Tom Csatari will introduce our speaker(s) this week… who will be our Rotary committee chairs, each of whom will provide an update on their activities to date or POSSIBLY newly minted Rotarians who will offer their talks.  

 

 

Liam McCarthy capably covered for Tom Csatari and dutifully read the slate of officers which your scribe was unable to capture in full… But I DID note that Liam is our President-elect and also noted the that there is no nominee for the Vice President, the individual who will succeed him in July 2020. 

 

Ruby Nash won the raffle, which was a hike guided by Bob Boone up mountain of her choice. Maybe she could confer with Jed Williamson to identify a challenging climb! 

 

And, in case you missed it, we have a new mini-Rotarian weighing in at 8 pounds and 20 inches in height: Jade Aurora Lambeth! Congratulations! Maybe we should all contribute a happy dollar in Jade's name! I would have inserted a picture, but Jeremy is my tech consultant and he's indisposed at this time... but I feel certain he WILL have some pictures to share when he gets to the next meeting! 

 

 

Cotton Cleveland, a Volunteer for CASA-NH (whose initials stand for Court Appointed Special Advocate), described some exemplary cases she dealt with over the past several years of her efforts. She compared CASA-NH’s model to that used in Vermont noting that New Hampshire’s guardian ad litem program is primarily privately funded and, therefore, relies heavily on volunteers while New Hampshire’s advocacy program is “frugal yet effective”. She reported that there are currently roughly 90 children receiving services in Grafton county and more in Sullivan County where she works. The children are sometimes from the same family and have a wide range of all ages and a wide range of situations that qualify them as being defined as victims of neglect and abuse. She noted that the opioid epidemic has added to CASA’s caseload, with nearly half of the children impacted in some fashion by drug abuse of some kind. 

 
Ms. Cleveland appealed for Rotary members to consider serving as volunteers. She stated that volunteering requires 10-12 hours per month, time that can often be scheduled to accommodate the needs of the volunteers, half of whom are retired. She spoke of the rewarding and challenging experiences she has encountered, all of which helped her gain a deeper understanding of the problems in our region and, in the end, a sense that she is making a difference. 
 

 

March 6, we have Sarwar Kashmiri-political science commentator, who will update us on China’s burgeoning power. 

 

March 13 Allie Levy, Dartmouth grad and the new proprietor of a book store/wine bar that will be located in part of the former Dartmouth book store space.

 

March 20 Mascoma Bank benefits administrator Samantha Pause will share her experiences as the banks B-Corp facilitator. 

 

April 10 Carol Olwert will introduce Dr. Sally Kraft from DHMC who will speak on population and health. 

 

As you can see, our quest for future speakers is yielding results, as we have four “solid” programs scheduled and two more in process… but we can always use more ideas! 

 

Wayne Gersen