President Geoff was inspired by a quote from President Abraham Lincoln that is especially meaningful to the club’s commitment to improving literacy. “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.”

 

PP Art Norwalk presented Paul Harris awards to two deserving Rotarians. He thanked Jan Feyler and Kevin Oates for their leadership in identifying this year’s honorary award recipients.

 

Mary Brewster was recognized for her consistent and generous support of club initiatives including the Providence Street Painting Festival and her design, execution and installation of the mural and other projects at Kizirian School.

 

Rob Black was honored for using his considerable organizational skills to update the club’s procedures, keep the club running smoothly and cleaning out the Rotary office – always with a smile!

 

Margaret Kane happy for not being in earthquake prone Southern California and that it’s colder in RI.

 

Richard Applebaum for a great 4^th of July weekend in Rochester.

 

Art Norwalk for being back in the “cheap seats”.

 

Kevin Kernan for a 12 day World Poker tournament, unfortunately, he was not successful.

 

Mary Brewster for moving her office and surviving a walking tour of Scotland.

 

Priya Banerjee for President Geoff and summertime with her daughter.

 

Anthony Hollingshead for Paul Harris recipients Mary Brewster (perfect attendance at membership committee meetings) and Rob Black (always timely response to requests).

 

Liz Messier for President Geoff- she can’t wait to see what he’ll do as president.

 

Jim Gilcreast for attending the installation of his friend as president of the Westfield, MA Rotary.

 

Bill DiBiasio for a trip to Geneva where the temperature was a record breaking 113 degrees. Fortunately, he was able to escape to a cooler area.

 

Don Saracen for the 234^th Bristol 4^th of July parade and attending three parties that day with menus including Portuguese and Italian specialties and lobsters.

 

Geoff Gaunt for the Rotarians who helped with his installation (he’s still traumatized by the photos!) for spending the weekend in Washington, DC with his daughter who has an internship with the US State Department and for finding a new building for Providence Picture Frame.

 

OCTOBER 1, 2019 UPDATE         

With less than three months to go, an energetic group of Rotarians are working hard to make this new event a success. Pete Brock, event chair and auctioneer, is recruiting Legends through the Patriots Alumni and NFL and Sue Kearney is organizing logistics.

 

Pete reminds everyone that the real star of the event is literacy!

 

Jim Gilcreast reported that the committee is soliciting prizes and asks that members to let him know if they can donate a prize or are asking others to donate so we can avoid duplication.

 

Live Auction – 8 to 10 prizes (unique experiences, event tickets, spa days and trips to New York, Florida or New England are terrific prizes)

 

Raffle items (gift certificates are great) and Super Raffle (prizes valued around $100)

 

Geoff and Art are working on graphic design, writing, press, website and social media to promote the event. Support materials will be ready soon.

 

Don Saracen reported that this critical source of event income has had a good start at $26,500 thanks to generous Rotarians and friends! Committee members are personally reaching out to Rotarians for sponsorships and ticket sales. Don stressed the importance of member participation since this is the only special event this year.

 

Holly Applegate and Liz Messier have been working with the Marriott on logistics and menus for the cocktail hour and dinner.