Rotary Club of Norwich, CT
March 4th, 2026
Location-Bella Fiore
THE RONE:
Presiding: President Steve Martin
Invocation: Barry Shead
Fellowship: Barry Shead
Birthdays: Mary Richardson – 3/1
Anniversaries: Paul Blanchard 3/9-13 years. Erin Gizio 3/9-9 years. Atalia Champalath 3/12-1 year.
Guests: Jennifer Kugler and Catherine Ray
Visiting Rotarians: None
Barry’s fellowship was some little known history facts on George Washington in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our country. George’s mother was struck by lightning the day she gave birth to George. A young 10 year old George inherited slaves. He was shot 4 times and his coat had the holes to prove it and he was unharmed. George was also owner of one of the largest whisky distilleries in the country. When George was sick and in his last days a doctor came drew blood to cure him (bloodletting was common in those days). In the afternoon another doctor did the same thing without realizing the procedure had already been done earlier that day. George died a short time later.
Announcements:
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. Show up at the parking Lot behind Ascend Bank at 11:30 to march with the Rotarians. Mike Goldblatt will have 2 classic cars for Rotarians to ride in for the parade. A party will follow at 280 Broadway to celebrate and is open to all Rotarians and guests even if you don’t march in the parade.
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 at 10am on March 6th 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.
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: Stan Lucas
Stan said there is one new application in the pipeline and let’s keep up the recruiting efforts.
Happy Dollars: Jen Granger
Jen said that she has heard from Mike Gordon and he’s home after a long stay rehabbing at Bridebrook for 7 long months. She was also proud to announce that her board, staff and volunteers worked hard over the recent snow storms at St. Mark’s Church providing meals for the needy.
Anna Lucas was thrilled to announce that her son was accepted to UConn with a full scholarship!
Steve Martin had a great time golfing at Disney last week!
Michael Vaz said his 34 wedding anniversary was a couple of weeks ago. Sadly his wife passed away a couple of years ago. Mike also shared that his mom died on February 27th. He reminded Rotarians about the “Seeds of Hope” fundraiser to benefit the Thames River Community Service on April 30th at The Spa at Norwich Inn. He said it will be an inspiring evening to support a great organization in our community and would appreciate members supporting if possible.
Mike Cooney said his daughter Katie is excited that softball will be starting soon as he found a softball in the snow that she’s been tossing to get ready! His son Matt is celebrating a birthday and is 13 years old. He forbids him to grow any taller as he’s taller than Mike now!
Gary Young gave $10.00 to say he’s getting a haircut so he now will not be mistaken for Stan Lucas for a while. He also shared that when he went to UConn it wasn’t on a scholarship and cost $880.00.
Mike Goldblatt welcomed our guests and shared he also attended UConn to study accounting and the wisdom he got from one of his professors has helped him over his 54 years in the profession. He will bring a 42 Caddie and a 56 Caddie to the parade. Just as to dig out a path go get them out of the garage!
Rodney Green is happy warm weather is in the forecast and said he wants to get his handicap below 10 this season.
Susy Hurlbert welcomed the good weather. She had a great visit to Las Vegas last week to a realtor’s conference. Some of the speakers featured former Press Secretaries for Trump and Biden and a few politicians.
Mandy Crispim said she will be away from Rotary until late May as she’s scheduled for some surgery. We all wish her a speedy recovery.
Margarida Martins-Querido told a funny story of her husband procrastinating about leaving the house on time only to make it worse with him misplacing his ID. It was eventually found on his pants “Secret Pocket.” She did not know that all guys have a secret pocket!
Stan announced that he was a millionaire as he showed a 5 million Costa Rican Colon bank note. He then followed up that it’s worth 9 US Dollars! He shared that his recent visit to Costa Rica was fun with his son and daughter.
Auction: Mike Matera donated.
Lottery: Bonnie Johnson
Susy Hurlbert drew first to no avail. Mike Matera was next and he found the Ace of Spades! Congratulations Mike! Our guest Catherine Ray won Barry’s ARC Cookies that were distributed for all to eat.
Program: President Steve introduced Kate Careb, Chief Advancement Officer for the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut, Inc. Kate gave a detailed history of the organization and covered all the services they provide that include Mental Health Services, Urgent Crisis Center, Children’s Services, Safety Net Services and Medical Services. For more information log on to https://www.childandfamilyagency.org/
The meeting concluded with Bonnie Johnson leading the club reciting the 4-Way Test at 1:20pm.
** Looking for volunteers to serve on The RONE committee. Contact Bob Reed (bobr@hallradio.net).**