In honor of Presidents Day, Holly Applegate offered inspiring quotes from past presidents of the United States:

 

George Washington: “99% of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

 

Thomas Jefferson: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”

 

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At Tuesday's meeting we'll enjoy ceremonial MIMOSAS (Members Interested in Meaningful Opportunities for Service Above Self) to honor George Babcock for his leadership of our Children's Literacy Initiative. And celebrate the 116th birthday of Rotary.

 

Tuesday’s meeting also features Matthew “Marcello” Haynes of La Gondola-Providence! Marcello is the most seasoned member of La Gondola Providence's talented group of gondoliers, as well as the company's owner, president, and spokesperson. He has been a mainstay on the river ever since, training an excellent crew of gondoliers, singing at every opportunity, and both marveling at and showing off the amazing Renaissance City of Providence to locals and tourists alike.

 

 

Jim Gilcreast: $1 happy buck because he’s happy!

 

Holly Applegate: $10 happy bucks for Mary Brewster’s wonderful show at the Providence Art Club.

 

Don Saracen: $1 happy buck for Margaret Kane, who is having a cataract operation this week.

 

Wendy Marcus: $100 not-so-happy bucks in acknowledgement of Connie Donnelly’s move to Florida and Anthony Landi’s mother passing.

 

Kris David: $5 happy bucks for Paddington Bear, one of her favorites as a child!

 

Erica Busillo Adams: $24 happy bucks for expecting a baby on August 24!

 

 

Bob is an award-winning illustrator who for the past 20 years has illustrated Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear books. Zoe is the author of There’s a Wolf at the Door and There’s a Princess in the Palace (both retellings of classic tales).

 

Bob and Zoe spoke about the process of creating children’s picture books! To Bob, the true purpose of children’s picture books is to provide children with inspiration and hope for becoming adults.

 

Distribution is the major challenge when it comes to self-publishing, and large distribution opportunities, like conventions, are not currently available. However, the book industry has increased during the pandemic! The novelty of holding a book and being away from a screen is vital to people right now. So there are more opportunities for self-publishers. Bob stated that – thankfully! -- pictures books as physicals objects are here to stay!

 

To purchase Zoe and Bob’s books and learn more about their work, you can go to https://tanglealleypress.com.

 

Jim Gilcreast was so inspired by the presentation he bought two books and is donating $100 to the Providence Rotary literacy program in the Alleys’ honor!

 

 

(presidential quotes continued)
John Quincy Adams: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

 

Abraham Lincoln: “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.”

 

Theodore Roosevelt: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”

 

John F. Kennedy: “Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”

 

Jimmy Carter: “We become not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”

 

Ronald Regan: “Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with conflict by peaceful means.”

 

Barack Obama: “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”