Newsletter Date: August 5
Meeting Date: July 30
Reporter: Dick Gregory
INSPIRATION
Bob Murphy reminded us of how one man, Branch Rickey, overturned the unwritten rule that no blacks would be allowed to play major league baseball, and another man, Jackie Robinson, had the courage, strength and fortitude to suffer racial taunts and violence.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, Etc.
Reminder 1:
No meeting week of August 13
Reminder 2:
See (or contact) Richard Applebaum or Anthony Landi to reserve your tickets for Rotary Night at the PawSox Friday, August 17. $12 for a fun evening at McCoy!
President Art noted that Phyllis Fern would not be reporting on the health of our members because she has just had hip surgery and is recovering. Connie Donnelly is also under the weather, and Bryan Cook reported, in absentia, that he had had an “unplanned but successful” surgery and is recovering.
HAPPY BUCKS
Margaret Kane opened with a confession that she ate 85 pounds of lobster during her 2 weeks in Maine.
Don Saracen was happy for the new leadership at the Club and District levels.
District Governor Bill Tennant was happy to be in Providence at our meeting.
Kris David was happy for Ken Conde whose daughter Sarah recently presented him with a granddaughter.
Kevin Kernan regaled us with tales of his exploits (and winnings!) at poker tournaments around the country, including a very near miss when his opponent flopped a pair of queens on the “turn” and the “river”.
Lacking any August birthdays, Wendy Marcus celebrated the “dog days” of summer and make-up meetings in Charleston, SC.
Jim Gilcreast was happy for 2 wonderful grandchildren.
Christy Clausen was happy that football training camps are now open, which means that the real games (and fantasy football!) cannot be far behind.
Richard Applebaum was happy for another enjoyable weekend in Rochester.
President Art welcomed the district team (l-r):
District Governor Bill Tennant, admin/fiance
Deb Zukowski and Asst. Gov. Ed McDonough.
DG BILL TENNANT: CLUBS SHOULD
FEEL FREE TO EXPERIMENT
Bill Tennant opened his remarks with a quip about being the district governor with the best hairstyle (no hair!), and working towards being the district governor with the shortest speech. A retired auto mechanic, he joined the Bridgewater Rotary Club and has attended every district event for the past 25 years.
Bill embraces this year’s Rotary theme (“Be the Inspiration”), and notes that Rotarians and all people must work together to address the daunting challenges which confront the human race: pollution, climate change, etc.
Rotary has 1.2 million members who are leaders and problem solvers. Who better than Rotarians to address these challenges? But as a membership organization, we have to take care of our members. Each club should feel free to experiment. The district leadership exists to serve the clubs in the district, and new approaches are “OK”.
Bill ended his remarks by thanking many members of the club for their service to the district: Kris David (Foundation Chair), Richard Applebaum (District events and membership), Wendy Marcus (Leader for the GSE to India), Bill David (who has no choice but to be involved), Art Norwalk (district newsletter), and each and every one of us.