Pledge
George Babcock spoke about the Origin of our National Colors from 1775. Following up on the origin of the Pledge of Allegiance it seemed logical to develop a brief summary of the origins of our National colors. “The maritime Colony of Rhode Island had its own flag, which was carried at Brandywine, Trenton, and Yorktown. It bore an anchor, 13 stars and the work HOPE. Its white stars in a field of blue are believed by many historians to have suggested the blue field of the National Flag.” He then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Inspiration
Maury Ryan gave the inspiration which was featured in Rotary magazine. (The full article is in the January 2023 issue.)
Researchers suggest that the quality of relationships, not the quantity matters most.
Rotary provides a sense of purpose and meaning, accompanied by the personal payback of greater self-worth. In the UK, at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, when in-person meetings were curtailed, Rotary members kept connecting with older and disabled people through phone calls, running errands for them, picking up prescriptions, and even walking their dogs.
Lisa Hunter, a member of the Rotary Club of Maidenhead Bridge, received a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s 2022 New Year Honours List for mobilizing her club’s response to families in need during the pandemic. With a pool of 120 volunteers, including non-Rotarians, the club supported more than 150 households, performing more than 3,800 errands, which equated to about 6,500 volunteer hours.
Worldwide, Rotary clubs have worked within their communities to reach out to those who feel isolated, like the Memory Cafes in many communities to help support people with early-onset dementia. Memory Cafes are wonderful examples of sanctuaries to tackle loneliness, not just for among people with dementia, but for their care givers as well.
Zoom Attendees
Art Norwalk, Benjamin Hadsell, P.J. Fox, Mary Cullen, Sharon Garland, and Eliana Parrada.
Guests
Cap Willey’s wife Lois, and Dave Hamel, a prospective member.
Get Well
Ralph Barlow, Sharon Garland and Margaret Kane
Announcements
President Hug announced that our District is hosting a group to go to the Providence Bruins Game as a fund raiser for End- Polio Now on Sunday night, Feb 26 at 7 pm for $20. Flyer will be sent out to make reservations.
Mary Brewster announced the collection of
Peanut Butter for the RI Food bank. She will be collecting jars of peanut butter next week. She has collected over 25 lbs. She also announced the
Tent Suppers with 4 suppers scheduled so far. She is looking for more volunteers to host Rotarians and guests for a nice meal. Suggested donation is $50 per person or any other desired amount which will go to UN World Food Program - Ukraine.
Steve announced that The Marriott will be starting to charge for parking which will not include Rotarians.
Happy Bucks
- Pete Brock gave a Happy Buck for this upcoming pilgrimage to the Promise land with his wife Emily from April 23-May 4th
- Anthony Landi gave 5 Happy Bucks for his son’s academic, Presidential Award for his first semester at Bentley College.
- Kris David gave a Happy Buck for a Rotary event at the Cape Verdean Social Club in East Providence with 3 great Comedians! She also gave a shout to the Providence Friars who are ranked 16 nationally.
- Cap Willey for his two granddaughters who are excelling academically in their colleges. One is actually interested in Accounting.
- Jim Gilcreast gave 5 Happy Bucks for his excitement for Pete for his trip. Jim did a pilgrimage in the past. He also thanked all the Rotarians who wished him well during his hip surgery recovery.
- Richard Applebaum gave 10 Happy Bucks, 8 for last week’s zoom announcements, and 2 Happy Bucks to welcome Sharon Johnson from the District, and for the birth of his newest granddaughter (6 lbs. - 4 ounces) named Hannah Rose.
Speaker
President Elect Kris David introduced our speaker,
Sharon Johnson, the District 7950 Governor Nominee. Sharon comes from the Scituate, RI club and has been a Rotarians for many years of dedication to Youth programs.
She announced the
Rotary Day of Service which will be done on May 20, 2023 by 8 District Clubs, 5 states, 2 Countries, 450 Clubs and 12,000 Rotarians. She asked our club to come up with an activity to be done in our community on May 20
th.
She will be leading a Kick-off Call on Feb 13, 2023 for clubs to present their chosen projects. A dedicated website has available at
www.rotarydayofservice.org. She also will be announcing this effort on the Rotary Radio Show on WPRO on Saturdays at 5 pm.
She suggested that we widely publicize this event in our community to give our club great visibility.
