A Challenge for Barre Rotarians
After leading Rotarians and guests in the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four Way Test, President Caroline announced that a Rotarian had pledged $15,000 to the Legacy Fund and has issued a matching challenge. She encouraged Barre Club Rotarians to meet the challenge and pledge what they can now or designate a contribution for the future.
Guests: Dave Rubel, Barre Community Relief Fund, and Tim Barritt, today’s speaker.
Announcements
Tom Babic announced that he will be traveling to Florida and needs a substitute for his shift at the BOR concession stand. Tony, with EPIC speed, stepped up to help out.
Patrick reported that from July to December, $255 had been collected for Polio Plus which will be matched at a rate of three times that amount by the Gates Foundation.
Tony announced a “trifecta:” 1) Volunteering for the Hedding United Methodist Church’s annual Christmas dinner; 2) his daughter is pregnant; and 3) his son is engaged. Along with his announcement came a commensurate number of Happy Dollars.
A Rotary Moment or Two
Nicole wished everyone a Happy New Year; updated us on meeting events for February; informed us that former presidents Jimmy Carter, Roland Reagan; George H. W. Bush; George W. Bush; and Donald Trump were all Rotarians.
She also announced that she has taken a position with Fast Enterprises: a software consulting firm which assists in development and implementation of software for government agencies.
Since Last We Met
Birthdays: Jan Pargo--January 3; Karl Rinker--January 7
Club Anniversary: Buctch Churchill--January 8, 2003--22 years
Anniversaries: Patrick and Kathy Gardner--December 22,1984--40 years; Jim and Ginny Catone--December 27,1972--52 years.
Check Presented
A check for $40,463.32 was presented to Dave Rubel of the Barre Community Relief Fund. To date the Barre Rotary Club has contributed a total of $57,300.32 to this worthy cause. Funds go directly to individuals and businesses of the greater Barre community who have been victims of two devastating floods.
Two Rotarians Receive Paul Harris Award
Tony presented Paul Harris pins to Doug Bullett and Jim Catone in recognition of their contributions to the Rotary Foundation; Doug a plus 7 and Jim a plus 3.
The Peace Corps Revisited
A brief bio: Tim Barritt is not a native Vermonter. His mom moved the family from the Washington D.C. area to Brattleboro in 1970. Having loved that change of residence to Vermont, Tim joined IBM Essex Junction in 1981, fresh out of college as an electrical engineer after receiving his B.S. from the University of Rhode Island. He took a break from IBM from '87 to '89 to teach grades 7-12 in a Catholic Mission School in Liberia, West Africa as a volunteer with the Peace Corps. Upon his return, Tim met and married Katie O'Brien and had two children, Sam and Julian. He now has forty-four years with IBM/GlobalFoundries. Tim is also the South Burlington City Council Chair in his ninth year on the Council.
The Main Event: Tim began his presentation with a bit of history about Liberia. Liberia is the only Black state in Africa never subjected to colonial rule and is Africa's oldest republic. It was established on land acquired for people who formerly had been enslaved in the United States. Those repatriated slaves, fearing native Liberians would overpopulate the country, in turn enslaved them. They also named the capital of Liberia, Monrovia, in honor of US President James Monroe. In the twenties the United States became interested in rubber and helped to clear over a million acres to plant rubber trees. An airport was also built. Today, the U.S. imports $87.3 million worth of rubber each year.
Tim had an intensive course in how to be a teacher before being assigned to a Catholic school which included students of several religions. Prior to assuming his duties he was grilled by community members to determine if he was a CIA agent. He taught a variety of subjects including mathematics, English, biology and French. The class size ranged from thirty-five to forty-five students.
Outside the classroom, he lived a simplified life with a small house as his residence. He had two ways to cook: a hibachi and a hot plate fueled by kerosene.
As a secondary project he attempted to grow a garden. While the climate was favorable for growing, the soil was not. He used a variety of enhancers including rice hulls, water with urine and chicken poop.
Tim’s talk was laced with anecdotes and stories, some amusing and others with a more serious tone. At the end of his presentation, he shared with us a plethora of photos depicting his Peace Corps experience.
Rotarians thoroughly enjoyed his talk and showed their appreciation with a warm round of applause.
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