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Club Newsletter
The Rotary Club of Wakefield,
Rhode Island
Thursday, 1/28/2021
 
Place & Time:
 
Virtual ZOOM Meeting
 
 
Meeting Thursday @ Noon
 
 
The Wheel January 28, 2021
 
Meeting via Zoom
 
Attendance: 28 members; 3 guests: Michael Manassas, Carolyn Vincent, Larry Fortin, former member
 
President Dick Pike called the meeting to order at 12:30.
 
 
 
Club Business and Announcements
Announcements:
  • Dick shared that the club received a thank-you letter from Edesia, which was extremely effusive in its praise for our contribution to their work.
  • Dick thanked all of the members who bought sweatshirts, which contributed to the club’s finances.
  • Bob Cruz asked that members who have experience with any aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (e.g., race, age, ability, sexual orientation, language) contact him if you are interested in volunteering to work on these issues.
  • Jim Blackerby said that next week’s speaker is Dr. Lafayette, who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and who was a founder of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. Our club named him a Paul Harris Fellow.
  • Dick suggested that we look to URI for adding new voices to the club; we used to have many members from the University.
 
 
Sunshine
Sezgin Candas is having a landmark birthday. Happy birthday, Sezgin!
 
 
Happy Bucks
  • Judy is happy that she completed her training program and can return to our meetings.
  • Betsy wants everyone to know that if you complete 16 hours of volunteer work at a Covid testing site you can get vaccinated. She also wanted every pet lover to know that the Critter Hut is selling “Made in RI” dog coats.
  • Karl’s family recently discovered a new relative through Ancestry.com.
  • Sandy Cutting is planning on researching the possibility that her great-grandmother’s farm in Acton, Mass was a stop on the Underground Railroad.
 
     Service Above Self
 

These principles have been developed over the years to provide Rotarians with a strong, common purpose and direction. They serve as a foundation for our relationships with each other and the action we take in the world.

Object of Rotary

The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

  • FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service;
  • SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian’s occupation as an opportunity to serve society;
  • THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian’s personal, business, and community life;
  • FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service.

The Four-Way Test

The Four-Way Test is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and Rotarians recite it at club meetings:
Of the things we think, say or do

  1. Is it the TRUTH?
  2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
  3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
  4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Avenues of Service

We channel our commitment to service at home and abroad through five Avenues of Service, which are the foundation of club activity.

  • Club Service focuses on making clubs strong. A thriving club is anchored by strong relationships and an active membership development plan.
  • Vocational Service calls on every Rotarian to work with integrity and contribute their expertise to the problems and needs of society. Learn more in  and the .
  • Community Service encourages every Rotarian to find ways to improve the quality of life for people in their communities and to serve the public interest. Learn more in .
  • International Service exemplifies our global reach in promoting peace and understanding. We support this service avenue by sponsoring or volunteering on international projects, seeking partners abroad, and more.
  • Youth Service recognizes the importance of empowering youth and young professionals through leadership development programs such as , , , and
PROGRAM
 
 
Speaker and Program: Martha Machnik, Executive Director of Center for Mediation and Collaboration Rhode Island, introduced by Trish Driscoll
 
The Center for Mediation and Collaboration is a 25-year old alternative dispute organization, and  Martha has been the Executive Director for two years. She was formerly at the YMCA so has links with a number of our members.
 
The Center trains people to serve as volunteer mediators, mainly in courts but also in other settings. Their focus is not on who is right or wrong but on how both parties to a dispute can move ahead. The mediator acts as a neutral party, helping people solve their problems by identifying common ground through listening to both sides. Judges often ask litigants to try mediation as an alternative to a suit.
 
One of the Center’s programs, funded through the US Department of Agriculture, assists farmers in disputes with their neighbors or family members. This service is free to the farmers because it is subsidized by the USDA. The Center recently helped a South County oyster farm and its neighbors to arrive at an agreement that solved a problem you may have read about.
 
The Center also trains people in conflict resolution, communication, and how to handle difficult conversations. It works with employers, schools, and other organizations to develop the capacity to solve problems. Two of our guests today, Michael and Carolyn, were trained to be peer mediators while attending Brown University. Martha also noted that Rotary International has a relationship with Mediators Without Borders, an international organization.
 
Martha encourages everyone to contact her or pass on her message to others. Her email address is Martha@cmcri.org. Trish Driscoll will be joining her on the Center staff shortly.
 
 
Photos
 
 
 
Next Meeting:  Thursday February, 2020
 
Many thanks to the reporters and photographers!
 
Please make every effort to attend our next Wakefield Rotary meeting.
Better yet, bring a friend!
 
 
 
 
Upcoming Events
Community Service Committee
Feb 15, 2021 5:00 PM
 
Board of Directors Meeting
Old Mountian Lanes
Feb 16, 2021 4:00 PM
 
Community Service Committee
Mar 15, 2021 5:00 PM
 
Board of Directors Meeting
Old Mountian Lanes
Mar 16, 2021 4:00 PM
 
View entire list
CLUB CALENDAR
Bulletin Editor
Russell Bertrand
(If you have any comments or questions, please contact the editor)
Speakers
Feb 04, 2021
Bernard LaFayette
Civil Rights Activist and Organizer
Feb 11, 2021
Christine Foisy
South County Health
Feb 25, 2021
Vanessa Venturini, State Program Leader
Master Gardener Progam Projects
View entire list
Russell Hampton
ClubRunner
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