Good Morning MRV Rotarians, friends, community members and supporters. We wish a very special welcome to another new MRV Rotary member, Jeni Davison.
Well, we have marched through March and are still plodding through the mud here in our own version of paradise. Pond skimming will be this upcoming weekend at Sugarbush and then it will be time, at least for me, to pack away the parka, stow the skis and begin to gather and groom the garden. Have you noticed your daffodils or crocus peaking through the soil with their promise of spring? Ahhhhhhhh. 🙂 In addition, another true sign of spring is the annual Camp Takumta take down of the ice rink. Thanks once again to Dave Koepele for organizing this "road trip" event planned for April 7. Reach out to Dave if you can assist with this. We also are grateful to Sean Sullivan as he has volunteered to lead the Sponsorship committee as it ramps up.
At the recent membership meeting, Pete Colgan, Treasurer, presented a proposed dues increase primarily due to the increased portion we are charged from Rotary International (RI). Historically RI annually increases its cost to us by 4.6%. We will have further discussions on this.
A huge thank you to President-Elect, Mike Leichliter, for committing a recent weekend to attending the President-Elect seminar. In addition, we learned from Mike that we can look forward to an upcoming visit from District Governor, Ariel Monblack, who will share plans for a monarch butterfly milkweed planting service project. Stay tuned for how you can get involved in this fun and worthwhile project.
We are holding an MRV Rotary Information Session at Emily's Bar and Bistro on Thursday, April 9 from 5 - 6:30 p.m. Please spread the word to anyone you know who has expressed interest and would like to know more about our organization and how we service this amazing Community.
Grants Approved
The Grants committee proposed two grant requests at the recent Board meeting.
One request was for Mad River Mentoring for $4,500 to cover a revamping of the marketing and PR messaging. This will help with further expansion of the popular mentoring program. The grant will go to the full club for approval due to board recusals.
Also New England Mobile Fit Clinic was awarded $2,500 by vote. The Clinic provides compassionate care to breast cancer patients requiring post surgery prosthesis and wigs. The Clinic serves patients in VT, NH, Maine and MA.
Thank you, Doug Stoehr, Shawn Sullivan, Gary Plewak and Tom Emory for your time and commitment to work on grants.
Upcoming Rotary meetings:
4/8 7 a.m. Wednesday breakfast meeting at the Village Meeting House at Waitsfield UCC.
4/15, 11:15 a.m. - Wednesday lunch meeting at Lawson's Finest Liquids. Meeting will be first followed by lunch of your choice from the regular menu.
4/22, 7 a.m. Wednesday breakfast meeting at the Village Meeting House at Waitsfield UCC.
A reminder to please sign up for breakfast meetings whether or not you will be eating. In addition, if you choose to not eat breakfast, please consider contributing $5 to help cover the cost of the venue. If this request in any way, reduces your ability to attend meetings, please reach out to Susan K. as we have a small fund to offer financial assistance for club activities for any member who requests it.
Volunteer opportunities
Mike Leichliter will be distributing dictionaries to students in Valley elementary schools in April and invites any member who can join him to please reach out. This is an annual event that surprisingly, in this day and age of technology, continues to excite children and puts smiles on their faces from ear to ear. Waitsfield Elementary school is April 8 at 10 a.m., Warren Elementary is April 9 at 12:30 p.m. and Fayston Elementary is April 29 at 8 a.m.
As mentioned above, Camp Te Kum Ta ice rink taken down is April 7. If you can help, Dave Koepele is your contact.
Community Pantry delivery folks are always needed. Thank you, Doug Stoehr, for organizing. Click the link below to help. As a personal aside, when I was a new member 5 years ago, this volunteer opportunity was a wonderful way for me to jump into Rotary and gain insight into how Rotary works its magic. In addition, I met wonderful folks.
Being a greeter is a fabulous way to say hello to folks you have not seen in a while and, if you are new to MRV Rotary, a wonderful way to get acquainted.
April Showers bring May Flowers (and yes, May Flowers bring Pilgrims….) as we head into spring after a cold and snowy winter. We are fortunate to live in such a place as this where we can adapt to the seasons, find our groove and feed our souls – however that looks for you. We’ve ordered our chicks for June delivery, reserved our summer CSA subscription and our Rotary Changeover Dinner is set for June 17 at Knoll Farm. We can only hold 50 people, so watch for your invitation!
Rick Hendricks, relatively new to the Mad River Valley and a new Rotarian, gave his new member introduction at a recent breakfast held at the Village Meeting House. He presented elements of his life story based on the theme of “Moving and Serving”. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area and following his 28 year career in the Army retiring as a Sergeant Major with the Chaplain Corps, Rick and his spouse Lori Daiello, have settled in Warren.
Rick Hendricks presented his introduction speech at a recent breakfast meeting. If you missed the meeting, you can read all about Rick's fascinating journey in the Stories section of this newsletter. We are so grateful that you have joined our Community!
The promise of spring. 🙂
I want to give a gentle promotion here for an upcoming program that I have signed up for and might be of interest to others. On Sunday, April 12 from 1 - 3 p.m. the Braver Angels will be offering a workshop, Communicating Across Differences. Braver Angels presented at a Rotary meeting a few years ago and I was quite impressed with their purpose of promoting Civil Discourse among friends and family about contentious topics. Given Rotary's 4 Way test and goal of staying politically neutral, this seems like a good fit. Maybe I will see you there.
Enjoy your week and see you at an upcoming meeting!
