MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF

March 24th, 2014 - 12:15 PM

The Pondhouse Cafe

Present: 32 Great Rotarians; 0 visiting Rotarians, and 3 guests.

Bruce Stanger gave the invocation with thoughts of “Leaning In”, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. During lunch, Hap began the meeting with announcements, starting with:

1.     Finally removed the red ‘new member’ ribbon from Chad Licht’s name badge

2.     Noted that West Hartford Press will be celebrating volunteers in April and that we should look for someone we know in an upcoming article.  (hint – a former club President…)

3.     Discussed the upcoming Jazz Brunch on April 6^th – see him if you are interested in attending.  We still need 10-15 people to attend.

4.     Pointed out highlights in the April The Rotarian magazine including: polio survivor and Paralympian Dennis Ogbe; an article on ‘smart’ bandages, and an article on Howard Buffett and his quest to end world hunger by 2046.

5.     Eileen Rau discussed the Annual campaign – you can give online or bring a check.  Note we will be tracking the progress in the weekly bulletin.

6.     Don Chandler discussed the upcoming District Conference (25-27 April in Portsmouth, NH) – registration is required by 1 April.  He also noted that we are sharing a hospitality suite with clubs from Manchester and East Hartford.

7.     Kyle Egress talked up Lobster Fest 2014 – it will be June 21^st on the ASD campus.  He noted that it is appreciated that this year our big three events are in close proximity, but June was a better fit for Lobster Fest and that next year we will spread them out.  ALSO, we are looking for a band that is willing to play for meals instead of cash.

Sergeant at Arms Todd Bower reports 32 Rotarians are present, with no visiting Rotarians and three guests: guest speaker Gustave "Gus" Keach-Longo of CRT and two guests of Cindy; Susan Lederman and John Smeallie of Pizzaz.  There was one birthday (Oscar Santo-Domingo) and several anniversaries.

Happy dollars were collected.  Don announced that Eileen is the newest member of RLI!

 The 50/50 raffle is up to $20 with no winner today.  We are looking for Jack of clubs.

Gus Keach-Longo from Community Renewal Team (CRT) was the guest speaker and gave a presentation on Veterans Landing – a planned innovative assisting living community for veterans.  It is the first in the nation – a partnership between the state (subsidizes the housing) and the VA (subsidizes the care and services).  It will be constructed on the VA campus in Newington, open in spring of 2016, and will feature 103 private apartments. 

The meeting was adjourned at 1:40, with Oscar Santo-Domingo leading the 4-way test.  The next meeting is March 31, 2014 at Pondhouse Cafe.        

Respectfully submitted,

 Chad Licht, scribe