One Short of Three Strikes at the Ole Ball Game
After the rituals, thirteen Rotarians and six guests sat down for lunch. DG Caroline was first up with Happy Dollars: one each for Loren’s daughter Adele and Mike Bancroft being here; and one for being in our new space. Karl, sans bandaged leg, proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Ted for advertising his business via his shirt last week (This week he used a name tag to cover it up.) Tom Babic offered a defense “that you never fine a treasurer.” Fine did not pass. For his second fine, Karl proposed one-and-nine on Eddie for appearing on TV. He claimed that he was a public servant working on behalf of charity to secure donations and that it was a clip over which he had no control. Fine did not pass. On his third try, Karl proposed the same denominational amount on all those who were not wearing a badge. That fine passed. One of three isn’t bad, remarked a fellow Rotarian.
A Constitutional Moment
Caroline spoke today of privileges and immunities. Executive privilege is a constitutional principle that permits the president and high-level executive branch officers to withhold
information from Congress, the courts and ultimately the public. This presidential power is controversial because it is nowhere mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. It has been recognized by the courts, most famously in the U.S. v. Nixon (1974) Supreme Court case. Referring to the Legislative Branch, Caroline quoted from Article I Section 6: “The Senators and Representatives shall receive a Compensation for their Services to be ascertained by Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States. They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place." Presently, this section of the Constitution is important in deciding if Senator Lindsey Graham has to honor a subpoena and testify in connection with an investigation into possible interference in Georgia’s electoral process of the 2020 presidential election. 
A Rotary MinutePresident Nicole introduced a new feature of our meetings called A Rotary Minute. Each week some unknown or “forgotten” fact about Rotary will be presented. Today, President Nicole reviewed the Four Way Test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Since Last We Met
Club Anniversaries: Reta Sanders July 11, 2018 4 years
On this day in history: 1832 The source of the Mississippi River was discovered by American geographer Henry Schoolcraft.
1932 Frank Sinatra recorded his first single, From the Bottom of My Heart.
Guests: Ami Gamble; Don Devoil; Mike Bancroft; Adele Polk; Louis Lesiak; Art Zorn.
The Rousse ReportEddie reported all is going well as our Annual Barre Rotary Breakfast approaches. He’s looking for the duty sign-up sheet last seen at the American Legion. If anyone knows its whereabouts, please let Eddie know. Additional posters are available for posting and more tickets are available for selling.
Tom Babic introduced our speaker for today, George Milne, fellow Barre Rotaian.
Can You Hear Me?
With an affirmative answer, George began his talk. He said that he had given a classification talk several times, but recognized that there were members in the room who didn't know him that well and so he decided he would do it once more. His educational background included attending Lincoln School and Spaulding High School in Barre and Tufts University, majoring in economics. He worked for the Granite Savings Bank and Trust from 1956-1992 and served as President from 1973-1993. His hobbies and interests included photography, skiing--water and snow, music, traveling and snowmobiling. As he spoke, he added anecdotes and stories related to his hobbies. He told of using flashbulbs and replacing them will strobe lights which are reusable unlike flashbulbs. He stopped waterskiing at age fifty, but told us that his oldest son, Jamie, is still water skiing at sixty-three and
has never been better. Music has always been a part of George’s life intermingled with his eyesight. After taking piano lessons for four years, he was told by eye doctors that he should stop taking lessons because there was too much strain on his eyes. It proved to be untrue.He was very nearsighted and it kept getting worse until he was about eighteen. He sang in choruses most of his life and doodled for many years with a concert of some of his music compositions. His musical peak came with a concert of some of his work at the Barre Opera House on January 12, 2020. He recalled vacationing at the Maine beaches until a camp the family had rented at Higgins Beach burned down in 1944. He made it out wearing a pair of shorts, but lost his Parker pen and stamp collections. The family then started a long romance with Joe’s Pond. Today, his ex-wife Jane and his son Jamie each own a camp and live there year round and his oldest granddaughter and her family live there in the summer after buying the family camp.
George joined Rotary in 1959, served as President and as District Governor. He attended national, international and district conferences on a regular basis for many years and has developed meaningful friendships with Rotarians around the world.
As a member of the Barre Community he served on several boards including the Central Vermont Hospital, Aldrich Public Library. Jaycees, the Barre Area Development Corporation and the Barre’s first Planning Commission.
He told us that his eyes had always been his Achilles’ heel. He spoke of special treatment in school, special eye doctors in Boston, New York and Montreal, early cataract surgery with implants, a partial cornea implant in his left eye, melanoma in his right eye with its removal on March 10, 2000, and now a moderate glaucoma in his remaining eye.
George married Linda in 1993 and they will be celebrating their 30th anniversary this August. Together they have traveled to all seven continents with some of the most notable places being, Russia, Kenya, Antarctica and the Amazon River. George’s first trip to Australia was as Rotary Group Study Exchange team leader to New South Wales, Australia. Sequentially, George and Linda participated in the Friendship Exchange Program in the North Island of New Zealand and hosted many team leaders of members of GSE teams from foreign countries and Friendship Exchanges. He and Linda enjoyed dancing, especially on cruises, the Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods on New Year’s Eve and formal Rotary occasions.
He concluded by saying: “But I am eighty-eight years old and am very fortunate to have had the life I have had and be happy with what I’ve done in my lifetime. Life has been good to me.
Until next time, that's all folks....
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