INSPIRATION
Christy Clausen - shared a favorite parable, the moral of which made her think of her fellow Rotarians - called The Obstacle in our Path. The moral of the parable was that every obstacle we come across in life gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances.
ANNOUNCEMENTS, Etc.
Next in-person lunch on June 25th at the Marriott. Online signup required. It will be on Zoom, too.
Great to get together in person again! Thank you to Squantum Association and Peter Loescher for the hospitality and great lunches we had there in the interim.
Our Diaper Drive for Family Service of RI is complete with delivery handled by Margaret Kane and Holly Applegate. Thanks to everyone who participated.
Jim Gilcreast reminded everyone to think about large raffle items for our upcoming gala. Think “experiences” such as a week away in Florida with airline tickets, etc.
HAPPY BUCKS
Margaret Kane - spent Mother’s Day buying diapers
Anthony Hollingshead to welcome Liz Rosato and Susan Smith to our meeting today.
Jim Gilcreast - He’s happy in honor of Cy Wyche and a second to thank Mary Brewster for running the trivia night
Robert Murphy - He’s happy when he can wear his FBI blazer and blue shirt; happy for nostalgia of old days working at FBI
Wendy Marcus - a happy buck for Susan Smith’s turquoise glasses - they make her happy!
Susan Smith - happy to be zooming in for today’s Rotary meeting
Liz Rosato for the beautiful day, and for being invited back to speak after 4 years
Christy - for trivia night which she enjoyed and for the fact that she’s fully vaccinated
Bryan - good to be back in person; for Mary for scheduling trivia;
WHAT’S NEW AT THE FBI?
FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Rosato, former head of the Providence office of the bureau, made a return appearance as our guest speaker. She has a distinguished 25-year career with the FBI and is currently assigned to the Boston Division in the Special Operations Squad. She introduced the current leader of the Providence office, PC graduate Jack Farley.
She shared that since her last visit with us in 2017, the landscape has changed dramatically and discussed that partnering with local and state law enforcement and the community is so crucial to their success.
Interestingly, 50% of all cases handled by the FBI originate from a tip from the public. Where counter terrorism in the past focused on Al-Qaeda and other international terrorism groups posing a threat to the United States, the #1 priority of the FBI today focuses on counter terrorism to fight home-grown violence and anti-government activity. She pointed out, however that the goal of the FBI is twofold, to uphold the constitution and to protect the interests of its citizens. We are in the midst of home-grown terrorism today - with the investigation into the Capitol Insurrection of January 6th.
Other priorities today for the FBI include white collar crime, civil rights violations, and cyber crime which can affect both corporations and individuals.