Through the month of June, Barre Rotary Club continued to meet virtually via Zoom. The meetings were a mixture of conversations focusing on Covid-19, engaging in friendly banter and attending to Rotary business. This abbreviated edition of Granite Chips is a summary of the June meetings based on recordings and individual contributions from Caroline, Eddie, Karl and Bruce.
Some of the Main Topics
Masks continued to be a topic with reports of purchasing and distribution. Several hundred more were distributed in June to such organizations as the Barre Senior Center, the Congressional Church and the Good Samaritan.
Fundraising ideas generated in April and May were discussed at June meetings. The drive-In movie idea is still being pursued, although the company which helps to make it happen is not in business at this time. The probable venue will be the Granite Museum. The Barre 500 is on hold, but several members have provided feedback to Bruce who proposed the idea. No decision has been made on the breakfast tickets/raffle.
Ted and Tony made pleas for donations to the Rotary Foundation and Karl explained how points are accumulated and distributed among members and members’ spouses.
At one meeting Brenda talked about the frustrations of planning the Spaulding High School graduation due to conflicting messages and vague guidelines from the State. She and her staff were able to pull it all together and provided the graduates and their families with a memorable experience.
The Changeover Dinner
The Changeover Dinner took place on June 24th at Karl and Charlene Rinker’s home with fewer attendees as in previous years. Most took advantage of the Delicate Decadence stuffed chicken dinner option and ate while observing social distance. Caroline gave the innovation expressing gratitude for Rotary and its good works citing local, national and international accomplishments. Outgoing President Eddie made presentations to directors and passed the gravel to Incoming President John. During his opening remarks, he listed the many accomplishments of Barre Rotary for the year. Included were: the speech contest, the distribution of dictionaries and atlases, fixing up Wheelock house, planting a tree in memory of Gladys Agell, donating over $15,000 to the Aldrich Public Library and participating in the World Gift Wrap Project. Eddie’s splash was a big hit when he dove into the pool.
Announcements and Reports
A Monkey survey is being prepared to determine the status of our Club’s current state.
A discussion of the nature and venue of future meetings is ongoing.
Tom reported a successful Green Up Day with nine participants who collected 35-40 bags of trash.
Caroline is leading the fight against trash on Thursday evenings. Contact her if you would like to join the group.
Happy Birthdays
On June 3rd Dick Shadroui joined the meeting to celebrate his 96th birthday which coincided with Brenda’s. All joined in a virtual version of Happy Birthday for the celebrants.
Officers for 2020-21
President-John Steinman
Immediate-Past President-Ed Rousse
VP/Incoming President-vacant
Treasurer-Ted Goulette
Secretary-Lauren Polk and Bruce Fischer
Foundation Chair-Tony Campos
Director-Karl Rinker
Sgt. at Arms-Joe Shadroui
Director-vacant
Since Last We Met
Birthdays, Wedding and Club Anniversaries---see side panel to the right.
Kudos to Eddie for a job well done leading us through these challenging times and good luck to John as he takes the baton to continue the good work of Rotary!
Until next time, that’s all folks…...