Empress Pong started her the meeting with this day in History…......
1865-President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation declaring the end of the Civil War.
1914- President Woodrow Wilson proclaims Mother’s Day
1916- US 1st country to legalize the birth control pill.
1980 – Horror film Friday the 13th is released.
1992-Final episode of the Golden Girls aired.
Quote for the day……If at first you don’t succeed try doing it the way mom told you to do in the beginning…Unknown
GREETER:
Mona very warmly greeted us this morning with hugs and smiles and next week …Turner will be at the door with a smile to say good morning.
GUESTS:
Tom Franks- prospective/former member
Kaya – Ross’s granddaughter
Ava & Shoshana- Debra’s daughters
Phil Blackburn- guest speaker
STUDENT ROTARIANS:
Josh from BUHS reported this morning.
~Start of spring standardized testing has begun…today is SBAC with PSAT and SAT soon to follow
~Prom was this past weekend…he has pictures to share if anyone would like to see them.
~Playing Woodstock today in Tennis and played Rutland this past Monday ending a 4year losing streak to Rutland!
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Touch a Truck this coming Saturday May 12th----please sign up to volunteer
- Trivia Night is coming up on May 14th. Grab some friends and head to the Legion for a very entertaining night.
- The club has made a donation to BASIC (Brattleboro Area Skatepark is Coming) which will be receiving a 1 for 1 matching grant from the Tarrant Foundation. If anyone is interesting donating personally please see Turner.
- Every Rotarian Every Year – EREY!! It is our annual $100 donation to the foundation. Jim reminded us that we can contribute just a couple a week to meet this commitment.
- The lovely Shoshana wanted to let us know that she will be participating in the Girls on the Run 5k this coming Saturday and she is raising money for scholarships to help others participate in the program so consider donating.
- We collected 25 pints of blood last week in our Blood Drive at the American Legion.
- May 24th we will be having a joint social at the Kiwanis Shelter at Memorial Park for both clubs. Starting right after work…bring the family for an evening of fun and Rotary camaraderie.
BIRTHDAYS: No Birthdays today
ANNIVERSARIES: No Anniversaries
CARDS: Jack of Clubs..… and the winner is ~ AVA WON!!!!
BOWL OF LIFE:
Grampa worked with Thomas Edison at his plant in South Orange, NJ…..started the guessing Sandy who incorrectly guessed Christine who picked Turner~~Jason~~Nick~~Marcy~~Jim Maxwell~~Diane ….at that point we gave up and made the mystery Rotarian fess up because they forgot to put their name on the clue WILL SHAKESPEARE!!
BRAGS:
Tristam: Bragged for Girls on the Run. Wendy has been a coach for 10 years and he is so impressed the program. It’s a powerful story and the girls learn so much as the form a unit. He also wanted to clarify his announcement last week when he mentioned Tina from Moore Court. His point was to make us all aware that we as a society tend to judge people by their appearances without getting to know them. We should get beyond first impressions because if we did we would get to know people for their intelligence and compassion. Tina is an amazing person in so many ways and that community is very lucky to have her.
Jon: Bragged for his daughters and teenage sports. Alina qualified for states in track and Alexa is trying a new sport Lacrosse!! He also let the club know that Angela Prodan, a partner in the law firm, passed away this weekend. She had been battling cancer the past few years. She was an amazing attorney that has helped a lot of people thru the years and was a beautiful person.
Erin: Bragged for just finishing up a few weeks in NJ teaching kindergarteners. Also, they finished their tiny house and in between the NJ weekends they moved into their 300 sq foot house. It’s all new and hi-tech….a dream come true.
Sadie: Thank you for everyone who bought raffle tickets from Evie last week! Dan & Michele won “real prizes” (compared to her stuffed animal). Also this is the last weekend you can see Evie in James and the Giant Peach at NEYT.
Will: Brattleboro Concert Choir is having a show on Sat & Sun May 19th & 20th at Marlboro College. Susan Dedell will be directing a program that contains Poulenc’s Gloria and Mozart’s Vespers. Will has tickets if you are interested or they will be available at the door.
Jim Maxwell: Also bragged for Brattleboro Concert Choir, it will be all local people and quite extraordinary.
Sandy: Bragged for the Noon Club program that will be sending local high school students to a Cheyenne reservation the first week of July. Alec will be going with other 9th, 10th and 11th graders who will be camp counselors, so if you know of anyone interested get them in touch with noon club. He also bragged for Marjorie who has been accepted and will be attending Smith College next fall (her first choice).
Turner: Went to PA a couple of weeks ago to attend his grandson’s graduation from college. He is a double major in music and anthropology. Amazing time watching him perform as a graduation requirement. Also they replaced their 2 Siamese cats they lost a last year and Turner “the vet” forgot just how active kittens are.
Damon: Torin had a race for Keene Middle School and set a new school record for the 1500 and the 800…not his personal best but the kid is still on fire!! Also, Damon and Torin both ran in the Chesterfield Fun Run…Torin won the 5k and Damon placed 3rd in the 10k
Michelle: Bragged for Evie and her raffle because after her last vacation she realized she needed a Kindle paperwhite because she couldn’t read on the beach….no wonder Sadie wasn’t thrilled with her stuffed animal.
GUEST SPEAKERS: Phil Blackburn; President and Board Chair from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Vermont was our guest speaker today.
NAMI Vermont is a statewide volunteer organization comprised of family members, friends, and individuals living with a mental illness. They have experienced the struggles and have joined together in membership to help themselves and others by providing support, information, education and advocacy.
NAMI Vermont began as a spontaneous, grassroots family movement in 1983, just six years after NAMI National was founded. NAMI Vermont was incorporated as a state organization affiliated with NAMI in 1984, and today offers family and peer recovery support groups as well as Family-to-Family, Mental Illness and Recovery, and Provider Education classes. With a dedicated board, over one hundred volunteers, and four staff members, NAMI Vermont provides education, advocacy and support to those in need.
Mission: NAMI Vermont supports, educates and advocates so that all communities, families, and individuals affected by mental illness or mental health challenges can build better lives.
Vision: A world where Vermonters affected by mental illness or mental health challenges have the care, support and knowledge that they need.
If you are interested in helping you can become a Member. Join a group of dedicated members, receive NAMI Vermont’s bi-annual newsletter, and enjoy member discounts on a variety of events throughout the year. The cost of membership goes directly to support, education and advocacy for mental health.
They also need Volunteers!
They are looking for Champions to transport people who need services to support groups, stuff envelopes, write newsletter articles, serve as active members on their committees, and assist with fundraisers like MINDwalk!