Rotary Club of Norwich
January 6th, 2021
Location-ZOOM Meeting
THE RONE
Presiding: President Mary Richardson
Invocation: Rodney Green read a moving poem that his brother sent him.
Fellowship: Susy Hurlbert
Birthdays: Jim Daly 1/10 & Gary Young 1/12
Anniversaries: Ted Phillips 38 years
Visiting Rotarians: None
Guests: None
Susy gave a fellowship with some fun New Year’s resolutions that she may or may not keep!
Announcements:
*There will be a Board Meeting next Wednesday before the regular meeting.
*The Benji Fund applications are now uploaded to the Rotary Webpage with information.
*If you know of anyone who would be a good speaker at one of our Rotary Meetings contact Bob Farwell or Kevin Wickless. Speakers can be done virtual (ZOOM) as well if needed.
*President Mary informed the club that meeting for the foreseeable future will be held via ZOOM and no “In Person” meeting will take place at the Marriott until further notice. A link will be emailed to all members to log on to for the Wednesday Meetings.
*Mary Richardson informed Jack Solomon and DG Kevin Reich are requesting our help this Saturday, January 9th from 9AM – noon. They will meet at 117 Ziegler Road, Hampton, CT and will assist in labeling boxes of PPE masks that will be distributed throughout New England.
*Mike and Jim are working on nomination of officers for next year and it is a work in progress.
*President Mary suggested members invite guests to our meeting even though we a Zooming the meetings. We should still invite guests.
Happy Dollars: Nancy Gentes:
Nancy started things off with a big thank you to fellow Rotarian Andy Nollman for he and Rose City Financial Services covering the 2021 dues for Madonna Place for the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce!
Jim Daly wished everyone a Happy New Year!
Bill Champagne gave ten sad dollars in memory of Jason Vincent who died last week and said how helpful Jason was with the development of the Uncas Leap Project and was always helpful to the Norwich Historical Society. He also said he stopped by the new Bakery Sweet Mama’s and spent some of last week’s auction item gift card. He said the food was great and the people there are super nice!
Rodney Green is happy to have his wife Lucille by his side! He also gave to remember Jason and said he was a man that got things done!
Mike Cooney had his daughter Katie on the Zoom meeting and said she made cookies and stayed with her Uncle last week and enjoyed playing with his puppy!
Mary Richardson said she plans to stay away from “negative” people this coming year and stay close to “Positive” people! The exact opposite of Covid! She also say’s if feels so funny to enter the bank with a mask on!
Andrew Nollman gave in memory of Jason Vincent. Andy enjoyed working with him when he was the President of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce.
Bob Reed had sad dollars in memory of Jason Vincent.
Gary Young reminded us he lives in a very old home that has been in his family for 160 years and he finally installed a new dishwasher! Once he finally learned how it worked it runs fine. Gary also wished everyone a Happy New Year!
Jen Granger wished everyone a Happy New Year and also gave some great information on the Covid Vaccine. She said her holiday were so different this year not being able to get together with her entire family. She did see her mom & dad however.
Susy Hurlbert gave $30.00 for Jason Vincent and enjoyed working with him in Stonington where he was town planner. Susy was also happy to be selling and closing on her villa at the Norwich Inn. She doubled her money in a short time and can now use the profits to buy a new home in the area!
Kathryn Tracey gave for her Cat!
Joel Etra has had to call the fire department when he has fallen out of his wheelchair in the past. Most recently Gary Young has come to his rescue and he’s very appreciative!
Bob Farwell gave for Jason Vincent. Bob’s also happy football is over and the Cardinals finished 8-8.
Anna Perch was thankful that so many alum’s from NFA have been so generous and have steped up to help make the fundraising goals.
Barry Shead gave $20.00 for Jason Vincent and enjoyed working with him on the Uncas Leap and the sign projects around town. Barry was also happy the clouds parted enough to see Jupiter and Saturn crossing each other and won’t have to wait another 700 years to see it again!
Ray Baribault had happy dollars to remember Jason Vincent. Ray also said his dad was not feeling well and they thought it might be Covid. The test came back negative and he was still feeling ill. Ended up being his gall bladder and it’s going to have to come out!
Theresa Madonna gave to remind members to be generous to the soup kitchen as the food need is greater than ever due to the pandemic and people are hurting.
Auction: No Auction.
Lottery:
Mary Richardson had the following information on how the lottery will be handled while we are meeting virtually. Mary is proposing to do this Lottery for the time period we are meeting on Zoom. We will return to our traditional 50/50 Red Ticket Lottery when we are able to meet in person again.
A reminder that the lottery monies collected benefit our community partners. Examples are
Otis Library, The ARC, Madonna Place, UCFS, The Haitian Health Foundation, RCC projects like the Greenville Playground, and many, many more.
At each Zoom meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to pledge one dollar (or more) to the Lottery. No money is needed at this time. I will keep track of your pledges.
You may still participate even if you are not attending the Zoom meetings. Please email me with your pledge amount. My address is mrichardson@burnettslandscaping.com
When we are able to meet in person again, those that have participated will now pay their pledged money. We will draw a name out of a hat to see who shares 50% of the total. The other 50% will be available for distribution to our community partners as the Board of Directors determines.
Program: There was no scheduled program, however Bob Farwell gave an update on how the Otis Library is handling the “Digital Gap” brought on by the pandemic. Schools and older citizens are the most affected. He urged anyone who is having trouble accessing the internet to call the library and make an appointment to go over options that are available. The Otis has access to10 Chromebooks and 10 Hotspots. Many have lost internet access due to job losses or being homebound. All inquiries at totally confidential.
The club ended with the group saying the 4-Way Test.
President Mary adjourned the meeting at 1:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bob Reed – RONE Reporter