Club Meeting- May 16, 2017

 

Opening and Welcome:  President Jackie Guzie opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and the recitation of the Rotary Four-Way Test. Scott Seabury gave the invocation and led the singing of “God Bless America”.

 

Members Present: Gil Ahrens, Dale Baker, Jed Dery, Greg DeSantis, Frank DiGennaro, Jackie Guzie, Heidi Huhn Partain, Richard Kisiel, Jon Kozloski, Luis Lee, Robert Lowell, Karen Mason, Clark Mason, Don Miner, Jack Muska, Paul Pace, Jay Presser, Donald Rawling, Charles Roumas, Scott Seabury, and Gordon Stagg. (21/35….60%).

 

Guests: None

 

 

-Jackie Guzie conveyed to members the start of the annual Rotary Foundation fund-raising, coordinated by Jay Presser. All checks must be made payable to the Rotary Foundation. Goals for amounts would be discussed in Dick Kisiel’s program.

 

-Jon Kozloski reported on his District 7890 conference attendance on May 10. He was quite satisfied with his new member orientation, and encouraged all members to visit other club’s weekly or monthly meetings to meet new Rotarians and get a cross-pollination of ideas.

 

- NEW MEMBER INDUCTION CEREMONY:

 

Jackie introduced Membership Chair Luis Lee to induct our newest member, Donald Rawling of Suffield. Don is a senior credit analyst at Farm Credit East in Enfield, and a native of Durham, CT with a strong educational and financial background.  Luis Lee spoke eloquently from his heart about Don’s character and also the importance the service of individuals such as Don can bring to our club and our community. Congratulations Don!

 

 

President-Elect Richard Kisiel conducted this overarching presentation and discussion. He handed out to all members present an overview of our preliminary Membership Goal, Foundation Goal, and 13 other possible club goals for 2017-2018 fiscal year and beyond. This document had been sent by him electronically a week or so earlier to our entire membership, with the expectation members would be given a fair opportunity to provide their feedback.

 

Before describing the specifics, it should be noted that both Gordon Stagg and Paul Pace wanted to publicly acknowledge and applaud Dick Kisiel’s efforts to date in formalizing a club strategic plan and look forward to his leadership and implementation of it.

 

Membership goal: Achieve a net gain of 3 or more members in 12 months. Currently, the club has 35 active members. This goal was approved by the Board in advance of this meeting, and appeared reasonable to the members. Dick suggested that all new members inducted should be written about in the local newspapers.  He also suggested all members should be thinking about potential talent that can add to our ongoing service accomplishments. Robert Lowell mentioned that historically meeting attendance has averaged 50-60% on a weekly basis, and that continues to be true. Frank DiGennaro asked we identify members who do not attend regularly. (Secretary’s note:  Fortunately, all but two of our active members attend at least 1-2 meetings monthly; the alternating of that attendance leads to the 50-60% figure. The President or President-elect will speak with the non-attendees about their future commitment to Rotary.)

 

Foundation Goal: $2,000 annually, approved already by the Board.  Currently, we are only at $600 in 2016-2017, but Jay Presser as Past President and Foundation liaison is starting the serious solicitation now. In July, Jackie Guzie will be Past President and assume this key role. The number is very reasonable, and members will be educated on the value of this donation separate from our membership dues. Any amount given is and will always be appreciated; historically this has averaged $100 per person.

 

Other Possible Club Goals: 13 were presented as part of Dick’s plan. Instead of listing these below, it is best to summarize the consensus of member feedback, and also specific requests of Dick to our members:

 

-Gil Ahrens and others suggested the goal list be culled down to 6-7 major goals and bring others underneath as related subsets, thus narrowing the focus to an achievable result, or the ability to view club progress easily.

 

-Everyone agreed three formal club find-raisers should be identified in advance and planned for in the next fiscal year. To date, the club is planning the annual Packard Golf Tourney and the Suffield on the Green Chicken BBQ. This past year, the third fund raiser was the Zero Turn Lawn Mower Raffle, and in a prior year it was a Wine Tasting event honoring Elaine O’Brien’s memory. Identification of this year’s third event will be a top priority of the Board and members in July.

 

-Scott Seabury commented that a common theme across all goals is ensuring proper communication amongst all members is vital. This led to a discussion on what those channels should be. As incoming Secretary, Gayle Demko has asked Cat Morrow to upgrade the club website, Facebook Page and all social media. Cat has graciously accepted that role, and Don Rawling has agreed to assist Cat in any way. For some members, e-mail is still the primary communication tool, and our club officers must recognize that and ensure expeditious release of info.

 

-Dale Baker encouraged us to focus on solid advance planning of substantive programs at our weekly meetings. This involves clarity on whose responsibility it is to schedule the programs. The suggestion of a formal Program Chair was well received.

 

-Commencing in July, Dick will expand and clarify the formation of specific committee structures within the club. Currently, there is a Giving Committee, a Scholarship Selection Committee, and a Golf Tourney Committee. Other events have had ad hoc leaders, such as Karen Mason on the seniors’ Sand and Salt program, which have always been appreciated. As part of this structural clarity, Dick has asked Jack Muska, Ken Pascoe and Jon Kozloski to work together as a financial arm to prepare and present our new year’s budget, and educate members quarterly on our funds status and designation.

 

-Lastly, the club’s focus on service projects must be defined into local and international efforts. Suffield Rotary will support The Guatemalan Clean Water project and the Somers-led BioSand water filter projects internationally. Paul Pace suggested we look at socioeconomically needy persons and projects within Hartford County as well. Dick also mentioned Gayle Demko’s focus on grants and suggestions for Suffield projects that would bring the whole community together. Greg DeSantis felt our SHS group, Interact could also be incorporated better with our efforts.

 

The Board thanks the membership for such a valuable and engaging discussion.

 

Blue Ticket Winners: Jay Presser had the winning blue ticket, with sides won by Don Miner and Frank DiGennaro.

 

Queen of Hearts: Jed Dery had the winning ticket, but did not select the Queen of Hearts. Next week’s pot is $252+.

 

Birthdays and Anniversaries: The club was pleased to celebrate the wedding anniversary of Robert Lowell and Linda Stevenson, and in absentia, Ken and Paula Pascoe’s on an anniversary getaway.

 

Adjournment: Jackie Guzie adjourned the meeting with the assistance of Scott Seabury leading “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” as the closing song.

 

The next meeting is May 23, 2017 with no formal program announced yet. June’s meetings will include a Rotary Student of the Month, the Paul Harris Award Dinner and induction of new officers on June 27, and tentatively a club financial presentation/ prelim budget –date TBD.

 

Minutes recorded by Charles Roumas, Secretary on May 16, 2017.