Rotary Club of Norwich, CT
March 25th, 2026
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE:
Presiding: President Steve Martin
Invocation: Gary Young
Fellowship: Nancy Gentes Welcome back!
Birthdays: Mary Riley – 3/28
Anniversaries: Mary Richardson – 3/30 15 Years!
Guests: Kevin Wickless introduced Mike Cummins and Sikander Rana
Visiting Rotarians: None
Nancy’s fellowship was some little known facts about Saint. Patrick’s Day. Did you know that over 13 Million Pints of Guinness are served on Saint Patrick’s Day! Nancy followed up with some funny Irish jokes.
Announcements:
The Native Son/Daughter application form will be uploaded to the Rotary website soon. The deadline for nominations is April 7th.
The Whiskey, Wine and Cigar Event will take place once again this year on May 6th at Bella Fiore. Tickets will go on sale NOW and can be purchased at https://www.norwichrotaryevents.org/ 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!
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 encouraged to silence all electronic devices during meetings.
Membership Minute: Paul Gaffney
Paul read about a dozen names that were submitted as prospective members and encouraged any members that had any affiliation with these people to encourage then to come to a meeting as a guest.
Happy Dollars: Jen Granger
Jen welcomed our guests and welcomed Nancy Gentes back after an absence. She reminded that this is employee appreciation month and at UCFS they give the gift of time and allow their employees an hour of time off at their choosing.
Andy Nollman enjoyed his trip to visit his wife’s family in Virginia. He was able to see his grand-niece for the first time. Temps were in the 70’s and sunny! Today he was having new kitchen appliances delivered and was happy about that but sad that the cost of them blew his live concert budgets for the near future.
Bill Champagne said he attended at state conference for the 250th Anniversary of the country. He said state official suggested that Norwich tell the untold stories about African Americans.
Kevin Wickless thanked Jen Granger for doing a great job with Happy Dollars and all she does for the club including the Dictionary Project. He welcomed our guests and said that he now has a new dog that he adopted from his father and is now the mascot for the Wickless Law Firm!
Rodney Green said that Old Tymes is currently closed for repairs. He then told a story of a FedEx package that was delivered to his business but disappeared but was eventually found after some investigation.
Mike Matera just returned for Las Vegas. He said he made friends at the airport bar with an Irishman from Dublin that proved handy as he and his friends are planning a trip there later this year.
Stan Lucas told an interesting story of his recent visit to Costa Rica that included a trip through the mountains in a rent a car that was not up to the task. It included a dirt road that ended up leading nowhere!
Anna Lucas followed her dad’s tale saying that she had a conversation with her brother about their father’s exploits at the far corners of the earth that have become a concern. After not hearing from him for too long during his trip to Costa Rica, both finally came to terms that” Stan does what Stan wants to do” and they’re never going to change him!
Steve Martin said he attended the Rotary 4-Way Speech contest that local high school students take part in. He was really impressed with what he heard out of each student and said these are the future leaders and we’re in good hands.
Auction: Mary Richardson donated $20.00
Lottery: Bonnie Johnson
Tom Adams, Steve Martin and Paul Gaffney came forward and drew cards. Paul found the ACE!
Program: No Program today.
The meeting concluded with Bonnie Johnson leading the club reciting the 4-Way Test at 12:52pm.
** Looking for volunteers to serve on The RONE committee. Contact Bob Reed (bobr@hallradio.net).**