MEETING/EVENT SCHEDULE:
May 17th - Rosie's
May 24th - Middlebury Inn
PRESIDING: Spence Putnam
MINUTES OF May 10th, 2023
Guest: George Mitchell
Birthday: Eric Denu
Rotary Anniversary: Shawn Oxford
Wedding Anniversary: Jim Needham - 49 years
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Host Families Needed - Buzz
- We need 1-3 families that live in the Middlebury area to help starting in Mid- August. Buzz is also looking for someone to be the "Coordinator" and help with paperwork and tracking needed for the host student.
- Golf Tournament - Maureen, Neil, Kevin
- May 19th is the tournament and we will need more volunteers this year! Kevin sent a sign up sheet. Feel free to also stop by for lunch and show your support!
- RYLA - Jason
- This year we will be sending 3 students to RYLA and helping youth become better leaders through this experience.
- Memorial Day Parade - Spence
- This will take place on May 29th and set up will be at 8:30 a.m. Eric and Ben will be working on a float soon.
- Flag Project - Nancy
- The first flag event will be for Memorial Day. Nancy has sent out updated routes and flag locations to the team leaders.
- Green Up Day - Thank you everyone who helped with this!
Induction Ceremony: Tom Thompson
T-tall led the induction ceremony for Tom Thompson, and Sylvie stood by as the sponsor. T-tall expressed that this new member poses qualities and exemplifies the spirit of Rotary. Being re-inducted into the Middlebury Rotary, allows Tom join the fellowship and build connections to thousands of members and clubs worldwide and locally! Welcome, Tom!
Classification Talk: Kati Larocque
Katie grew up in East Middlebury and went to school in the area. She later went on to Castleton and received her degree in Marketing and Social Media. She currently works at Marble Trail Financial. Kati enjoyed volunteering in college through "Green Campus" and Student Support, and is excited to continue to volunteering with Rotary in the local community.
Fines and Happy Dollars:
Fines:
There were several late fines (Shawn and Steve), name tags missing (David), newspaper events (Bill for TVT and the Lions Club), proxy (John Barstow), and the sponsor banner has not been on display for a while (Ben and Spence).
Happy Dollars:
- Geoff - Thankful for the Tree Project (thank you, Buzz) and had a wonderful trip to Rhode Island
- Bill - CSAC tent needs to go up on May 16th at 4:30 p.m.
- Jack - Great Fireman's Dinner in East Midd
- John M - Excited to be back after being on vacation for the past 2 months in the south!
- T - happy that the Habitat House is completed and excited to report that the Cornwall Cematary is being digitalized
- Jason - had a wonderful week in Florida and happy to have George visit Rotary
- Kati asked Ben for a ride to work
- Spence is enjoying soccer through his grandson and excited about the presentation from Fran
- Tim - we are one step closer to having PMC as a Platinum Sponsor with Tom as a member
- Maureen recognized UWAC for their sweatshirts that were given out to all juniors/seniors to celebrate safely for prom/graduation
- Ben reported that he had a great camping trip, but will be getting additional camper space for Evie next time
Guest Speaker: Fran Putnam and Bethany Barry
Pollinator Pathways of Addison County:
Everyone who has a vegetable garden, flower garden, or plants near their patio is impacted by pollinators. Fran talked about how she first became interested in this concept as she noticed a swarm of bees on the tomato plants that help produce all the fruit. She started doing more research on creating pollinator habitats that are beneficial for native bees.
Fran and Bethany asked the community if anyone was interested in learning more and learned about the Pollinator Garden. A few neighbors and students came to this gathering and students informed the group about the Pollinator Pathway of Northeast in Connecticut. The goal of this organization is to bring education and awareness about creating a natural habitat for bees (i.e. adding native plants from VT and free from pesticide & herbicide).
Fran explained that 70% of food depends on pollination. A few tips to help keep insects and a natural habitat for bees include not using a leaf blower, keeping the soil open, and keeping leaf litter in the fall for insects over the winter.
Fran and Bethany mentioned that there is a 2nd grade teacher in Monkton who has helped developed 13 Pollinator Gardens for the kids and calls it the Bee Team. Additionally, Starksboro Conservation Commission has helped develop a pollinator garden at the Robinson School. Weybridge also has a small garden by the Pulp Mill Bridge. Look out for the signs with the Purple Butterfly signs - those indicate the Pollinator Gardens.
If you are interested in taking a pledge and having the Purple Butterfly Signs, please visit https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/join-us
Fran and Bethany indicated that there are also some harmful plants like the Japanese Knotweed that we also need to be aware of as they are harming the natural habitats.
If anyone is interested, the Weybridge School is hosting a Native Plan Event on May 20th for anyone who is interested.
Please visit https://www.pollinator-pathway.org/towns/addison-county for more information and a list of plants that are native to VT.
Thank you Fran and Bethany!
Cow Tag #6 - Judy!
MINUTES SUBMITTED BY SYLVIE CHOINIERE
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