Happy May, Rotarians! I know. I know. I can hear you all from here reminding me that spring is on the way as is the Farmer's Market and isn't it time to change the seasonal photo above?! After all it's time to think gardening and green stuff. Well, I had to offer just one more gorgeous view of our beautiful winter Valley from a different perspective. I am even offering a beverage from Lawson's to the first person to guess correctly where this photo was taken. What road? Pete Colgan, thanks for the help with resizing this photo but your guess does not count. 🤣
An important reminder regarding our upcoming meeting schedule.... Please pay attention to the email reminders and updates as there are a few changes for the summer months.
At a recent breakfast meeting, Eric Friedman, Exec. Director of the MRV Chamber of Commerce shared the exciting changes coming to the Chamber. The Chamber has moved to newly renovated space next to the old Smokehouse at the intersection of Rts. 17 and 100 and will be asking for assistance with the Steward MRV program. A photo of Eric is below.
At the recent Board meeting, the Board members approved a $2,000 grant request for the Central Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA). The grant will support the Council's Enhancing Social Connection through Arts and Technology Program. You can learn more about the CVCOA on their website https://www.cocoa.org.
A quick reminder about the May 20 2nd annual Rise Against Hunger food packaging event. It's a fun event and a wonderful way to spend a few hours on a Saturday with the family doing good. More on that below in Stories.
There is always room to help by being a Greeter or delivering food to the Community Pantry. You can sign up for either of those by clicking on this link https://www.mrvrotary.org/page/members-only.
Speaking of getting involved.... a great big Thank you to new member Emily Shea for stepping up and offering to take the lead on the important annual Restaurant Raffle fund raiser. Tom Emory will still be involved to guide Emily through the process and we know for sure that many of you will offer your support to Emily in any way possible. She might even prefer a co-chair so please think about it.
Thank you to Kim Olds for writing a fabulous op ed piece about all that MRV Rotary does. The piece in the Valley Reporter helped to get the word out about all the good that we do! Let's not keep it a secret.
A huge thank you goes to Dave Koepele for once again mustering the troops to help dismantle the ice rink at Camp Ta-Kumta. This is a seasonal job that Rotarians do twice a year - set up and take down. A photo of the hard-working crew is below.
And a huge thank you to Gordon Hoare for assembling a crew to install the fence around the playground at Neck of the Woods (NOW). The fence had to be taken down in order for the new expanded wastewater system to be installed.
Below in Stories you can read a piece written by Dave Ellison. Dave and his wife, Janet, will be embarking on a Rotary friendship exchange in August heading to Scotland. This piece is a clear, simple reminder of all that we do to make this the special place that we call home.
The Mad River Valley in central Vermont is full of outdoor adventure. It has three downhill ski areas, two cross country ski areas, a myriad of hiking trails, road and mountain biking, both a lake and a river providing the opportunity to swim, kayak, and sail locally.
The Mad River Valley Rotary Club contribute funds to many local non-profit organizations, as well as providing five university scholarships. They participate in local non-profit activities such as Food Pantry deliveries, packaging meals for overseas use, building storm windows for winter insulation and helping construct facilities such as fences for child care and a local dog park. They yearly set up the winter skating rink for a camp servicing cancer challenged children,
They organize and execute the annual Fourth of July Parade which brings ten thousand people to the valley. Last year, they helped run a 75th anniversary celebration of the local volunteer fire department.
Their fundraisers include a restaurant raffle, a duck race on a local river. and hosting entry for the Von Trapp display garden tour. In addition, one large business headquarters in the area allows Rotary to handle all their contributions to local non-profits.
Because of the extensive activities, the Mad River Valley Rotary Club has been among the most successful Rotary Clubs in the district attracting new members.
The Mad River Valley Rotary hosted a super-fun, meal- packaging event on Saturday, May 20th at 10:00 AM in the Harwood Union Middle and High School cafeteria. We recruited 70 community volunteers who assembled 14,000 (!) nutritious, rice-based meals that will be sent to school programs and orphanages in the developing world. We’ll be organizing the event with help from the Waterbury Rotary Club, the Harwood Interact Club, and Rise Against Hunger, a nonprofit growing a global movement to end hunger by empowering communities, nourishing lives and responding to emergencies.
Food insecurity has been one of our club’s primary areas of focus this year both in the Valley and beyond. Global hunger is a pressing problem, one that is expected to be especially severe this year due to the disruption of agricultural production in Ukraine, a major supplier of corn, wheat, sunflower oil and other food commodities. Besides helping hungry people eat, meals delivered to schools provide strong incentives for families to send their children to school, where the meal there may be their only meal. Encouraging school attendance helps lift the literacy rate, a key requirement for breaking the cycle of poverty.
Eric Friedman, Exec. Director of the MRV Chamber of Commerce speaking at a recent Rotary breakfast meeting.
From left to right the helpers at Camp Ta-Kumta included Ed McDonough, Doug Stoehr, Dave Koepele, Bob Grant, Karl Klein, Mike Bridgewater, Damon Reed and Roger Porter.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming meetings and I strongly suggest getting out into the woods for an early spring walk. Recently Howard and I spied some beautiful yellow trout lilies, purple trillium, yellow violets and dainty spring beauties. Keep your eyes open for signs of spring popping everywhere! My favorite is the early Black Cohosh.
The Mad River Valley Rotary hosted a super-fun, meal- packaging event on Saturday, May 20th at 10:00 AM in the Harwood Union Middle and High School cafeteria. We recruited 70 community volunteers who assembled 14,000 (!) nutritious, rice-based meals that will be sent to school programs and orphanages in the developing world. We’ll be organizing the event with help from the 
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