A hearty band of Rotarian gathered at Brown Park for an alfresco club meeting and Peace Pole dedication. Past President and current President in waiting Mary Richardson called the meeting to order promptly at about 12:15.
Gary Young reprised one of his invocations, which was as always well received.
Guests-The club welcomed Reverend Lynell Axon, President of the R.C.C.
Fellowship-In observance of the Peace Pole dedication Bob F. shared a selection from Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Peace on Earth” sermon which ended with the admonition “we must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools.”
Announcements-Roz reported on Celebrate Cultural Diversity. About 300 people attended and it was a wonderful evening. Mary noted that groups from Queens and Danbury participated. There were many positive comments and of course multiple huzzahs! for Barry as the Lottie Scott Diversity Award recipient . Mary also noted that Jenny Hubbard of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, would be attending the dedication. Other announcements: the R.C.C. will sponsor a Disc Golf competition on October 22 from 9-2 p.m.
Happy Dollars with Rodney: Rodney, Mary and Gary were all happy that they did not purchase high-priced grinders for lunch! Barry was grateful that so many members of his family-wife, two sons and grandchildren among them-were able to attend the award ceremony at Celebrate Diversity. Our guest Reverend Axon was grateful for her invitation to be part of the re-dedication. Rodney was happy for the success of Celebrate Diversity. Mike Cooney congratulated Barry and announced that Katie’s new favorite food was Rodney’s catfish! Bill Champagne was happy he was able to drive Lottie to Celebrate Diversity and deliver home before the rain started! Mike Matera was very pleased with the results of the recent Amber Alert, and described a great outing to Fenway Park with his son. Barry returned to the subject of catfish and allowed that he loved it, especially Rodney’s. He also mused that he might indulge in catfish and eggs for breakfast. Garry described the status of two essential Yankee’s players, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. (Judge’s pursuit of 61 home runs in 154 games is an objective even an unnamed Red Sox fan can appreciate.) Rodney marveled at Lottie’s status as a local celebrity. Even the repainting of her house made the local papers!
The conclusion of the meeting was followed by the dedication of the Peace Poles. Originally erected in 2017, Norwich’s Peace Poles are situated in a corner of Howard T. Brown Memorial Park, across from the marina. The inscriptions on the poles reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in 30 languages, including Irish (Gaelic), English, Hindi, Polish and Punjabi, representing the languages spoken in Norwich. Wednesday’s dedication marked the International Day of Peace. Highlights of the ceremony included solos by Carroll Mailhot, an invocation by Reverend Axson, introductory remarks by Roz Etra, a proclamation read by Mayor Peter Nystrom and closing remarks by city council member Swaranjit Singh Khalsa. Norwich middle school students reading essays about peace, followed by a brief presentation by Jennifer Hubbard, president of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary. The Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary was created in 2013 in honor of Catherine Violet Hubbard, a six-year-old killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Ms. Hubbard donated local plants from the sanctuary’s pollinator garden to help create a pollinator garden at the poles.