The Rotary Club of Trumbull

Club No. 6755, District 7980, Region 1

President-elect Mike Redgate called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Jack Quinlan said the invocation. Jim Lang led us in singing “ Smile”.

Attendance:  40 of 72 members attended. Ray Baldwin, Jim Bardon, Jonathan Baron, Mary Biarelli, Jayne Bolton, Bev Cambras, Carl Carlson, Adam Chambers, Willie Costello, Sy Davidson, Barry Diamond, Bill Dunn, Dave Dunn, Joan Farley, Lynn Fontana, Len Germano, Tom Heaney, Ed Hedrick, Thelma Hoyt, Phil Lane, Jim Lang, Ron Lesko, Dana Lonergan, Ian McMillan, Ted Merritt, Preston Merritt, Bob Patragnelli, Jack Quinlan, Mike Rappa, Michael Redgate, John Rosati, Joe Ruospo, Ray Rzasa, Dale Seymour, Rose Marie Spatafore, Steve Taylor, George Voynick, Dave Wilson, Bill Zeidenberg.

Guests:  Rob Miller and Karen Zeidenberg, wife of Bill Zeidenberg.

Happy Dollars:

Phil Lane – 5 – For the first day of spring, which arrived with snow, and a self-imposed fine for arriving later than Preston Merritt.

Jim Lang – 1- because the town snow-removal budget is in the red, and we didn’t have much snow this year.

Thelma Hoyt – 1 – because the Shelton Rotary Club is hosting a magic show on April 5^th.

Dale Seymour – 2 – for a great presentation about the 1989 Trumbull Little League World Champions by Tom Galla at the Trumbull Historical Society. Tom was one of the three coaches. Tom and our own Ray Baldwin were a pitcher/catcher combination when they played in the Trumbull Little League.

Len Germano – 2 – to advertise the raffle cards he passed out, which were provided courtesy or Rifkin Travel. You must be present to win at the Albany District Conference. Len also passed out new and up-to-date pocket directories of our club.

Jack Quinlan – 5 – his daughter coordinates Girl Scout cookie distribution in Monroe, and Jack had 5 boxes with him to sell.

Joe Ruospo –1 – for the Red Cross American Heroes breakfast being held across the hall, and for the UCONN basketball team.

Lynn Fontana –1 – because Congressman Chris Shays will be at our meeting on April 12^th.

Ted Merritt – 5 – split equally between the good news about Chris Shays and because of the continued successful activity of our club.

Dave Wilson – $9.10 – because his mother just celebrated her 91^st birthday.

Carl Carlson – 5 – because his wife just successfully completed 6 months of chemotherapy.

Ian McMillan – 5 – He was just elected Chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals, his son is going with him to a Challenger Little League management program, he and Dale Seymour enjoyed Tom Galla’s presentation at the Trumbull Historical Society, but he was sad because his son couldn’t attend.

Sad Dollars:

Bev Cambras – 5 – because Dick Aiello’s wife “Elvie” passed away.

Rose Marie Spatafore – 5 – because she was almost selected for jury duty, because her email program sent out a bogus message to friends, and because the Tour to Barcelona program she and her travel agency put together for the International Convention had to be cancelled.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:  None were announced

Announcements:

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

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.

The next Board Meeting is on April 2^nd at 7:00PM at the Marriott.

Jim Lang presented various Rotary club banners he obtained while in California to Ted Merritt, Mike Redgate, Mike Rappa and Thelma Hoyt.

Program:

Jonathan Baron introduced our guest speaker Nancy Wagman. Nancy is an Affiliate Director of the Future Problem Solvers of America. She is a past president of the Cromwell Rotary Club and has a long history of volunteer service to her church and community. Among other things, Nancy said:

1.      She wanted to contribute one happy dollar and announced her club meets at the Cromwell Holiday Inn at 7:30AM on Wednesdays, and all are welcome to attend.

2.      The FPS program began in 1971 at the University of Georgia, and began 19 years ago at UCONN.

3.      The program teaches students in grades 4 through 12, divided into three age groups.

4.      It teaches them how to identify challenges, think of solutions, discuss the solutions, and then develop an action plan.

5.      There are now 130 units in the state, and our own Jonathan Baron volunteers by evaluating the results of the students’ solutions.

6.      The University of Connecticut will host the FSP International Conference in June 2002. Over 2500 students from around the world will attend.

Raffle:  Thelma Hoyt drew both tickets for $231.00, but did not select the winning card. However, she did win an American flag, courtesy of Jim Lang.

                        UCOMING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

March 29         Good Friday  ***** NO MEETING *****

April 2              Board Meeting at the Trumbull Marriott 7PM

April 5              Trumbull Police Chief James Berry

April 12            Congressman Chris Shays

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

May 2-5           District Conference at Albany, NY

Respectfully Submitted,

Dale J. Seymour