RONE
Date September 16, 2026
Reporter: Mary Richardson
Presiding: Stan Lucas
Invocation: Margarida for Mandy
A Moment of Silence was held for our friend, Brenda McDonald who passed away suddenly on Sunday, September 13th.
Birthdays: Susy Hurlbert September 19th.
Anniversaries: Bonnie Johnson September 26th.
Fellowship: Michael Vaz shared important happenings from this date:
September 16th is World Ozone Day, established by the United Nations in 1987.
General Motors was founded on this day in 1908.
This is National Guacamole Day!
In 1620, the Mayflower set sail from Plymouth, England carrying the Pilgrims to America.
Muhammed Ali defeated Leon Spinks on this day in 1978.
Last, but not least, Play-Doh was introduced to the market in 1956!
Membership Minute: Paul Gaffney handed out Norwich Rotary Recruitment slips that can be given to prospective members. Girard Ford is looking to be a Corporate Member!
Announcements:
Celebrate Cultural Diversity will be held on Monday, September 28th. Please see Roz if you are able to help set up earlier in the day.
Bonnie is still collecting egg cartons. J
If you have an idea for a speaker, please contact Kevin Wickless or Mandy Crispim.
Bob Reed needs help with RONE reporting. Thank you to Paul Gaffney and Mandy Crispim for agreeing to help!
Happy Dollars: with Andy Grant. Andy gave for the Tommy Toy Fund challenge and told a college story.
Mary Richardson was decked out in Holiday pins and reminded everyone about the Tommy Toy Fund challenge.
Steve Martin congratulated the club on a successful golf outing.
Jim O’Shea attended his father’s memorial service.
Rodney Green also talked about the golf outing. The Chestnut Street Players golf tournament is coming up soon.
Michael Vaz offered his condolences for Brenda McDonald. There will be a food truck event at Dodd Stadium on September 26th. Michael thanked Margarida for her help in purchasing a condo.
Bill Champagne talked about Walktober and had calendars to hand out. On October 3rd, he will be leading a walk at Uncas Leap with a Mohegan Tribe member.
Mike Matera offered his condolences for Brenda, and gave thanks to the golf outing committee.
Margarida Martins-Querido gave an update on the very successful Maritime Heritage Festival held recently in New London. She attained her goal of adding diversity to the event.
Susy Hurlbert said that she got “in trouble” for laughing at the golfers during the tournament. She also told us about hearing Sahil Bloom speak at a recent conference. His book, The 5 Types of Wealth reveals the importance of: Time Wealth, Social Wealth, Mental Wealth, Physical Wealth, and Financial Wealth.
Mike Cooney presented Paul Gaffney with a certificate for a driver he won at the Rotary golf outing.
Nancy Gentes contributed to the Tommy Toy Fund and has Brenda in her thoughts.
Stan Lucas thanked Andy Grant for his enthusiasm!
Auction: None this week.
Lottery with Barry: Jim O’Shea, Roz, and Mike Matera all drew with no success in finding the Ace. Susy got the cookies and happily shared.
Speaker / Program: None today.
We closed the meeting with The Four Way Test.