Greetings fellow Rotarians! Our speaker today was Greg Western, Director of the Cross Vermont Trail Association (CVTA).  This organization is dedicated to building a multi-use, four-season path across Vermont for everyone to enjoy.  Thirty miles of the trail have been completed so far, with a goal to complete ninety miles stretching from Lake Champlain to the Connecticut River.  In addition to Greg and his two part-time staffers, the CVTA relies on the efforts of volunteers and donations from the public.  Recently, our Club helped out with this effort by underwriting the cost of wo trail gates that were installed in Groton State Park.  Greg explained that he is consistently in talks with private land owners about donating easements and strips of land for the purpose of expanding the trail. His hope is that the entire trail will be located in more scenic settings as opposed to being situated alongside major roads such as Route 2.  For more information about this organization, please visit its website at: http://www.crossvermont.org/

 

 

            We are sad to report that longtime Essex Rotarian, Norm Faunce has passed away.  Anyone who knew Norm can attest to how wonderful and caring he was.  Norm always understood and exemplified the Rotary motto of “Service Above Self” and was one of our Club’s most reliable and eager volunteers.  Although Norm had recently moved to Colorado to live closer to his daughter, there will likely be a memorial service for him here in Vermont.  We will provide members with that information once we have it.

 

 

            We are just a few short weeks away from the annual Rotary All-Star Hockey Classic. Thank you to all of the Rotarians who have volunteered to work at this event and to provide food for our concession stand.  There are still opportunities to provide concessions and to volunteer, so if you haven’t done so already, please sign up to help with this event.  Another way to help is to spread the word about the game!  The majority of the money we make from this event comes from the tickets we sell.  This year’s event will be held on Saturday, March 24^th at the Essex Skating Facility.  Please contact Jeff Cabanaw if you have any questions about this event or would like to help out.

 

 

            Thank you to all who have volunteered to cover shifts at the Food Shelf in March.  It appears that we have enough volunteers for the March shifts, but Sharon Dettenrieder will be updating our Club on shifts that need to be filled in April.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, March 14, 2018 – Our speaker will be Fred Kenney, the local organizer for the Feed My Starving Children service project.

 

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 follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EssexVermontRotary , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/essexvermontrotary/ and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/essex_rotary

 

 

       Yours in Rotary,

 

Jason Ruwet