International14-October-2019  Mark your calendar to join us on 24 October 2019, for Rotary’s World Polio Day

RI President-elect Jennifer Jones announces Rotary’s $97 million pledge for sustainable projects during Global Citizen Live

The star-studded global event rallied people to take action on some of the world’s most urgent problems.

BTS’ Jimin donates 100 million Korean won to eradicate polio

BTS’ Jimin donates 100 million Korean won to eradicate polioSEOUL, South Korea: Sept. 23, 2021 – Jimin, a member of K-pop boy band BTS, is supporting the eradication of polio, a devastating vaccine-preventable disease