Rotary Club of Providence News
Meeting Date: October 19, 2021
Reporter: Bryan Cook
Inspiration
Jim Gilcreast shared an inspiration from Dorothy Height:
Welcome to Visiting Rotarians and Guests
District Governor Billy Roberts and his wife, Bette
Parker Smith and Janet Collier
Announcements
We are 1 week out from our Legends for Literacy Gala. PP Don Saracen reports that we have surpassed 2019’s sponsorship levels and have hit $55,000 with a couple of current sponsors increasing their levels and the addition of some new sponsors. There is still some time left to become a sponsor.
Jim Gilcreast still needs some auction items for both the raffle and live auction as well as some volunteers to help the night of the event. Contact Jim if you can help.
Malcolm Mitchell will be holding a reading rally sponsored by our club at the Kizirian Elementary school on Monday,10/25. There will be video which we hope to show at the gala.
The next Rotary After Dark event will be November 10
th and we will be attending a PC Friars game vs Sacred Heart. Those who want to attend can
click here, or contact Anthony Landi.
Wendy Marcus is spearheading a project in conjunction with Brown Street Park to set up a Little Library. Barbara Harris lent her artistic talent to decorate the structure that will be placed in the park and now Wendy needs books. She will be sending a list of desired books. If you would like to help, please bring books to be donated to a club meeting and Wendy will take them.
A reminder - there is no meeting at noon on the 26th, since we will be having the Gala that night.
Happy Bucks
- Margaret Kane $1 for the Red Sox playoff run.
- Jim Gilcreast $1 he’s got a buck and he’s happy.
- Cap Willey $2 for his granddaughter who is 11-0 as a varsity tennis player.
- Barbara Harris $1 as she is also happy.
- Anthony Hollingshead $5 in honor of DG Billy Roberts and for a great conference he attended in Providence last week.
- Don Saracen $2 for DG Roberts and for the teacher of the year, Ashley Adams who he knew when she was a child.
- Pres. Holly $20 in honor of DG Billy Roberts and the Red Sox.
Speaker
District Governor, Billy Roberts
DG Roberts recognized Pres. Holly for her organization and being the frontrunner in the district as far as that goes. He also recalled being drafted by PDG Kris David to serve as one of her advisors which helped spark his enthusiasm for serving at the district level.
Dr. Roberts pointed out that our club has a large membership
and is making a large impact in Providence. He further noted that the same spirit that drives us locally also exists around the world and is one of the unique aspects of Rotary. In light of the changes throughout the world that are ever present, we must continue to check ourselves regularly.
He proposed that we ask the following questions:
- Are we the organization we profess to be?
- Do we represent the society we serve?
- How can we empower women and girls both locally and around the world?
Collaboration with other Rotary clubs both locally and internationally as well as through partnerships with other organizations can extend the reach of Rotary and amplify our good works.
We can also look for membership opportunities by asking who is not at the table in terms of members of our community and then extend invitations to those groups. Membership is not the job of one committee but rather the job of all Rotarians. As RI President Mehta has said, “Each one should bring one” to further our membership goals.
DG Billy Roberts closed with a quote from a mentor from his youth “If we cannot do great things, we can do small things in a great way.” These small things become great in the lives of those impacted.
