The Basket is Filled to the Brim With Happiness

After completing the rituals, thirteen Rotarians sat down to a lunch of spaghetti and meatballs, salad and cookies. Tom provided the music, a recording of Our Christmas Tree and, as it turns out, it was written by George Milne and Dick Shadroui. That prompted a Happy Dollar from President Tony and two from George. Bertil was next with another, happy to be going to Sweden for two weeks. Nicole added ten for meeting with Barre Rotarians in preparation for her Presidency and another for the song. President Tony added two more in the joy of receiving a picture of his and Cindy’s sponsored child from Tanzania wearing an apron and holding a pen that they had sent her. Bruce threw another in the basket for the happiness generated by his attendance of a Mannheim Steamroller concert at the Flynn. Eddie was next in line with two dollars, one in noting that at the Montpelier Rotary Holiday Party the members and guests sang two songs and another for his daughter coming home for the holidays. George gave another two Happy Dollars as he noted that the Montpelier Rotarians dressed in holiday attire for their party and encouraged us to do the same for the December 22nd meeting. Karl recounted a life threatening health episode experienced by his son during a recent visit. He received a pacemaker and Karl reported that he is fine now and put five dollars in the basket for his happiness engendered by this good news. Not to be outdone, Bob gave several dollars:visiting his mother and sister in California; acquiring two of Governor Phil Scott’s racing cars and being excited about meeting with Nicole. Amid the flurry of dollars making their way to the basket, Doug came up with a match box from Dick Shadroui’s club, Grenadier, in New York City where he had a thriving musical career as a singer and pianist. 

A Constitutional Moment

Caroline began by asking about the first three articles of the Constitution, specifically what branches of government each address. After some guessing, she revealed the following: Article I-legislative; Article II-executive; and Article III-judicial.  

Since Last We Met

Significant Other Birthdays: 

Lynn Addiegio  Dec. 10th

On this day in history: 1791 The Bill of Rights was finally ratified.

2011 U.S. declares the end of war in Iraq.

Second reading: Cindy Locke as a  prospective member of Barre Rotary Club.

AmeriCorps: My Service and Experience 

Caroline introduced Rebecca Lo Presti, today’s speaker.

Becca Lo Presti graduated from Hofstra University with a BA in History and high honors in December 2020. In January of 2021, Becca started her year of service at the Vermont Granite Museum as an AmeriCorps Stewards VISTA. During her service, Becca has accessioned 3500 paper items, managed the museum's social media, contributed to several successful grant applications  in addition to falling in love with Central Vermont! She is currently working on her graduate school applications to obtain her MA in Historic Preservation.

Becca began her presentation with the mission statement of Americorps: “To improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering.” It includes VISTA, NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps), state and national, and AmeriCorps Seniors. There are 75,000 individuals in AmeriCorps this year.  She went on with a description of what  members do including working in schools and national parks and with veterans and military families, responding to disasters, combating the opioid crisis and homelessness. She continued with how they live which includes a  living stipend ($1,150/month), federal food assistance, health insurance reimbursement and a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $6,495. Becca is part of Americorps Stewards VISTA. Stewards is a subsection of VISTA that works with national parks and historic resources. She is a single individual placed at the Vermont Granite Museum to improve its capacity and operations.  Her responsibilities include: working on accession collections; managing the museumʼs social media; writing grant proposals; working the front desk; assisting volunteers; and attending AmeriCorps seminars. She concluded with My AmeriCorps Pros and Cons: Pros: professional development; the education award; job security; and Barre! (I love this city). Cons: low pay; unreliable health insurance; and non-profit work during the pandemic. Becca’s was animated and lively and her presentation was laced with photos illustrating her major points.  Rotaritans showed their appreciation with a warm round of applause at the conclusion of Q&A.  

Until next time, that's all folks,,,,

Please Wear Holiday Attire on Wednesday, December 22nd.