Good Morning MRV Rotarians, friends, community members and supporters and Happy New Year! I am tempted to start listing the many activities we Rotarians have been engaged in throughout 2025 but I will save that for our Rotary year-end which is June. You all, like me, have probably been reading enough year end letters, news articles and essays. Nonetheless, it has been a busy holiday season and we extend a great big Thank you to Emily Shea who hosted our annual Holiday Gathering at her place, Afterthoughts. As always, the event was festive, and such a wonderful opportunity to simply socialize. Many thanks to those who contributed some delicious appetizers to keep us well fed. A few photos are below. We missed those of you who could not attend.
Speaking of the Holiday gathering, in the Stories below is a letter from Wendy McDonough thanking Rotarians for the contributions generously made to the students in need at Harwood Union High School. I also extend my heartfelt thanks and am so proud to be a part of this Community.
As we look forward to 2026, it should be no surprise that already plans are beginning for the annual Warren 4th of July parade and the Labor Day Duck Race. Both of these are great opportunities for members to jump in and contribute what you can. Be prepared to be hearing more about how you can join in on the volunteer fun for these events soon.
Please welcome the following two new members to our Rotary Community: Doug Leach and Rick Hendricks. Karen Winchell will be scheduling them soon for their intro speeches during which we will learn a bit more about each of them. Other very recently new members are Brooke Cunningham and Mary Jo and Alan Spiegel. Please introduce yourself to them when you see them. They will be adorned by their new name badges. 🙂
Grants Approved
We recently had two email grant requests for membership review and vote. The following four requests were approved by a quorum:
$5,000 PTOs of the MRV collective request for winter sports program
$3,000 MRV Arts for building and installing permanent art display structures along the Historic Village - Irasville segment of the Mad River Path
$4,000 Hannah's House "After School Cafe" for High School students at Big Picture
$5,000 Neck of the Woods (NOW) in conjunction with United Way, "Working Bridges" program for employee support, training and counseling for those experiencing scarcity of resources
At our January 14 meeting we will give a mid-year update on our grants program and funding.
Thank you, Doug Stoehr, Shawn Sullivan, Gary Plewak and Tom Emory for your time and commitment to work on grants.
Upcoming Rotary meetings:
1/14, 7 a.m. Wednesday breakfast meeting at the Village Meeting House at Waitsfield UCC.
1/21, 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.
1/28, 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
Restaurant Raffle - Tom Emory reports that to date about 3,000 tickets have been sold raising about $12,700. Our goal is $15,000. We have just 2 weeks to go as the drawing is January 17. If you have not tried the Rallyup platform yet with your email contacts, you just might give it a try as the online purchases are so easy!
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.
Happy Spring - maybe it’s the real one this time. My snow tires are off, so I am done-done! I am looking forward to meeting with our newest club members at an upcoming “new member gathering”. Our newest members bring such an interesting and varied wealth of background and interests which rounds our club membership out nicely. Our club is an anomaly in the district in that it is strong, vibrant and membership is steadily increasing in a time when U.S. clubs as a whole are losing membership. Well done, all!
I was born in Houston, TX where my parents were both in their post-medical school residencies. I am the oldest of their five children, all of whom chose careers in the medical field and none of whom became MDs. We lived in a Houston garage apartment for three years that I don’t remember and then moved to Rochester, NY, where I learned to appreciate grey, snowy winters. I carried a paper route and was active in boy scouting. My first pair of skis were solid wood, no edge, cable binding hand-me-down’s from my dad’s Swedish colleague, Svend Jorgensen. After many yearly swaps of black leather lace ski boots, I graduated to Cubco bindings on different hand-me-down skis and promptly tore my meniscus in a wipeout at Bristol Mountain. My Olympic hopes dashed (LOL!), I figured out that biology and even pre-med might be a good career path.
“This is amazing! I continue to be so impressed by our community and how we continue to show up for each other.” This direct quote came from Harwood’s School Nurse, Magge Stone when we delivered 38 $25.00 gift cards to her. Magge and Erin Dezell, School Counselor distributed 38 gift cards to students before their December Break. I would like to add my own, “Thank You” for your generosity in supporting our valley students who are living with food insecurity.
