Dick Podolec will be introducing Rotary Scholar Rachel Brooks who will share her experiences abroad. Some of us got a sneak preview a few weeks ago when Rachel visited our meeting and from what we heard this should be an interesting presentation. 

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81988041951?pwd=U211RkcyQmhkMGlpNlQ4L2hNc3h1QT09

Meeting ID: 819 8804 1951

 

We open the Zoom Room at 11:45 AM, and Liam McCarthy begins the official meeting at noon at which point it’s best if all mikes are muted. At 12:20 PM (or thereabouts) – Liam introduces our speaker, who will be accepting questions at the conclusion of their talk and the meeting ends at 1:00 PM. 

 

 

David Allen reminded club members of the need to make some kind of contribution to the Rotary Foundation so that our club can achieve the goal of having every member contribute. 

 

Tom Csatari announced that the club plans to place two transaction ads in the Valley News to make the public aware of the $20,000 awards given to Listen and the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council and $60,000 to an array of non-profits in the Upper Valey. He expressed his gratitude for the work Heidi Postupack did to organize the philanthropic giving by the club. 

 

Jim Bonney offered Happy Dollars for Wayne Gersen’s op ed piece in the Sunday Valley News and for Kathy Geraghty’s dog being featured in the newspaper. 

 

Liam McCarthy offered a Happy Dollar for Dick Podolec, Arthur Gardinger, John Hochreiter, and Dave Allen, the four Rotarians who accepted the challenge put forth by Julia Griffin last week and volunteered to offer their expertise to local businesses seeking support in applying for the stimulus aid offered to small businesses. 

 

Wayne Gersen offered Happy Dollars to Todd Allen and Kathy Geragthy for lining up speakers for the coming weeks and reminded club members that since we are meeting virtually it is now possible to invite speakers from faraway places to share their stories with us. 

 

Casey Aldrich won the virtual raffle for a free lunch when Jesse’s reopens sometime in the future but clearly not before the end of this month. 

 

 

Liam McCarthy reminded club members that since we are saving $18/week and there are many of our neighbors facing financial challenges that we should consider making donations in lieu of meals. We’ve raised just under $4,000 thus far! Here’s the link to donate in lieu of a meal ticket this week:  

 

 

 

Heather Drinan introduced Michael Bodel and Kimberly Shreve from the Hopkins Center who shared an overview of the kinds of programs the HOP offers which include live professional musicians, films, performances by Dartmouth College groups and a wide range of video and live drama performances. The speakers highlighted some of the HOP’s newer programs like Thursday Night Live, which is typically offered at 9:00 PM on Thursday following one of the HOP’s features; HD broadcasts of musical performances, and performances in outdoor venues around the community which they hope to expand upon once the Center opens again. 

 

In response to the pandemic, the speakers noted that they did not cancel shows but rather postponed them to a later date. They also flagged “HOP at Home”, a series that they are launching to connect with the community and students remotely. The events ill be posted on the HOP web page and club members were invited to join the email list to participate in the program. 

 

Michael Bodel described the status of the HOP’s Capital Campaign, which will be moving forward despite the Covid 19 outbreak. The HOP has already done some “invisible” infrastructure work and they hope to begin some more visible aspects of the project in mid-to-late Winter. He reported that the campaign has raised $75 million thus far and is nearing the amount needed to proceed. 

 

 

May 13 – Kathy Geragthy introduces Kathleen Vasconcelos, Executive Directorof the Grafton County Senior Citizens Council, Inc. who recently received a $20,000 grant from our group. 

 

May 20 – Todd Allen introduces Clay Adams, Mascoma CEO to tell us how the stimulus funding for the pandemic is impacting local banks. 

 

Liam McCarthy and I are working on a couple of ideas for May 27 and June 3, but as always your ideas are encouraged. 

 

As noted in last week’s bulletin and at the meeting, with Zoom meetings we could invite speakers from faraway places (i.e. outside of driving distance of Jesse’s) to share ideas and insights. 

 

Wayne Gersen