In the Beginning
Acting President Tony began the meeting with thirteen Rotarians reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four Way Test. Then right onto the Secretary’s Report.
Since Last We Met
Club Anniversaries: Bob Pope--January 23, 1991--34 years
Emily Stephens--January 24, 2024--1 year
A Rotary Moment or Two
Nicole reminded us of the following dates: Community Grants letter going out on January 31; grants awarded by the end of February; Pie for Brunch on April 5; and Drop ‘n Swap on May 10 and 11 at the BOR.
She again announced the following noon meeting events for February: Feb 05, Steve MacKenzie--143 Main Street Initiative (The Old J.J. Newberry Building); Feb 12, A Visit to the Barre Social Club: and Feb 19, Martial Arts Master Freddie LaPan--Self-Defense.
She also read from an email that she had received; in part it read:
“Dear Rotarian,
I am thrilled to share an extraordinary opportunity for us to be part of Rotary’s legacy as we approach our 120th anniversary! Rotary International’s “Your Club on the Moon” Peace Initiative invites us to take an incredible space adventure—and your club can join in the journey!
Here’s how:
Rotary will launch Flight 1 aboard the Griffin Moon Lander, promoting peace on Earth by landing on the Moon next summer via a SpaceX Falcon Rocket. Your club’s holiday photos can be part of this once-in-a-lifetime event.”
If we want to participate in this event, we need to email club and holiday photos to them.
Anyone who wants to champion this project, contact Nicole.
Fines and Happy Dollars
Since Nicole was still standing, she went right to expressing happiness. She started off with the $5 that she owed from past happy-sharing; then a dollar for the good works of
fellow Rotarian Frank Plumley of the Northfield Rotary Club who recently passed away; two dollars for the family’s newest kitten; and two dollars for being glad to see Bob Blow here.
Karl paid a fine for being late.
Tom rose and asked Tony to pass the gavel which he did dutifully. Tom proposed a fine of one-and-nine on Tony for starting the meeting 20 seconds late. In his defense Tony justified the late start because he was being courteous and respectful by not interrupting Rotarians securing their vitals and chugging them down. Next came the assertion that “the meeting doesn't start until Karl gets here,” and therefore, Tony started the meeting early. Then there was a fine, in the form of an amendment, proposed on Karl. Both amendment and main motion passed.
This ‘n That
Margo Austin's (Interact Advisor) position has been eliminated due to budget cuts. Nicole is looking for a replacement.
Eddie reported that although he wasn’t there this weekend, the BOR concession stand operation ran smoothly. Spaulding students continue to be a great help in staffing the concession.
Karl and Jan shed light on the car sculpture on display at the “head” table.
It is a 1931 Ford panel truck model that club member and artist Jan Spargo partially built and completely decorated. The original 1931 truck was owned by Ken Squier who owned WDEV which first went on the air in 1931!
Membership
Acting President Tony led a session of Barre Rotarians on membership. We began with a discussion on “why membership is important.” Topics included Rotary’s impact on community and the world, diversity, opportunities to make friends and connections and sharing of leadership and staffing of committees.
discussion continued with the following major points made:
Why are we not attracting new members?
We need to have younger individuals and more women in our club.
We need to recognize social change and adjust accordingly.
Changing the time was suggested: breakfast and evening instead of noon.
For young mothers with children, morning is not an option for obvious reasons; evenings also may not work for some.
Noon does not generally work for those who are fully employed.
A breakfast meeting without breakfast and a program was suggested.
Meetings should be fun.
Fines are seen as fun by some members and not so by others.
Need to ask people directly to attend a meeting; see they get there.
Tony gave us an assignment for the February 5th meeting: bring 1-5 names of businesses or individuals who could be potential members--scour the newspaper and social media; consider people you know or have heard of.
Part two of the assignment is to suggest a membership event: a service activity; a special event; a dynamic speaker or presentation?
The topic of membership provoked a lively discussion with a variety of suggestions for attracting new members. We need to follow up and develop a plan action as we move forward to increase our membership. This has to be a total club effort.
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