Pledge
George W. Babcock led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. (Trivia question: What is the origin of name, Puerto Rico?)
The name Puerto Rico comes from the Spanish phrase “Puerto Rico” which translates to “rich port”. The island was originally named San Juan Bautista by Christopher Columbus in 1493, after Saint John the Baptist. However, the name was changed to Puerto Rico in 1521 by Juan Ponce de Leon, the island’s first governor after the Spanish discovered the island’s wealth of gold.
Inspiration
PP Kris was inspired by Rotarian, Tom Gump who spoke at the Annual meeting of educators/facilitators of Rotary Leadership Institute. Rotary’s guiding principles include our four-way test of truth, fairness, goodwill, and friendship. As Rotarians we make a commitment to service above self which channels through the five avenues of service-club, vocational, community, international, and new generations. This year’s Rotary theme is the “Magic of Rotary.” In every corner of the globe, Rotary brings the magic of change, like magicians of good will. Rotarians weave together the threads of service, turning dreams into reality and challenges into triumphs.
Members on zoom: Lew Hadsell, Ray Hull, and Art Norwalk.
Announcements
There is a Rotary District event called Empowering Rotary: Making your club Irresistible on Saturday, September 7 from 8 am to 12 pm at New England Tech. Free event. Here is the link to sign up:
Rotary International has a yearly Sylvia Whitlock Leadership Award that honors a Rotary member who has actively worked to advance women in Rotary. This award is named after Dr. Sylvia Whitlock who was the first woman to serve as a Rotary Club President. Nominations are open between August 1 through August 31. Any member can nominate another member. There is a nomination form on My Rotary.
Legends for Literacy Gala
The Gala is happening on Thursday, October 17, 2024 from 6 pm to 9 pm at The Providence Marriott. We hope that you will come to the event and consider being a sponsor. There is still an opportunity to help on committee.
Don Saracen and Anthony Landi are co-chairs of Sponsorships, Art Norwalk, chair of Marketing, Liz Messier and Holly Applegate are chairing the Dinner. Peter Brock is chairing the Celebrities/ Legends.
Don Saracen gave an update on our new Sponsors from this week.
Super Bowl Championship: George and Petrina Babcock for $5000.
Conference Championship: Cap Willey- $2500
Division Championship: Kevin Oates of Van Liew- $1500
Game Sponsorship: Liz Messier of Residential Properties and Barbara Harris- $500.
Our Club visit from Sharon Johnson will be re-scheduled from December 3rd. Our San Miguel Annual Holiday Lunch is tentatively scheduled on December 3.
Get well: Karen Mueller got injured on her bike while participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge. Susan Kearney also fell off her bike during the same event.
There will be a Rotary meeting on Tuesday, September 3rd, the day after Labor Day.
Sam New announced a
5K Run/Walk (La Course 5K) sponsored by the French American School of Rhode Island on Saturday, October 6, 2024, at 9 am at Carousel Village, Roger Williams Park, 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence. If you would like to be a Sponsor, please sign up on LaCourse5k.org or contact Sam New at 202-286-2803 or email him at
samuelpnew@gmail.com.
The Rotary Board and The Rotary Charities Foundation approved the expenditures for Owl Labs video conferencing system that will allow for better communication for our zoom participants. Art Norwalk will be coordinating with the company to make this happen.
Happy Bucks
- Bill and Holly Applegate gave $30 Bucks for their family vacation to England and Scotland with perfect weather. They also enjoyed a week in Westport. MA.
- Kris David gave a Happy Buck for the wonderful Rotary event at Anthony and Stacey’s home in Narragansett.
- Past President, Barbara Harris gave 5 Happy Bucks for her wonderful visit to Rhinebeck, New York State. The Rhinebeck Rotary promotes and nurtures social connections that lead to better mental health through their wellness walks.
- Rob Black gave Happy Buck for his visit with his daughter in Pittsburgh.
- Cap Willey gave sad bucks for the extensive repairs needed in his kitchen with collapsed floor.
- Pete Brock gave Happy Bucks for this wonderful weekend with Emily at The Rangeley Inn in Rangeley, Maine.
- Don Saracen gave a Happy Buck for the event hosted by Anthony and Stacey.
Speaker
Dr. Tobias (Toby) Stapleton was introduced by Past President, Don Saracen.
Dr. Tobias (Toby) Stapleton is a recognized leader in New England’s Blue Economy ecosystem. He is the Managing director of TXX Strategies Group and currently serves as the Chair of the Blue Venture Forum, President of the Marine & Oceanographic Technology (MOTN) and is co-founder of the Blue Innovation Symposium. He is past dean of Graduate Studies at Salve Regina University. He got is BA from Bryant University, MBA from Suffolk University, Sawyer Business School and PhD from U Mass Dartmouth. He currently is a Professor at UMass Dartmouth.
He describes the Blue Economy as “Economic Activity driven by the water.” Southern New England is the Silicon Valley of Marine technology. New England has one of the densest and most diverse Blue Tech/Economy clusters in the world. The very first Offshore Wind project was at Block Island.
