Weekly Bulletin – October 9, 2014 Meeting
The Parkers gave a presentation about their trip to Greenland in their own plane.
The Parkers began their 2012 trip to Greenland at the Minuteman Airfield in Stow where our club meets on the second and third Thursdays of the month. One of the first photos they showed us was a picture of them with their luggage. There was so much of it that we laughed until Jeff told us that only one bag was for clothes. All of the other bags were for survival gear. This trip required a lot of planning. There are only six weeks in the year that this trip can be done. It has to be warm enough so that the fuel does not freeze in the plane. There has to be enough daylight because no flying is allowed in Greenland at night. Plus, the trip cannot be made during snow season. It’s good that the Parkers did their research. One airfield required them to bring your own pump to pump fuel into their plane. (The airfield’s insurance didn’t cover the airfield to pump fuel.) The fuel was sold in barrels. When the Parkers flew over water, they wore survival suits. They packed their own raft in case the plane went down in the water. Unfortunately, Greenland’s two search and rescue boats were out of service during the Parkers’ trip.
Once they arrived in Greenland, the Parkers got into a routine of flying for about four hours each morning then exploring towns each afternoon. Jeff showed us many beautiful photos of Greenland and its undeveloped landscape. We also saw a photo of the Jakobshaven glacier, the one that the Titanic hit in 1912.
Next meeting on October 16, 7:15 a.m.–8:30 a.m. at Colonial Candies, Club Assembly where we discuss our September 25 visioning meeting. the Clover Foundation
The next Board meeting is on Wednesday, November 5 at 6 p.m. at a location yet to be determined. Everyone is welcome to attend!
Guests:
- Guests: Mr. and Mrs. Parker (speakers)
- Brian Burke’s friend, Alex.
- Rose Pavlov (Ivy Child International)
Club Announcements:
Newsletter:
- Richard thanked us for good comments about his newsletter. He also requests ideas for making it better.
Visioning Event:
Our October 16 meeting is a club assembly and we will talk about the results of our visioning meeting on September 25.
Local projects:
- The next Repair Café will be on October 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Davis Hall at the First Parish of Bolton Church, which is located at 673 Main Street in Bolton. Beginning with this Repair Café, our Rotary club will run the event and the Bolton Local organization will help. We specialize in mendable clothing, lamps, small appliances, bikes, toys, and dull blades. Enjoy a free drink and a snack. Have fun and work with a volunteer to repair your broken item. (If your item needs a part, it will save time if you bring the new part with you.) Sign up as a volunteer or bring items to be repaired! For more information, contact Ray.
- Purple Pinkie Day will be on October 22, working with the schools in the Nashoba Regional School District again. Contact Chris for more information.
International projects:
- We Are One project: The We Are One project is wrapping up. Richard has 50 boxes of supplies plus dental chairs and other items. He plans to put everything into one container with a very detailed, itemized list to reduce shipping costs.
Foundation Minute:
· Chris compared the Rotary Foundation to your rich uncle. He gave us the example of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute students who were raising money for their rainwater collection projects in Guatemala by washing cars. The Rotary Foundation can leverage money raised by Rotary Clubs so we can increase the size of our projects.
Rotary announcements:
- UN Day is Saturday, November 1. Several club members will attend this event in NYC!
- Rotary Leadership Institute, November 1 at the Boxborough Holiday Inn. To register, go to http://www.crsadmin.com/EventPortal/Registrations/PublicFill/EventPublicFill.aspx?evtid=bcd74885-f2c1-464e-8bbf-66d1e1d7e9b4
Other announcements:
- Rose Pavlov told us about her organization, Ivy Child International, www.ivychild.org that is based in Worcester. Recently Ivy Child International has been working with a Worcester school to integrate mindfulness into the school. Mindfulness education has many positive outcomes such as reducing worry, anxiety, bullyism, and mental health distress. This leads to improved academic performance. Rose asked for our help in raising funds for Ivy Child International by attending their Journey to Kerala on November 15.
Fines:
- Carol is happy that this is her last meeting of the week. She has been to six meetings this week!
- Ron is happy that the Patriots are still Super Bowl contenders.
- Karin is happy as usual.
- Fatima is happy that she made it early to the meeting. She’s also that she is engaged to be engaged to Richard. She is also happy to babysit her grandchild while her daughter celebrates her 28th birthday with her husband.
- Jim is happy that the Bruins won their first game.
- Chris is sad that his Boy Scout hike up Mt. Washington was cancelled.
- Jacky is happy that the workers are finishing her screen porch.
- Nanci is happy that Brian is already bringing in a new member. She also starts her new job as Director of Development for the Healing Garden.
- Gino is happy. This is his fourth Rotary meeting he attended today! (Even Carol was impressed!)
- Laura was happy that her friend, Quinton (?) was at the meeting. They went to school together about 30 years ago! She is also happy to be going to Chicago tomorrow.
- Bob is happy about Richard’s engagement.
- Don is happy that he and Nancy will be visiting their first grandchild in Colorado. He is also happy that he was elected to the national board of directors of a pilots organization.
- Richard is happy that he made four apple pies for Mary’s church.
- Mary is happy that her school purchased 30 Chrome books for her class.
- Brian was glad that the Bruins’ new enforcer won his first fight.