Attendance: 25 members (2 on Zoom); 7 guests: Maureen White, Steve’s spouse; Incoming District Governor Dave Sampson; Bill Cloxton, guest of the club; Beth Desrochers, guest of Beth Leconte; John Tarasevich, guest of Steve White; Orlando Henry, guest of Donna Vignali; Chris Adams, prospective member.
After a lovely buffet breakfast, President Glen Zibolis called the meeting to order at 7:40 AM.
Rituals
Pledge and 4-way Test led by Glen
Invocation by Elizabeth Candas
Song, “God Bless America”
Club Business and Announcements – Glen:
The Rotarian of the Year award goes to Linda Hennessey.
The club awards a Paul Harris Fellow to Donna Vignali for her hard work and leadership.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to making the past year a success.
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Program: Installation of Steve White as President 2022-23, Ed McLaughlin as MC
Elizabeth and Sezgin opened with a song in Turkish in honor of Steve and Maureen’s upcoming trip to Turkey. District Governor-Elect Dave Sampson installed Steve, and Maureen gave him his pin. Steve reflected on his 26 years in Rotary, commenting that it was exactly 20 years ago that he previously served as club president (2002-03). He mentioned the two Rotary International Conferences he attended, in Barcelona and Chicago, and spoke movingly about the importance of the Wakefield Rotary Charitable Foundation to our charitable giving.
Steve shared three main priorities for the upcoming year. 1. He suggests that the club sponsor a contest for community members to propose a community service project for the club. 2. He has reinstated the club’s philanthropic budgets to their previous levels: $40,000 for the Charitable Committee and $10,000 for the International Committee. 3. He would like to see the club focus its energy on marginalized groups, especially low-income young men, and join other organizations in a community effort to address the needs of this population.
