President Richard Simon displayed this photo of the beneficiaries of our rainwater harvesting Global Grant project in Guatemala!
 
 
Guests
  • Margaret Casey, Knoxville Boy Scout Council
  • Jim Fusco, District Governor Elect, Montachusett Rotary
  • Pat and Skip Doyle, District Co-Governor Nominees, Northboro Rotary
  • David Bangs, Hartford, Connecticut Rotary
  • David Underhill, Portland, Maine Rotary
  • David Gardner, Stoneham Rotary
  • Steve Serta, Weymouth Rotary
  • Terry Hnatio, Spouse of Dan
 
Announcements
  • Global Grant, Guatemala: Our club and five other clubs in the district are changing people’s lives by making clean water available to them through rainwater harvesting. We received an email from Katie Picchione of the WPI Rotaract club that implemented the project, thanking us for our generosity, which is so meaningful.
  • A Paul Harris Fellowship was given to Jim Stone, a testament to his generosity to the Rotary Foundation.
  • District Conference awards for service to the district were given to Laura Spear for her public relations work, and to Nanci Bishop for membership.
  • Brewfest: The Spit of Hudson Food & Brewfest is scheduled for Saturday, August 15. Volunteers will be needed the day of the event.
  • The board voted $300 to fund one campership at Camp Resolute in Bolton. The camp is combined Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, as Camp Virginia is “resting,” and has been rebranded as an “adventure day camp” for grades 1-4.
  • Interact Club: A ceremony will take place next Wednesday, at 2:30 in the high school media center. We’ll present the club’s charter and banner and give pins to the charter members.
  • Installation of Jim Fusco as District Governor will be Friday night, June 19, 2015 at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg. Members of our club will be attending. You can register on the district website.
  • Wings and Wheels: We now have $9,000 in sponsorships. We also get money from public attendance and food sales, so promote this activity!
  • RFK: This year’s district grant was to create a “fly zone”—a  ropes course and zip line at the Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps in Lancaster, to boost the children’s confidence and cooperation. A community day is scheduled for June 27; volunteers for the cookout are needed.
  • Joint meeting: We’re having a joint meeting with the Acton-Boxborough club on Wednesday, June 10th  instead of June 11th so as not to compete with Wings & Wheels. The meeting will start at Checkerboards Pizza in Hudson and then move to a visit to a collection of Matchbox Motors Microcars, Minicars & Motorcycles owned by cousin of Acton-Boxboro Rotarian Marvin Gould.
  • Inauguration: Jim Stone and our other officers and directors will be installed as our club president at the regular morning meeting on June 18 but at Nancy’s Airfield Café instead of Colonial Candies.
  • Repair café: The sixth repair café (and third sponsored by our club) will be held on Saturday, May 30, at the First Parish Church in Bolton.
  • Just Cause walk: A team from Nashoba Valley Rotary has volunteered to walk for the Healing Garden on May 30.
  • RYLA: Volunteers are needed, June 26-28 at Worcester State University.
 
Happy/sad
  • Dave G: offered his congratulations on the success of the Guatemala project.
  • Nanci: is grateful for Karen and her hard work on behalf of the Healing Garden.
  • Don: now has two good eyes (successful cataract surgery); Wings and Wheels will be a taxi-in instead of a fly-in first two weeks, due to construction of the runway.
  • Chris: his son Tyler is home.
  • Ray: is thankful for the rain.
  • Fatima: is happy about the upcoming RI convention in Brazil, and about the reunion she’s planning with friends.
  • Laura: Wings and Wheels is a week away!
  • Jim S: is happy about the successful conclusion to the rainwater harvesting project, and about the RI convention.
  • Jim F: is happy and grateful for a great year.
  • Carol: is happy about a string of birthdays, including her mom at 91; also that she’s on a panel at the RI convention, and that so many from our club can be there.
  • Bob: is proud of our club for taking on so much.
  • Dave U; is happy to be back at Minuteman Airfield; he was here in 1972 as a student pilot.
  • Brian: is happy for his wife’s first day as a dog groomer, and that his business is coming together.
  • Richard: has led our club for a year; the board is terrific, and lots of things have gotten done.
 
Program
  • Karin introduced four District Governor Nominee Designees from other districts in our RI Zone. When she was at PETS, she said that everyone in her DG class was astounded that a club so young (3 years) could be doing so much, and wanted to know how we do it. Her response: Come and see.
  • Dave Bangs: from West Hartford, Connecticut. For years, he was the youth exchange officer. They have a one-day RYLA event and he’s interested in finding out more about our three-day RYLA activity. After 10 years, he’s leaving as the District Interact Chair. Youth service is a priority for their club.
  • David Underhill: from Portland, Maine. This club has 193 members. As such a large club, they give away many scholarships. Service to youth is also a major focus of interest.
  • Dave Gardner: from Stoneham, Massachusetts. Rotary youth development and boy scouting share many of the same goals.
  • Steve Serta: from the Weymouth, Massachusetts. Their club has 90 members. They hold a reverse raffle fundraiser, where everyone is required to wait until the end to find out who wins. Their international project is to work with children whose families live in a Guatemala dump scrounging for shelter materials and even for food; they’ve taken six Interact groups down there so far.