Greetings fellow Rotarians! This week, we kicked the holidays off in style with two service projects. This past weekend, several Rotarians braved the elements in two locations to ring bells on behalf of the Salvation.  Thank you to the many Rotarians and their family members who volunteered to fill these shifts, especially those who signed up for more than one shift.  A special thank you goes out to Rusty Brink for coordinating this effort.  We continued the theme of holiday service by helping the Knights of Columbus put on the annual senior holiday luncheon at the Champlain Valley Exposition.  Over 200 seniors from the area enjoyed a great turkey lunch and were treated to a performance of holiday songs by the Albert D. Lawton Middle School Choir. We concluded the event by handing out goodie bags to the seniors in attendance.  Thank you to all of the Rotarians who once again helped deliver the goodie bags, serve the meals and assist with cleaning up afterwards.  A special thank you goes out to Janet Cooper and to Skip Oliver for all of their hard work in coordinating this event.

            The arrival of winter means that preparations for the annual Rotary Hockey Classic have begun! Every year on the second or third Saturday in March, our Club puts on this event that features two hockey games between the best high school seniors in the state. For many of these young men and women, this event will be their last opportunity to step on the ice for a competitive hockey game. The event begins with the women’s game and concludes with the men’s game. As this is our Club’s second largest fundraiser, it is our hope that we can get the support and help from as many Rotarians as possible. Stay tuned for more information about this event and the exact date on which it will be held.  In the meantime, if you are interested in helping out with the preparations, or if you would like to learn more about the Hockey Classic, please contact Jeff Cabanaw at tarrisonus@comcast.net

 

            In what should be one of the most anticipated and hotly contested elections since this year’s national mid-term races, our Club will be electing its new Board of Directors and officers for the 2019-2020 Rotary year.  Please let President Andy Love know immediately if you would like to appear on the ballot as a candidate for any of the elected positions. As they say in Chicago, “vote early and often!”

 

 

            We are looking for volunteers to help staff the Heavenly Pantry Food Shelf on Thursday, December 20. Please contact Sharon Dettenrieder at sharon.dettenrieder@gmail.com if you are able to fill any of the shifts on that date. Stay tuned for announcements about volunteer opportunities in January and beyond.

 

Upcoming Meeting Schedule:  Wednesday, December 12, 2018 – In addition to holding the annual Club election, the Essex High School Chamber Choir will join us to perform several songs of the season.

 

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