First full meeting of Roger's presidency. Prospective member Jackson visited; guest speaker was Sharon Hall (CASP). Mona scribes next week.
Special Presentations
Four-Way Test coins. Roger gave every member a coin — a reminder of a club that lives the test, not just recites it.
Assistant Governor pin → Josh. Diane passed the pin to Josh, the new AG, to be handed on in turn.
Leadership Through Action Award → Nick Dubois. For stepping up when extra leadership was needed — fundraising, events, disc golf sponsorships, hosting board meetings.
Service Above Self Award (People's Choice) → Nick Dubois. A club-wide award, largely for taking on the disc golf tournament, one of the club's largest.
Global Service Award → Tristan. For international-service work (Honduras, Pine Ridge, Guatemala) and local food-security work with the school system.
Polo shirts. On the counter, labeled; John has the who-owes-what list. Print shop shorted three XLs; Mona's is still coming.
Announcements & Recaps
Josh — first AG experience. District changeover at the Paul Harris site in Wallingford (Diane became DGN; Roger changed over as president). July 4: joined new District Governor Ruth at Bennington's Declaration of Independence reading — recommended, especially in this 250th year.
Welcome Center (Roger & Melissa). Anyone who gave in-kind goods, food, or money: send Roger AND Melissa a note of what you contributed (emails in ClubRunner), ideally within a couple of days. This becomes standard for all fundraisers.
Bingo (Mona). Respond to her SignUp Genius for help/contributions. Leftover Welcome Center food shortens the list. Last bingo until November.
History walks. Thanks to Sandy and Jon. Raised over $1,000 (Square QR code + cash); roughly 43–49 attended. Doing it again.
Venezuela / ShelterBox (Tristan). A donation slide with a QR code goes out with the minutes — donate.shelterboxusa.org/venezuela-earthquakes. A humanitarian-relief budget line is in the draft budget (not yet final). Proposal: make ShelterBox the club's default when they are present in a disaster area.
Amtrak / Brattleboro Words mural. June 24 ribbon-cutting; the poets-and-writers map is installed at the station. Club recognized alongside the library and Melissa.
Other. Desiree sent regrets (a work issue), back next week. Food Truck Roundup starts Thursday — Gaslight Tinkers, 500–1,500 people.
Birthdays & Anniversaries
Nick Dubois — 12 years with the club.
Acts of Service
Jim Maxwell — camp drivers needed. Drivers needed to take resettler kids to and from summer camp at the Boys & Girls Club. To volunteer, call Deb Bunker at 802-384-1241. Morning (to camp) or afternoon (home) runs; children have different addresses.
Brags
Kristin. Expanding the farm's "Tuesday afternoon" visitor experience — open barn on more days, plus a new self-serve history exhibit in the milk room. Personally: after years of partial findings, finally diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis and, after fighting the insurer, getting medication she expects to be life-changing.
Mona. Marched in the Wardsboro July 4 parade (a float she helped build, plus 22 golf carts); struck by out-of-state crowds (CO, DE, MT, OH).
Sandy. Credit to wife Diane, who spent 18 months secretly planning a surprise party — 125 guests from 15 states at Winston Prouty. He then brought the group (the 49) to the paid history tour the next day.
Nick. Daughter's dance troupe reached nationals at Foxwoods — top 10 in the country in jazz. His last season coaching Storm ended in a playoff loss on penalties, but son Jackson buried the opening PK after missing one the week before.
Guest Speaker — Sharon Hall, Executive Director, CASP (introduced by Kristin)
The Community Asylum Seekers Project is a small local nonprofit supporting asylum seekers from arrival until self-sufficiency.
Asylum vs. refugees. Both apply on the same grounds (persecution by politics, race, gender identity — not crime or poverty alone). Refugees are UN-designated and processed abroad, arriving with a resettlement agency, support, and work authorization. Asylum seekers arrive on their own, must wait five months to even apply for work authorization, and get no public benefits — the gap CASP fills.
What CASP does. Case management, local-service connections, short-term financial support, and job help; connects clients to legal representation via the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (represented applicants fare far better). Also advocacy — language access, the proposed Office of New Americans.
Policy environment. The Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship but allowed border closure; filing fees are now costly (annual fees to keep applications active); mass "master hearings" with shifting dates risk missed-date deportations.
Numbers. 39 people served this year (9 countries); 29 in full case management; $35,000 raised this spring — vital, since CASP can't access most government grants.
ICE / what you can do. Little local ICE activity (targeted, not sweeps) but be prepared: attend a know-your-rights training (including via Rep. Balint's office); check the local verification banner before spreading rumors; Migrant Justice runs a statewide hotline. Volunteers needed for camp rides, fundraising, social media, and interpretation.
Tristan