Getting Started
President Todd called the meeting to order at 12:15 pm. The salute to the flag was followed by a moment of prayer offered by Carl Lazzaro. Our voices were raised, singing “America” under the guidance and encouragement of Steve Westcott.
It was noted that we had 17 of our club members present, plus our guest speaker. Laura Camp thanked those present for being here for the luncheon and presentation by our guest speaker, Past District Governor Raymond F. Freaney, Jr., who served in that office in Rotary year 2019-2020.
Happy Dollars were contributed by:
John Cuozzo – gave $2 – because of the Easter holiday that we just celebrated.
Marge McCabe – gave $1 – for a devotional she read yesterday morning – Colossians – which addressed the need of service as a part of your daily healthy activities. It seemed to be talking about our activities through Rotary.
Mike Hanifan – gave $1 – for great weather for both walking or running.
PDG Ray Freaney – gave $5 – because he has been looking forward to joining us for lunch.
Larry Condit – gave $1 – for prayers for his son who is battling cancer. Larry said that there are some days when little battles can still be won. We are all thankful for such days for him. Your continued prayers are very welcomed by the family. We were glad to see Larry again, as it has been some time since he joined us for lunch.
Announcements
President Todd spoke about the Military Vehicle event at the Fair Grounds taking place on April 28, 29 and 30. We will be opening our food booth and will be the ONLY group selling food there from a booth. I guess you could say that we are going to hopefully corner the market on this event. Todd again circulated the sign-up sheet for that event today. Hours for our work shifts will be are:
Friday, the 28th – One shift – 4:30 to 7:00 PM - (initial booth setup)
Saturday, the 29th - Two shifts – 8:30 to 12:30 and 12:30 to 5:30 PM
Sunday, the 30th – Two shifts - 8:30 to 12:30 and 12:30 to 3:30
We need our members to sign up for this project. It will be work! It will be fun! It will raise a goodly amount of money for our club. Fortunately, there are only a few open slots left on the sign-up sheet. PLEASE consider signing up and making each shift complete.
Speakers for the next two weeks include:
Wednesday, April 19 – Griffin Caldwell, who works with Dykstra Engineering will be presenting us with information about the new commercial and residential buildings going up on Water Street (a.k.a. U.S. Route 206). Aside from Thor Labs, this is the largest new construction project going on in Newton.
Wednesday, April 26 – a presentation about Scouting in our community. Our very own Jim Taylor will be leading the discussion.
Presentation by PDG Ray Freaney, Jr.
President-Elect Carl introduced Past District Governor Raymond F. Freaney, Jr. as our guest speaker for the luncheon.
The obvious first series of questions concerned the actions taken by Rotary International’s Board of Governors when they completely blew out our entire District management team without any explanation of what was going on. There was universal agreement with the statement that this has been a dismal affair from the start, and that has extended far too long with effectively no communication at all from “management.” In fact, it was noted that the individual who was asked to help the R I President explain what happened (to the limited amount she was permitted to) essentially disappeared after the first round of meetings with clubs and was not heard from after that.
Ray did assure us that there have been revisions to the RI By-Laws and other guidance documents that govern how Rotary districts have to function. It is thought that this will help eliminate the problems that were encountered. He further assured us that the necessary steps have been agreed upon and are being acted on regarding the selection of the new District Governor and at least two other individuals who will be installed as president-elect for the following two Rotary years.
The give and take Ray provided on this subject was very welcome when balanced against the stultifying silence coming for the RI “Management” team. We thank him for his candid exchange of thoughts and opinions. It was quite refreshing.
NOW – THE REAL REASON RAY CAME TO OUR LUNCH
Ray gave a full-throated presentation about a subject that is obviously dear to his being – helping individuals who deal with the stigma of mental illness and substance use disorders. Ray handed out booklets that provide a comprehensive overview and details on how this group, sponsored within/and supported by what was (and apparently will be again) Rotary District 7475.
The mission statement of Rotary District 7475 Community Connection Initiative is:
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