Charlotte-Shelburne Rotary - Newsletter

Construction atTrinity Church sent the Rotary Club to meet in the Methodist Church Hall. William provided his usual good breakfast and the space was much appreciated.

President Steve Dates lead in the pledge and Linda Gilbert lead in prayer.

Steve introduced special guests Rick Peters and Jessica Dallas from Shelburne Museum. Ron Cline, the Assistant District Governor attended the meeting to announce that he is retiring from the post in mid-term and he introduced the new Assistant District Governor Dave Clark from Middlebury.

Rotary Foundation

This week's Rotary Foundation thought is about why we support our Foundation.

Every minute of every day someone's life is being improved by our Rotary Foundation. Rotary clubs on every continent are working to improve the living conditions and health of their fellow citizens. Rotarians like you and me can make a difference by continually supporting our Foundation and the Annual Programs Fund. As Rotarians we determine where funds are allocated through District Designated Funds, which we can use for local projects or matching grants in another country. When we contribute to our Foundation we are promoting worldwide Peace and Understanding. Only if Every Rotarian Every Year makes a gift to the Annual Programs Fund will we will be able to continue to do the great work of The Rotary Foundation.

Announcements

Dec. 10 meeting
Dec. 17 - Club Assembly and Committee Meetings including approval of the Nominating Committee Report
Dec. 24 and 31 - no meetings
Jan. 7 - vote on bylaw changes

Double Match

Steve announced a "double match" program that will triple the size of donations made by club members to Rotary Foundation. Money in the budget and a positive balance in "points" the club has with the Foundation, will make the match. The money will go to the Polio Plus challenge.

Finance Committee

The members approved a donation of $500 in memory of Nat Gould, a long-time member of the Club. The donation will go to UVM Medical School.

Steve Dates, Anne Pardee, Rick Peters, and Jessica Gallas

$12,000 gift from Charlotte Shelburne Rotary will help Museum transform its entrance. It is the happy convergence of a project plan that needed funds, an organization with a commitment to supporting community projects, and a generous donor. Shelburne Museum's redesigned main entrance is the project, Charlotte Shelburne Rotary is the service club that was eager to help with the project, and a gift from Anne Pardee and the Pardee Trust provided the funds.

At the Wednesday, Dec. 3 meeting of the Rotary Club, a check for $12,000 was presented to Rick Peters, Head of Grounds Department, and Jessica Gallas, Head Gardener, to help with the construction of a "big splash of color" at the Museum entrance featuring the lilacs, peonies and day lilies that are such an integral part of the Museum experience, as well as other bushes and grasses. Peters explained that the museum expects that a more dramatic and beautiful entrance will increase the number of visitors known as "drive by visitors," passers-by on Route 7 who stop on impulse. Pardee, a former president of the Rotary Club, and Rotary member Elaine Dates who is active in the local Garden Club, worked with the Museum to plan the new entrance, and a plaque will recognize the Club's support of the project.

Anne Pardee

Steve Dates, Anne Pardee, and Rosalyn Graham

Steve Dates thanked Anne Pardee for her generosity in making the donation of funds from the Pardee Trust for the Club to use in such a noteworthy project.

As Anne prepared to leave for California where she plans to live for the winter months, the Club paid tribute to her work as President, her many contributions to the club, her creativity in building membership for the club, and her enthusiastic support for Rotary's programs. She was presented with a wall hanging collage pictures of many of her Rotary activities filling a Vermont map.

Sergeant at Arms

Kris Engstrom levied a long-overdue birthday fine on Paul Bohne.

Happy fines:

Kris for the Museum project - for the fabulous input from Club members
Anne Pardee - for the kind tribute - for the safe departure of her animals and cars - and in the hope that they arrive safely in California - and for her flight
Steve Dates - for the successful change of venue for the meeting
Don Condon - the contractors are gone from his home (at last) - his daughter got a promotion
Jim Spadacinni - just happy
John Hancock - also happy
Gary Bergeron - a great visit with family in Maryland
Sue McLellan - a happy Thanksgiving with her family
Ric Flood - his daughter's move to Boston is almost complete
Michele Lash - three Thanksgiving gifts - all her daughters were home
Eric Hanley - Megan has a craft and lucky draw booth at the Community School Fair on Saturday to benefit Hands to Honduras
John Hammer - apologizing for embarrassing Michael Lash
Debbie Hanley - for good friend Anne Pardee
Rosalyn Graham - for her children being home for Thanksgiving - for her neighbor Anne Pardee planning to be back in the spring - for a great story in the Free Press with a great tribute to UVM hockey player Peter Lenes
Dennis Webster - for the Museum hosting concerts for indigenous drumming
Terrell Titus - happy to be at the meeting - and for Anne's contributions to the club
Alan Hathaway - happy
Linda Gilbert - wishing Anne good luck on her great adventure

Lucky draw: Pat Sokolowski's number was drawn, but she chose the wrong card and didn't win the $265.50 pot

Guest Speaker

Steve Dates and Lt. Col. Hand Harder

Lt. Col Hank Harder, a UVM graduate in political science who chose a career as a pilot and has been a member of the Air National Guard in 1992. He explained that the primary mission of the Guard is to serve the Governor of Vermont and the state and that one of their most important missions in that service was following the Ice Storm of 1998. "We don't just fly airplanes, he said. There are 1,000 members of the Air Guard in Vermont, 300 of them full-time. There are 29 to 30 pilots and 250 maintainers with 15 F-16s. The pilots spend much of their time practicing air to air and air to ground maneuvers over the Adirondacks, White Mountains and in Maine."

Lt. Col. Harder has flown three missions in Iraq in the past five years. He said that the Air Guard deployments are much shorter than the Army - typically three months at a time.