President Glen Zibolis called the meeting to order at 7:30 AM
Rituals
Pledge and 4-way Test led by Glen
Invocation by Jim Blackerby
Song, “God Bless America”
Rotary Minute — Bob Cruz
Q: What is the farthest point a Rotary pin has traveled from Chicago?
A: The moon, taken there by Buzz Aldrin, whose father was a Rotarian.
Club Business and Announcements
Rotary Night at the P Bruins is Friday, February 11, versus the Rochester Americans. $5 of every ticket sold will go to the Polio Plus fund. If you are interested in attending, talk to Bob Cruz.
Several members have inquired about helping the areas that were hit by the recent tornados. The Charitable Committee is looking into how to give through Rotary and will report to the club.
Fines and Confessions — Betsy Wisehart and her cats in the basement
Who can identify the pictures of five prominent athletes? They were all identified, so Betsy is paying $50 to the club kitty (not her own kitties).
Happy Bucks
Sandy Willhauck — Happy the holidays are almost over.
Margaret Johnson — Happy her grandkids were here for the holidays and that some close friends are visiting now.
Lori Horton — Happy to be at a meeting in person.
Glen — Happy to see Lori.
Russell Bertrand — Happy it is trash day.
Program
Speaker and Program: Club Assembly — Glen asked the director of each area of service to report.
Steve White — Youth Services is primarily working with the URI Rotaract group, a vibrant group of about 20 members, 12 of them active. They organized a Christmas party for a severely disabled child and gave other gifts to children.
Russell Bertrand — The Club Service Committee organized the club Christmas party, also puts out the club newsletter, and maintains the garden on Main Street.
Bob Cruz — Club membership is currently at 44. Please try to bring prospective members to a meeting.
Nancy Kleniewski — Community Service has been doing a service project every month, including collections for the VA, Jonnycake Center, Domestic Violence Resource Center, and an Afghan refugee family, in addition to our ongoing food collection bin at Belmont Market. Upcoming projects include reading to children over Zoom, having a dinner with the Narragansett tribe, and planning for the September 24 “All Inclusive South County” expo.
Tom Tarzwell — Make your checks payable to “The Rotary Foundation.” The District expects club giving averaging $100 per member and a minimum of $25 per member. If you give on line on the Rotary International site, check “Annual Fund” so the club gets credit for your gift.
Ed McLaughlin — The Charitable Committee recommended (and the club approved): $3000 to the Jonnycake Center, $2000 to the Domestic Violence Resource Center, $1000 to Edesia, $500 to RICAN, and $500 to Welcome House. Please notify Ed if you have ideas about any of the remaining $8000 in the committee’s budget.
Margaret Johnson — The International Committee has received 5 proposals which they will consider and bring their recommendations to the board in March.
Chris Van Hemelrijck — The Wakefield Rotary Charitable Foundation has been focusing on due diligence of the funds, not estimated to be near $750,000, split between the Rotary Donor Advised Fund and the Rhode Island Foundation. The next meeting is January 12.
Margaret Johnson — The Events Committee is planning to simplify the spring festival, focusing it on children. The May 15 event will be a “Kids’ Fun Day,” with games, pony rides, cartoon characters, story tellers, face painting, and a scavenger hunt. Everyone will need to pitch in to make it a success.
Other announcements:
The Art Festival is June 24-26.
Beth is representing our club for the celebration of the 300th birthday of South Kingstown and will compile a history of the club.
We plan to make a video of the club’s work. If you have photos or videos of Rotary activities, please send them to Margaret, Donna, or Beth.
Steve has proposed holding an essay contest to generate new ideas for club projects.
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