President Kris David opened the meeting on Zoom due to the storm.
Additional attendees: Anthony Hollingshead, Lew Hassell, Liz Messier, Emily Bernstein, Mary and Rob Brewster, Richard Applebaum, Anthony Landi, Rob Black, Cap Willey, Don Saracen, Kevin Oates, Michaela Hermann, Sharon Garland, Mary Cullen, Art Norwalk and Steve Hug.
Welcome
Guest: Gabby Bello, Family Service of R.I.
Visiting Rotarian: Enedelzy Escobar King, Panama
Announcements
To insure we can reach out quickly to members to announce events like Tuesday's meeting change, please make sure your contact information is updated.
Kris thanked Emily Bernstein for her work on organizing the Rotary New Year Party. See photos from the January 18th gathering below.
Thanks to the speakers committee for lining up some great upcoming speakers.
Mary Brewster reported that dates for the “Tent Suppers” will be announced shortly. The dinners are fundraisers to benefit a Rotary International sanitation and water project in Ghana. They are also a great way to build friendships in Rotary. Please contact Mary if you would like to host an informal dinner.
The Rotary Board of Directors will meet at 11:00 am on January 23.
This week's luncheon meeting will be the Club’s annual meeting and will include financial reports, Providence Charities Foundation report, and work on a five-year plan for the Club.
The Rotary District mid-year meeting will take place on February 3 at the Upper Cape Cod Technical School.
Our thoughts are with Nondas Voll, with Barry Fain who is at home recuperating from pneumonia, and Bill David recovering from knee surgery.
Happy Bucks
- Mary Cullen gave $10 happy bucks because she’s no longer working, and she’ll have more time to participate in Rotary.
- Sharon Garland gave $5 happy bucks because her basement is finally dry after leaks from two rainstorms.
- Mary Brewster for attending the meeting from Barcelona!
- Art Norwalk because all literacy materials have been ordered and delivered.
- Kris gave $10 happy bucks for Bill’s knee surgery and her mother’s 97th birthday.
- Richard Applebaum is happy because he visited the Corning Glassworks Museum with Hilary and the grandkids.
- Liz Messier is happy because she is leaving on Thursday for Florida. She’ll take a Disney cruise to Tortola and St Thomas.
- Don Saracen for his grandson “Johnny Blue Eyes,”winning the spelling bee at his school.
- Steve Hug is happy to welcome Gabby Bello. He’s excited she’s interested in Rotary because “she’s a doer!”
Speaker
Dr. Charles Clarkson is the Director of Avian Research for the Rhode Island Audubon Society. He came to RI in 2011 after receiving his doctorate from the University of Virginia. He has taught at Salve Regina and Roger Williams Universities.
Dr. Clarkson’s work on bird habitats at the Audubon Society is in line with a key component of the organization’s strategic plan: understanding the impact of climate change on Rhode Island’s natural habitats and the identification of steps that can be taken to mitigate the damage. He is the first professional hired to develop baseline data for continuous bird monitoring on the 10,000 acres of land managed by the Audubon Society. This helps to develop an understand of why the bird populations is declining in RI, identifies preferred nesting sites to be protected, and establishes future management plans.
He cited several 2019 scientific studies that put the problem in alarming perspective. Birds have been evolving for over 150,000 years, but since 1970 – in just 50 years - North America has lost 30% of all of its birds which roughly translates to 2.9 billion birds. The increase in human population and expansion of humans into areas that were natural animal habitats contribute to loss of birds and other wildlife.
For detailed and colorful information on Dr. Clarkson’s avian research and bird habitats in RI visit:
asri.org.
Annual Party
Our Annual party - A New Year's Party - was held at the
Industrious Spirit Company's (ISCO) distillery in the Valley section of Providence. In addition to a buffet dinner, we were welcomed to purchase libations from the tasting room. Doug Randall (CFO, COO, Co-Founder, and fellow rotarian) gave a short tour of the facility to round out the evening. We were joined by guests and rotarians from Woonsocket and Cranston.
