Sunrise Rotary Rag for February 19, 2014
Quote
“Take risks. If you win, you will be happy. If you lose, you will be wise.” –Anonymous
Guests
Sandy introduced the guest speakers—who will be introduced again when the time comes—and Elena Secrest.
Announcements
Greeter: Thank you to Turner for greeting today. Bob F. volunteered for next week.
Nutrition project: Tristam reported that it is a great program with awesome food at Ledgewood and Moore Court.
Community Services: Ellen thanked everyone who helped with the Valentine’s dinner at the overflow shelter.
Fine to Todd Murchison, who was the scribe but did not follow through. Then another fine for bragging about juggling for little kids during announcements. That allowed for 2 public shamings.
Membership: We will reschedule our meeting for another time. Will apologized for the confusion about the meeting on President’s Day. He encouraged the club to think about who is NOT represented in our club and reach out to people. Please review the survey that was re-sent by Sadie this week.
3 on 3: There are still some spots on the sign up sheet. We will be having a club assembly in the coming weeks to focus on the tournament. Registration forms are out—recruit players! There will be separate meetings for court monitors coming up. There will be a spreadsheet sent out for corporate sponsorships. Many sponsors support us year after year, but we like to follow up with a phone call—they make a huge difference. March 15 approaches quickly.
Cards
We are losers.
Birthdays
Hooray, Dan Deitz! So melodic, our singers.
Bowl of Life
“I was previously a professional photographer.” We all knew is was Alisa Barry. (And she was great at that, too!)
“I had drinks with Jimmy Buffet.” Dan guessed Tristam, who guessed Bob, who guessed Sandy L., who guessed Ellen Smith, who guessed Jerry, who guessed Kevin, who guessed Toni, who got the hint “she is in the room” and guessed Michelle. Michelle said she was in Mole’s Eye on a Sunday afternoon chatting with people there for about 2 hours before they figured out it was Jimmy Buffet. He had just come from recording in town at Sound Design. They imbibed some beers.
Brags
Sandy L. bragged $25 because she had one of the best Valentine’s Day’s ever. It was the 25th one with John and he gave her a card with a marriage license inside. After 25 years, why rock the boat, but let’s face facts: Social Security benefits transfer to spouses. For the last 25 years, Sandy has basically gotten a gift certificate for a mani-pedi. This year, on the way to pay the property taxes, she saw an envelope with a heart on it. She opened it and saw the means for the mani-pedi, but then noticed something that looked like a permit application. They had a cell phone conversation, Sandy completed her half of the document and brought it home. They met their friend (who is a Justice of the Peace) that day “for a drink”, but they got married on the spot.
Sadie bragged that she went to the Caymans and it was great. She is also joining the NEYT board tonight, joining fellow Rotarian, Sandy Shriver.
Will bragged for Harris Hill jumping—the first extreme sport. They broke a hill record (a young man from Slovenia) on a very fast hill. Hooray to Brattleboro for having a fantastic international event every year.
Michelle bragged about 4 days of great snowmobiling in NH. Also, her daughter has been accepted into the Honors College at UMass.
Linda bragged about just getting back from semi-sunny FL. She saw Sherry and learned about their quiz night, so she is ready to go when the restaurant opens. She did get lots of freebies that enhanced the week, including a convertible.
Dan bragged that he is the champion combined jump distance in his family on the Wii. He challenged the group to beat him. Training includes some 12 ounce curls, balance and relaxation.
Guest Speakers: Kristin Fledderjohn and Julie Potter (sorry for the spelling)
Sandy L. introduced Julie and Kristin from the Strolling of the Heifers. Kristin is working with the Stroll as part of her Master’s degree from World Learning. Julie grew up in the West River valley and has always been immersed in the local farm community. She is the General Manager of the Stroll and writes a column for the Reformer.
Julie described some of the things the organization is doing. The Stroll was founded by Orly Munzing. People know about the parade and the expo; this year it will be June 7. For the past few years, it has been accompanied by the Slow Living Summit (June 4-6), which is about sustainable living. They assist businesses in building business plans. They have an annual Localvore Index which rates states on the connections they have to local food. It has become quite a competition amongst certain states and organizers (Vermont is #1). They are building a Farmer Advisory Board and have a Farmer’s forum.
In November, they purchased the River Garden. Their offices moved there in December and it has allowed them to build more of a relationship with downtown and build connections to the community. They are committed to making it an open, community space. They are open M-F, 9-5. On Saturdays, they will be open for the Farmer’s Market, but they will continue to be open on Saturdays after that ends. It is still available for rentals. They also have storage in the basement that is dry and warm and available!
Kristin told us about the programming happening at the River Garden. She is new to Brattleboro, and so she started with the River Garden as a place to connect famers and the community. They have opportunities to be Ambassadors who help run the River Garden, interact with tourists and other community members. There will be more volunteer opportunities toward the Stroll. There are daily brown bag lunches every week day; they are looking for volunteers to play music and/or speakers. They have an email list distribution for information about what is happening.
In addition, they are planning Farm-to-Main-Street events. They had a valentine’s event that kicked off at Gallery Walk where they had materials to make Valentines for farmers or friends. March 9, there will be a gardening preview that will be presented by some local CSAs and businesses related to gardening. In April, the will have a Maple in April event. They have been focusing on planning up to the Stroll, and then see what happens.
Julie talked a little about the long-range planning. The Stroll is looking for the River Garden to be a self-sustaining resource for the public. It is the space that connects downtown to the River. It is also a gathering space. They will be adding a kitchen for event use and for the developing “Farm Foods Innovation Center.” The Center will be a place to educate the public about the area’s connection to agriculture via exhibits, demonstrations, lectures, etc. There will be taste testing, etc., but there will also be programming directed toward populations that need information about purchasing healthy food, nutrition, etc. They are exploring the possibility of putting in a retail space in the front (maybe a “Dairy Bar”).
Jerry asked how they are building “beyond the parade,” especially with schools. Julie said they are partnering with organizations like Food Connects, Junior Iron Chef, the Career Center, etc. They are committed to reaching out to children and youth because that is how we can establish life-long healthy patterns. These partnerships are growing.
Jon S. asked about what it means for VT to be “at the forefront” in the local food/nutrition movement. Julie talked about the organizations that are committed to food and health in VT. We also are a state that takes a lot of care in building and sustaining agriculture. There is a lot of diversity in these efforts from individual farm development, state laws and regulations, national and local organizations, etc., in VT.
The group thanked them for coming and gave them each ½ a mug.
The website is a work in progress, but you can find information about events and sign up for the newsletter. (www.strollingoftheheifers.com)
(Apologies for missing pieces and misspellings—I came to the game a little late since I was pinch-hitter for Todd. Sadie)