Club Meeting April 10, 2018
Opening and Welcome: President Richard Kisiel 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, Joe Blake, Gayle Demko, Frank DiGennaro, Natalie Donais, Gail Handley, Greg Heineman, Richard Kisiel, Jon Kozloski, Luis Lee, Robert Lowell, Don Miner, Jack Muska, Roger Pratt, Donald Rawling, Charles Roumas and Nancy Viggiano. (17/33…51.5%).
Guests: Heather Lee- wife of Rotarian Luis Lee; Joey LaValla- April Student of the Month Recipient, and his parents Joe and Amber LaValla.
Announcements: President Kisiel made several announcements:
-The Paul Harris Award Dinner date is set for June 26, 2018 here at the Seasons Restaurant. The committee has made its selection(s). A sign-up list will be available shortly. Please mark this important event in your member calendar.
-Suffield Rotary will be attending the Hartford Yard Goats baseball game at Dunkin Park in Hartford on Tuesday June 12, 2018. This is in place of our regular Tuesday meeting that week. Currently we have 18 signed up. Roger Pratt has the attendance commitment sheet. Please contact him ASAP to secure your tickets. Currently, they cost $13 per person. This is a group discount price requiring a minimum 25 attendees. Friends and family of Rotarians are welcome to join us! Thank you Roger for arranging this fun event.
-The Rotary meeting weekly venue changes back to Suffield Country Club effective Tuesday May 1st meeting through October. Don Rawling will give a presentation that night on agri-business in Suffield and Hartford County that evening.
-The Suffield Rotary Board met tonight prior to our regular meeting. Among the items discussed or acted upon were the following:
(a) New members will soon be sponsored for application. Luis Lee is sponsoring Rev. Thomas G Carr; Gayle Demko is sponsoring Jackie Hemond; and Dick Kisiel is following up on Dr. Christina Fitch who visited us several times. This will help us achieve our membership goal.
(b) The Board approved $634 towards the cost of sponsoring the SHS History Club Academic Quiz team, which has meritoriously qualified within New England for the Washington DC Regionals. Good luck to our students!
(c) Suffield Rotary Club has a revised Constitution and By-Laws draft that will be distributed to members electronically for their review and comment; Changes made will be shown in red colored text. The last revision was ten years prior, thus this draft better reflects today’s community and service environment. Gail Handley commented to members that Jay Presser, accompanied by Dick Kisiel, did a yeoman’s job in revising this document! The Board fine-tuned the draft tonight, and is expecting members to do the same to these important documents.
PROGRAM: Former Rotary VP Joe Blake was pleased to introduce our April Rotary Student of the Month Joey LaValla. Congratulations Joey! Joe described our honoree student as a true “Renaissance Man” due to his diversity of interests and talents and his deep desire to be of service to others.
Remarks by RSOM Joseph LaValla: Joey (his preferred nickname) shared with our members some of his comprehensive accomplishments, but noted he was humbled and thankful by this recognition. His National Honor Society service projects, such as the Food Drive Volleyball Marathon, resulted in record contributions to worthy organizations. He is also especially proud of excelling in leadership as Captain of the SHS Track Team, and also his involvement in the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy. He is currently deciding on matriculation to either Worcester Polytechnic Institute or Clemson University with a focus on biotechnology. The members also lauded his parents for their guidance in his success.
Blue Ticket Winners: Bob Lowell had the winning blue ticket, with sides won by Don Miner and Roger Pratt.
Queen of Hearts: Dale Baker had the winning red ticket but did not select the Queen of Hearts. Total winning pot now stands at $270+.
Birthdays and Anniversaries: The Club recognized Don Miner’s 25 years of service to Suffield Volunteer Ambulance.
Adjournment: President Kisiel closed the meeting with a group singing of “ My Country ‘Tis of Thee”.
Minutes recorded by Charles Roumas, VP on April 10, 2018.
Next week’s meeting (April 17) will be an informative talk by HealthTrax management on fitness/ golfing readiness tips for players of all ages.