Sam New stated that his wife’s maternal great grandfather, Dr. John H. Stanton, was a minister in Johnstown, Pennsylvania known for his inspiring sermons. In 1956 he gave one based on the book “A New Idea For Success And Happiness In Life” and the Bible verse Matthew 20:28 in which he gave examples of doing small kind things that could change the day in a positive way for many people. This concept should inspire us to emulate these examples and make a positive difference in people’s lives.
Announcements
President Kris David started with Get Well wishes to Sam New and Keith Beck, who is recuperating from back surgery, he is the husband of Laraine Beck and brother of Mary Cullen.
Reflecting on the Holiday Party with the students and staff of San Miguel School on Dec. 5, Kris extended thanks to Bob Murphy for coordinating the event and Anthony Landi for obtaining the presents for the students. The event continued the long-established connection between the Club and the School. Several Club members mentor boys at the School, and the school would welcome more Club members to participate in mentoring.
The monthly Board meetings of the Club will now be held at 11 AM before the regular Tuesday Club meeting.
At our next Club luncheon meeting on Dec. 19 new member Michael Durand will be inducted.
The next Club meeting after that will be on January 9, 2024 as we take a break for the Holiday season.
Mail ballots to elect the Club Officers and Board Members for the 2024/2025 year were sent to members in good standing to vote. Please return in the provided envelope as soon as possible.
The Good Works Committee met on December 13th to make plans for a Club Holiday Party in January and the next Rotary After Dark function.
The Annual Club Meeting will be held on January 23, 2024.
The Club will conduct bell ringing for The Salvation Army at East Side Marketplace on Pitman Street in Providence on December 18. Time slots are still open for members to contribute their time. (Note: Because of the forecasted heavy rain, this event is being re-scheduled to another day this week. This may cause more time slots to be open.)
Members are encouraged to contribute by the end of the year to the Providence Rotary Charities Foundation. Checks for the Foundation may be placed in the gold bowls at the December 19th meeting.
Planning for the 2024 Legends For Literacy Gala has begun to insure success of the Fall event. Bill Applegate will be the point person for coordination and accounting. Pete Brock will continue to Chair the event with Susan Kaplan Kearney.
Members are encouraged to provide ideas for speakers to the Speakers Committee. Please contact Pete Brock, Jonathan Kaufman, or Bill Applegate.
Pete Brock gave a preliminary report on the finances of the 2023 Gala, thanking Cap Willey and Anthony Landi for providing the data to make the report. The event had a revenue of $93,000, included in which were $68,000 in sponsorships and $25,000 from the raffle and auction. The expenses were roughly $30,000, resulting in a net profit for the event of around $63,000.
Michael Durand reported on an event in which he is participating on December 16 and invited any interested members to attend. The event is called “ Wreathes Across America” which is an annual event held at Veterans cemeteries nationwide. The RI event will be held at noon at The RI Veterans Cemetery at south County Trail in Exeter. The ceremony is brief and involves volunteers placing individual wreathes at gravesites.
Happy Bucks
- Pete Brock was $5 happy for attending the Army - Navy game on Saturday, which was extra happy as he attended with his brothers Joe and Will, who is an executive with Nike and was in charge of decorating the Army locker room.
- Michael Durand was also $5 happy to have attended the game, particularly inspiring to him as a veteran of 30 years in the US Army.
- Liz Messier gave $5 for a great 10 day trip to Ireland with her son.
- Steve Hug gave a happy buck for Patriot quarterback Bailey Zappe leading Patriots to victory last week.
- Anthony Hollingshead gave $5 for Michael Durand joining the Club and for Liz Messier organizing the Club event at Barker Playhouse.
- Bill Applegate was $5 happy to have had great fun with San Miguel students at the Holiday Party.
- Alex David gave a happy buck to have his sister visiting for the holidays and decorating the family Christmas tree with her. He was also happy to have been nominated for best actor in Broadway World balloting. Here is a link for voting.
- Art Norwalk gave a happy buck that Club fundraising has funded book vending machine for Kizirian School and reading books for all Providence elementary schools.
