Greetings Rotarians!  Today we held our first meeting of the new Rotary year.  We started things off with a classification talk from our newest member, Paul Watson. Paul has worked in banking for 35 years and has been working with Northfield Savings Bank for the past five years.  Paul and his wife raised two children in the Essex area and he is looking forward to serving as a Rotarian.  Thank you to Paul for giving us the opportunity to get to know you a bit better.  Paul’s talk was followed by President Sharon Dettenrieder’s agenda for the year.  In addition to touching upon this year’s Rotary International and Rotary District 7850 themes, Sharon delivered an outline of her goals for this upcoming Rotary year.  Two of Sharon’s goals are to retain 90% of our current membership and to attract younger members to our Club.  Sharon concluded by opening the floor to questions and comments.  Many Rotarians had a number of great suggestions on how we as a Club can meet these goals.

 

 

            As one fund raiser ends, preparations for another begin.  The Champlain Valley Fair is just around the corner which means it is time to start gearing up for the Corn Booth.  For our newer members, our Club sells fresh corn on the cob during the fair to raise money for our charities.  A sign-up sheet was circulated at our meeting today and will soon be on our website.  Friends and family members are encouraged to sign up for shifts as well.  Please contact Holly Lemieux or Ray Allaire with any questions you may have about this event.

 

 

            The next volunteering opportunities at the Food Shelf will be on July 28^th, August 25^th and September 22nd.  Please let Sharon Dettenrieder know if you are interested in signing up for any of these shifts.

 

 

            The Rotary International theme for the month of July is Literacy.  One of the best ways of bridging the gaps and divides that exist across the globe is through the written word.  That is why the promotion of literacy is an important aspect of Rotary.  When people are able to read, they are able to better understand the world around them which in turn builds better relations and fellowship on a global level. This is why our own Club has a charitable committee that is dedicated solely to the promotion of literacy locally and globally. 

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  July 13, 2016 – Our speaker will be Jim Jutras, Water Quality Superintendent at the Essex Junction Wastewater Treatment/Water Resource Recovery Facility.

 

For the complete list of upcoming speakers and information about the Club, please go to our website at www.essexrotary.org   Be sure to also visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet