23 Mar 2010
Lefty's Funeral
Lefty's funeral will be this Saturday at St. Mary's church. Visitation will be Friday at O'Neil O'Hayes. Times will be announced in the Thursday edition of the Newport Daily News.
New Smithfield Rotary Club
There is a new Rotary Club being opened in Smithfield, RI. Their charter dinner will be Wednesday, 31 Mar, at Bryant University, in the Grand Hall at the Bello Center at 6:30pm, $40/person.
Next week's meeting at O-Club
Next week, we will be meeting at the Officers' Club on the Navy base for our Million Dollar meal. Captain Bobero will give us an update on what is going on there. Note: In order to get on base, everyone in your car needs to have a picture ID. All club member names will be sent to the gate, so your name should be on their list.
Polo Committee WAY behind
The Polo Committee has received less than 1/3 of the advertisements that we need just to meet last year's levels. We have only seven pages, we need 16 *more* pages. You were given packets last week with information on your previous advertisers. Please contact them, and return the packets to the committee, *even* if it is a negative. The committee needs to know about negative responses as well as positive ad placements.
We have contact information for several local businesses that may be interested in advertising, but we need people to contact them. There is a list of at the end of this bulletin of these businesses - if you know any of them, or even if any of them sound like businesses you would be willing to contact, please email Avram for the information for the contact we have at the establishment.
As usual, the committee will be meeting Thursday at 7:30am at Atlantic Grille.
Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 Produce Items
Today, the Green Grocer told us about the "dirty dozen" and the "clean 15" lists. These are lists produced by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), of the dirtiest and cleanest non-organically-grown produce items (wallet-sized download available). You should avoid consuming "dirty dozen" items from non-organically-certified sources, because they absorb and maintain the highest levels of pesticides and other inorganic chemicals used in growing. The clean 15 absorb and maintain the lowest levels of these chemicals, and are safe to consume even from non-organically-certified sources (e.g. reguralr markets or restaurants).
Additionally, the EWG describes how we consume pollutants in many other ways besides through the food we eat. The have a list of everyday ways to avoid or minimize consuming non-food-bound pollutants.
Potential Polo Advertisers
Please consider this list, and email Avram for contact information for any business you are willing to contact about placing an ad in the Polo magazine:
16 Mar 2010
Attleboro Auction charity online & TV
The Attleboro Rotary club is having an online and live auction. You can browse and bid now at www.attlebororotaryauction.org, and watch the auction close on Channel 15 (DoubleACS) on March 22, from 7-10pm. They request that you clip the ad and tape it to your TV or computer ;-)
Chile Earthquate Fund
Rotary International has established a fund to assist with post-earthquake infrastructure needs in Chili. Donations may be made directly to Rotary International. For more information, see the Rotary International Chile Earthquate Fund page. Note that these donations do not qualify towards Paul Harris Fellowship.
Rotary Comedy Night Fundraiser
The Rockland-Hanson Rotary Club is having it's 6th annual comedy night fundraiser. The event is at the VFW Whitman Post. "Laugh it up with the Rotary Club of Rockland Hanson and our friend Dave Andrews and his crew of funny guys... Pizza and laughs just for $25." The proceeds will benefit the Hanson Cub Scouts and the Friendship Home. Tickets are limited! Call Peter at (781) 293-3551 to reserve.
RYLA Update
We received 10 RYLA applicants. If you are interested in serving on the committee, email Donna. The meeting will be this Sunday, 11 Apr 4pm at Firehouse Theater
Polo Needs more Ads!!!
The Polo Committee still has 16 pages of ads yet to fill. PLEASE confirm any of your past advertisers and your own ads and email Steve or Donna if they are going to renew. Additionally, we need NEW advertisers, we have several non-renewals from last year.
Steve has several potential new advertisers that he needs somebody to call. If you are willing to approach anybody about a new ad, please email Steve.
Polo Committee meeting Thurs
The next Polo Committee meeting will be this Thursday at 7:30am at the Atlantic Grille.
Rotary International Legislation
Terri will be representing us at the upcoming Rotary International Council on Legislation. If you would like to weigh in on any of the proposed new Rotary legislations, I have created a legislation page on our members-only website with highlights as well as a link to the full book (long).
9 Mar 2010 Meeting Announcements
Youth Exchange International Night
International Night at White's of Westport. This is the celebration of Youth Exchange Students. Johannes will be there and will perform, so please come give him your support. To make a reservation, contact Terri. Reservations are $40/person.
District Conference
District Conference 14-16 May at Cape Codder in Hyannis. Reservations can still be made.
ShelterBox Update
ShelterBox has 10,000 shelterboxes on the ground, and 10,000 more are on the way. ShelterBox has determined that the Hatian need has been substantially met. Until further notice, they will be focusing aid on other areas, including the earthquake fallout in Chile.
Board Meeting
This month's Board meeting will be at 5pm Thursday, 11 Mar, at Smith Barney on Bellevue. (Do not go to the library.)
Fireside Chat
From Terri: There was a fireside chat today immediately after the meeting to talk to a new prospective member. Anyone with access to a time machine upon reading this announcement may go back in time to the end of the meeting today to get to know our newest potential member.
Salvation Army Dinner
From Kevin Johnson: Thursday, the Salvation Army is hosting their annual Christmas Appreciation Dinner at 5:30 at the Salvation Armey on Memorial Blvd in Newport.
2 Mar 2010 Meeting Announcements
Rotary Pasta & Meatball Hatian Relief Fundraiser
Pawtuxect Valley rotary club (who raised money for medicine for Haiti) is
hosting a Pasta and Meetball Dinner March 5th, 5-7:30pm, at the Coventry Senior Center, 50 Wood St, $7/person, $25/4 people. For more information or to register to attend, see their event web page.
Hatian Relief Donations
Betsy has sent out 57 thank you letters for Hatian relief donations.
Two URI Master Gardeners Program Workshops
1) URI's Master Composter &anp; Recycler program is offering a workshop on "Practical Composting" - Learn how to turn leaves and yard debris into rich soil amendments through composting or processed into landscape mulch, by by Reinhard Sidor. April 10, 2010, 9 am - 12:30 pm in the Cowesett section of Warwick. Price: $20.00 (Refreshments & a light snack will be offered). Email or call 401-874-4453 to register. RAIN OR SHINE
2)This year's GreenShare Garden School Day will take place at Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in Providence, RI from 9am-4pm. It's an opportunity to take a series of classes focused on "Home Grown" topics including composting and children's classes!
Various partner groups will be located throughout the RWP Botanical Center to answer those tricky gardening questions. The Begonia Society, The Rose Society, The Wild Plant Society, The Worm Ladies, The NE Carnivorous Plant Society, Rain Barrel info from RI Water Lady, Free Soil Testing, Ask a Master Gardener and Ask a Master Composter are some of the organizations that will be present!
Registration and more information will be sent out shortly, but in the meantime please SAVE THE DATE!
Polo Ads Needed
5 weeks left before ads should be in. Please get in touch with people. We are in need of new ads because we have had about 20% of last years advertisers decline this year.
Polo Committee Meeting
Thursday morning at Atlantic Grille, 7:30am.
Scrabble Tournament Success
Thank you to Terri. The Scrabble tournament was a success!
23 Feb 2010 Meeting Announcements
Rotary Club of Scituate is conducting a series of sessions on Peace and Conflict Resolution films. This series has been so well received that Rotary International is having the Scituate club hold a breakout session at the upcoming international convention. The next film is Remembering the Berlin Wall, and will include discussion with numerous esteemed guest speakers.
Hatian Government Statement
Our club received a copy of a statement from the Haitian Government indicating that they are opting for tarps over tents. This message was confusing, indicating that the reason was that they did not feel tents would be sufficient in the case of hurricanes or mudslides. The message requires more information to understand - there is an article in USA Today which explains the situation. In summary, the statement was misunderstood. They are not rejecting tents per se. These are the issues:
- They have had trouble with some tents being supplied by organizations which lack experience in humanitarian aid, and as a result are supplying gear that is ineffective (low durabilty, not waterproof, etc). This does not refer to the ShelterBox tents.
- The family sized tents have a large footprint, and some of the refugee camps they have set up cannont support any more than they already have.
- The Hatian govenrment themselves cannot afford tents and has had trouble with substandard tents being supplied. When they say they are opting for tarps over tents, this appears to be in reference to what the government itself is supplying.
- The assertion that tarps outperform tents is a misquote. The Haitian government themselves is opting to supply tarps over tents partly for the reasons stated, but more specifically because they don't feel that either is sufficient for the upcoming hurricane season; Their intention is to save the money and effort from tents and instead conduct a rapid build of durable temporary shelters. The U.N. position is that it will not be possible to accomplish this in time for the expected weather.
Martin Luther King Than You
We received a thank you letter from the Martin Luther King center foer the thesauruses that we donated.
ShelterBox Thank You
We received a thank you letter from ShelterBox for the boxes we have purchased.
From Joanne Hoops: Joanne would like to know who can attend our club scrabble tournament on the 28th - and if so, whether you intend to bring an appetizer (not required). Email Joanne.
9 Feb 2010 Meeting Announcements
ShelterBox Progress
Thus far we have purchased four ShelterBoxes for Haiti disaster relief, and are approaching enough donations to acquire our fifth. We have posted a detailed account on our home page of what we and Rotary International are doing to help the victims of this disaster.
March Board Meeting Change
The March club board meeting will be held on March 11, not March 4. Time is 5pm.
Polo Ads
From Donna Maytum: We can start taking orders for Polo Ads. If an advertiser wants SPECIFIC PLACEMENT it will be given out on first-come/first serve basis. Info will be emailed to you over this coming weekend
RYLA
From Donna Maytum: RYLA will be happening again this year. Who is interested in serving on the committee? Please email Donna if you are interested.
2 Feb 2010 Meeting Announcements
Rotarian Week of Ibla Baroque
"We invite you to attend at the 6th Rotarian week that, organized by the local Rotary Club, after the success of the last year, will be held in Ragusa (South-eastern Sicily) between the 8th and 15th of may 2010. Aptly named the Rotarian week of Ibla Baroque, the event intends to introduce this beautiful part of Baroque Sicily, recognized by the UNESCO as a patrimony of humanity, to the Rotarians of the whole world." For more information, see this district 6330 page.
Conflict Resolution through Films
On 28 February, The Rotary Club of Scituate and Etoile Produtions present:
Breaking Through: Remembering the Berlin Wall and the End of the Cold War
A Fund Raising Event to support peace building / conflict resolution films and their use in promoting peace and understanding around the world, the mutual mission of Rotary and Etoile Productions
Click here for more details.
Feinstein Foundation $1 Million "Giveaway to Fight Hunger"
The 13th annual $1 Million Giveaway To Fight Hunger starts March 1st. Any interested agency should read here for details on how to raise money to help fight hunger, and have their funds matched by the Feinstein Foundation.
Successful Landscaping
URI's College of the Environment and Life Sciences' Outreach Center is hosting a series of classes called "Design Elments of Successful Landscapes (A set of classes for the home-gardener focused on sustainability, low maintenance and enhancing curb-appeal)". For detailed information, see the flier online. As Betsy put it, "How to make your yard look better without working so hard."
Thank you letters
We received thank you letters from the Navy League and from USCG Capt Perry for the joint luncheon we held for the Coast Guard awards.
ShelterBox update
We received a letter from Shelterbox informing ous that our two boxes so far, #'s 6578 & 6579 are on their way!
Rotary Seminar
Gordon, Genny, Betsy, Regina, Terri went to Rotary seminars last Saturday. The following topics were covered:
- Membership
- Presidential Citations - we have an opportunity here, but would need a net new member by March 31 to qualify.
- Simplified grants; the club puts up $1000, if we win, the district will match the grant.
- Visioning - Betsy suggests we get a visioning traininer.
- Leadership Institute
- Communication - Keeping in touch w/ members.
Housing Request Cancelled
From Regina: The earlier request for housing for exchange students for winterfest has been cancelled; Terri & Mike are taking the students to Vermont for skiing, so that will be the "winterfest".
Polo
From Steve Smith: The next polo committe meeting will be Tues (Feb 9), instead of Thursday, at 7:30am at the Atlantic Grille. The Polo Committee needs additional people, only have six have joined so far. They especially need people who can drum up new advertisement leads.
26 January Meeting Announcements
Reading Reaps Rewards
RRR sent us a than-you letter for our assistance over the past year.
Have a Heart
The Potter League will hold a "Have a Heart" fundraiser February 8 at the Hotel Viking. See the event facebook page for more details.
Big Read: The Great Gatsby
The National Endowment for the Arts' lates Big Read projct will be the American classic "The Great Gatsby." For more information on this program, go to the Big Read website.
Watch out for Telephone Scams
Telephone scams are on the rise again. Be on the lookout for requests to call organizations or people that you are not familiar with, as they may be fraudulant pay-per-call services. Particular area codes to watch for are 809, 284 and 876. If in doubt, look up the area code simply by googlin "area code xxx". If it is not in the US, then be certain of the organization and number before you call. If you are a victim, talk to your phone company about the charges, in many cases they are able to reverse them. For more information, read the Snopes areticle "809 Area Code Scam".
Board and Trust meetings next week
The club board meeting is next Thursday, Feb 4, 5pm at the Newort Library.
The Trust meeting is Tuesday, Feb 2 also 5pm at the Library.
GSE Team
The next GSE Team will be visiting in early May. Contact Roy for more information (sorry, this is the one announcement that was not completely clear in the recording - Avram).
Scrabble Day
The Literacy Committee will be hosting a Scrabble Day for all club members who are interested in joining.
Polo Meeting
From Steve Smith: The kick-off meeting for the 2010 Polo Committee will be at the Atlantic Grille at 7:30am, Thursday the 28th
ShelterBox Price Correction
From Ken Brockway: The original ad we posted in the newspaper said that the cost of a ShelterBox for Haiti would be $1600. This information was incorrect, the correct price is $1000.
|
