Newsletter - Archive  May 26, 2010

print this page

Charlotte Shelburne Rotary Club

Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 7:30 a.m.

Trinity Episcopal Church Community Room

Welcome

President John Beal welcomed everyone and lead the Pledge. Kris Engstrom gave the devotional.

Everyone was pleased to hear that Ric Flood is home from the hospital and his recovery is progressing. Dennis Delaney reported that he had met Ric as he was leaving Fletcher Allen Health Care and that Ric was in good spirits and looking good.

Calendar

Mark your calendar:

• June 2 – A speaker from the Discover Jazz Festival
• June 4 – Bowl-a-thon – 6 p.m. at Champlain Lanes
  • The lane assignment signup sheet was circulated.
  • It’s not too late for sign-ups to help with the District Conference on June 12 and 13.

Scholarship Winners

Winners of the 2010 Charlotte Shelburne Rotary Scholarships and their parents and supporters, left to right, Ken, Nora and Mary Jo Kaszubowski of Shelburne, John Koerner of the 52 Kids Foundation, Lindsay Kingston of Charlotte, and Paige Leenstra with her parents Willem Leenstra and Dotty Schnure of Hinesburg, with Rotary Scholarship Committee Chair Alan Hathaway.

Alan Hathaway introduced the winners of three Charlotte Shelburne Rotary Scholarships, awards made annually to students from the towns of Shelburne, Charlotte and Hinesburg to assist them to continue their education.

The Charlotte Shelburne Rotary Scholarship committee, which includes John Hancock, Adam Bartsch, Joan Lenes, Dave Rice, Linda Barker and Bob Sanders, faced a real challenge, Hathaway said, because of the very high quality of the applications. “We read them all as much as three or four times,” he said.

The recipients of the scholarships this year are Paige Leenstra of Hinesburg, Lindsay Kingston of Charlotte and and Nora Kaszubowski of Shelburne.

Each of the winners spoke to the club, focusing on the community service they had performed, as the scholarship is awarded based on service to the community.

Lindsey is graduating from Champlain Valley Union High School and will be attending Middlebury College. She said that her experience going to Uganda as part of a group organized by John Koerner’s 52 Kids Foundation had changed her life. At CVU she was active in the Buddy program, working with new students at the school.

Nora is also graduating from CVU and said that her experience as a volunteer had made her realize “volunteering helped others and myself.” She has volunteered for the Burlington Triathalon and Art Hop. During her sophomore year she went to West Virginia to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and is going to North Carolina this year. She has also been a volunteer coach for a local recreational track and field program.

Paige graduated from CVU in 2005 and has now graduated from the University of Vermont. She will be attending the UVM College of Medicine. Her volunteer activities include developing a community garden for children, being an EMT with Essex Rescue once a week, and helping in the pediatric unit at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Sergeant at Arms

Happy fines:

• Bob Sanders – good to see his friends the Leenstra family
• George Schiavone – happy to see such fine scholarship winners
• Gary Marcotte and Debby Hanley paid late fines
• Michele Lash – congratulations to the scholarship winners – and her daughter graduated from Vanderbilt with a Masters in Teaching
• Jim Spadaccini – congratulations to the committee for all their hard work
• Sam Feitelberg – congratulations to the committee and the scholarship winners
• George Ewins – two dollars for the pot
• Dennis Delaney – for the newsletter that kept him in touch with Rotary while he was away – “It’s like home,” he said.
• Fritz Horton – a pin fine and his birthday
• Chuck LaClair – pin fine and congratulations
• Dave Rice – happy to welcome his friend from Alabama to the meeting
• Alan Hathaway – congratulations to the three scholarship winners
• Rosalie Schneider – a pin fine
• Judy Christensen – the scholarship winners bode well for the future of the country
• Joyce Errecart – congratulations – and winter seems to be over
• Terrell Titus – with her family and biking on the weekend – and congratulations to the club for expanding the guidelines for the scholarship beyond high school graduating seniors
• Kris Engstrom – going to Maine
• Denny Bowen – the future is bright with such young people

Lucky draw: Dave Rice’s ticket was drawn, but he chose the wrong card and missed the $414 pot.

Remember: Monday’s Memorial Day Observance at the Parade Ground at 11 a.m.

Guest Speaker

Tennis coach Jake Agna with President John Beal

Jake Agna, well-known local tennis coach and founder of the Kids on the Ball program that provides a valuable tennis experience for young people who could not afford the equipment or the fees to play in regular programs. He also coaches the South Burlington High School Women’s Tennis team.

Kids on the Ball, which is a program of the King Street Youth center was recognized in 2006 as the Program of the Year by Groundworks Tennis.

Born in Cincinnati, Agna began playing tennis in 1973, moved to Vermont on a whim in 19;83 with his wife and two daughters, became the tennis coach at Quarry Hill and when the program outgrew the space, moved to Fitness Edge where they attracted 150 to 200 players a week. His Champlain Valley Junior Tennis League played and won against teams from Boston and New York.

In 1999, plagued by hip problems, he had two replacements and re-evaluated what he really wanted to do. He reflected on how important tennis had been to him growing up, and how essential public tennis programs are to young people. With the belief that Burlington is a small enough city to tackle a socially-responsible program of tennis that is affordable, accessible and available to a diverse audience, Agna began working with King Street Youth Center and established Kids on the Ball to recruit youngsters from the Old North End. He found sponsors for summer tennis camp slots, and welcomed donations of used equipment.

The program has grown steadily, going into schools to teach children about tennis, and offering programs through Parks and Recreation at public parks in the summer. They have 75 to 100 kids playing every week in the summer.

Agna thinks that tennis has a critical role to play in the development of young people at a time when what he described as “the electronic age” has messed them up. Tennis teaches the life skills like taking their turn, standing in line, winning and losing. “Kids really like a steady thing in their lives,” he said. “It gives them a goal. It’s the power of fun.”

Agna welcomes donations of any old tennis equipment – and of course sponsorships. It costs $200 for a child to play tennis for a year in the Kids on the Ball program.