INSPIRATION - Christy Clausen
A man was walking down the beach saw a young woman tossing a starfish that had washed ashore back into the sea. The man pointed out the many starfish on a long stretch of beach and suggested that her task was futile and she would never make a difference in the outcome. As she picked up another starfish, the young lady said to the man “I made a difference for this starfish.”
Providence Rotary received two district awards at the annual Foundation Dinner last Thursday:
- The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund #1 Highest Total Giving
- End Polio Now: Polio Plus Award
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Pres. Don gave a “hats off” to the Boy Scouts for their recent “Scouting for food” drive.
Wendy had birthday wishes for our November celebrants, Bill David (The BIG 70) and Terri Adelman.
Thanks to Art Norwalk for his recent redesign of the club website.
Cy Wyche’s contact information was recently sent to the club. Cy has relocated to NH and would love to receive a card or a call from his Rotary friends.
Cap Willey reports that he saw Stanley Sorrentino recently and that Stanley is in good spirits and still rooting for the Patriots.
Randy Dittmar has a sign up sheet for applying the Prov Rotary labels in the dictionaries. The label party will be held next Tuesday (11/14) at the Boathouse at Roger Williams Park. Pizza and soda will be available to all who help.
Geoff Gaunt explained that the Paint-off is being rescheduled for a later date.
Bell ringing at Eastside Marketplace will be on 12/7.
Anthony Landi advised that the Rotary night at the Providence bruins will be 12/2 at 7 pm. Please note the update game time. If you cannot attend, please consider buying a ticket for one of our Interact students so they can go to the game.
Pres. Don noted that Charlene Jurest of the Fall River club has been designated as the candidate for District Governor for 2020-21. Kris David and Richard Applebaum were part of the nominating committee and enthusiastically endorse Charlene.
In lieu of a Holiday Party, we will be having an Irish Extravaganza the week of St. Patrick’s Day. The club’s 107th birthday will be celebrated at an event at the Marriott – stay tuned for details.
Kris passed along the news that Rotary’s first female District Governor, Ann Williams, suffered a stroke recently and was also diagnosed with liver cancer.
Bob Murphy will be having a quick get together after the club meeting next week to decide on presents for the San Miguel students attending our annual Christmas event.
HAPPY BUCKS
Margaret Kane served as happy buck ambassador for the week.
George Burman was happy that Anthony Landi recognized the cultural heritage of Canada—hockey.
PP Anthony H lamented that Jane Kratsch referred to Mr. Landi as Ant’ny when he felt he was the one and only.
Pete Brock—happy to be heading to his alma mater, Colorado University, to see his brother inducted into the CU Hall of Fame.
Randy Dittmar—happy for Christy Claussen storing the dictionaries.
Kris David—Happy for Bill’s 70th birthday and a trip to Palm Springs for the celebration with their kids.
Wendy M. and Jane Kratsch—happy to see Karriem Kanston at the meeting.
Richard Applebaum— Bill D’s birthday and a plug for the Prov. Rotary Charities Foundation—consider giving the money you had planned on spending at the Paint-off to the foundation.
Ron Hoak—Marine Corps birthday 11/10.
Jim Williams—happy to spend time with his grandson, but sad as this is his last meeting before heading to FL for the season.
Barry Fain—Son is engaged!
Mike Kelly—found a tree on his roof upon his return home earlier this week. Free car wash for veterans on Friday.
Pres. Don—his son and daughter-in-law are putting together a high school quiz show for PBS and landed John O’Hurley (Peterman from Seinfeld) as the host.
MEMBER TALKS
Jane Kratsch never imagined herself as a Rotarian and took a circuitous route to membership. Her lifelong love is music and theater and she spent the first part of her career pursuing that passion. She has performed with a number of prominent groups such as BSO and Barry Manilow. Jane considers the Boston Symphony her favorite “team”.
Jane initially found herself as a bookkeeper for an insurance company but left that job to go to school to teach theater. She performed with Looking Glass Children’s theater and then formed a troupe to do similar performances for the Episcopal Church.
Jane found herself managing the Cathedral House book store and realized that she enjoyed working in a retail environment. She went on to own a retail shop called Flourishes and finally found her calling in retail banking. Jane enjoys teaching financial literacy and working with people.
She is a self-described science geek and cooking show enthusiast who enjoys entertaining and cooking for others. Jane and her husband, Phillip, have been married for 31 years. She believes that the connections we make with each other are those that matter most.
David Hunter was born and raised in Mass., the oldest of 6 children. He enjoyed a typical upbringing and saw his parents as role models. His father founded the local 4H club and a Boy scout troop while his mother was president of PTA and a library trustee, a position gained after 3 electoral runs.
David attended UMass Amherst where he studied economics and finance and played lacrosse. He became a campus leader with a group called Arcon which set leadership standards for the campus and interacted with UMass officials.
He was introduced to RI by a fraternity brother who invited him to Newport to watch the start of the Newport to Bermuda boat race. This launched a lifelong love of sailing and boat racing.
David started his professional life in the G.H. Walker investment office kicking off a 40 year career in finance. He was eventually asked to transfer to NYC and stayed for 35 years working on a number of prominent projects that others couldn’t or wouldn’t attempt. He mentioned that financing the World Trade Center Hotel was one of his most memorable projects.
After 9/11, David felt the call of RI and moved back. He appreciates the opportunity Rotary gives him to help others
