The Rotary Club of Trumbull

Club No. 6755, District 7980, Region 1

Mike Rappa, filling in for President-elect Mike Redgate, called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Jack Quinlan said the invocation. Steve Hodson led us in singing “When Irish Eyes are Smiling”.

Attendance:  44 of 72 members attended. Marge Anctil, Ray Baldwin, Jim Bardon, Jonathan Baron, Mary Biarelli, John Bogannam, Jayne Bolton, Doreen Boutote, Jackie Carlino, Carl Carlson, Adam Chambers, Gary Cialfi, Dawn Dalrymple, Barry Diamond, Bill Dunn, Don Emond, Lynn Fontana, Tom Galla, Tom Heaney, Ed Hedrick, Steve Hodson, Thelma Hoyt, Phil Lane, Gene Leone, Ron Lesko, Dana Lonergan, Bob Matthews, John McBride, Ian McMillan, Ted Merritt, Bob Patragnelli, Jack Quinlan, Mike Rappa, Tim Rivers, John Rosati, Joe Ruospo, Ray Rzasa, Dale Seymour, Dick Stein, Dick Stutz, Steve Taylor, Bill Zeidenberg.

Guests:  Tom English, of the Stratford Club.

Happy Dollars:

Phil Lane – 2 – For the two “High Holidays”— St Patrick’s Day on Sunday and St. Joseph’s Day on March 19th.

Barry Diamond – 2 –because our club finally gave him a sign for the TOCC building, and because the TOCC is sponsoring a Business Security Symposium on March 20^th.

Tom Galla – 2 – because today is opening day for golf at Tashua Knolls, and because he is presenting a program at the Trumbull Historical Society on March 19th about the 1989 Trumbull Little League World Champions. Tom was their coach.

Dick Stutz – 1- He can only afford one dollar because he is a “broke retiree”. Congress is partly to blame for this because of their sloppy regulation of various industries, and because they have failed to pass a flat tax-rate system.

Doreen Boutote – 1 – to announce that Trumbull High School students will present “No, No, Nanette” from March 21 to March 24. Tickets are only ten dollars and are available from Doreen. Call 452-4555 for more information.

Thelma Hoyt – 1 – because Dale Seymour has returned from vacation and will resume preparing our club’s newsletter.

Dale Seymour – 5 – for a fun-filled vacation in Daytona, Florida.

Dick Stein – 1 – for his upcoming vacation to Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Lynn Fontana – 1 – to promote the great talent, sets and costuming for the “No, No Nanette” performance at THS.

Jim Bardon – 1 – To announce that the club golf outing will be on September 16^th at Tashua Knolls, and that different type prizes will be included.

Marge Anctil – 1 – because she was at a recent meeting where someone suggested that all volunteers should have the same enthusiasm as our own Mike Rappa.

Bill Zeidenberg – 5 – Sad dollars for the continuing decline in the reputation of the Arthur Anderson accounting firm. Bill worked at Arthur Anderson for eleven years and stated that the company’s reputation should not be ruined by the actions of a few problematic employees.

Jayne Bolton - 1 – to thank everyone who bought Girl Scout cookies from her daughter.

Birthdays and Anniversaries: It was announced that Keith Gatling is celebrating his fifteenth wedding anniversary, but Keith was not in attendance.

Announcements:

Mike Rappa made the following announcements:

Joe Ruospo is holding a new member workshop on March 27^th.

We will sponsor the always-successful carnival from April 17^th to April 21^st at Hillcrest school. This year we will sell tickets and sell food, so more volunteers are needed.

The District Conference will be held in Albany, NY from May 2^nd to May 5^th.

The District Assembly will be held at the Trumbull Marriott on May 17^th.

Our installation dinner will be held at Vazzy’s on June 7^th.

Bill Zeidenberg announced that the Bike-a-thon will be held on June 9^th, and sponsors are needed. The route starts at Madison Middle School, and will consist of rides of seven, fifteen, or thirty-five miles. Enrollment and sponsor forms were distributed.

New Member Induction:

Jayne Bolton and Joe Ruospo introduced our newest member (#72) Tricia Brown. Tricia, a native of Massachusetts, said she is proud to be employed as the Executive Director of the “Trumbull Loves Children” program after a career in Corporate America.

Student of the Month:

            Dr. Gary Cialfi and Doreen Boutote introduced our Student of the Month from Trumbull High School, Jessica Monks. Jessica has served as an officer in the Interact club, is a great dancer and in the “No, No Nanette” production, attended the World Affairs Seminar in Wisconsin last year, and has volunteered in Appalachia with her church youth group. She is also an excellent student and invaluable as a leader to the other Interact members.

Program:

Ted Merritt introduced our guest speaker, our own club member and First Selectman Ray Baldwin. Among other things, Ray said:

1.      He presented his State of the Town address several weeks ago. The complete text is available on the Town’s website or by watching channel 17.

2.      He is proud of the efforts of many people in town; especially members of our own Rotary Club, in helping him guide the town to new progress. Members of both political parties have been instrumental in the success of the first one- hundred days of his administration.

3.      The primary responsibility of government is to ensure the health, welfare and safety of the citizens. In this regard, the Police Department has re-certified officers in the use of AED’s (defibrillators), and are back on first responder status; the School Resource Officer (SRO) program is in place; the DARE program (which Rotary sponsors) will return; Kevin Hammil, an effective youth officer, has been reinstated to his position; the new Police Chief, James Berry, is a quality person and an asset to the town; an Emergency Management Team is in place; effective liaison with the police, fire and EMS units has been achieved.

4.      Education is another vital role of town government. To ensure progress, the educational budget was approved and actually increased; a new elementary school is being built on land purchased by the town four or five years ago; and new administrative space is being designed.

5.      Past administrators, including Morag Vance, who arranged the purchase of the Pequonnock River Valley land, possessed vision and wisdom when they began the purchase of valuable open land for the town. The process is continuing.

6.      Trumbull has done more to comply with the so-called “Affordable Housing” law, than any other town in the state. The formula for affordable housing is flawed, so the town is undertaking efforts to design truly affordable housing for seniors.

7.      Additional tax relief will be provided for seniors on fixed incomes.

8.      Reasonable tax increases are necessary because of increasing annual town expenses such as salaries, and an increase of 23% in insurance costs.

9.      Many of our own Rotarians have volunteered for the Economic Development Commission.

10.  Expansive renovations are planned for Trumbull Shopping Park, which will add to the tax base.

Raffle:  John McBride and Marge Anctil drew for $197.00, with no winning card selected.

                        UCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

March 19         Tom Galla talks about the 1989 Trumbull Little League Champions at the Trumbull Historical Society.

March 20         TOCC presents a Business Security Symposium at the Helen Plumb Building from 6 to 9PM.

March 22         Nancy Wagman, Rotarian, and Affiliate Director of Administration for Future Problem Solving.

April 5              Trumbull Police Chief James Berry

April 12            Thelma Hoyt American Town Network Website for Trumbull

April 17-22      Rotary-sponsored Carnival at Hillcrest Middle School  

May 2-5           District Conference at Albany, NY

Respectfully Submitted,

Dale J. Seymour