Pledge of Allegiance
George Babcock led the pledge.
Inspiration
Jane Berkowitz stated that as a lifelong educator, former first grade teacher, early children’s literature specialist, book gift giver to preschool children, and home library advisor to their families she wants to take this opportunity to share a few quotes about books.
“A book is a gift you can open again and again.” Garrison Keillor.
“To learn to read is a light on fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” Victor Hugo
“The only thing you absolutely have to know is the location of the library.” Albert Einstein.
“Fill your house with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks.” Dr. Seuss.
Announcements
President Steve thanked Emily Bernstein for hosting a new member orientation at her home. It was a great way to review the finer points of being a Rotarian.
President-elect Kris David and Anna Knes reported that the Day of Service at Kizirian School on May 20 is shaping up. Many thanks to Cap Willey for the donation of 15 large pizzas, Books are Wings for donating books, and PP Anthony Hollingshead for the rocks and flowers from Swan Point Cemetery.
Get well wishes to Rev. Barlow and Mary Lou Ryan. Anthony Hollingshead reported that Margaret Kane appreciates our thoughts and good wishes. (With great sadness, we announce that Mary Lou Ryan has died. Our best wishes go to Maury Ryan and hope for his recovery.)
District Governor Elect Sharon Johnson reported that 15,000 Rotarians are expected to participate in the Rotary Day of Service. She looks forward to her home club’s (Scituate, RI) distribution of wildflower seed packets that day at the Farmers Market the Club runs every week.
Cap Willey reported on the election results for officers and new board members: Kris David, president, Pete Brock, president-elect, Bill Applegate, first vice president, Liz Messier, second vice president, Alec David, secretary, Luis Lourenco, treasurer and Peter Loescher, assistant treasurer. Newly elected to the the board are PJ Fox, Mary Brewster, Cap Willey, Jonathan Kaufman, and Mary Cullen.
Happy Bucks
- Mike gave $60 happy bucks in honor of his 60th wedding anniversary. Congratulations to Mike and Kathy!
- Alec David is happy that when the bases were loaded at his recent kickball game, he scored three home runs!
- Bill Applegate had $5 happy bucks to welcome Kento Suzuki.
- Bob Watt gave a happy buck for the fighting spirit of Lynette Lopes who passed after a second heart transplant procedure.
- PP Anthony Hollingshead gave $2 happy bucks because this afternoon he is going to ride his favorite 40-year-old Fuji ten-speed bike. He has not ridden a bike in 35 years!
- Sharon Johnson gave $10 happy bucks because she is very grateful for the help she has received in distributing the late arriving Rotary banners for the Day of Service.
Speaker
Bill Applegate introduced Kento Suzuki, Rotary Global Scholar from Hiroshima, Japan.
Kento expressed his gratitude for the Rotary scholarship program and for the tremendous support he received from Bill and Holly Applegate during his time at Brown.
When he was 16 years old Kento received a scholarship to attend an international high school program in Germany. Following completion of his studies, he was awarded a scholarship for undergraduate work at Brown University. Kento graduated from Brown in 2022 and continued at Brown for his master's degree. He has been accepted into a PhD program at Penn State.
He described the influences that helped him determine his course of study. During his time in Germany, he was introduced to the work of an anthropologist and physician who studied the barriers to basic healthcare faced by migrant farm workers in California. Because the migrants were afraid of detection, they didn’t feel safe reaching out for even basic health care. This insight led Kento to focus on public health issues and the social determinants of health care as a Brown undergrad.
His thesis topic evolved from a course he took with a Brown professor noted for her work on the practice of mindfulness and health. She asked students to develop their own mindfulness practice during her course. Mindfulness had a positive personal impact on Kento and influenced his thesis work. He developed a study that included an app he created to investigate the impact a mindfulness practice could have on Japanese mothers who had a child in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Kento shared he had spent the first four months of his life in a NICU, and this was also a way he could give back for his care.
Day of Service
The Rotary Club of Providence contributed the worldwide day of service on May 20, 2023. Our project was at the Kizirian school on the rainy Saturday.
