Rotary Club of Norwich, CT
April 22nd, 2026
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE:
Presiding: President Steve Martin
Invocation: Gary Young
STAND UP AND SHOUT AND GIVE GOOD CHEER
AS WE CELEBRATE OUR COUNTRY’S 250TH YEAR
THERE’S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND THAT GOD HAS A PLAN
WHEN OUR COUNTRYMEN AND THE BRITS DREW A LINE IN THE SAND
WE WON THAT WAR BUT IT WASN’T WITH EASE
AS OUR FIRST PERSIDENT GEORGE SPENT TIME ON HIS KNEES
HE PRAYED FOR OUR COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE WITHIN
THAT WE WOULD LIVE GODLY LIVES AVOIDING THE SIN
WE HAVE TRIED TO SHINE THE LIGHT BUT EVERYONE KNOWS
THAT AMERICA HAS HAD IT’S SHARE OF HIGHS AND LOWS
WE’VE BEEN GOVERNED BY MEN WHO CAN MAKE THE WRONG CHOICE
BY MEN WHO QUITE OFTEN DON’T LISTEN TO GOD’S VOICE
THAT’S WHY MORE THAN EVER AS TIME GOES BY
THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US SHOULD GIVE IT A TRY
AS WE LIVE IN A LAND BETWEEN TWO SHINING SEAS
LET US AL SPEND MORE TIME DOWN ON OUR KNEES
LET’S PRAY FOR THE FORST RESPONDERS, OUR FAMLIES AND TEACHERS
FOR OUR GOVERNMENT, FOR OUR MEDIA, OUR PASTORS AND PREACHERS
LET’S PRAY FOR HEALING, FORGIVENESS AND KINDNESS AT HEART
OUR PRAYERS WILL DO MIRACLES IF WE ALL TAKE PART
SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR COUNTRY ONE OF THE BEST NATIONS
AS WE SEEK THE LORD IN ALL GENERATIONS
AMEN
Fellowship: Nancy Gentes
Birthdays: Atalya Champalath – April 23rd
Anniversaries: None
Guests: Andy Nollman introduced Steph Rush. Mary Richardson welcomed Nicole Sweeny. Stan lucas brought Bobbie Braboy
Visiting Rotarians: Cal Lord from Westerly Rotary and Rocky Wagner from Plainfield Rotary
Nancy’s fellowship was some fun one liner’s on aging that drew great laughter. “When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only six!” – George Burns
Announcements:
The Whiskey, Wine and Cigar Event will take place once again this year on May 6th at Bella Fiore. Tickets are on sale NOW and can be purchased at https://www.norwichrotaryevents.org/ the goal this year is 80 attendees and $6,000.00 raised. Please consider supporting this event by buying a ticket, inviting a friend and be a sponsor! There are only 12 tickets left! Don’t be left out!
Native Son/Daughter luncheon will be coming up. Stay tuned for an announcement on date and recipient.
Rotary Day of Service is May 16th so mark your calendars and help pack meals at the United Methodist Church in Ledyard.
Please bring spare clean egg cartons and give them to Bonnie Johnson.
If you know of a speaker for one of our meetings, please contact Kevin Wickless or Alexis Kahn to get on the schedule.
If there is a Rotarian who is sick or going through a tough time let the Sunshine Committee know and contact Mary Richardson or Nancy Gentes.
*Reminder* as a courtesy to our guest speakers, guests and fellow members, Rotarians are strongly asked to silence all electronic devices during meetings.
Membership Minute: Stan Lucas
The membership committee has been working on a number of new members who will be inducted soon! He said that it’s important to invite guest speakers to the club as some have wanted to join the club after speaking to us. He thanked everyone for their efforts to grow our membership and share Rotary with others. Keep it up!
Happy Dollars: Mike Matera
Mike started things off by welcoming our guests. He said that last week he took is son Jonathan to New York City and visited all the important sites. He added that it was not a cheap day and if you visit the city be aware of scammers.
Andy Nollman gave $20.00 to welcome our guests. He’s looking forward to a weekend of camping with his wife to relax! The Whisky, Wine & Cigar event is now almost sold out. Get your tickets now! Only 12 tickets left! Get your tickets now! Seeing as today was Earth Day he told a story of attending a Scorpions concert on Earth Day years ago and had ringing in his ears for 3 days!
Cal Lord said he was glad to be back in Norwich and is happy to see so many old friends. He said it was 35 years ago when Norwich Rotarian Len Royce invited him to a meeting at the Rose Garden.
Steve Martin gave happy dollars to announce the arrival of this 3rd grandson.
Bill Champagne said that one of the biggest concerns by Rotary International is climate change. Good thing to take into consideration seeing its Earth Day. He reminded that the 1st Earth Day was in 1970. Bill gave an update on Pat Marshall. Pat has now completed most of her cancer treatments and is back at home. He thanked fellow Rotarian Bonnie Johnson for helping Pat get to her treatments and many other things during Pat’s fight with cancer.
Andy Grant welcomed Cal. He mentioned that his youngest daughter has been visiting and has been handing off the grandchild quite often to his delight!
Stan Lucas had a great visit to California last week with his family to see his son Mason. He got to tour around to places like San Francisco and Bodega Bay.
Rocky Wagner passed around some samples of his brother’s art work. He said the Plainfield Rotary Club will be sponsoring “America 250 Art Show and Lecture at Plainfield High School on June 30th. The David Wagner Historical Art Show is at 6pm and a lecture “Plainfield in the Revolutionary War” presented by Iris de Rode will follow at 7pm
Barry Shead gave happy dollars for our guests. He also announced the Grand Re-Opening of the ARC Emporium Thrift Store in Woodstock. The ribbon cutting will be May 1st at 2pm.
Mike Goldblatt welcomed all our guests and was happy to announce that his 2nd son Matt is getting married!
Auction: No Auction.
Lottery: Bill Champagne
Our guest Nicole Rush, Steve Martin and Stan Lucas drew cards to no avail.
Program: President Steve introduced our guest speaker Rocky Wagner from Blood Cancer United. Blood Cancer United believes everyone with blood cancer deserves a longer, better life. That’s why they are on a mission to cure blood cancer and improve the quality of life of all patients and their families. How? We fund life-saving blood cancer research around the world, provide free information and support services for patients and their families, and are the voice for those seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care. Blood Cancer United has invested more than $2 billion in groundbreaking research supporting many of today’s most innovative approaches to treatment—helping those with blood cancer not only survive but also thrive. Locally Blood Cancer United will be holding a fundraiser on April 27th at Mr. Z’s Restaurant, Rt. 12 in Plainfield “Dining for a Cause”. For more information log on to https://bloodcancerunited.org/
The meeting concluded with Rocky leading the club reciting the 4-Way Test at 1:00pm.
** Looking for volunteers to serve on The RONE committee. Contact Bob Reed (bobr@hallradio.net).**