Quotation (the noun form of the verb "quote"):  "The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter."  Winston Churchill.
 
Greeter this week:  Nick
Next week?  (Sorry, I was distacted).
 
Bad attendance this week; only about half the club showed.  Come on, people!
 
Scribe next week:  Will, then Sandy Shriver, then Valerie
 
Sandy announced Trivia is coming up November 9th at 6:30; Sadie is passing around a sign-up sheet.
 
Kevin, announced that the dinner raffle is coming up; tickets are being printed. 
 
Next speaker choosers:  Dan, then Ed, then Nick
 
We celebrated the birthdays of Diane and Ed. 
 
Former member Tom Franks sent Ali a nice letter donating $100.00! to the club on behalf of Ed "Trick or Treat Baby" Dewes who repeatedly declined to bill him for work done on his garage door.  Nice gestures all around.
 
Brags:
 
Sadie:  Come see Clownton Abbey (a comedic take on Downton Abbey) at the New England Youth Theater, their big fall production.  Evie will be playing the part of a chef.  "Mayhem ensures."
 
Damon:  His boys continue to rip through their former personal records ("PRs", apparently, they're called).  Aidan is #8 out of 7 varsity runners and only a freshman; Torin rocked the states again, finishing 12th out of 242.  Kids may need free physical therapy at some point.
 
Marcie:  bragged showing off her Rotary Bling with a new pin from Sadie.  She's collecting sharp Rotary pins for a loop around her neck in a form of chiropractice/acupuncture.
 
Josh bragged for Marie's impressive Halloween presentation last week.
 
Jill:  The Olive Oil has arrived!  Fresh, artisanal, and exotic.  Plus proceeds will fund Maysie's college fund if profit is achieved.  Buy directly from Jill to save a bit, otherwise it can be found at the coop and, eventually, North End Butchers in the floating section.
 
Kevin:  The Board meeting next week will be back at WKVT.  Also, using the secret Rotary password and handshake he was able to get mention in the Rotary District newletter of our new student Rotarians, and it also included info about our trivia night.
 
Dan:  Having cleaned house in the last trivia night, he took his secret store of knowledge to yet another trivia victory at the 99, building on previous poker wins and general luckiness mixed with great skill and strategic prestidigitation.
 
Jon:  Bragged for Dan with the hope that he'll win the lottery on behalf of the club and make us all rich.  I also bragged for the doctor at Dartmouth this week who jammed a needle through my ear drum in the hopes of making it better.  We'll see.  The club's response was a unison query, "WHAT??"
 
Drew:  For those of us who participated in his awesome adventure race.  And no, he hasn't caught up on his sleep.
 
Secret fact:  "I play a card game called 'Clubiash."" Sandy Ladd, it seems, after much guessing.
 
Marty Cohen was the speaker at the invitation of Tristam Johnson.
 
Marty was inspired after watching several years ago a 20/20 special about the difficulties faced by the 40,000 Native Americans on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  In particular, one 11 year-old was interviewed about why she'd tried to kill herself the year before.
 
A few stats: 
90% unemployment
8 times the national diabetes rate
8 times the national tuberculosis rate
80 percent alcoholism rate
Life expectancy lowest in the Western Hemisphere other than maybe Haiti
 
He connected with John Willis, a Brattleboro local who he found out had been going to the reservation for years taking photographs. He championed  making a difference through the Brattleboro Rotary Club.  It's being funded as an international project because the reservation is a sovereign entity.  He tried first to work with local South Dakota Rotary Clubs but they weren't interested, though they help other countries.
 
The first project was sending them twelve used sewing machines, though unfortunately it turned out that only six worked.  Then he eventually built trust and arranged to send funds to help their local radio station, and so far they have sent $12,000.00 from the Rotary Club to Kili Radio Station to buy equipment..  The noon club''s website has a link whereby you can stream the radio station.  The next big push is that for every $3,000 Rotary raises, a local tribe member with a solar business will add $3,000 plus donate $18,000 of solar equipment in order to built solar panels there.  Query whether our club can help.
 
Also, continuing to donate used laptops to the reservation, which are refurbished for free by nooner Marcy Jones's son.  So far they've given 151 laptops.  They're also working with traditional quilter women to buy and sell their quilts.  Next big project in the works:  trying to get a grocery store built on the reservation, because there are only convenience stores with limited fresh produce.  Tristam Johnson is particularly interested in this piece, and visited the reservation recently. 
 
Great work, Marty!