The Rotary Club of 
Barre, Vermont
 
Chartered 1924
District 7850
PO Box 167
Barre, VT 05641
 
Granite Chips
Stories
Thailand adventures
Spring Colors on Our Minds
Following opening rituals, Rotarians enjoyed a meal of turkey bacon sandwiches and chips as general announcements were made. The first and subsequent announcement celebrated the beautiful work of the mural, and expressed gratitude to Caroline Earle for her dedicated work in organizing this project. The mural's completion was inspiring to many, and many Rotarians present at the dedication remarked that visitors each had a favorite, and had many questions about the various objects throughout the panels.
 
Caroline spoke briefly on the conclusion of the mural project, and announced the pieces will be installed in May, with exact dates pending. Thanks to a $500 Main Street Grant from National Life and a $100 donation from John of the Palateers, only $400 is left to cover the cost of the anti-graffiti treatment to ensure the safety of the mural. Caroline hopes to have a celebration across the street from the mural with the City's blessing, and answered questions on the installation and upkeep process for the mural. Stone and Browning has offered to help pressure wash any pieces needing cleaning, and many of the volunteers working with the mural project were able to problem solve issues associated with the installation, such as how to hang the pieces, how to prevent insects and birds from disturbing the art, and creating a walking tour in the future to teach visitors about the significance of pictures within the mural. Stay tuned for more details on the installation and reveal!
 
 
Happy Dollars and Announcements
  • John gave a Happy $ for Caroline and the mural dedication that morning.
  • New inductee, Nicole, gave three Happy $s : one to Caroline for her work, one to celebrate a visitor, Alli, who works and lives in Barre, and one to celebrate the upcoming RotarAct/InterAct/Richard Fox gathering.
  • Tony announced he is documenting a story of the relationship Barre Rotary holds with the community, and plans to submit a draft of this article to the Rotarian Magazine for the fall edition.
  • President Lianne announced the special addition of a bar available to Rotarians during lunch, and invited everyone to utilize this service.
  • Caroline gave a Happy $ in thanks to receiving and encouraging the teens participating in the Youth Speech Contest last week, including the ever entertaining Nathan Rice.
  • Tony shared the theme for the Fall Gala, which was serendipitously determined by a day spent with a good movie, "MoonStruck", and a great song, "That's Amore." This, of course, prompted a group singalong to celebrate!
  • Finally, George reminded all that the Rotary District Conference still have rooms available, and encouraged everyone to consider attending
Secretary Pro Temp's Report
Bruce reported there were no birthdays or anniversaries to report since the previous meeting. He prepared everyone for a big celebration the following week, however, by promising a number of events to announce. Bruce also recognized our visitor, Alli.
 
Tom's Travels in Thailand
Rotarian and past President, Tom Babic, shared pictures and stories of his adventures with his brother-in-law in Thailand. Tom wanted to see Thailand outside of the tourist experience, and jumped at the opportunity to visit his brother-in-law's home. After sharing a brief history of the country, Tom talked about his visits to several temples, the amazing traffic, and the fresh food. While Tom mentioned that his brother-in-law's house, like many in the country, didn't have modern amenities such as running water toilets, the access to fresh food was amazing and delicious! These tales included a picture of an amazing pad thai made fresh for only 90 cents, and a folding market that collapses every time a train passes through. In addition to experiencing life in the city, Tom visited some of the islands, where he was able to hike some of the mountain trails and collect some beautiful pictures. Rotarians were in awe of the beautiful photography and asked several questions about the cultural insights Tom was able to offer from his visit.
 
 
After Caroline won the raffle, the meeting was adjourned.
 
See you all on the 27th for Club Meeting and Committee gatherings!
Youth Leadership
 
A Potpourri: A Motion, Dollars, Senior Moments and a Double Fine
 
With rituals completed, seventeen Barre Rotarians sat down to enjoy a Cobb salad and assorted sweet goodies. Tony was first on his feet to make a motion that we honor former Barre Rotarians by inviting them to lunch on us. It was seconded by Eddie, voted on and easily passed by unanimous vote.
John was up next with a Happy Dollar because he won, albeit narrowly and for now, a seat on the Barre City Council.
President Liane offered a Sad Dollar in sadness that her son announced that he might be moving to Arizona and another for experiencing her first Senior Moment since turning fifty last month. Tony opined that she was, like wine, getting better with age. When President Liane wondered if it gets worse, Tom rose to recount his skiing with Karl, and as they were putting on their boots, Tom looked down to discover that he had put his boots on the wrong feet. President Liane passed the gavel and proceeded to propose a fine of one-and-nine on Tom and Karl for choosing skiing over a Rotary meeting. Tom defended by reporting that he and Karl had their own meeting on the slopes. Karl’s defense was centered on his trying to break his self-imposed goal of skiing more than 49 days. Neither defense impressed those assembled and the fine passed.  
 
Announcements
 
  • Caroline announced that the mural panels are about two weeks from being completed.
  •  
  • Elizabeth reported that Billy Rossi is comfortable at his place of residence in Shelburne and will likely remain there. President Liane suggested a field trip to visit Billy on the weekend and all agreed that would be a great idea.
  •  
  • President Liane announced that committees had started to meet and said that she will have copies of committee rosters with purpose and member lists at the next meeting.
 
 
 
Induction
 
Nicole DiDomenico was inducted into the Rotary Club of Barre. She is a former member of the Northfield Rotary Club and served for sixteen years. She initiated an international project in Tanzania and was the driving force behind the formation of Norwich University's Rotaract Club and Interact and Early Act in the Northfield schools. She is the Director of Civic Engagement, Service Learning and Campus-Community Partnerships at Norwich University. We are fortunate to have such an active and dynamic Rotarian.
 
 
Secretary Pro Temp’s Report
 
Bruce reported that George is celebrating a birthday this month and George said that he had a goal to reach 85 and he did. He also announced anniversary join dates: Me-9 years and Elizabeth-22 years.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Leadership Lessons at  RYLA
 
Brenda introduced our speaker, Kai Morse, RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) attendee at last spring’s leadership seminar at Northern Vermont University.  She summarized her experience as interesting and fun. The participants were divided into teams and they became very close. Activities included team building games and communication exercises. While the talent show requirement caught her off guard, she recited poetry that she had written. During the question and answer period, Kai recited Emily Dickson’s It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up. She will participate in Vermont’s Poetry Out Aloud Contest at the Barre Opera House. When asked about what she had learned about leadership, Kai said that she learned that being a leader is not bossing others around, but taking ideas from others and acting on them. Sometimes being a leader is being a follower. She has put to use her new learnings as president of the QSA (Queer Straight Alliance) at Spaulding, but will step aside to give someone else an opportunity in a leadership position. Brenda added that Kai has provided  training on student issues for her staff and faculty. Kai said that through her RYLA experience, she had gotten a taste of what college would be like. President Liane presented Kai with a RYLA Certificate and Barre Rotarians provided a warm round of applause in appreciation of her remarks.
 
 
 
 
 
Until next time....That's all folks
 
 

 
Club Information
 
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We meet:
Wednesdays, 12:00 PM
The American Legion
320 North Main Street
Barre, VT  05641 USA
 
 
 
Speakers
Mar 27, 2019
Apr 10, 2019
Sound the Alarm - Installation of Free Fire Alarms in Barre on April 27th
Apr 17, 2019
Jump$tart
Apr 24, 2019
May 01, 2019
Adaptive Hockey
May 08, 2019
Family Center of Washington County
May 15, 2019
Vermont Legal Ethics
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Birthdays & Anniversaries
Member Birthdays
Edmond Rousse
March 2
 
George Milne
March 2
 
Bertil Agell
March 11
 
Spouse Birthdays
Kelly Funk
March 15
 
Char Rinker
March 23
 
Mary Anne
March 24
 
Anniversaries
Jim Catone
Ginny Catone
March 13
 
Join Date
Jim Catone
March 3, 2010
9 years
 
Elizabeth LaPerle
March 5, 1997
22 years
 
Liane Martinelli
March 11, 2015
4 years
 
Brenda Waterhouse
March 23, 2016
3 years
 
Bruce Fischer
March 25, 1984
35 years
 
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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