While fourteen Rotarians and two guests were dining on chicken, peas & mushrooms & rice and salad, President Tony asked Caroline to introduce DG Mike Carrier which she dutifully did as she gave a Happy Dollar for “his being here.” Then Tom asked Tony to pass the gavel and proposed a fine of one-and-nine on him for giving Chief of Police Vail a business card. Karl tacked on an amendment of an additional dollar because Tony did not ask the Chief to work on the Annual Rotary Breakfast. Bob sarcastically interjected: “Tony knows little about the breakfast.” Amendment and fine passed. Cindy was next up with “a glad to be back and a sorry for missing so many meetings” $5. The coffers were grateful and the Rotarians were happy to see her. Karl reported that he, Nicole, Caroline, Tom, Eddie and Joe S. distributed dictionaries and atlases at Washington Central School. They were met by fifteen eager recipients who exuded enthusiasm and they received feedback from teachers that this project was important and should continue. Nicole was asked to speak about her experience as a “first timer” and she reported that the “kids were fantastic,” full of energy, questions and comments. She will definitely be a participant in the future and has become an ardent supporter of the project.
Carry the Message
DG Mike Carrier reminded us of upcoming events: District Training; Speech Contest; Changeover Dinner (Caroline will become DG); and RYLA. Click on the link which will take you to the district website for details and dates. https://rotary7850.org/ He threw a dollar in the basket for “his being here.”
Since Last We Met
Club Anniversaries; Carol Dawes April 8 25 years
On this day in history; 1870 Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York.
1743 Thomas Jefferson is born.
1970 Apollo 13 oxygen tank explodes.
Just Before the Speaker
Arthur Zorn will be out of the country for a while and he will miss a few meetings. We will miss him, his voice, his playing the keyboard and his parodies.
Bob Pope rose to take his dollar back from last week, calling last week's singing performance “concert-like” compared to this week’s. Last week he fined President Tony for poor agenda planning by singing before eating. This week we ate first and then sang, which in his opinion, was inferior to last week’s.
Introduction of Self-Update-Future Plans
Tom introduced Braedon Vail, Barre City Chief of Police.
Chief Vail became police chief this March after serving for over 28 years at the Hartford Police Department. For the previous six and one half years he was Deputy Chief of Support Services which included holding the positions of the Commander of the Detective Division, Communications Center and Professional Standards and that of the Accreditation Manager. He has a B.S.degree from Champlain College in Integrated Studies with a concentration in computer forensics and an M.B.A. from Herzing University-Madison[Wisconsin] with a dual concentration in Public Safety and Leadership. He has been a member of the White River Rotary Club since 2014.
Chief Vail began his talk with a personal touch about his wife, children and grandchildren. He then went on to describe his employment history. After graduating from Champlain College, he started his career in Hartwick, staying there for three years before taking a position with the Hartford Police Department. He held various positions there for twenty-eight plus years, working his way up to Deputy Chief. He presented some ideas that he would want to bring to the Barre Police Department and started by setting a tone with: “You can’t police a community without the help of the community.” He hopes to build coalitions with various groups and community members as he did in Hartford. Community involvement is critical. He wants to increase transparency and visibility in the community. He sees that happening, in part, through an increased presence by walking and biking in the community and interacting with youth, such as shooting hoops at courts and parks in the City. He said he was surprised that officers didn’t wear cameras. He recently presented a proposal to the Barre City Council which included the purchase of equipment and storage of the videos with a price tag of $197,000 over five years. Turns out that storage is the greatest expense. He is pursuing grant opportunities and noted that Vermont does not have any grant programs for body cameras, just for those mounted on vehicles. In response to questions: he reported that 19 of 21 positions are filled with the hopes of adding an additional mental health position; “the drug problem;'' and teen sucide. For an informative and impressive presentation, Rotarians showed their appreciation with an enthusiastic round of applause. Welcome to Barre, Chief Vail.
knows little about the breakfast.” Amendment and fine passed. Cindy was next up with “a glad to be back and a sorry for missing so many meetings” $5. The coffers were grateful and the Rotarians were happy to see her. Karl reported that he, Nicole, Caroline, Tom, Eddie and Joe S. distributed dictionaries and atlases at Washington Central School. They were met by fifteen eager recipients who exuded enthusiasm and they received feedback from teachers that this project was important and should continue. Nicole was asked to speak about her experience as a “first timer” and she reported that the “kids were fantastic,” full of energy, questions and comments. She will definitely be a participant in the future and has become an ardent supporter of the project. 
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