Rotary Club of Norwich, CT
February 11th, 2026
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE:
Presiding: President Steve Martin
Invocation: Cara Westcott
DEAR LORD THANK YOU FOR THIS BRIGHT BUT COLD DAY,
BLESS THIS FOOD TO OUR BODIES AND BLESS THE ROTARY WAY.
FEBRUARY CAME IN WITH A RUCH OF COLD AND SNOW,
THE GROUNDHOG SAW HIS SHADOW SO WE HAVE A FEW MORE WEEKS OF WINTER TO GO.
BUT REMEMBER THAT LOVE WILL BRING US TOGETHER NO MATTER WHAT,
TAKE TIME THIS WEEKEND TO TELL YOUR VALENTINE YOUR DEEPEST THOUGHTS,
NEXT WEEK WE WILL CELEBRATE THE US PRESIDENTS WHO CAME BEFORE US,
LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL IN THIS COUNTRY HAS LONG BEEN A MUST.
RAY IS HERE TO SHARE SOME OF HIS WITTY PUNS,
NO MATTER THE SEASON HE ALWAYS GETS IT DONE.
THINK TO WARMER DAYS AND OUR PROJECTS TO COME,
A PARADE TO MARCH, BLOOD DRIVE AND THE EPIC DAY OF SERVICE TO BE DONE.
JOIN ME AS WE BOW OUR HEADS TO THE LORD AND LIFT OUR HEARTS,
THANK YOU FOR THE FELLOWSHIP AND THAT AS ROTARIANS WE CAN DO OUR PART.
Fellowship: Ray Baribeault
Birthdays: Kathryn Tracey – 2/13 and Mike Cooney – 2/14
Anniversaries: None
Guests: Lucas Kaiser from Norwich Community Development
Visiting Rotarians: None
Ray’s Fellowship was you guessed it…. Puns! “What does a body do in cold weather? It goes undercover!” Many more followed to the delight of all in attendance!
Announcements:
The Rotary Day of Service will be on May 16th. Stay tuned for details on where and when it will take place.
The St. Patrick’s Parade will take place on March 8th in Downtown Norwich. Anna Lucas will coordinate our Rotary Club’s participation in the event. Sign up to participate! Mike Goldblatt will have 2 classic cars for Rotarians to ride in for the parade.
The Whiskey, Wine and Cigar Event will take place once again this year on May 6th at Bella Fiore. Tickets will go on sale on March 6th. This year’s goal is 80 attendees and $6,000.00 raised. Please consider supporting this event by buying a ticket, inviting a friend and be a sponsor!
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.
Membership Minute: Paul Gaffney
Paul had a brief message of “Let’s keep it going!”
Happy Dollars: Mike Matera
Mike started things off that he is happy for the warmer weather so managing all his properties will be easier without worrying about frozen pipes and plowing parking lots!
Steve Martin said his granddaughter attended the Super Bowl and he’s looking forward to seeing all her photos of the event. He’s also happy to be heading to warmer climate in Florida later this week!
Andrew Nollman was sad that his New England Patriots came up a little short in the Super Bowl, but was very grateful that his team had such a great season and the future look bright for next season!
Kevin Wickless said he visited the childhood home of Paul Harris in Wallingford, VT and encouraged all to stop and visit there if in that area. It’s not far from Rutland, VT.
Gary Young said to bring a guest to next week’s meeting as he has something special planned!
Cara Westcott was sorry to say that her father-in-law died last week and her father is very sick in the hospital as well. Keep all in your thoughts and prayers. She also reported that the UCFS Annual Golf Tournament has changed the venue and time of year this year. This year’s tournament will be at Lake of Isles on Monday August 17th, 2026. Mark your calendars as it will be one you don’t want to miss.
Paul Gaffney said he read an article in The Day newspaper about Stan Lucas and his daughter Anna purchasing the Flatiron Building in Downtown Norwich. He also heard from Roz Etra that her knee replacement went well.
Auction: No Auction today.
Lottery: Bonnie Johnson
Ray Baribeault, Tom Adams and Kathryn Tracey could not find the Ace of Spades. Mike Matera won Barry’s ARC Cookies! He shared them all of course!
Program: No Program today.
The meeting concluded with Bonnie Johnson leading the club reciting the 4-Way Test at 12:32pm.** Looking for volunteers to serve on The RONE committee. Contact Bob Reed (bobr@hallradio.net