Rotary Meeting Minutes
08/06/25
Nick Dubois stood in for President Debra and ran the meeting
Pledge of Allegiance
This week’s Scribe: Evelyn Next week: Ben
Sargent At Arms: Justin
Guests:
Student Rotarians: on summer break
Service Stories:
Announcements:
Thank you to this week’s greeters. A big thanks to Josh and Will.
Hello to returning member KJ.
We will have a club assembly on 08.13.25. We will discuss key projects and key items. Send any suggestions for the assembly to Deb or Nick for inclusion on the agenda.
The speaker on 08.20.25 will be Tristam Johnson. He will be going over all the Rotary international activities.
It is the 10-year anniversary of the disc golf tournament. Members were asked to think about something special we could do for the event.
Our bowl of life was waylaid and now we have to replenish it. Think of points of interest about you or someone else. Make sure you put the name on the slip, and we will resurrect this important function. It’s a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other a little more.
Melissa, Londa, Will and Melissa helped transform the Christian Science Church gardens last Sunday. This was done as a thank you for letting the Sunrise Rotary use their water for our gardens. Unfortunately, their old faucet broke down while
The crew was there but we referred them to a good plumber. This was a wonderful cross community relationship connection for the Rotary and Christian Science Church.
Board meeting is 08.07.25.
We’d like to do some sort of farewell dinner for Katja. We will hash out the details at the board meeting. Initial thoughts are the last week of August and perhaps at the Marina.
Birthdays – Ben Stockman
Anniversaries – Will 24 years.
Brags-
- Dan for Josh and all his work with the international students. There is a lot involved and he has been there for many different areas of their transitions. They are going off to college now.
- Dan also talked about the driving lessons with some of the students and how one of them was a little challenging. Many thanks to Deborah for loaning her car for the lessons.
- Ben for 20th anniversary of NEYT. New England Youth Theatre was the recipient of Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Theatre. The cast and crew of Chicago open this weekend and runs for the next 2 weekends.
- Sandy for ping pong tournament that he has been organizing and running for the past 30 years in New York. It is a long day. Tournament starts at 8:30 am and run until one or 2 a.m. This year he won first place ever. Congrats.
- Josh has 2 brags 1) Fundraiser for BCTV and local radio station. 5 to 7 p.m. 2) vacation on Oak Bluffs in Marth’s Vinyard. The 100-year anniversary for welcoming African Americans families. The locale has a powerful history. Barack Obama and Dave Chappelle were both there.
- KJ bragged that a friend retired from the air force after 27 years. It was a 5-hour drive to get to the ceremony but now he was able to hop on his plane and make it down in an hour and ten minutes. Now that he has his instrument rating for flying.
- KJ also bragged about the front page of the Reformer where his partner Zach Rivas is included in an article about the new trailer that Rescue, Inc has in service now mainly due to grants obtained. They can now take their training all over the state.
- Evelyn for her trip to 100th anniversary of the Chincoteague Fire Department Pony Swim. They are responsible for the care and welfare of the horses that live on the island. Once a year they bring them over to the mainland and auction off the babies. They raised over a million dollars.
- Jon for his first time ever in court testifying about the competency of a client. This was due to family conflicts about the will. This was the first time in his 20 years of doing wills and trusts, (about 4000 of them) that he was on the other side of the courtroom.
- Nick 1) his daughter turned 11 and she wanted a pink party. Everything was pink, clothes, balloons, drinks, food. 2) a Swiss reunion of the Vermont Swiss chapter that meets twice a year. About 35 people at the Kiwanis shelter in Memorial Park. Talked about a cheese dish that is a national treasure. A cheese wheel sliced horizontally, toasted under heat and the melted cheese scraped as a topping.
Feature Presentation: Life of Londa
Londa talked about her German heritage and her upbringing in Central Pennsylvania, Her interests in neuroscientology and biochemistry of the brain. She studied independently in Japan without knowing the language and then returned to her home in PA. took some college courses in high school and eventually ended at John Hopkins University. Graduated in the field of social behavioral sciences. Lived in NYC in the East Village for about 10 years. She and her family moved to Brattleboro after living in Long Beach. She wanted a more progressive area to raise her children. She started out working at the Brattleboro Retreat and was heavily involved in Green Street School PTO.
Londa talked about her daughter’s battle with Covid.
She also talked about her mental health bodyguard where she helped her client get her life back on track through organizing her personal residence, therapy care and life in general. She ended up traveling with her on 25 international trips. This was a challenge that she readily accepted.
Because of her interest in neuroscience, she offered to answer any questions that Rotarians might have about different neurological issues such as Alzheimer’s,
ATP, dementia, etc. She would keep everything confidential. She is passionate about educating people. It was a very interesting talk.
Cards – We are all winners!
ATP, dementia, etc. She would keep everything confidential. She is passionate about educating people. It was a very interesting talk.
Cards – We are all winners!
Rotary Four-Way Test
Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the truth?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
- Is it beneficial to all concerned?