Club Meeting- April 11, 2017

Posted by Charles Roumas on Apr 14, 2017
 
Club Meeting April 11, 2017
 
Opening and Welcome:  President Jackie Guzie opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and the recitation of the Rotary Four-Way Test. Luis Lee gave the invocation and led the club singing of “God Bless America”.
 
Members Present: Dale Baker, Gayle Demko, Gail Handley, Richard Kisiel, Jon Kozloski, Luis Lee,  Robert Lowell, Don Miner, Jack Muska, Paul Pace, Ray Perleoni, Jay Presser, Donald Rawling, Charles Roumas, Gordon Stagg,  Nancy Viggiano and Tami Zawistowski.  (17/35….48.6%).
 
Guests: Rotary Student of the Month Madison Fahle and her parents, Patti and Brant; Project Keep Me Safe speakers Sue Davis and Jill Caron; Pam Lupoli- Rotary Assistant Governor- District 7890; and an appearance by Honorary Suffield Rotarian Dottie McCarty.
 
Announcements:
  • President Jackie Guzie announced the last weekly meeting this season at this location is April 26. Commencing May 2, the meetings will return to Suffield Country Club.
  • Sergeant At Arms Gail Handley informed all members Frank DiGennaro sends his regards and looks forward to coming back soon from operation recovery.
  • Assistant Governor Pam Lupoli mentioned two upcoming Rotary events: April 28-30 in Providence RI is the Multi-District (7890, 7919, 7950, and 7980) Rotary Conference at the RI Convention Center attached to the Omni Hotel. Also, May 5 is a Wine and Beer tasting fund-raiser in Windsor Locks in conjunction with the Windsor Chamber of Commerce and the Windsor/Windsor Locks Rotary Clubs.
Program: Tonight, Jackie introduced two programs:
  1. Congratulations to April Rotary Student of the Month Madison Fahle! :  Madison thanked her parents, Patti and Brant, and the Rotary members for this honor. She described herself as someone who has a “love for being busy”, and has harnessed and has directed that energy toward her academics, athletics, and most importantly to her, working with special needs students and those with intellectual development challenges. She described her first day at SHS as one where she entered as a well-dressed, timid freshman, nervous to join or interact with others. She was welcomed and graciously received, and transformed herself into the captain of the Lacrosse team (and a midfielder), and an outspoken activist for Best Buddies, a student group focused on the inclusion and interaction with special students. Her eyes were especially opened to the world by her “buddy” James and her work at the Writing Center at school. Also critical to her journey were her life experiences for 8 months as an intern at CT Children’s Medical Center, especially in physical therapy and sports medicine. As a result, Madison will be attending Merrimac University to study Health Sciences and Athletic Training, and hopes to integrate her knowledge of developmental disabilities into her curriculum. The Rotary members are looking forward to her positive impact on our world post-graduation and congratulated her on her spirit and selflessness.
 
  1. Project Keep Me Safe – Presentation by Sue Davis and Jill Caron: This non-profit group (The Foundation for Exceptional Children- FECS) was founded in 2017 by these Suffield women. Its overarching mission has three purposes - all related to special needs individuals with a particular emphasis on the autistic community: a) Create community wide awareness, b) Provide information to all First Responders (EMS, Police, Fire Dept) on how to interact with special needs children and adults, and c) Better serve their individual needs. The State of CT has several unfunded impending mandates on the Town regarding the care and servicing of these individual citizens, and FECS is working on filling that servicing gap through a fund-raising program called Project Keep Me Safe.  FECS will be submitting a letter to the Rotary Giving Committee on their individual events and the sponsorship monies requested (a portion of their critical $4000 efforts).  The members were grateful for their work and the information conveyed.
 
 Blue Ticket Winners: Luis Lee had the winning blue ticket, with sides won by Jon Kozloski and Jack Muska.
 
Queen of Hearts: Richard Kisiel had the winning red ticket for the second week in a row, but did not select the Queen of Hearts. Next week’s pot is $150+.
 
Birthdays and Anniversaries: None
 
Adjournment: Jackie Guzie adjourned the meeting leading “God Bless America” as the closing song.
 
Minutes recorded by Charles Roumas, Secretary on April 11, 2017.
 
Next week's meeting will include the Mower raffle drawing and a presentation by Suffield Schools Superintendent Karen Berasi.