Following opening ceremonial activities, Rotarians dove right in to the important business of the day – food. While all Rotarians agreed the meals at weekly meetings have been delicious, a suggestion was made that we advocate for a vegetable serving included at each lunch. Rotarians discussed the style and classification of this vegetable with various philosophical questions… is a potato classified as vegetable or starch? Should our request include the terms “green” and/or “leafy”? The source of the vegetable and type were decided not to be important, and in the end all Rotarians present agreed our caterer can take our general request and run with it.
Eggs were the next topic of discussion, as in 3,200 eggs served at the Rotary Pancake/Egg Breakfast. A narrative of the history and statistics of the breakfast has been written and is ready to get feedback from other participants in the annual event. Tony Campos is working on this 2-page detail of the event, and welcomes additional information any Rotarians might wish to correct or contribute. He plans to use this information to spread the word about the breakfast and recruit underwriters to support our costs in the event.
Ed spoke briefly about the 501(c)3 process, which is close to completion. The official name will be The Barre Rotary Foundation, and current board members will be listed. A draft will be available to members to review before the Board votes, though this was seen as unnecessary to the process. The foundation will list the Rotary P.O. box as the address, and no email is yet assigned to the foundation but one will be needed for registration updates.
A follow up to the Family Center of Washington County was addressed, and as a recap of the previous meeting Rotarians talked about the need to fix the driveway, which is estimated to be a $2900 cost. Berlin and Montpelier Rotarians have also been contacted for this need. Of immediate need are diapers sized 4 – 6, which can be purchased at any local store and brought to the Family Center of Washington County offices, which all Rotarians are encouraged to do.
Two additional items of business were discussed briefly: a bill for $173.50 was presented to Rotary for participation in the Times Argus deck of cards for Barre. Rotary board members have elected to purchase the Queen of Diamonds featuring the Barre Mutuo. An update on the mural was also given, and progress is again underway with a new protective coating available and a suggested June 1st installation.
Happy Dollars and Fines
- Barre Rock Chorus will perform Friday at the Elks club at 7:30 as a Homeshare benefit.
- Fine of 1 and 19 was proposed against Thom Babic by Karl, who found Thom’s ski poles in his truck.
- Karl happily paid the fine, and added a Happy Dollar for his newest accomplishment : 1000 miles and 100,000 vertical feet skied this season.
Presentor: Mike Kennedy, Vermont Bar Counsel
Mike has served as Bar council since 2012, previously working as Disciplinary Council for the state since 2000. Originally from South Burlington and a UVM alum, he is also an avid runner and basketball coach.
Did you know?
- Attorney ethics and discipline council are employed by the Supreme Court.
- The two malpractice issues that lead to disbarment are sex and money.
- Three most common reasons for inquiry are:
- Client confidentiality
- Conflict of interest
- Competency of attorney
- The most common reason clients file complaints against their attorney come from poor communication. Many times this is a result of an attorney failing to communicate reasonable expectations. Commonly complaints tend to come from inmates and divorce cases, against the opposing counsel.
- The most common reasons lawyers seek guidance is due to conflicts of interest. This is likely due to the size of our small state.
- Lawyers are not required to carry liability insurance.
- “Competence” as a necessary skill for lawyers was updated to include understanding the risks and benefits of technology.
- Marijuana has created a huge conflict in legal representation, as the industry is considered illegal at a federal level.
In the last minutes of Mike’s presentation, he and Rotarian Caroline Earle discussed the need for consumer ratings in order to help potential clients assess the competence of their lawyer. Caroline suggested using the Martindale Hubble guide, a peer review of lawyers, as one metric.
For more interesting information, check out Mike’s blog at:
And with that, Rotary’s May 15th meeting came to a close. Don’t miss more Rotary fun next week!
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