Zoom attendees
Art Norwalk, Don Saracen, P.J. Fox, Mary Cullen, Sharon Garland
Pledge
George Babcock, before leading us in the Pledge, challenged us to answer two questions:
What do the stripes on the flag mean?
The answer: The 13 stripes represent the 13 colonies.
What is the last stripe? It represents Rhode Island.
George Babcock then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Inspiration
Mike Kelly gave us an update of "Who was Herbert Taylor?"
He was a Rotarian and entrepreneur during the great depression. He saw the tremendous need to restore business guidelines because of the evident faltering business practices going on at the time. His passion and guidelines for honorable business practices were recognized by Rotary International and adopted as our standard for ethics in 1942. This view is still seen as a standard for ethics in business management today. The 4 way test considers the following questions in regard to thinking, saying and doing.
I ask as we gather here today.
Do we as Rotarians talk the talk or walk the walk?
Do we, Rotarians, practice what we preach?
Is it the truth?
Is it fair for all concerned?
Will it build good will and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Remembrance
President Steve Hug remembered the 20th Anniversary of the Station Club Fire with the death of 100 people and the injury of 230. Steve was working as a DJ at B101 at the time and had colleagues and friends who were directly impacted by the tragedy. He asked us for a moment of silence for those killed and injured.
Get well wishes
Margaret Kane, Reverend Barlow, Sharon Garland, and Margaret Rizzuto.
Announcements
Steve announced that Thursday, Feb 23 marks the 118th Birthday of Rotary.
Sunday, Feb 26 will be the Rotary Providence Bruin Game for Polio Plus. $20 a ticket, $5 to Polio Plus.
Next week’s speaker is Dr. Frances Jeffries who will speak about Rotary Peace Centers and Rotary Peace Fellowships. Deadline for fellowships is May 15th.
The Marriott has started charging for parking. This does not apply to Rotarians.
Providence Rotary Charities Foundation is looking for grant submissions.
The next Rotary Board meeting is March 2, 2023 at 8 am at Steve’s work environment - Family Service of RI office on 9 Pleasant Street, Providence. The meeting will be in-person and/or by zoom.
Happy Bucks
- Pete Brock led with giving 5 Happy Bucks (IOU) because he is happy to see the beautiful snowfall outside his home in Southern New Hampshire.
Kris David gave a Happy Buck for new Rotarian Sam New’s sneakers adorned with a picture of his daughter!- Anthony Hollingshead gave 5 Happy Bucks to thank Bill Applegate for doing such a great job on the Newsletter and 4 Happy Bucks for our great new members who are at the meeting; and he is excited to induct Jane Berkowitz next week.
- Bill Applegate gave 15 Happy Bucks, one for Anthony Hollingshead for the nice comments about the newsletter, two for Art Norwalk for covering the newsletter while I was on a 12 day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, which is where the remainder goes.
- Liz Messier gave 5 Happy Bucks for working in Florida for a week and then going on a 7 day cruise with her daughter, Katie.
- Carol Newberry, our speaker for today was thankful for being here with a great bunch of Rotarians.
- Cap Willey gave one Happy Buck because of a text from his sister who lives in Montana who said that they have had 101 days of snow so far this year, and glad that we haven’t had any here.
- Don Saracen gave two Happy Bucks for Carol Newberry, long time friend as our speaker today; and for his son Scott who has taken a new position with the RI Film and Television Office.
- Sharon Garland gave a Happy buck for the lovely plant which is still alive, and all the well wishes from Rotarians.
Speaker
President-Elect, Kris David introduced our speaker,
Carol Newberry who is co-President of the North Providence Rotary Club, and is the adult service coordinator at Goodwill Industries of Southern New England.
Goodwill has a long history beginning in 1863. Through the years there had been many mergers and name changes. By the year 2000, the agency became a member of the Goodwill Family. Currently, they operate stores in South Attleboro, MA and Warwick, RI along with Donation Centers in Westerly and Bristol. Their 100 Houghton Street Facility still serves as their programming center, along with a Warehouse Distribution Center.
160 years after the founding, they are still committed to the value of offering a "hands-up vs. hand-out" approach to helping people find, get and keep a job. They serve individuals, aged 16 on up with a variety of barriers including physical, intellectual, emotional, and legal, who are interested in finding meaningful work.
Today’s emphasis is on helping individuals become integrated into their community.
Goodwill Industries is looking for help with providing mock interviews, speaking to job seekers about opportunities in their respective fields, providing an opportunity for someone to have a 10-day community based work experience to see if the job is a good fit, and hiring job seekers to become contributing members of an organization or business.
