What Do Attending (or not) a Meeting at Spaulding, Skiing and Not Having a Lunch Have in Common? (They bring $$$ to the coffers of the Barre Rotary Club.)
Rituals with piano and a flag again, with gratitude and celebrating National Adjective Week, we sat down to lunch on battered chicken tenders, French fried potatoes, tossed salad, and baked cookies. Energetic President Caroline was on her feet quickly (let’s not leave out the adverbs) to propose a fine of one-and-nine
on Tony for not leading the fining frenzy. He weakly defended his behavior by stating that he still had two minutes before the delay of game rule could be invoked. Fine passed. Brenda then rose to offer a Happy Dollar for those who attended last week’s meeting to lunch with and hear a presentation from the Interact Club members and another for “I Matter You Matter Day;” it’s a day for showing appreciation to one’s self and to others. Brenda showed us a card with a colored string on it, explaining that when you approach someone in the school, you tell that they are appreciated, a knot in the string is tied and the person repeats the act with another, thus spreading kindness and appreciation. A fine was then proposed on all those not present last week at Spaulding. Tony offered another weak defense claiming that he was there in spirit which no one bought. Fine passed and Ted passed the basket. Tom gave a Happy Dollar for following Karl skiing down the slopes for a total of 21,550 vertical feet. Scott gave two Happy Dollars; one for being back and one for discovering the Wood Art Gallery in Montpelier. He also gave a Sad Dollar for not having his lunch. Bob offered a Happy Dollar for sitting at a different table and with M&Ms.
Earle’s Pearls
- President Caroline announced that a Breakfast Committee has been formed, but other members will be asked to serve in the next few weeks.
- A permit for the restoration of the mural wall has been submitted. President Caroline will attend a Zoning Review Board hearing next week regarding the project.
- A grant is being applied for the “Plant a Tree Project” which we are sponsoring along with the Central Vermont Rotary Club and the Vermont Career Center. Among the locations where trees will be planted are the Barre City and Barre Town schools, Berlin Elementary, the Granite Museum and Montpelier High School.
- We will buy Interact Club T-shirts designed by members and unveiled during their PowerPoint presentation last week. Elizabeth is working on getting the best price.
Liane Leads the Dance Discussion
Liane began the discussion by pointing out that in order for the Annual Rotary Ball to be a success, we need to have more members involved, similar to the
Annual Rotary Breakfast. She also talked about the ratio of work input versus funds raised (about $2700 last year). A coin drop would be less labor intensive, for example. She is concerned about member burnout. Both she and President Caroline talked about the importance of having a dedicated fund raiser, perhaps the mural wall. It was suggested that we should consider changing the format and time of the event, such as a February cabin fever dance. Others pointed out that it has become a popular event in October. The silent auction now has a documented database and it should be easier to secure donations. Tony has connections with wine and cheese vendors to add to the items for the silent auction. Support for keeping the event was strong with some changes: streamline the event; increase the ticket price; change the format and make it a dedicated fund raiser. All of these suggestions will be taken into consideration in planning next year’s event. If readers of
Granite Chips have additional ideas, let Liane know.
What’s Your Passion?
President Caroline led a discussion on the topic of Rotary passion; without it events, fundraisers and projects will not be successful. Several themes emerged as each Rotarian briefly described her/his passion: giving back to the community; our meetings; projects and events that feature youth; and international projects. It was a sincere and heartfelt expression of those present and an extremely enjoyable experience to hear from other Barre Rotarians about their passions and why they joined Rotary. Caroline took notes to be used in developing and planning future projects and events.
A Membership Minute
Scott took the floor to deliver a Membership Minute by recalling sitting at the Rotary welcoming table at the Blood Drive and noticing people running by the table in favor of giving blood. He mused that if we could get people to come to a meeting of this wonderful group of people, we could become more popular than giving blood. [You had to be there.]
Fining Finale
Of course, he had to have the last word. Tony rose to interrupt the ringing of the bell to conclude the meeting by proposing a fine of one-and-nine on Joe for not filing his badge properly last week and for playing with a prison knife during the passion discussion. No defense was offered since it was noted that it was after one o’clock. Fine passed and paid and we adjourned.
Until next time...that's all folks.