A huge shout-out to all the volunteers who wrapped 220coats on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at the Granite Museum of Vermont for the Salvation Army to be distributed to local children who are in need.

The Rotary Club of Barre recently contributed funds for this very worthwhile project in Guatemala.

The Rotary Club of Barre stepped outside its comfort zone for a short field trip on October 15, 2025, an experience designed to demonstrate the safety concerns of those who are visually impaired or blind. Led by VABVI ED Dan Norris and volunteers, Rotarians, Lyons Club members, and guests experience first-hand what it feels like to walk our streets without sight. We urge our members to help the Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired raise awareness in our community on this issue. We had a quick lunch and then took to the streets for this compelling experience.

Click here to view a video of members walking on Washington Street with goggles that impair their vision.

White Cane Safety Day is a national observance in the United States, observed annually on October 15 since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.

BARRE ROTARY ART SPLASH auction will be this Saturday,  September 06, 2025, at 3 PM at The Granite Museum of VT, 7 Jones Brothers Way, Barre, VT.

Viewing with free hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar will be at 3 PM, and the bidding will start at 4 PM.

Tickets are $20.00 at the door. The minimum bid will be $500.00.

This is a charity auction/fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Barre, VT.

All proceeds go out to the community for projects and grants.

Please come & help out our community.

I am pleased to announce that after much preparations and in continuing discussions with the City, we have set an installation date for Saturday, June 8.

Installation will begin at 9 am and the labor will be largely done by Mark Browning’s team with help from a few family members/Rotarians.  Bill Ahearn or one of his designees will be on site to assist.

We intend to have a tailgate lunch party so that friends/interested persons/members of the public who come to watch the installation can buy a hot dog, or grilled cheese, a drink and/or some chips – for a buck each.  Rotarians will be manning the grills and Cara has kindly agreed to let us use the Downstreet lawn.  

Please come by if you have the time and join us in marveling at the culmination of all of our hard work.  We will have a formal ribbon cutting in the near future as well, to which you will all be invited!

Many, many thanks for sticking with us on this long journey, and what will soon be a beautiful ending to our work together!

Belo, Ted Goulette hard at work.

Below, Past President, Tom Babic puts the final protection oat on.

The tree whisperer

The forests of New England prepared Paul Harris for a lifetime in Rotary

By Geoff Johnson

When he was a boy growing up in Vermont, Paul Harris made a startling discovery: “Trees talk to each other in a language of their own.” How else could they flawlessly orchestrate the brilliant display of color that each fall without fail set New England ablaze? It seemed obvious: In order to dazzle, the trees must first plan, they must plot, they must converse. 

Ipil: Intsia bijuga Reforestation: Logging and slash-and-burn farming have led to the near-extirpation of the ipil in parts of Southeast Asia; the tree’s wood is used for furniture and flooring. District 3830 (Philippines) planted ipil seedlings to reforest 5,000 hectares of the Irawan Watershed on the Philippine island of Palawan. In a project led by the Rotary Club of Makati Olympia, Rotarians also gave 24 indigenous Batak families 50 seedlings each of kalamansi, a native citrus tree.  

Illustration by Laszlo Kubinyi

• The 3^rd Annual Rotary Ball posters are here for pickup after the meeting and the meal plan is being finalized.
• Caroline would like us to participate in Rotary International’s Tree Initiative; planting a tree around the world for every Rotarian (1.2 million). More on this later this year.
• Barre City is doing a structural assessment of the Summer Street Wall and will provide a report in a few weeks.
• Several Barre Rotarians will assist the Boy Scouts this weekend in their fund raising flea market in the former Homer Fitts store.
• Karl Rinker reported that Circle will present a program in the coming weeks and we will schedule a work session this fall.
• The Trash Pickers continue their good work each Thursday evening.
• Joe Preddy has joined Sarah Costa to represent us on the Joint Services Recognition Dinner Planning Committee.

Caroline called Ron to the front of the room and presented him with a Paul Harris pin in recognition for years of his efforts working on Annual Rotary Breakfast. In appreciation, those assembled gave him a standing ovation.

A Mural Has a New Home

Steve presented an historical account of Paul Sample who completed a mural that originally was installed at National Life during Dean Davis’ tenure as CEO. He told an interesting story of Sample’s life including his education at Dartmouth, as a self-taught saxophonist, his bout with T.B., teaching at the University of Southern California and marring a Montpelier native and moving to Vermont. His presentation was abundantly accompanied with slides of relevant art work. Unfortunately, due to technological difficulties, his entire presentation is not available. The mural has been moved to the Pavilion in Montpelier and can be viewed there. 

September President Tom Babic starts our meeting

Guests- The club welcomed for a second straight week John Yacavone from the Lebanon club

From the secretary’s report- Susan informed the club of two Sept. birthdays. Claire Duke’s is on the 27^th and Joe Preddy’s on the 30^th. Happy Birthday! The 17^th also marked Susan and Chip’s 37^th wedding anniversary!

Happy $’s this week consisted of Jack’s granddaughter’s 13^th birthday, Bertil was shown how to properly operate a chainsaw (under supervision of course), and our guest speaker Louisa Tripp wanted to say that she just enjoys coming to visit the Barre club.

We were lead into song by our musical genius Dick Shadroui. Our songs this week were Yankee Doodle and Take me out to the ball game.

Karl introduced our guest speakers Gary Hass and Louisa Tripp. Gary is a member of the central Vermont rotary club and co-owner of The World newspaper. Louisa is the district governor elect of Rotary. Gary leads off the presentation by speaking about some of the difficulties that rotary has faced not only locally, but, around the country. Numbers have been declining in recent years, consequently so to have the numbers of young members. Because of this his club has adopted a looser attendance policy. This is a similar trend in rotaries across the country.  A way Hass believes the club can attract new members is via electronic clubs. Louisa than informed us on the e-clubs. An electronic club is complimentary to the physical club. In theory, an electronic club is an online forum where a rotary member can review past meetings and start discussions with other members without being present. A member can receive a makeup if they view the readings for that week’s meeting. The e-club allows anybody to visit the web site and participate in discussion. Other features include posting your club’s calendar and donating to rotary.  On average Louisa says she spends about an hour per week working on content for the site, but notes that you can spend well over that if needed. If you would like to visit the Central VT Rotary clubs electronic site please go to www.centralvermontrotary.wordpress.com.

Additionally Jack Barnes’ daughter has been selected as Vermont’s only nominee for the Nellie Mae Education’s Larry O’Toole Award for leadership in learning. She will be competing against 5 other nominees from other states that are more populated than VT. So if you could take a second to vote for her that would be much appreciated! Please go to http://www.nmefoundation.org/grants/larry-o-toole-awards.aspx

Also another reminder we will be helping this Saturday 9/21 to clean out more brush down at the Vermont Granite Museum. If you can attend it will take place from 8am-12pm. Karl urges you to bring chainsaws, trucks, and good shoes. 

The Barre Rotary Club has a large inventory of Partitions For Rent  for Businesses, Churches, Schools & Clubs etc.

The Barre Rotary Club has a large inventory of Partitions For Rent to any organization. These partitions are perfect in the Barre Auditorium, BOR or any other location for shows or conferences.

Partitions measure exactly 8’ across and are 6’ 1.25” high. (Specific details of size, and inventory is below)

They are stored in 4 large boxes.

Partition Rental is $1,500 for all; you pick-up and return.

Delivery & pick-up can be arranged for an additional $750 for all 4 boxes or $500.00 for 1 box.

Photos available upon request.

Please contact Karl A. Rinker @ 479-0124 or lazykarl@aol.com

We have 143 +/- dividers along with 280 +/- legs.  The dividers are in four (4) boxes each of which measure 8’-9” x 4’-9” x 4’-9”.  Currently, the boxes contain 43, 36, 35 & 29 per box.  Probably supposed to be 36 +/- per box when properly stored..  The legs are stacked in three racks measuring 8’-3” x 3’-0” x 3’-10” high.  The racks are probably built to hold seventy-two legs each hanging upside down (keeps the dust off) but we’re one rack short so they place the extras right side up under the hanging legs. 

With proper instructions, all seven pieces should fit on a standard flatbed.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members and two guests present.   Joe P. offered his usual “amazing” grace.

Tony Campos quickly made up for his recent absence by proposing a fine of 1+9 on Karl for what Tony characterized as a poor rendition of “I’m Henry the VIII” for our guest speaker who was dining next to Karl, who had no defense.   President Bill did note however, that our club survey of two years ago indicated several members thought we should sing more at our meetings, and ruled in favor of Karl on the proposed fine.

Not to be outdone, Tony again rose to propose a fine of 1+9 on our president, with Tony claiming the previous ruling was not supported by the facts.   Past President Jim, wielding the gavel, agreed with P.B. that it was out of order to propose a fine on the possessor of the gavel for using his judgment in passing or rejecting fines.   Tony’s bogus attempt to exact retribution on our leader was soundly defeated.

Sue introduced our guest from the Rutland Rotary, CEO of the Times-Argus Catherine Nelson (mother of our newest member Zach).   President Bill also announced to the club that there will not be a change-over dinner this year, as there is no change-over to be had, with no incoming president.  Instead we’ll have a “year-end recognition lunch” on June 25^th.   It was suggested that we might look into holding our annual cookout at Karl’s house on that date in lieu of our usual August cookout.   Karl was in agreement with that and more discussion will be held in the weeks ahead to determine how we will wind up the current Rotary year.

Sue proposed a fine of 1 ½ on Tony for moving most (but not all) of the tables before lunch, thus leaving the table occupied by Tony and Joe “askew”.   She also complained that Tony had usurped her responsibility of serving the cookies to all the members.    Tony, correctly noting that President Bill had suggested he distribute the cookies (since Tony was already at the cookie plate) escaped having to pay the quarter.   Karl then proposed 1+9 on Sue because she didn’t make sure Tony served everyone a cookie, since he didn’t get one.  That fine actually passed.

Jack offered two happy dollars, one for hearing his grand-daughter perform at a Cape Cod Theater production and a second for spending Patriot’s Day handing out towels, orange slices and water to runners in the Boston Marathon.

Karl introduced our speaker, Taylor Ralph, solar community organizer for SunCommon in Waterbury.  Taylor pointed out her job is to promote solar energy and help Vermonters to produce their own energy.  The goal of SunCommon is to help people access clean, renewable energy.  As a result, the organization has arranged financing with several banks and credit unions so residents can go solar with no upfront cost.   SunCommon also makes it easy to go solar by handling all of the logistics of converting to solar energy, to include getting permits.

“My job is to meet with people, help fund-raise and engage and galvanize communities to show how easy it is to go solar” she said.  

SunCommon will meet with interested residents to do an assessment of their property, something Karl is in the middle of doing for his own home.   Taylor said they can come up with a proposal  and have the entire process completed from start to finish in 2-3 weeks.

She said the cost for solar installations varies as to size of the residence as well as what the customer needs are, but in general they range from $13,000-$23,000.   There are also federal incentives available to lower the cost as well as incentives from the utility companies.   Financing packages ranging from 12 to 20 years are available.

Anyone seeking more information can contact Taylor at SunCommon (802-882-8181 or visit their web site at www.suncommon.com

Taylor pulled the winning raffle ticket and oddly enough no one came forward to claim the prize.

Next week’s speaker is Denise McBride of DLM Accounting Services.

President Bill opened the meeting with 13 Rotarrians and one guest present.

Tom Babic offered a happy $2 bill for Ron Parnigoni’s birthday (today) and Tom’s own b’day (tomorrow).   To celebrate, he wore both his badge and Ron’s today.

President Bill updated the membership on the board of directors’ meeting that was held prior to lunch.   The board will provide leadership for the club in Rotary year 2014-15 with current board members taking turns as weekly meeting chair, as there is no president in line for 2014-15.   Jim Catone will set up a duty roster for those board members.   The board will meet in May to go over the club’s financial status and work up a proposed budget for the coming year.   The current board members (at least those present) agreed to continue in their current positions for the year ahead.

Dick S. offered a happy dollar for the concert this past weekend at the Opera House, featuring pianist John O’Conor.   Dick said it was a wonderful performance.

Today’s program dealt with the Onion River Exchange Time Bank, with Outreach Coordinator Heather Kralik giving the presentation.

Heather is a former librarian at Barre Town School who departed three years ago to work for the Onion River Exchange.  The Exchange is a time bank that exchanges skills, talents, and services using time instead of money.   As an example, someone may spend two hours stacking wood for an exchange member.  This gives the individual doing the work two hours community credit in the exchange, which he/she could then exchange for some skill or service that another member possesses (snow shoveling or preparing a meal as examples).

The exchange was created to save money, learn new skills, meet new people, feel connected and helpful to the community, and to support a complimentary economy.  There are over 600 members in 28 participating towns within a 30 mile radius of Montpelier.   The members provide over 664 different services.  Some other examples of exchanges pointed out by Kralik are rides, pet sitting, home repairs, piano lessons, painting, bookkeeping, or child care to name a few.

In addition to individual members, there are also many businesses and organizations that have chosen to participate in the Exchange, such as Capitol Grounds, the Barre and Montpelier Senior Centers, and the Vermont Council on Aging.  Individual members pay $25-$50 annually, while organizations or households pay $40-$75 annually.

The Onion River Exchange web site can be found at www.orexchange.org.   Their e-mail address is info@orexchange.org and phone number is 552-3040.

Sue P. pulled the winning raffle ticket, belonging to Ted G. who graciously donated his winnings back to the club.

President Bill opened the meeting with 16 Rotarians and two guests present.

Tony Campos (you’ll read that name again here) got the ball rolling by proposing a fine of 1+9 on President Bill for noting that it was hot in the room and opening a window.   Tony said since Bill had just returned from Florida he shouldn’t have been warm, and by opening the window all of the food had cooled down to unacceptable levels (which as Past President Jim noted was not true, thus violating the 4-Way Test).   In spite of providing what appeared to be the perfect defense for said-President, PP Jim upheld the fine.

Tony C. then jumped to his feet again and proposed a fine of 1+9 on Sergeant-at-Arms Ted for not standing during the singing of our opening song.   Ted was, as Tony admitted, multi-tasking by singing while counting our meal money.    Ted stood to welcome Tony to the ranks of sergeants from this point forward.  The fine did not pass

Tony C. stood yet again (do we see a pattern here yet?) to propose a 1+4 fine on Claire (newly returned from the south herself) for advertising/soliciting business at the start of the meeting.   Claire owned up to the transgression and then happily peeled off several more happy/sad dollars for her wonderful trip, her return to Barre and several other occurrences which went un-recorded.

President Bill offered a happy dollar for his southern trip as well, noting in particular that his 10-year-old grandson’s Little League team in Miami defeated a team coached by Mike Lowell, former Red Sox third baseman and MVP of the 2007 World Series.  

Karl proposed a fine 1+4 on Tony C. (that name again) for referring to President Bill as Mr. President.   Tony said he could have called him much worse (as has been done before) and the fine passed. 

Jack Barnes gave a happy dollar for the Muscular Dystrophy walk he and his family were involved with in Massachusetts (walking inside the NE Patriots practice facility) and donned the shark’s head hat the team (The Sharks) wore.   He proudly noted the team raised over $5,000 for the cause.   Since Tony was fined for referring to PB as Mr. President, Karl offered a similar fine on Jack for referring to our leader as “acting president Bill”.   He paid.

Elizabeth updated the club on the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Academy) project.   She said she had been in touch with guidance officials at SHS to seek out interested students for the coming session in June.   The club will pay the cost of one SHS student to attend this summer.

President Bill updated the club on Roy’s continuing treatments, and that Roy has indicated that because of the length of his treatment he does not feel he will be up to serving again as president in July.   We all wish Roy a speedy recovery and return to Rotary as soon as he’s able.   The board will meet on April 16^th at 11:00am to discuss our leadership path forward (Board Members:  please note this new information).

Zach Nelson, who has been proposed as a new member was in attendance, along with Catherine Nelson, visiting Rotarian from Rutland.   If no objections are filed, Zach will be formally asked to join the club next week.

Karl introduced our speaker, Mary Jane Magnant, co-owner of Wobby Jewelers in Barre.  She and her husband Paul have been running the family business since 2004 when her father Richard retired.   Richard started the business in 1971 when he bought the former D.C. Giannoni Jewelry store.   Mary Jane’s mother Joanne went into the business with Dick and studied at home to become a gemologist.   She completed the 8-year course in 5-years, while raising five children.   Mary Jane has since followed a similar course herself to become certified in diamond appraisal, insurance appraisals and other related fields.

The business moved one door up No. Main Street to its current location in 1984.   Her husband Paul joined the business in 1988 when Mary Jane’s brother Dick, Junior left to open his own business in Montpelier.

Mary Jane said what she enjoys most about the business is meeting people.   “I love getting up in the morning and going in to work and see the people we deal with everyday.”    She added that having diamonds in the showcases is also a nice bonus!

She said one aspect of the business that many people don’t know about is that they sell clocks and also do watch repairs.

Mary Jane said she was very proud that a third generation of Wobby family members will enter the business soon when her son joins the company in May as a bench jeweler, like her husband Paul.

Mary Jane pulled the winning ticket which belonged to Bertil, who had no luck in finding the white marble.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members and one guest in attendance.   Due to the absence of all of our usual “grace givers”, we dispensed with the pre-meal blessing.

Tony Campos got the ball rolling with a happy dollar for what would have been his mother’s 86^th birthday.   This prompted Bertil to ask what Tony said, who he was talking about, why was it a happy dollar, and on and on.   President Bill noted that’s why the bell is rung, to call the room to order so those in attendance can listen to (and hear) what’s being said by he/she who has the floor.   Bertil said there was too much conversation going on to his right so he couldn't hear.   This prompted our guest (more on him later) to note that perhaps he had mistaken the Rotary Club for Rowan Court!

Sue P. proposed a fine of 1 ½ on George for being late, noting that he seems to be unable to arrive by 12:00 on a regular basis.   George acknowledged (while Sergeant-at-Arms Ted was slipping him his badge, thus avoiding another fine) that he’s habitually late, and likely was even during his year as District Governor, and he said he had no defense and paid what is an automatic (though not usually enforced lately…Four Way Test???) fine anyway.

Bertil reported on his recently completed trip to Honduras.  He said the group this year worked on supplying electricity to a vocational school built by Rotary, and also provided electricity to an elementary school.   He said there was a medical team on hand to provide services for those in need, and he said a group also spent a great deal of time repairing school desks, and did lots of painting.  Bertil noted next year’s project will be to build a neo-natal clinic and a Global Foundation grant of $150,000 is being applied for to help with the project.   He did note that he managed to get through airport security in Newark in less than 15 minutes prior to his departure, and while it’s not safe to drink the water in Honduras, he had no health issues until he got back to the States and spent a few days in Pennsylvania.   So he offered a happy dollar for the success of his visit and a sad dollar for his illness on U.S. soil.

Bob Pope inquired as to Roy’s progress and President Bill advised the club he had received an e-mail from Roy indicating he had hoped to attend today’s meeting but he was feeling very weak and tired and unable to get out for the meeting.   Roy is still receiving treatment and his spirits are high and he continues to look forward to the end of his treatment and a return to Rotary in the next few weeks.

Our guest, Barre native and attorney Rusty Valsangiacomo, gave an excellent presentation on his years as an attorney in Vermont.   He noted his father, Oreste Senior, had been a long-time member of the Barre Rotary, and Rusty remembered attending Rotary meetings at the old Hotel Barre as a Junior Rotarian.   He recalled Doc Parnigoni leading the singing, with long-time City Clerk Ralph Olliver playing the piano.

Rusty said he began the practice of law in 1973 after passing the bar exam in Vermont.   He started out clerking for Richard Davis, along with Leighton Detora and Gary McQuesten, who went on to become his partners in Valsangiacomo, Detora and McQuesten.   The firm now has six lawyers…the three founding partners along with Rusty’s son Jon, Brooke Dingledine, and Chris Pelkey.

Rusty gave several examples of how the practice of law has changed during his 40 years as an attorney.   There were no public defenders when he began, and attorneys would show up at the court house on Auditorium Hill and picked up cases while they were waiting.  He said in those days, while working for Dick Davis, they would all work from 7am to 11pm or later weekdays, and be in the office on Saturdays as well.

In May of 1977 Rusty and his current partners decided to start their own law firm.  He said they had no money, and he recalled meeting with George Milne (our George’s father) at the Granite Bank and having George tell him it was time to have a new law firm in Barre and whatever they needed to do to get it running they had his OK.   Rusty said no papers were signed, no business plan required, George just did it on faith.   In 1984 they moved the firm to the Miles Block, and then in 1991 they bought the Quinlan Block where their offices are now located.

Rusty said Dick Davis was the best lawyer he ever met, and he recalled Davis telling him that “you aren’t a lawyer just because you went to law school”, that one had to be trained and developed on the job as a trial lawyer.   He said Davis always advised his lawyers to take cases on every side of the law, and to this day the firm represents victims as well as those accused of crimes.

Rusty said clients come to his firm because of their judgment and experience.   He said they don’t spend as much time in court as they once did, and he said that makes it difficult to gain the kind of trial experience he and his partners have been able to attain.

Rusty went on to give talk about several high profile, and in some cases infamous, cases he’s been involved with, providing some fascinating insights into the inner-workings of our legal system.  All in all it was one of our more interesting presentations in some time.

Rusty pulled the ticket and this week’s lucky winner was Jack Barnes, who I believe did NOT locate the white marble.

Check our Rotary web site for information on upcoming programs.

President Bill opened the meeting with 11 members and 2 guests present.

A rather quiet gathering through lunch (lasagna and salad) until Jack stood to offer a happy dollar for his brother, a Marine veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam and recently required a liver transplant.  Jack said the transplant was successful and that on the same day as his operation, his brother became a grandfather for the first time.   

Ted stood to offer a happy dollar on the return to the club of snowbird Ron Parnigoni (who looked suspiciously like Tom Babic).   Ron/Tom said the weather in Florida has been great and he was "happy to be back".  President Bill asked Ron/Tom for an update on planning for this year's Rotary Breakfast, to which Ron/Tom replied "it's in July". 

Secretary Sue gave her report, introducing two guests, visiting Rutland Rotarian Catherine Nelson (last week's program, the CEO of the Times-Argus and Rutland Herald) and her son Zach, also a Times-Argus employee, who was presented with an application for membership by Karl.

Today's program was presented by Dr. Carl Brandon, a professor for 37-years at VT Technical College in Randolph. Contrary to the old saying "this isn't rocket science", today's program actually WAS rocket science, having to do with CubeSat, small satellites that VTC is launching into space piggybacked on commercial payloads.  Your writer must confess that I'm at a total loss in trying to summarize Dr. Brandon's presentation, other than to say it was very interesting.   However it was about 3 college degrees above my level of understanding, so today's Chips will be abbreviated.

Dr. Brandon pulled the winning ticket, belonging to PP Jim Catone.  Ted managed to find new marbles to replace those we lost, but no word on whether Jim pulled the white one or not.

Next week's program will be long-time Barre attorney Rusty Valsiangiacomo talking about his career in law here in Barre.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members present.   Joe offered his usual “grace”ful invoation (more on that later).

A quiet session this week, which allowed our members to partake of meatloaf, mashed potatoes and salad.   Thus the aforementioned blessing from Joe.  Karl stood to propose a fine of 1 ½ (that’s 25-cents Sonny) for his pre-meal blessing, which included a thanks to whoever may be listening for a “stick to your ribs meal”.  Joe, as he has been known to do, noted that he’s more than happy to turn over the blessing duties to anyone wishing to assume the post (no one offered) and the fine did not pass.

Bertil offered a happy dollar (which generated some confusion) for his upcoming trip to Honduras, for which he departs this weekend.   He noted that he’ll be flying out of New York on Saturday, and planned to stay in NYC Friday night, not realizing this is Super Bowl weekend, and (who would have guessed) the game is being played in New York!   There are no rooms available, reported Bertil (thus prompting the confusion over his “happy” dollar).   Ever the public servant , Bob P. pulled out his smart phone and began looking for rooms in the NYC area for Bertil, and amazingly found several available!   Hopefully, Bertil took advantage of travel agent Bob’s homework and will have a room Friday night.

Karl reported that he was still working on a tour of the soon-to-be-opened City Place and it would likely be held next Wednesday, with time to be determined.   Hopefully everyone has received the e-mail President Bill sent out indicating we will in fact be meeting Wednesday, Feb. 5^th at 5:30pm inside City Place for a tour of the building.  There will be no noon-time meeting at The Quarry next week.   Guests are welcome to come to the tour, and it was suggested we hold a Rotary After Dark at The Quarry following the tour for anyone wishing to share dinner and good times there.

Our guest speaker was Loreena Abraham, owner of the Bag Ladies Café in depot Square, which share space with Chris Conti’s Simply Delicious.   Loreena said she got her start in the business as a Marine Corps wife who was looking for a business she could operate from any of the many locations she and her husband lived in during his active duty military career.   She started out baking bread which eventually evolved into making wraps and sandwiches, and a growing catering business.

She provides full bag lunches for area businesses, and handles deliveries herself.  She started out renting space at the former location of Simply Delicious (on No. Main Street) renting space from Mike and Agnes Aylward.   She moved to the Depot Square location along with Chris Conti, and despite some initial misgivings, she said it’s been a big success for both of them.   She said she and Chris cover for each other, even though they run two separate and distinct businesses from the depot location.

Loreena indicated that roughly 30% of her business comes from outside catering, though that tends to change somewhat based on the season.   Her menu is primarily wraps, sandwiches, soup and salads.  Even though we meet during her busy lunch hour, Loreena managed to break away for a few minutes to speak to the club about The Bag Ladies Café, for which we were most appreciative.

Secretary Sue gave the second notice of the proposed membership of Tony Campos from Videovision.  If no objections are received, Tony will be asked to join the club.

Loreena pulled the winning ticket for this week’s raffle, and Bob P. held the lucky ticket.   Since we still haven’t found our marbles, Bob had no chance to go for the big bucks.   Ted is looking for replacement marbles…unusually hard to find at this time of year!

Again, next week’s program will be a tour of City Place at 5:30pm.  Meet inside the main entrance.   No lunch meeting at The Quarry.   Our program for Feb. 12^th will be a classification talk from new member Charlie Dindo.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members and two guests present.   Following Joe’s blessing, President Bill asked for a moment of silence in remembrance of long-time Barre Rotarian and Past District Governor (1986-87) Wendell Fitts, who died Sunday at his Florida home with his family around him.   Funeral services for Wendell were held Tuesday in Florida, and a memorial service will be held in Barre in the spring, according to Homer, who was also in Florida when Wendell passed away.

Guest (and prospective Rotarian, more on that later) Tony Campos offered a happy dollar for the waterfall caused by Bob P. just prior to the start of the meeting.

Sue also offered a happy dollar for being the only woman able to enjoy the company of a roomful of delightfully entertaining men!   She didn’t exactly put it that way, but we all know that’s what she meant!

Sue followed up with her secretary’s report, introducing the aforementioned Tony Campos, who has been proposed as a new member, and approved by the board of directors.   This constitutes the first notice of Tony’s proposal.   His classification will be Communications-Video Production (his classification during his previous tenure with the Barre Rotary, which began on July 21, 1993).

Charlie Dindo gave the safety tip of the week when he advised the club of the dangers of storing 9-volt batteries together (the small square batteries used in smoke detectors).  The batteries have exposed positive and negative contacts and they can make contact with each, sparking fires.   He advised they be fully taped with electrical tape, or stored upright in the original packaging so the contacts aren’t able to touch other battery contacts.   They should then be properly re-cycled.

Our guest speaker, continuing with our focus on downtown businesses, was Bob Sager, owner of Bob’s Camera and Video.  Bob, whose wife Sue is a former Barre Rotarian, bought the business (the former Country Camera) and moved to Barre from Memphis in November 1986.   Bob said he and Sue had been looking to open their own camera business and had been attracted to New England.   Their choice came down to Burlington or Barre, and Bob said Sue just liked Barre more and so the rest is history!

The business was originally located next to the former Country House Restaurant, before moving to its current location in 1991.   Bob talked about the many changes in the film, camera, and photography business, with its current focus on digital photography as opposed to film photography.   He did say that more and more young people are re-discovering photography using film, and actually printing photographs rather than storing them in computers.   He said with film, you always had to know how to take a picture to get the desired result, but with digital cameras today, you can look at the picture immediately and if you don’t like it you shoot it again.

He also said cameras are starting to become a thing of the past with the existence of smart phones, which also double as cameras.   He said that’s cut into digital camera sales, but there are limitations to what they can do.   He said most users think the photos are “good enough”, but as Bob put it “we need to teach them that with some effort you can do better than just good enough”.   He said those in the business need to do a better job of educating people that better photography is available.   He indicated camera sales are down 30-40% but he’s diversified his business  to include service and repair, photo transfers, gifts and other things to stay relevant.

Bob said he majored in history in college and one of his real concerns is the potential loss of family history without printed photographs to pass down.  He said we are printing digital photos, but not to the extent we used to with film.   As Bob put it “we need to print it or lose it”.    He said families need to make sure they leave something behind for people to remember them by.   Good words from a very active, civic-minded business owner.   Memphis’s loss is Barre’s gain!

The winning raffle ticket was held by Charlie Dindo, and since we’ve somehow (literally) lost all our marbles, he had no chance to go for the clear marble.

Next week’s program features the owners of Simply Delicious and the Bag Ladies Café.   Thanks to Karl for filling in on programs during Roy’s absence.

Granite Chips 

President Bill opened our first meeting of 2014 with 11 members and one guest (PDG Sonny Holt) present.

Joe Preddy offered the blessing, remembering Chet Briggs who passed away last week and also asking Rotarians to keep Chet’s widow Karen Lane, and Lucille Aja and Roy Somaini in our thoughts as they continue to recover from illness (Roy) and injury (Lucille). 

It was noted that a service remembering the life of Chet Briggs will be held January 25^th at the Old Labor Hall, which played a very large part in Chet’s life in Barre over the years.   No time has been announced yet for this service.

Secretary Sue introduced Sonny Holt, who spoke briefly about a new satellite club sponsored by the Randolph Rotary that is meeting in the morning.   He said it’s comprised of younger members and an optional meal is provided for those wishing to have breakfast.   Dues for the satellite club are $12 a month, and Sonny also noted that members of the satellite club must also be members of the sponsoring club until Rotary International grants a charter to the new club.   Establishment of a satellite club or an on-line “e-club” has been discussed in recent weeks at our meetings, and Sonny’s comments provide some food for thought for next week’s board of director’s meetings, although no one has made a case yet for how establishment of a satellite club or an e-club will be of benefit to our existing Rotary Club in Barre.   More discussion is sure to follow in the weeks and months ahead as we wrestle with our dwindling membership and attendance issues.   PDG Sonny also sent President Bill and Jim Catone (membership chair) an e-mail following the meeting, critiquing the Barre club’s meeting, which I will be happy to share with members who are interested in Sonny’s thoughts rather than posting the e-mail on this site.  

There was no program this week (club assembly).  President Bill passed around a sign-up sheet for the Give-a-Gallon campaign.   Chip Castle has conation containers at his Barre Housing Authority office on Washington Street.    A handful of members signed up to pick up containers and bring them to specific locations in town and to return the donations to Chip as appropriate.   More club members are needed to help distribute the containers.   President Bill has the list of businesses that have participated in the past, so contact him for information.

Dick S. proposed a fine on Tom Babic for wearing Sue’s name badge.   Despite a lame defense from Tom, the fine of 1+9 passed.  I will depart from my earlier comment about the critique of the club and mention that it was “suggested” by Sonny that we eliminate fines (for a number of reasons).   Any thoughts of club members on this would be greatly appreciated.

Sergeant-at-Arms Ted pulled the winning ticket, which I think belonged to Dick.   No word on the search for the magic marble, though I believe it was futile. 

President Bill opened the meeting with 13 members present.

Tom Babic arrived several minutes late, wearing a “festive” hat appropriate to the season.   Either the hat had some battery powered mechanics inside or Tom had a squirrel on his head, as the hat gyrated, bounced, wiggled and performed numerous gymnastic moves, all the while playing holiday tunes.  Tom quickly proposed a fine of 1+9 on all members not adorned in holiday attire of some sort.   No one seconded the fine, however since Tom proposed the fine as Tess Taylor (the name on the badge he wore) Tom seconded “Tess’s” motion.    With some discussion about Tom wearing his holiday finest too early, an amendment to add Tom to the fine was proposed.   Pleading the five minute rule (thanks Karl) Tom attempted to slip out of the fine.   However, President Bill noted that since “Tess” proposed the fine, not Tom, the 5-minute rule didn’t apply.   The amendment passed, as did the main motion, and all paid $1, except for Tom who paid $2 as he was included in the main motion since he was no longer wearing his holiday attire at the time the fine passed.

Sue paid the automatic 1+9 for having her (blurry) picture in the Times-Argus, and she also added that George needed to pay up was well since he was pictured in the Best of Central Vermont Magazine dancing with his wife Linda.

Sue's secretary's report included birthdays for December:  Shane Mispel and Chip Castle, and Rotary anniversaries: Karen Lane 19 years, and Bill Noyes 2 years (plus 12 years from 1985-97)

President Bill reported that based on last week’s vote by the club, $257 is being forwarded for the Hands to Honduras program that Bertil has been involved with for many years.  This represents 10% of the club’s remaining charities budget, as proposed last week.

President Bill presented the new member packet, badge and Rotary pin to Charlie Dindo.   He also reported on the Christmas program next week.   Start time will be 12:00 at the Hilltop.  Jim Catone indicated that 40+ people are expected, based on sign-ups to this point.   Cost is $16 per person and Jim said we will meet downstairs at the Hilltop.   The Rotabarrians will perform once again, which led to a fine of 1+9 on Dick Shadroui, who indicated that “two (2) outstanding male singers will perform the Christmas program next week”.    Tom/Tess proposed the fine, saying that there are 4 male singes performing and he wondered who the two outstanding ones are.   Dick, claiming he’s old and forgetful, was hard-pressed to believe he actually said only two men are singing.   This led to a later fine on Dick as it was pointed out there are five Rotabarrians signing in all (including one female)…not just the aforementioned 2 (or 4) men.   Dick indicated he had a walletful of dollar bills to get through the meeting but he managed to escape further penalties.

Karl also proposed a fine of 1+9 on George for wearing the same shirt two weeks in a row.   George said he’s trying to dress more casually, and the fine did not pass.

Today was club assembly and a lively discussion about the future of the Barre club dominated the rest of the meeting.   Several thoughtful proposals were discussed, including formation of a “satellite club” consisting of younger members, who could meet via the internet.   Rotary International now allows for “e-clubs” that meet via the web.   George noted that it’s difficult to interest young business leaders in Rotary due to the age of many of our current members, and the fact that, as some have stated, they have nothing in common with many of us.   A new on-line satellite club may interest younger people who want to give back to their community.  Others questioned the cost of belonging to Rotary, including annual dues, cost of meals, etc.   President Bill suggested the board try to meet with Assistant Governor Marsha Hoffman (or others from the district) at the next board meeting, to discuss a satellite club and other issues related to our dwindling attendance and membership.

Joel, our host at The Quarry, was presented with a collection taken up over the past two weeks to share with those at the restaurant who have contributed to our weekly meals the The Quarry.   President Bill thanked the staff for their assistance.

Our next meeting at The Quarry will be January 8, 2014.

Anyone who hasn’t RSVPd to Jim for next week’s Christmas lunch please do so by Friday.

Ted held the lucky raffle ticket, and I believe he donated it back to the club.

See you all next week at The Hilltop at 12:00.

President Bill opened the meeting with 15 members and 2 guests present.

Roy offered a short and heartfelt (and appropriate) blessing to start the meeting.

Claire followed by offering a happy dollar for Roy’s return, and the fact that his singing had not improved during his absence.   Roy then offered a happy dollar of his own for being in attendance, and updated the club on his health.   He’s undergoing chemo and is hopeful that his cancer will go into remission over the next few weeks and months, and he was thankful for the expressions of good wishes and support he’s been receiving.

Bertil provided information about the Hands to Honduras project that he’s been heavily involved with.   He asked club members to pass around the pamphlets throughout the community in hopes of stimulating some financial support for this year’s project, which is a neo-natal intensive care unit at a hospital in Honduras.   Roy urged the club to support the project and moved that we send 10% of our remaining charities budget to support the project.  Jack Barnes seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.  Elizabeth is going to determine exactly how much remains in our budget and make the appropriate 10% payment to support the project.

Past president Jim offered a happy dollar for the recent arrival of grand-daughter Charlotte Louis Burt (sp?).   Karl noted that traditionally it’s been one happy $ per pound for new arrivals, however, other than the limping Karl, no one in the club remembers ever hearing of that “tradition”.

George offered a happy dollar for the continued return to good health of his grand-daughter (daughter of former Barre Rotarian Jamie) who had been seriously ill.   He also proudly noted that she just joined the St. Johnsbury Rotary Club, becoming the 4^th generation Milne to be a member of Rotary.

Bertil proposed a fine of 1+9 on Claire for recently bringing to his attention the sordid state of the bell in our Rotary closet, and urging Bertil to spruce it up.   Bertil did a wonderful job of fixing up the bell, bringing it back to near pristine condition.   However, Bertil rightly noted that the bell is an Interact bell, not our club bell, and thus it sits permanently out of sight in the closet.  Claire argued (fruitlessly) that she didn’t say it was our bell, and it did need refurbishing.  The fine passed, after Sergeant Ted brought said bell out of the closet for the club to admire.

President Bill reported on the nominating committee’s slate of officers for election for Rotary year 2014-15.   According to our by-laws, the annual election is to be held at the first meeting in December.   The slate, which was approved with no discussion and no nominations from the floor is:  Secretary- Sue Poczobut; Treasurer- Elizabeth LaPerlele;   Sergeant-at Arms- Ted Goulette:  Directors- Karl Rinker/Jack Barnes; Past-president- Bill Noyes.   The offices of President and President-elect are vacant.   The club will be governed (and meetings run) by the board of directors in 2014-15. 

Karl then offered a happy dollar for his broken ankle (yes, he was happy about it).   He said he was glad he broke nothing else.   He did not elaborate on the cause of the injury, but rumor has it that it involved a stairway, darkness, etc.  

President Bill reminded everyone of the Christmas program on Dec. 18^th at the Hilltop   Jim Catone is accepting reservations.  The cut-off is next Friday, Dec. 13^th.   Cost is $16 per person and guests are more than welcome.

Former Barre Rotarian Justin Bourgeois was introduced by Tom B./Ron Parnigoni.

Roy introduced our speaker, Ann Smith, executive director of the Friends of the Winooski, who gave a presentation on how rivers and streams work.   She spoke of the FOW mission, which is dedicated to protection and restoration of the Winooski River watershed through education and outreach, restoration and protection, and monitoring and assessment.  She noted that the Winooski River traces its beginning to the town of Cabot where it springs from Coyt’s (?) Pond and winds up emptying into Lake Champlain.

Water makes its way into rivers and streams one of two ways…it hits the ground and makes its way quickly overland or it’s absorbed into the ground, becomes part of an aquifer and slowly enters the river or stream.   Ann pointed out that human activity greatly affects.   Channelizing and straightening rivers, moving them to make way for development and over-development are all human activity that adds to increased flood risk and ultimately damage from flooding.   Most flood damage is caused by erosion.   She also showed photos of under-sized culverts, which also contribute to flood risk and flood damage,

To help break the cycle Ann said we need to open up river and stream corridors and keep development out of the way of the natural corridors of our rivers and streams.   We need to improve riparian buffers along our waterways and manage storm water runoff.    She said it’s not going to be easy to reverse the direction we’ve been heading in,  and planners need to determine what requirements we need to put in place for future development and for waterway protection, and we also need to determine how we can incentivize people to make the changes that will be necessary to protect our rivers and streams and abate the risk of future flooding.   Ann left a great deal of printed material with club members and answered numerous questions before and after the meeting adjourned.  

The winning raffle ticket belonged to Jim.

Next week’s meeting will be a club assembly.

President Bill opened the meeting with 13 members and one guest present.  

With club assembly scheduled for this week there was no program.   Secretary Sue introduced our guest, former Barre Rotarian Michael Knight, who offered a happy dollar for being back with the Barre Rotary.

Bob Pope rose to offer a fine of 1+9 on Chet for taking up two seats at the table.   He left his jacket on one chair next to Bob, while sitting at another seat, thus preventing Elizabeth from joining Bob and others at the table.   Rather than offering a defense, Chet pled guilty and paid the fine.   (Elizabeth did not express any regret about not being able to sit near Bob, it should be noted).

Bob then asked President Bill to pass the gavel, which Past President Jim gladly accepted.  Bob proposed a fine of 1+9 on Bill, having something to do with negativity, inability to lead, not going south for the winter and possibly one or two other scornful (and totally bogus) allegations.   It became clear that PP Jim’s hearing has been affected since he turned over the gavel, as he obviously misinterpreted the yeas and nays and ruled that the fine passed.

Jack Barnes offered a happy dollar for attending his grand-daughter’s soccer game at Wellsley College this past weekend.   Jack offered the happy $ in an effort to, as he put it, “change the negative attitude” of the current administration, which prompted Karl to offer a fine of 1+9 on Jack for fostering a negative attitude.   That fine passed.

Dick Shadroui noted how well the group has been signing America the Beautiful at the start of the meeting for the second week in a row (and again called it The National Anthem!) while trying to recruit new members for the Rotabarrians, who will be holding a rehearsal at Dick’s house Thursday at 4:30.   Anyone interested in “singing” with the group should drop in.   Sue had Dick clarify that one doesn’t have to actually sing all that well to participate!

President Bill reminded the membership that there will be no meeting on Nov. 27^th, the day before Thanksgiving.

Jim reported on the Shelter Box program and said he has been in contact with Anne Silloway regarding the club’s purchase of a box.   He indicated Anne will let him know where our shelter box will be shipped, with the assumption being that it may be the Philippines, to aid in recovery from the recent disaster there which has left countless dead and homeless.   He also said he’s trying to insure the club’s shelter box is sent in memory of Obie Wells.

Bertil inquired about the Give-a-Gallon program which is being directed once again this year by Chip Castle.   Bertil asked President Bill to get details from Chip on how the donation buckets are being circulated and what the club can do to assist Chip.  

Sue then offered a fine of 1+9 on Bob Pope for getting his lunch while Joe Preddy was offering his blessing.   This led to bible quotes, being thankful we didn’t have to listen to Sue speak for 10 minutes, an inclusion of Joe Preddy in the fine (which prompted Joe to offer his $ if Tom agreed to take over the weekly blessing, which prompted Tom, alias Dick Huskes, to withdraw his amendment.    Bob then added Tom/Dick (and Harry?) to the fine for his weekly ID badge misappropriation, and all the fines on the floor passed.

Sue pulled the winning ticket, which belonged to Karl, who had no luck in finding the white marble.

There will be a board of directors meeting next Wednesday at 11:00 prior to our regular meeting.   The program will be Hal Cohen of the Central VT Community Action Council.   Following lunch, we’ll walk over to tour the CVCAC’s new building at Gable Place on Granite Street.

President Bill gavelled the meeting to order with 14 members and three guests present (and with heat on for the first time in two weeks).   Visitors included our guest speaker Bette Lambert of Randolph and a guest of Bette's, Shari as well as Kevin from the Boy Scouts, who has been with us several times in the past, and hopefully will become a new member of the club at some point in the near future!

Following a relatively quiet few minutes, Bertil rose to offer a happy dollar for something to do with his tractor, a fire, repairs, boys loving their toys and maybe there were even a few Swedish songs thrown in there somewhere.  At any rate, the club happily accepted Bertil's happy krona.   

Carol followed with a happy dollar of her own for passage on Tuesday of the proposed TIF (Tax Increment Financing) district for Barre City, which she said will continue the economic development progress being made in the city.   She was especially happy that the TIF district passed with about 75% of the voters favoring the proposal.

Joe noted that dictionaries and atlases were going to be handed out on Thursday 11/7 at the Central Vermont Catholic School in Barre.   Book presentations will also be made on Nov. 19th at 9:30 at Barre Town Elementary School.

Claire noted that the final downtown walk for the season is scheduled for tonight (11/7) with those participating gathering behind City Hall at 6:30 (hopefully this reaches everyone prior to that time!).

President Bill presented the nominating committee report on the slate of candidates for the next Rotary year (July 1, 2014-June 30, 2015).  The slate presented is:   President (vacant);  President-elect (vacant);  Past-president (Bill Noyes);  Secretary (Sue Poczobut);  Treasurer (Elizabeth LaPerle);   Directors-at-large (Karl Rinker, Jack Barnes).   No nominations were made from the floor.   This slate of officers will be voted on at the first meeting in December.  The question was asked about what would happen if we have no president or president-elect.  The short answer is we don't know.   The board of directors has discussed possibly running the club by committee of the board with board members taking turns running meetings, etc.    This is a less than optimum solution.   A question was also posed at the recent board meeting about the continued viability of the club (a question that has been raised and discussed at length by the club in recent months).   Next week's meeting is club assembly and may present an opportunity to continue this discussion.   Membership and attendance has not increased following our move downtown (and in fact has decreased by 5 members in that time) so a re-visiting of the "viability question" may be in order at some point.

Returning to a lighter note, Karl proposed a fine of 1+4 on Bill Rossi for pocketing Karl's change after collecting his luncheon and ticket money for the meeting.   For reasons that escape the writer, Elizabeth was added to the fine, as was George Milne, as he rose to defend Bill by saying he got plenty of change from him...clearly Karl's money!   And finally Karl was added to the fine himself (he tried to invoke the 5-minute rule, but we had been discussing the fine for well over 5-minutes by then so he was riled out of order).  Again, the rationale for Karl being included has managed to elude this writer.  In any event, Elizabeth was cleared of any culpability but everyone else was fined 1+4.

A fine of 1+9 was then levied on Jack Barnes and Tom Babic for wearing Chet Briggs' and Ron Parnigoni's badges. Since Tom never wears his own, this shouldn't have been a surprise, however the fine on both of them passed...as did the automatic 1+1 1/2 on several others for no badge at all. 

President Bill introduced our speaker, Bette Silloway Lambert who spoke about her farm which is known as Silloway Maple and produces many maple-related products.   It's truly a family operation as she works with her children in the business.    She said she and her late husband ran a dairy farm, but in 1991 they got rid of the cows and started their maple operation.   Sh said her 25-year-old son is expanding the business.  They currently have about 1200-3100 taps in use but hope to expand to about 20,000 in a few years.   They are also in the process of building a new solar-powered sugarhouse.

Bette said she's learning how to market her business as it grows and is working with the Upper Valley SCORE for help in growing the business and finding ways to market to corporations.

In addition to her maple operation, Bette has also been a journalist, having written a column for the Randolph Herald for several years, called A Farm Wife's Journal.   She has compiled those articles into a book of the same name, which she made available to club members at the end  of the meeting, and it appears she sold several copies!

Bette pulled the winning ticket which belonged to Tom Babic (or was it Ron Parnigoni?).

Once again, next week's program is club assembly, so please come prepared to offer your thoughts on how we can revitalize the Barre Rotary Club...changes you'd like to see made, ideas for programs and projects, fund-raisers, etc.

The meeting started with President Bill ringing the bell with 13 members and 3 guests in attendance...not enough to provide the body heat necessary to warm the room, since the heat wasn't working.

Roy started things off with a proposed fine of 1+9 on Joe P. because of an unattended bag on the street in front of Community National Bank.  Bob P. initially defended Joe by noting that Joe doesn't technically work for CNB, and thus shouldn't be held responsible.   Joe added that the bank is currently conducting its annual winter clothing drive, collecting coats for those in need in the area, and obviously the bag contained donating clothing for the cause.   This prompted Bob to quickly turn on his colleague and revoke his earlier defense, saying that if Joe was truly caring, he would have brought that bag of coats to the meeting today to help us warm up.  The original fine on Joe did not pass.

Joe then advised the club that dictionaries and atlases will be presented to students at Barre City Elementary and Middle School on Friday at 8:30 and any Rotarian is welcome to attend.

Charlie Dindo was officially welcomed as the newest member of the club, after being away for a few weeks with a back injury.   Charlie asked about the possibility of the club making a donation to the BOR mold clean-up project, which is expected to cost around $250,000.   It was decided that the issue will be brought before the board at its meeting next week.

Charlie also suggested the club look into some projects for the future such as a cook-off competition...another issue for next week's board meeting.   President Bill asked any club members with suggestions for community service projects or fund raising projects to contact him or any other board member to get the proposal on the board's agenda.

There was no secretary, thus no secretary's report, but President Bill did introduce our area assistant governor Marsha Hoffman from the Northfield club.

Today's program was Ernie and Karl Boisvert of Boisvert's Shoe Repair, which has been in operation at the same No. Main Street location for 63 years.   Ernie said he learned the shoe repair business from his father, and recalled that at one time there were five other shoe repair operations in Barre, as well as several others scattered throughout Central Vermont.   Now, Boisvert's is the only shoe repair business in the area.   Ernie is also very clearly a HUGE supporter of Barre, a point he made abundantly clear during his talk.

Son Karl, who has been running the business for some time, said Boisvert's has diversified over time, now selling leather goods like purses, wallets, coats, belts and other items.  Karl said he sees a lot of business due to shows and boots made in China, as they tend to be of inferior quality and need repairs more frequently.  He said in particular, Chinese-made soles are not very good and wear out quickly.

Karl said his business now is roughly 75% shoe repair and 25% retail, a change from just a few years ago when the reverse was true.  He said women are buying more expensive boots, which helps his business as they want to keep the boots longer and bring them in for repair rather than replacing them with inexpensive footwear.   As Karl noted, "buy quality...it'll last longer"!

Boisvert's also repairs leather jackets and handbags.  They have six employees and Karl is training an apprentice, which in his opinion is the best way to learn the trade, even though there are some schools that teach shoe repair.  Karl himself began in the family business shining shoes while a young school-child.   

George Milne spoke for the club and likely most of the city when he concluded that Barre has been very lucky to have the Boisvert's living and working here.

Karl pulled the winning ticket for Jim Catone.

Reminder that there will be a board of director's meeting next Wednesday at 11:00 prior to our regular meeting.

President Bill opened the meeting with 14 members and 3 guests in attendance.

The somber gathering was interrupted only for a couple of happy dollars.   President Bill offered one for his upcoming trip to Italy, which will cause him to miss the next three meetings.   Roy offered a happy dollar for that, but he did say his was because he was happy our president will be returning, not that he'll be gone.   George offered a happy dollar for the wedding last weekend of his oldest granddaughter (daughter of former Rotarian Jamie) at the Burke Mountain Resort.

Elizabeth presented a check for $500 from Charles Kirkiles of Greenwich, CT which was donated in memory of Obie Wells.   This brings the total donations in Obie's memory to $765, part of which paid for the two Spaulding students (Connor Moore and Troy Anderson) to attend the RYLA conference at Lyndon State College this summer.

Secretary Sue introduced visiting Rotarian Fred Bashara of Montpelier.

Roy introduced our guest speaker, Randolph Rotarian Anne Silloway, and her sister Betty Silloway Lambert.  Anne is the district's Shelter Box Ambassador.   Anne showed a short video on the shelter boxes, and also had an actual shelter box and its contents on display.

The shelter box program was started in Cornwall, Great Britain in 2000.  These units contain a tent for ten people, cooking utensils, blankets, heaters, tools and a water purifier.   They've been used anywhere in the world where natural disasters or other events have left people homeless, such as the aftermath of the earthquakes in Haiti, the tsunami in Japan, and the recent unrest in Syria.

The first shelter boxes were deployed in India in 2001 when 143 boxes were sent there.   Anne said the boxes are packed based on the climate of the region they're intended for.   As an example, if shelter boxes were going to a region with serious malaria concerns, they would contain treated mosquito nets to help prevent the spread of malaria.  The heating units in the shelter boxes are also matched to the region, as some use petroleum-based fuel, while others may use wood or even animal waste products as a fuel source for heating and cooking.   The 40-gallon plastic tub that holds all of the equipment can also be used to store purified water.

Anne noted that the tents can withstand winds of 80 miles per hour, and she has first-hand experience on their usefulness and practicality.   While attending the district conference in Stowe three years ago she brought a box for display and had to set it up outside.   With no way to secure the site for three days, and it not being practical to tear it down and bring it inside each day, she simply used the blankets that come with the box and spent three nights sleeping in her own shelter during the conference (saving herself a substantial hotel bill at the same time!).

Each shelter box costs $1,000 and that includes two team members accompanying each shipment to assist in setting up the equipment for those in need.   Anne is hopeful that every Rotary club will buy one shelter box, and then expand the program by buying one shelter box per club, per year.   Those interested in becoming volunteers for the shelter box program  can find out more by going on-line at Shelter Box USA.   Donations may also be made via the secure on-line web site.

The Barre club has already committed to buying one shelter box, and we have raised $650 toward the $1,000.  It was suggested by Elizabeth and President Bill that we utilize $350 from the donation made in Obie's name to pay the remaining cost of our first shelter box, and it was also suggested that we look into setting up a display and raise funds for additional shelter boxes during next year's Heritage Festival in Barre.  Further discussion on those issues will be held at next week's club assembly.   Anne's presentation left club members highly enthused about supporting the shelter box program.

Anne pulled the winning raffle ticket, which belonged to Joe P. who had no luck in finding the white marble.

Next week's program will be Bob Nelson, to talk about the history of Nelson's Hardware in Barre.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members and 5 guests present.  In lieu of a blessing, President Bill asked for a moment of silence in memory of long-time Rotarian, club secretary, and Rotabarrian Don Collins, who passed away Sunday at the age of 90.   Don will be missed.

Ron P. proposed a fine of 1+9 on all members not wearing their badges (which seemed to be the majority of those in attendance today), even though the fine for going badge-less is an automatic 1+1 1/2 (seldom paid up on the honor system however...sergeant-at-arms please note).  Tom B. provided what might pass as a defense when he said he left his badge in his other car.   However, it was duly noted that Tom usually wears someone else's badge anyway, so there was no defense.   The fine easily passed.

Claire gave an update on the weekly downtown walks that the club started last year.   It has now been expanded, through Claire's efforts, into a weekly clean-up, with all the local service clubs participating.  The Rotary Club has been taking responsibility for Main Street, while the Kiwanis Club is now cleaning Auditorium Hill and Seminary Street up to the Auditorium.  The Lions Club is now responsible for cleaning the beltway from Dente Park to the railroad tracks.   The Altrusa Club is looking into taking over cleaning and weeding grassy areas along Main Street.  A great joint project for downtown Barre spearheaded by the Rotary Club.   Well done Claire!

Sue gave her secretary's report, introducing visiting Montpelier Rotarian Fred Bashara, and guest Kevin Eschelbach, who will be replacing Kevin O'Hara at the Boy Scout Council.   Kevin is being proposed as a new member.   Sue also reported that services for Don Collins will be held Saturday at 1:00 at the Congregational Church.   There will be no calling hours.

President Bill reported that the board of directors made recommendations on several funding requests and asked the club to vote on the recommendations.   The board recommended that $250 be donated to the Home Share Now program, which pairs people in need of affordable housing with those who need assistance to live independently on their own.  The board also recommended giving $500 to support the Barre Partnership in its efforts to revitalize downtown Barre.  The club unanimously agreed to the recommendations. 

The board also discussed participation in the District 7850 Speech Contest, and Jack Barnes volunteered to chair the project.   Information will be sent to Spaulding High School seeking interested students who can win up to $1,000 in the contest, in which a speech on Rotary's Four-Way test will be given at the club, area and district levels.   More information will be forthcoming once it's determined if there is local interest in participating.

Elizabeth introduced our guest speakers, Connor Moore and Troy Anderson who attended RYLA in June at Lyndon State College.  The head of the guidance department at Spaulding, David Nicholson, was with the two RYLA students.   Both described their RYLA experience as being one of the best events they've participated in.   Connor said he made several friends he plans to stay in touch with, as did Troy, and both said they hoped to go back next year as counselors.

They described several of their team-building and leadership exercises and talked about how the experience forced them to step outside of their comfort zone, and taught them not only how to be good leaders, but good followers.

All participants were required to take part in a talent show, and Troy wound up taking second place playing his ukulele and singing with two other RYLA students.  Connor said he was the MC and hosted the talent show, and also read a poem he had written.

Both students, juniors at Spaulding, hope to attend college.   Connor hopes to become a physical therapist and Troy wants to attend UMASS and major in music education with a minor in theater.  They both said they're already urging current sophomores to apply for next year's RYLA session.

Connor pulled this week's winning ticket, held by Ted. G. who was unsuccessful in finding the white (or is it clear?) marble.

Check our web site for information on upcoming programs.

President Bill opened the meeting with 12 members and one guest present. 

Roy immediately got the ball rolling with a fine of 1+4 on Karl and Ron for breaking into their bag of chips before the bell rang.   The fine passed, prompting Karl to note that he should have gotten his money's worth by starting early on his soup and sandwich too.   Not much money earned by the club today as this was the only fine.

Carol Dawes reported on the Joint Service Club recognition dinner, scheduled for Oct. 9th at the Canadian Club.   Cost is $20 per person and Carol will have tickets starting next week.   Our own Chet Briggs is one of this year's honorees, so let's see a big turnout of Rotarians to support Chet and the Joint Service Clubs.   Carol also noted that the club traditionally helps support the cost of the dinner with a $150 donation.   She moved that we appropriate that amount again this year.  Jack Barnes seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

President Bill announced that the Lions Club will hold its 75th anniversary dinner on Oct. 4th and the club had extended an invitation to all Rotarians to join them in marking this milestone.   The dinner will be held at the Canadian Club and is $25 per person.   President Bill has the contact information for anyone wishing to attend.

The annual administrative budget was presented to club members for approval, and on a motion by Carol, seconded by Joe Preddy, it passed unanimously, with Bob P. noting that Elizabeth's projected cost for postage stamps might need to be adjusted to reflect the current price of stamps.

The annual charities budget was discussed, with Elizabeth noting that we have $5,123 available for charitable giving this year.   Following our discussion two weeks ago, it was decided we would not allocate the money to individual groups/organizations at this time, but would make case-by-case decisions on requests for assistance as they come in.   Joe then asked the club to consider funding the dictionary/atlas project for the local schools, at a cost of approximately $1,260.   Joe explained that the project is no longer being funded by the District, and it touches roughly 400 students per year.   It was decided to wait until Carol finds the actual cost for the books and reports back to the club for final action.

Roy introduced our guest speaker Sherrill Gilbert who spoke on workplace bullying.   Sherrill spoke in favor of passage of a Healthy Workplace bill that is being considered in 25 states, including Vermont.   She indicated there is currently no law prohibiting workplace bullying.     She said most bullies tend to work in schools and colleges, the health care field, and law enforcement agencies.   She said that 54 million people are bullied each year and 45% of those end up suffering from health issues.

Bullying takes several forms:  verbal abuse, threats and intimidation, humiliation, work interference, sabotage, exploitation of a known vulnerability, or a combination of any of those factors.  Targets tend to be dedicated employees, efficient and always friendly employees, and those who offer to help others in the workplace.   Some of the effects of bullying are heart attack, high blood pressure, ulcers, depression, insomnia, migraines, panic attacks, and even homicidal or suicidal tendencies.

According to studies Gilbert noted, 26% of workers have been bullied, 15% have witnessed bullying, 9% are currently being bullied, and 50% have no experience with bullying.   She said bullying often goes unreported due to shame, the individual's need to work, or fear of retaliation.   She said 80% of bullying is female to female, while 20% is male to female.   Overall, 38% of bullies are female and 62% are male.   She also said that bosses represent 70% of all bullies.

Bullying has a $300 billion per year impact on business through increased absenteeism, errors or accidents, decreased productivity, legal expenses, and workers comp and disability claims.   She also said that in 54% of bullying cases there is no consequence to the actions involved and there is only a 4% chance the perpetrator will be punished.

Sherrill said it's important to pass legislation prohibiting bullying, and a lively question and answer session followed, with numerous opinions expressed about current laws against hostile work environments, harassment and other work-related issues versus the need for any new legislation to be passed.

The winning ticket was pulled and Jim Catone was the winner and he graciously donated his winnings back to the club.

Following the meeting the board of directors approved the application for membership of Charlie Dindo, so he will be welcomed to the club as our newest member.

Next week's program, part of our effort to better acquaint the club with downtown Barre businesses, will be Leonard Cotnoir, manager of the local Electrolux store.

Today was our annual visit from the district governor.   What we lacked in numbers (only 11 members present) we made up for in apathy....an unusually quiet gathering this week!  We also had 1 guest (Chet's exchange student from Thailand, who shall go by her nickname Wow).   She's staying with Karen and Chet for the coming school year, while attending U-32 High School.   Chet and Karen are awaiting the arrival of their second exchange student from Japan.   Also in attendance was prospective member Charlie Dindo (this marks the second publication of his application to join the club).   If no written objection is filed within 7 days, Charlie will be asked to join the club.   His classification is tentatively identified as Granite Manufacturing-Drafting.   Also a guest of the club was Charlotte/Shelburne Rotarian Elaine Dates, wife of our district governor.

Ted started off the proceedings with a happy dollar for the new flag stand (brought in last week by Bob P.) and now the new flag and flag pole, which Bob shortened last week to fit the confines of our current location.  Roy followed up with a happy dollar for the story in today's Times-Argus about Rock of Ages sale of 40,000 cubic feet of granite to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. for its 76-story skyscraper in the United Arab Emirates.   Roy said it will give him one more thing to talk about during his tours at Rock of Ages.

Chet then offered a happy dollar while introducing his guest and exchange student, the aforementioned Wow (real name Warisa, though I'm not sure of the spelling).

President Bill introduced our speaker, District Governor Steve Dates of the Charlotte/Shelburne Club.  His first act was to present Roy with the Crystal Citation in recognition of Roy's role as chairman of this year's district conference cruise held in May.    DG Steve began his remarks by noting that the district will underwrite the expense for one nominee per club in District 7850 to attend the Rotary Leadership Institute.   The institute is held at various locations throughout the fall and spring.   More information is available on-line at rlinea.com/registration.htm.

Steve noted his involvement in Rotary began a relatively short time ago, in 2005.   He's a Jersey native who attended UVM and stayed here since.   He worked for 30 years at IBM in a variety of capacities before retiring in 1999.   Steve pointed out that his goal as district governor is to help clubs succeed in the year ahead.

This year's theme for RI is "Engage Rotary...Change Lives" and Steve talked about how clubs can make that a reality. He noted that there are 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide and that number hasn't changed in about a decade.   No. America has experienced a loss of about 28,000 Rotarians in that period, or the equivalent of about 400 Rotary clubs.  He attributes that loss to not engaging Rotarians at the club level.  "Our primary customers are the members in our clubs" he said adding "we need to have welcoming, outgoing clubs" to keep up interest.   Good programs and projects will help to engage Rotarians sand grow our membership, which results in greater contributions to the Foundation, and more active, enthused volunteers for club projects.

This leads to the second part of this year's theme...Change Lives.   Growing our membership will lead to more people changing more lives for the better.  

As for District 7850, DG Dates said  we're doing well overall, with a net increase of 10 members in the past five years.   District 7850 has created two new clubs (Ossipee, NH and Drummondville, Que.) and is awaiting approval of a charter for a third new club in Granby, Quebec.   His goal for each club in the district is to grow by one new member over the course of this year, which would result in 42 new Rotarians in our district.

Steve mentioned this year's district conference will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Burlington April 25-27, 2014.

He closed by talking about the work being done to eradicate polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Nigeria.  India had been polio-free for a year-and-a-half and he said there's hope that we'll see the last new case of polio in those four countries by the end of the Rotary year.

President Bill presented DG Steve a club banner, and had him pull the winning ticket, which went to Roy.   No luck on the marble draw however.

Check our web site home page for details on upcoming programs.

President Bill opened the meeting with 16 members and one guest present.

A very impressive new granite flag stand (in full Rotary colors) was unveiled by Bob Pope.   Unfortunately, the flag staff is too tall, so we were unable to unfurl our new flag which Jim Catone brought in a week or two ago.   Bob will shorten the flag staff and bring it back for permanent display.  Thanks for the excellent work Bob!

Bertil gave two sad dollars for missing last week's meeting while in Dallas at a SCORE convention (not sure why there were two $$ given as we thought there was more to the story, but alas, we were wrong).   Bertil did ask if anyone knew what SCORE was, and Ron P. (always on top of things) said "that's what I used to do in high school"!   Bertil reminded us it really means Service Corps of Retired Executives.

Chet Briggs paid two happy $$ for the expected arrival of the first of two exchange students he and Karen are hosting.   One is from Thailand and the other from Japan.

Secretary Sue introduced prospective member Charlie Dindo, who has already submitted his application in the classification of Granite Manufacturing-Drafting.   Charlie worked the Rotary Breakfast for us this year.  This qualifies as the first notice of Charlie's application.

President bill reminded everyone of the upcoming fund raising concert at St. Michael's College planned by the District to help out our fellow Rotarians in lac Megantic, Quebec following the devestating train derailment and fire in that community.   The concert will be Sept. 24th and tickets are available through Flynn Theater tickets at www.flynntix.org or by calling (802) 863-5966.   Bob P. generously announced that Rock of Ages/Swenson Granite will donate $250 on behalf of our club to use as seed money for this fund, due to RofA's close relationship with Lac Megantic.   Thanks once again Bob!

Since our guest speaker had to cancel due to a funeral, we had an impromptu, but very worthwhile, club assembly, focused primarily on our annual charities budget.   President Bill announced that following our board of directors' meeting this morning, it was decided to cancel the budget meeting that had been scheduled for tonight at Community National Bank.   The board made this decision due to the extremely limited amount of money that is available for charities this year ($5,100 according to Tom B's report).  Since there was not enough money to make a significant donation to any of our "traditional" charities, and since only five organizations had sent in formal requests for aid this year, the board recommended to the club that we forgo the usual budget setting exercise and hold all of the money in essentially a "contingency fund" and deal with requests for assistance on a case-by-case basis as the year progresses.

A lively discussion followed, with discussions about holding project-specific fund raisers like we do for the library, holding on to our $5,100 this year and look at ways to grow the fund so we can make more significant donations in the future, what to do with the roughly $9,000 that's in the Rotary Park fund, etc.  It was noted that the club was interested in working with the city to install rest rooms at Rotary Park (there are none there now and this week as many as 40 people have been at the playground with no rest room facilities available to them) but the city has not been a willing partner to date.   Charlie Dindo, a city council member, said this was an issue he'd like to pursue at the city council level and he spent some time with Joe P. after the meeting to get brought up to speed on the subject. 

The club administrative budget will be voted on Sept. 4th and a final decision on whether the club will proceed as discussed today regarding the charities budget will also be made at that time.

The winning raffle ticket was held (we believe) by Joe P. though it might have been Bob P. or perhaps someone else...no one seems to be certain.

Next week's meeting will be our annual visit from the District Governor, Steve Dates.

Come to the meeting on February 8th to discover what the two items pictured mean to our club.

Club Assembly 

Rotary Foundation Presentation 

Onion River Exchange - a time share organization

The bell rang and we started the song, at which point we were interrupted by Karl’s cell phone.  We soldiered on, said the pledge and Joe prayed for those working at the Expo.  The rest of you are doomed.

Joe immediately proposed a fine on Karl for the offending cell phone, noting that the ringing could be construed as advertising for Rinker Communications, and that upon receiving the call, Karl left the room and abandoned us ½ way through the song.  Karl’s defense was to acknowledge that he has missed the last few meetings and is happy to be back.  With that non-defense, there was no choice but to pass the fine.

Bob gave a Happy Dollar – he had received a call from Doc Parnigoni, asking how many breakfast tickets Bob will need this year.  It’s almost like he never left!

President Claire made the following announcements:

• People should bundle up for the Expo tonight as its cold in the BOR.  All booths are full and the TV ads are great.
• Our speaker next week will be Congressman Peter Welch, who will be discussing the federal budget.
• Chet Briggs had a pacemaker put in yesterday.  Our best wishes are with him.

P. Claire introduced our speakers today, Robert Dostis & Mary Morris from Green Mountain Power.  They presented a PowerPoint presentation about GMP projects in the Barre area and its work on developing a Smart Grid.

In our area they are surveying utility poles, which is done every 10 years; they are working to support Vermont Broadband development; and they will be replacing streetlights in both the City & Town with more efficient LED lights.

Electricity use in Vermont has tripled since 1960.  The Smart Grid project is focused on reducing cost and carbon emissions, and maintaining reliability.  All meters will be replaced with electronic meters that will wirelessly transmit readings and other information directly to GMP, and will allow users to monitor usage through the GMP website.  You will also be able to run scenarios that will let you determine changes in usage and costs associated with new appliances or conservation measures.  The cost for the statewide project is $138 million, and $69 million of the funding is coming from a federal Department of Energy.

The project began last April and is scheduled to be completed by February 2013.  There will be a less than 1% rate increase to help offset costs, then the hope is the efficiencies in the new system will lower electric rates.

Everybody should watch their electric bills over the next year or so, as they will contain more information about the upgrades to the Smart Grid.

Just before we asked our guests to draw the winning ticket, Carol tried to fine President Claire for once again skipping the secretary’s report.  P. Claire said she already acknowledged she would pay a dollar for every missed report, so the fine was not acted upon.

Our speaker Mary drew the winning ticket, which happened to belong to our guest Robert.  I smell collusion.

Barre City Initatives

We’re back on home turf after two weeks of field trips.  The meeting seemed to start late, but President Claire said she was basing her bell ringing on the official clock, and she turned it to us so we could notice the time.  She said Jim – as our Sergeant at Arms – is the responsible party if the clock is wrong.  More on this later.

There was signing, pledging and a general plea to say grace.  Carol stepped into the breach with her trusty (and brief) Quaker blessing.

Sue started off with a Happy Dollar.  She said it was originally going to be a fine, but she changed her mind.  The HD was on behalf of Jim, who is self-confident enough to take P. Claire’s ribbing (see above).

Roy then proposed a fine on Jim because the clock P. Claire showed us actually said 11:00 AM – obviously a casualty of not having been turned back for daylight savings time.  There were several defenses for Jim, including Jim himself, who said his orders were to make sure the clock was out.  There were no orders about setting the time.  The fine didn’t pass – it didn’t even receive one “yea” vote.

Roy then immediately proposed a fine on El Presidente for not noticing that the clock was incorrect.  The fine passed unanimously.

There was fried fish for lunch.  Those sitting with me were very pleased.

After much munching, P. Claire started the business portion of the meeting.  She said the board, which had met right before lunch, was bringing forward a recommendation that the Club made a donation to Home Share, which is raising money towards a $200,000 matching grant.  The board recommended the Club donate all the money in our contingency fund after assuring ourselves of the balance.  Elizabeth said the approximate balance is $400.  Karen moved approval of the board’s recommendation, seconded by Lucille.  The motion carried.

There were other announcements made:

• The Rotary Breakfast will be held on July 30^th this year.  Mark your calendars now!  Ron is once again serving as chair of the event, and the board is looking for someone to serve as co-chair to learn the ropes.
• The District is sponsoring a leadership conference on April 2^nd at Dartmouth.  Jim is going and would welcome company, so if you are interested in attending the conference, talk to Jim or Claire.
• Roy discussed the award the club can be presented with at the district conference.  He said we’re short on international points, and encouraged club members to make contributions to the Rotary Foundation.  Regardless of the amount, if all club members make a donation, we will have enough points to qualify for the award.
• Prez Claire said she owed Elizabeth an apology after last week’s comments about attendance reports.  It seems Elizabeth was following orders and faxing the reports, but the fax machine broke, which she decided not to blame Elizabeth for.
• Roy said he has been cooking dinners for the residents at Good Samaritan Haven.  He’s scheduled to cook on Thursday, April 28^th, but is unable to do so, so he’s looking for a volunteer.  Mario stepped up to the plate (get it?)  Roy said the last time he cooked dinner for the GSH gang it cost him $175 in plumber’s fees to unclog his plugged disposal.
• President Claire said she will give her book report at the last meeting of the month – she read 15 books over her winter vacation.
• Michael said he was acting on behalf of Jack – he had checked in at Spaulding and discovered we have received an application for RYLA.
• Jim asked if anybody has seen the club banner.  If you know where it is and are holding it hostage, let us know what the ransom is and we’ll pass the collection plate.
• Amber announced a benefit dinner at the Wayside on March 22^nd to benefit Special Olympics.  50% of your dinner check that evening will be donated to SO.  Amber said she’ll be waiting tables that evening, so stop by and stiff her.
• Mario said the car has been purchased for the car raffle, and he hopes to have the tickets available next week.
• Roy said the Rotary Spring Expo has 34 vendors with 40 booths to date, with another 19 waiting in the wings (no applications on file yet, but rumor has it they’re coming).
• Roy said there are tickets available for the April 12^th Pushing Out Polio event at the Capitol Plaza.
• Roy is hosting a showing of the film “The Final Inch” at the Aldrich Library on April 7^th.

Sue gave the secretary’s report, but only after reminding P. Claire.  Because we have been on the road with field trips, this was the first opportunity to do March birthdays and anniversaries:

Birthdays                             Anniversaries

Bertil                                     Anita

Valerie                                  Valerie (a double celebration!)

Jim                                         Jim (another double!)

Michael                                Elizabeth – 14 years (she must have joined as a teenager)

George                                 Dee

                                                Roy

Roy introduced our speaker, Lori Baker.  Lori is the executive director of the Greater Barre Community Justice Center, and Roy serves on their reparative board and board of directors.

Lori said the GBCJC is one of 12 such justice centers in the state, which are funded through the Agency of Human Resources.  The purpose is to address conflict and crime in an alternative way.  She said the premise is restorative justice; a look at who has been harmed and how, and how to make amends.  It’s not about punishment, and the victims always have a voice.

Lori gave examples of how they have worked with youth on restorative justice and restitution, and said they have worked with people ranging in age from 11-78 years old.

They work with people who are both pre- and post-charge and sentencing.  If those who are referred to them are successful in the restorative program, then the charges can be dropped.

The CJC also runs a re-entry program for serious and violent offenders who are nearing the completion of their sentence.  Working in conjunction with the Re-entry Advisory Committee and the Department of Corrections, a team is formed to work with the offender as they move out of prison, find a job, receive counseling and other services, and develop the skills to needed to function in the community.  The program is funded with a federal grant and DOC transitional housing funds.  The criteria to participate in the program includes having significant ties to Barre, finding housing and receiving approval from the Advisory Committee.

The Club thanked Lori for her presentation.

President Claire said she has been collecting little soaps from hotels and is donating them to Barre City Elementary & Middle School, which will distribute them to students who need them.  She suggested others do the same when they are traveling.

Sue held the winning raffle ticket.  I don’t know if she had any luck with the marbles.