Happy April Fools Day, Rotarians! What sort of pranks did you play today? Have any done to you? What a funny day this is! I wondered about why we celebrate it and the History Channel offered this:
Origins of April Fools' Day
Some historians speculate that April Fools' Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, as called for by the Council of Trent in 1563. In the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1.
People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.” These pranks included having paper fish placed on their backs and being referred to as “poisson d’avril” (April fish), said to symbolize a young, easily caught fish and a gullible person.
Moving on, it appears that spring has sprung in the MRV. Chubby robins are showing up, brilliant cardinals are changing their colors, and brown grass has quickly replaced the surface on Mad River Glen trails. My skis are hung up but my car is still covered with mud. I think I'll wait for another week or so to give it a real car wash.
A head's up Rotarians, starting next month you won't be able to hide your secrets any longer. Thanks to the suggestion of Ed McDonough, there will be a new section in our newsletter that will be dedicated to Meet your fellow MRV Rotarians. The section will be short and sweet but will include a brief bio of a member each month so that we can get to know each other just a bit more. You can expect me to be reaching out to you.
Below is a photo of a handful of Rotarians helping out with moving items for Louise's Lending Closet. Danielle Hampton, manages the closet and she asked for some help with moving the gently used medical equipment to a new home in the basement of the MRV Health Center. We recently granted the organization $250 for shelving for the equipment. The medical equipment is loaned out at no cost to those who need it. Thank you to those who gave up a few hours of their Saturday. Many hands make light work!
Grants Approved
At a recent regular breakfast meeting two grant requests were presented to the membership for approval. $3,000 was approved for the SummerFunD camp program operated through the Interfaith Council. These funds will be used for scholarships.
Also $4,000 was approved for Hannah's House. These funds will cover costs for underinsured clients for therapeutic sessions
Thank you, Roger Porter, Doug Stoehr and Shawn Sullivan for your work on these grants.
Upcoming Rotary meetings:
4/9, 7 a.m. Wednesday breakfast meeting at the Village Meeting House at the Waitsfield UCC.
4/16, 11:15 a.m., Lunch meeting at Lawson’s Finest Liquids taproom.
4/23, 7 a.m., Wednesday breakfast meeting at the Village Meeting House at the Waitsfield UCC.
Volunteer opportunities
As of this writing, Bonnie Barnes and Tom Emory are looking for help with the very important Sponsorship Drive that begins next month. Don't be surprised if you receive a call or email from Bonnie.
In addition, you can always sign up to help with Community Pantry deliveries, thank you Doug Stoehr, or if you would like to be a Greeter, click on the following link https://mrvrotary.org/1451/Page/Show?ClassCode=Page&Slug=members-only. 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. So many ways to get involved!
As we enter this time of year, our club leadership begins preparing for the upcoming transition in June. A key part of this process is the President Elect Leadership Symposium (PELS), an event designed to help incoming presidents start shaping their plans for the year ahead.
Our President-Elect, Susan Klein, recently attended PELS and has returned with valuable insights to share. I thought it would be beneficial for her to speak about her experience firsthand.
I see Karl Klein and Dave Mackie helping out moving medical equipment for Louise's Lending Closet and I know there were more so thank you to all of you!
New member Charlie Kahle presented his introductory speech last week at our regular breakfast meeting. Thank you for sharing, Charlie! What a fascinating life you lead!
Dara Torre, Mike Curtin, Sean Sullivan and Dave Mackie enjoyed breakfast at the Senior Center recently and were able to enjoy first hand the new table and chairs granted to the Center. A few months ago, Rotarians approved a grant request for an update to the Senior Center dining room. Nicely spruced up!
MRV Rotarians, Kolleen Kintz and Trey Rayburn, entertained the audience at Cabin Fever Follies recently. What a talented community we are blessed with!
Recently I learned about the not to be missed VT Maple festival! Of course there is a VT Maple Festival! Gotta put this one on the calendar. For more info, here's the link:
