Dear Toni Ciampaglione,
 

President Debra called the meeting to order. Kristin will be the server for the 5/20 meeting; Will Shakespeare is scribe that day.

Nick gave a roll-up of the recent board meeting. Discussion ranged across ongoing projects and fundraising — the Wendell Yellowbull project fund, Disc Golf, the book project, bingo, and trivia — and into operating-budget conversations for next year. A big focus was clarifying which projects feed which lines: all Disc Golf proceeds go directly to the scholarship fund; trivia proceeds rotate to the charity sponsor of each event; other events like bingo are still being sorted into clearer designated buckets. The board also began thinking longer-term about board succession and continuity, noting that several current members have served 6–10+ years. The aim is more transparency and shared understanding of the club's mission and goals across handoffs.

The June monthly happy hour will be hosted at Will Shakespeare's house on Friday, June 12. Bring-what-you-want potluck; Will and his wife will provide some beer, wine, and a salad and chicken. Will offered to write out detailed directions.

A second June social — the Changeover Party — is being targeted for Wednesday, June 24, after work (likely 5:30 or 6 PM). The committee is trying to book the Marina if availability allows, the same venue used for changeover a couple of years ago; details to follow. Confirmed there will be no morning meeting on Wednesday, June 24 in light of the evening event.

The final trivia night before the summer break is this coming Monday. The charity sponsor is Center for Solace. Special-guest MC will be Ben. The last event drew 92 attendees and the goal is to beat that. Please spread the word — this is the last trivia until September.

Sunday at 10 AM at the garden. The group hasn't met in a month so as not to disturb the tulips, but it's now time to plant, clean up, and figure out next steps. Bring work gloves and trowels.

Tristam acknowledged that the follow-up note to identify who still needs shirts (size, quantity) had not yet gone out and committed to sending it the day of the meeting. Members who haven't yet ordered should contact Tristam directly with their size.

Kristin walked through Saturday's volunteer day at Retreat Farm. The main goal is to build raised beds in what was the Hope Garden — Retreat Farm is rolling out a series of educational gardens this season. Plans include a tea garden (chamomile, lemon balm, etc.), some pickable vegetables and feed crops for the cows, and — the largest piece — natural-dye plants to support a series of summer-and-fall workshops on harvesting plants and making natural dyes. Volunteers can also help paint a couple of sheds and stack wood to dry for the community wood bank. Lunch, snacks, sunscreen, and mud boots/springs provided.

Kristin also gave context on the community wood bank: this was its first year — funded through a grant and community support — operating as a 'food bank for firewood.' Staff and volunteers split the wood and stack it on pallets; people in need contact Retreat Farm and come help themselves. Demand was high enough that they ran out of wood by early January. The team is learning to manage take-out volume so individual visitors don't deplete the entire stock. Tristan noted the Dummerston Center has had its own (more discreet) community wood supply running for years, going through five or six cords annually. Kristin confirmed there's a statewide network of community wood banks they're starting to learn from, including one in Dummerston.

Bingo is this weekend. Mona reported that signups are still short — only three people on the volunteer roster — and although the event can probably run with that, more hands are welcome. The team is still looking for someone to make a crock pot of chili (or similar), brownies/baked goods, and egg salad sandwiches. Mona will not be home Saturday morning, so MJ has offered her house as the drop-off point: past Chelsea on the left, with a large pile of mulch in the driveway (feel free to spread some while you're there). Anyone who can't drop off at her house on Saturday morning may drop off Friday or Saturday AM at Brattleboro Tire with Dan instead.

Dan circulated a sign-up sheet for table-greeter volunteers at the blood drive. This drive will be held at the Holiday Inn Express next week. To donate, members can register online or just walk in. 

Mona corrected the date during the meeting, stating the Welcome Center shift is the 20th, not the 27th. Nick is finalizing the SignUpGenius. A reminder was repeated that the club is not permitted to sell coffee at the Welcome Center.

Will Shakespeare flagged a new community item: the new train station will have a ribbon cutting on June 24. The exact time wasn't confirmed; Kristin offered that it is likely a midday event (1130 or 1145 was floated, not finalized). Former Rotarian Lissa Weisman is involved in establishing a words trail at the station, featuring Brattleboro connected poets and writers. We have agreed to help maintain it over time. Members were encouraged to show up and represent.

As of the meeting, 17 applications had been received. Debra said the club really 'rocked it' this year. Committee members so far: Ben, Evelyn, Kevin, Melissa, Dan, and MJ. One more volunteer is needed. Will offered to join after Sunday. Anyone else interested is welcome — the more readers, the smaller each member's stack and the more eyes on every applicant.

Former club member Katya, now living in Northern Ireland, returned to give an update. She and her husband Richard have been in Portstewart, on the northern Irish coast, for seven and a half months — a seven-minute walk to the beach. Richard's photos make it look perpetually sunny, but the wind has been the hardest adjustment: 60–70 mph winds are normal. Katya described a much slower lifestyle, very welcoming people, simpler patterns of work and money, and a strong cultural emphasis on slowing down.

Katya kept her Brattleboro Sunrise Rotary membership for the year so she didn't have to transfer funds mid-cycle, but she's already deeply involved with the Rotary Club of Coleraine, which she'll officially join July 1. One of her old clients, Marty from Whetstone Wines, told her after her first post that 'the Rotary Club must feel like they hit the lottery,' and that has roughly proven out — she's been pulled into nearly everything. Katya and Richard ended up judging the local school's Technology Tournament (kids built self-propelled vehicles to pick up debris and run a pipeline) after the scheduled judge got stuck at the Birmingham airport; they had their photo taken with the mayor. One team actually built a working machine.

Katya also described the club's Future Leaders / political-debate program for young students. A young woman named Aoife from Coleraine won locally, then went on to a one-week trip with about 15 students from across Ireland — first to Stormont in Belfast, then to Dublin, and finally to the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The students included Catholics and Protestants traveling together, which was notable in the local context. Aoife came back transformed and gave a speech at the rotary meeting; she described the trip as life-changing and was deeply grateful to Rotary for the opportunity.

On club life: the Coleraine club meets only twice a month (one morning meeting and one lunch meeting), about 40 members. Katya misses the weekly cadence and the camaraderie of seeing everyone every week. Many Irish clubs have closed; membership skews older because younger people often can't afford dues and a paid lunch (£11–12). Their incoming president Robert is just slightly older than she is — she's currently the youngest member. Ireland will host the Rotary International Convention in Dublin in 2031, with a direct flight from Hartford that's about 5 hours 20 minutes — she invited the club to plan on attending.

On Northern Ireland more broadly: Belfast has opened up considerably and is now a tourist city, anchored by the beautiful Titanic Museum at Harland and Wolff — 'in all these years, everybody in the world made money off the Titanic, besides' the city itself, so it's good they finally have that. But political tensions between Catholic and Protestant communities have not disappeared — bomb threats at police stations still surface in the news, and locals do not discuss politics or religion publicly. The cross-community travel of the student delegation Katya described was particularly meaningful in that context.

Personal notes: Katya misses Walker Farm and Lilac Ridge Farm — Northern Irish food leans fried with fewer vegetables, though the bakeries are excellent. She's now self-employed, still working with Vermont Wine Merchants, and volunteers one day a week at a charity shop benefiting a dementia organization — a cause close to her after her mother-in-law Daphne lived with dementia and died at 96. Being present at the end was a new and meaningful experience. Katya closed by thanking the club for everything around her departure.

Greg Hessel's upcoming birthday on May 15 was celebrated with a round of "Happy Birthday." 

Evelyn marked her three-year Rotary anniversary on May 13. Asked by Debra what brought her to Rotary, Evelyn said she was looking for a way to meet more people in the area; Mona mentioned the club and explained what Rotary actually does, and after that first meeting she was in.

Debra checked in on the 30-for-30 acts of kindness initiative — 30 acts to mark 30 years of service. Members confirmed there are a couple more acts already in motion this weekend, putting the club on track to surpass the target.

Toni announced the family is going to welcome a human grandchild: son Brett and his wife Mary are expecting in November. She also shared that her daughter — currently still in flight training in Alabama — flew home for a weekend to meet her horse’s brand-new (non-human) foal, Nessa, over in Swanzey, then flew back Sunday. She is on track to graduate in July and sent home incredible footage of formation Chinook flying. Separately, Brett just returned from two weeks camping in Denali National Park; the camp got dumped on with so much snow over an 80-hour stretch that skiing was off the table and the trip turned into a winter-survival exercise.

Katya added a quick follow-up brag noting that today, May 13, is the 13-year anniversary of her joining Rotary — she originally joined the Brattleboro noon club in 2013. She reflected that the Sunrise Rotary energy is genuinely special; Irish Rotary feels stiffer and more proper, without the same cheer or camaraderie, and she'd love to bring some of that warmth back to her new club in Coleraine. She also explained the reason for this week's visit: her husband Richard's daughter Billy is graduating from UVM on Sunday in civil engineering. Billy started at Clark University in physics, decided after a year and a half it wasn't the right career fit, and finished her civil engineering degree in two and a half years.

Josh shared two brags. First, their friend James — who a few years back spoke at the club about working at Warner Brothers — has a wife, Emily, who has just opened a plant nursery called Kind of Wild Plants on Guilford St up near the cemetery. Worth supporting if you like plants; it's a little tucked-away. Second, a public thank-you to Retreat Farm: on Thursday, Retreat Farm hosted a 250 celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, drawing 900 people for a panel and program. Melissa volunteered. 

Greg shared that their youngest son completed his UVM freshman year successfully — and, more impressively, wrote a grant that was funded, giving him the resources to put on a production this summer. The member noted his son's chosen career is typically preceded by the word "starving," which makes a funded grant all the better.

Nick offered a Mother's Day brag: his wife and her sisters took a trip to Florida over the weekend in honor of Mother's Day. The guys all got left home, which by all accounts worked out well; the women had an amazing experience together. He extended a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in the room and a thank-you to all the mothers who made everyone possible.

Sandy shared that student Rotarian Gilbert is on track to become an Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout project will be a one-day rejuvenation of the hospice garden in Living Memorial Park. Gilbert may reach out to the club for volunteers, which would be a natural fit given how many gardeners we have — a chance to help with that garden even though we couldn't take it on permanently.

Toni returned for a second brag: a follow-up on former student Rotarian and scholarship recipient Rachel Georg from Hinsdale, who just graduated from Cornell's School of Veterinary Medicine. She has always wanted to be an equine vet, and is now continuing her work after graduating.

Will gave a concert-choir brag. The choir is performing Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem; performances are Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. 

After the break, the three working groups (Scholarship, International, Social) gave brief readouts. 

The committee reported on improvements in tracking how funds are allocated, and confirmed that the rubric used to evaluate applications has been revised.

Tristan reported on two main threads. The first was the Special Project Fund — the discretionary fund available each year for emergencies — and the work the committee did to define criteria for when an emergency qualifies for these dollars. The goal was to make sure the use of the fund stays consistent with the committee's longstanding support model rather than being decided ad hoc.

The second was a new idea: developing a way to offer continuing, loosely-defined support for scholarship recipients in Honduras after they receive an initial award, so that their career-development paths are actually enriched rather than ending at the scholarship handoff. The framing is about staying connected with recipients in a way that is positive, rational, and sustainable for the club.

The Social Committee thanked Debra for hosting the group this coming Saturday.Sandy invited members to join an informal social outing at 1 PM Saturday at the Latchis — a film about walking around New York City, paired with a tour of Brattleboro (full details available on the Latchis website).

Looking ahead: the July social will be at Tony's house (date to be determined), and the August social is planned for Saxtons River Distillery.