President Mary called the club to order promptly at noon, or so.
Invocation: Taking a momentary break from his repast, Barry provided a thoughtful invocation and changing guises, introduced:
Fellowship: There were no birthdays espied, but two anniversaries were acknowledged, Mike Goldblatt, 36 years, and esteemed president Mary, 10 years. Barry recounted his father’s senior prank in high school, crowning the fountain at the Putnam Hotel with an outhouse, and continuing the theme shared a gent’s reminiscences of outhouse tipping in Missouri. The mesmerized audience offered a hearty round of applause.
Announcements: The club’s district grant of $3,000 was approved and will provide Madonna Place and St.Vincent DePaul with diapers. There is a club board meeting next Wednesday, April 14 and Kevin Reich will speak to the club on that day. Madonna Place’s Trivial Pursuit event is scheduled for April 30 and the Rotary golf tournament is set for September 1. Suggestions for meeting speakers and guests are encouraged. For the former, contact Bob Farwell, (a.k.a. me) or Kevin Wickless.
Happy Dollars with Rodney!: Rodney recounted the challenges of booking trips and a visit to Arlington National Cemetary to visit the graves of former Old Tymes patrons. Protocols for exiting proved challenging! Enjoyed dinner with friends and will not be visiting Aruba this year. Gary Young effused over his homemade chicken soup complemented by a piece of Rodney’s blueberry pie! Nancy Gentes celebrated her grandson’s 13th birthday and her second vaccination. Huzzah! Jim Daly welcomed golf at Mohegan Sun and is easing into retirement. Bill Champagne will miss next week’s meeting as he undergoes arthroscopic knee surgery. The Norwich Race Equity Committee’s next program will be on Tuesday, April 27 at 7 p.m. with Christopher Faison and an associate. Kathryn Tracey contributed for her father-in-law who suffered a stroke but was recovering and scheduled to return home shortly. President Mary welcomed the day’s speakers from Martin House wished Bill success in his surgery and wished Jim Daly well with his retirement schedule. Annah Perch announced that she lost 20 lbs. by fasting and an excellent response by donors to NFA’s annual appeal. She has a plethora of NFA face masks for sale. Susy Hurlbut was grateful for her daughter’s condominium purchase and hoped to have matters with her own cleared up soon. She also purchased a Zodiac-the boat, not the astrology chart-and will soon be skimming about lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water. Andy Nollman reported an event-filled weekend highlighted by a successful trip to the New Hampshire state liquor store and the satisfaction engendered by a freshly stocked liquor cabinet. Despite the strain of this adventure he also found the energy to perform yard work.
Auction: No, perhaps another time. $20 was contributed in lieu of an item.
Program: Paula Oberg & Cara-Lynn Turner, Martin House. Paula and Cara-Lynn described the history and goals of Martin House. Martin House was founded in 1982 in response to the growing number of homeless men and women in the Norwich – New London area because of discharges from the Norwich Hospital due to deinstitutionalization. Residents who live at Martin House can achieve personal fulfillment and develop a foundation from which to go on to secure permanent housing. They learn life skills and pursue goals that will enable them to become valued members of the community in which they live and work.
The meeting closed with a flawless recitation of the Four-Way Test. No lip-syncing was observed.