Cap Willey wished everyone had a happy Fourth of July and reminded us about the day, the role of Rhode Island in starting the revolution six months before the Boston Tea Party by burning the British Ship Gaspee and predating the declaration signed on that day by two months with its own renouncement (he did mention that South Carolina did it 10 days before RI). He reminded us of the lag in signing the constitution by three years in 1790.
But he told the story of the oldest Parade on the Fourth, which is held in Bristol, and how the organizers rebuffed the national media’s intrusion by wanting to run the parade to make it easier for the news to cover. They sent them packing and continue to run the same parade as they have done for 240 years.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests
New members to be inducted Bill Efthimiades and Fatima Rodrigues
Announcements
- We have a corporate membership of three Rotarians and an individual Rotarian in the process of being approved and will be inducted to the club in the near future.
- Bill will be reaching out to each board member to set the schedule for meetings.
- Mary Brewster talked about the Kizirian School Project and that all the supplies are ready, and she will be needing help on the 2nd of September to get them into the Marriott before the meeting.
- Tyler Peart has offered a Rotary night at Rhode Island FC at a discounted rate on August 9 – there will be fireworks. We could use someone to coordinate the effort. I’m excited to go and I hope we can get an enthusiastic group to go. (Please see the sidebar)
Follow up on Installation
With the arrival of the pins, we made some presentations to the directors and officers who were present.
Happy Bucks
Since no one recorded the Happy Bucks announcements, we can only report that several folks made meaningful tributes in exchange for their dollars.
Speakers
Bill Applegate talked about attending the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, AB, Canada– the key take aways were:
New President Francesco Arezzo mentioned his Focus on increasing membership retention, eradicating polio, and promoting peace through initiatives like education, healthcare, clean water, and economic support. And the message of Unite for Good.
Rotary International nearly achieved its ambitious goal of doubling the Endowment to $2.025 billion by 2025, ensuring sustainable funding for global grants and initiatives that support mothers, children, education, entrepreneurship, disease prevention, clean water, and peace for future generations. We are just over $2 Billion.
Bill also attended workshops that focused on the “why” you come to meetings, and also on ways to "know our membership" to make the club meaningful to all.
Committee work - Planning for the year and beyond continues, which makes committees even more important.
Anthony Hollingshead discussed the membership group and how that impacts so much of what we do.
Pete Brock gave an overview of the Gala Committee and where folks can help in making the event another great success.
Liz Messier talked about the speaker committee and how members can help shape what we hear about at our weekly luncheons and sought help with the birthday announcements and reaching out to members who can’t make the meetings.
Art Norwalk discussed the literacy committee and how they have planned to roll out this year’s bequeaths to the schools. He also identified a new initiative with outside organizations that will give club members new opportunities to participate.
There are others, but we ran out of time. You can contact President Bill to get more information of create a committee of your own.
Volunteers Needed
Please help make our Luncheon meetings run smoothly. Rob could use some help with the following:
Registration Desk
- checking in members and visitors
- Taking credit cards and cash payments
- Greeting the members, visitors and speakers
Audio/Visual
- Set up and login the club laptop
- Set up the Owl and peripheral equipment
- Assist speakers with PowerPoint presentations
- Start Zoom meeting
Paraphernalia
- Set-up and take down of club materials – Badge boxes, Flags, Banners, etc.
Contact Rob Black or Bill Applegate to show your support.
Ticket price is $26.67 each (includes fees) and you can register with 
