INSPIRATION – Anthony Landi
An amazing thing happens when you get honest with yourself and start doing what you love, what makes you happy. You stop wishing for the weekend. You stop merely looking forward to special events. You begin to live in each moment and you start feeling like a human being. You just ride the wave that is life, with this feeling of contentment and joy. You move fluidly, steadily, calm and grateful. A veil is lifted and a whole new perspective is born.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, Etc.
Pres. Steve shared some of the awards made to our club at the District Conference held the past weekend, including a Service recognition for Rev. Ralph Barlow’s 53 years in Rotary.
Get Well wishes to Rev. Barlow, Mary Lou Ryan and Margaret Kane.
The Membership Committee is working on our tenth new member for the year. That’s about a 15 percent bump!
Literacy Committee chair Art Norwalk reported on the success or our donations in piloting new literacy teaching tools that the district has subsequently funded for wider use.
Pres-elect Kris David reported that a Zoom connection will soon be available with a school in Nepal for girls who have been trafficked, thanks to solar panels funded in part by a grant from the club foundation.
A club member reports receiving a scam email purporting to be from a Rotarian seeking an outrageous amount of money. Be careful out there.
Visiting Rotarian Mike Baker from Reading, England, exchanged club flags with Pres. Steve. We also had Visiting Rotarian from Brattleboro, VT visiting and who was happy to be here when our mayor was speaking.
HAPPY BUCKS
– collected by Anna Knes
- Anna started off with $20 for becoming engaged to her four-year partner and for the 50+ pound trash collection by Rotarians and members of the November Project on Earth Day.
- PP Holly Applegate was happy to welcome Mayor Brett Smiley.
- Kris David enjoyed her birthday trip to the surprise destination in Maine.
- Jonathan Kaufman was happy that members donated 120 pounds of food to Youth Pride.
- PP Richard Applebaum was happy to be back in RI and offered his thanks to the Bylaws committee members for their work on the recent revisions.
- PP Anthony Hollingshead had a buck to congratulate Anna for her leadership on the litter project.
- Pres. Steve had a buck to mark his son’s 40th birthday, while questioning how he could have a kid that old.
- Jim Gilcreast was happy that Rob Black will be back next week to take over the welcome table.
Speaker
BRETT SMILEY’S FIRST
120 DAYS AS MAYOR
“I was surprised nobody gave a Happy Buck for my tax increase.”
With that, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley was off on a rapid-fire tour of his first 120 days in the corner office at Providence City Hall, noting that it was all about keeping the promises he’d made in the campaign.
To move city government “back to basics,” Smiley pointed to his appointments of a new police chief, the first city fire chief in eight years, and a completely new economic development leadership team. And in his budget, the new mayor pointed to adding more police, more firefighters, a new sidewalk repair crew, a new graffiti removal crew and an upgraded 311 citizen assistance system.
The Smiley administration is currently negotiating with the city’s leading tax exempt education and healthcare institutions and expects to achieve increases in their payments in lieu of taxes. And the mayor said he is exploring moving the city’s pension into the state retirement system.
On education, Smiley said the city’s new school construction program will focus on creating K-8 schools to replace middle schools. He is working toward ending the state takeover and restoring local control of city public schools in an 18-24 month time frame and will spend the intervening time working with the school board and other stakeholders to create a new structure. He expects the return process will not be contentious.
