President Marcy started her the meeting with this day in History…......
On this day in 1792, President George Washington signs legislation creating the U.S. Postal Service. Prior to the American Revolution, correspondence between parties depended largely upon hired private couriers, friends and the help of merchants. President Washington formally created the U.S. Postal Service with the signing of the Postal Service Act, which outlined in detail Congressional power to establish official mail routes. The act allowed for newspapers to be included in mail deliveries and made it illegal for postal officials to open anyone’s mail. In 1792, a young American nation of approximately 4 million people enjoyed federally funded postal services including 75 regional post offices and 2,400 miles of postal routes. The cost of sending a letter ranged from 6 cents to 12 cents.
1962- From Cape Canaveral, Florida, John Hershel Glenn Jr. is successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut. After separating from its launching rocket, the bell-shaped Friendship 7 capsule entered into an orbit around Earth at a speed of about 17,500 miles per hour. Toward the end of Glenn’s third and last orbit, mission control received a mechanical signal from the spacecraft indicating that the heat shield on the base of the capsule was possibly loose. The capsule would be incinerated if the shield failed to absorb and dissipate the extremely high reentry temperatures, so the craft’s retrorockets, usually jettisoned before reentry, were left on in order to better secure the heat shield. During Glenn’s fiery descent back to Earth, he lost radio contact with mission control. After four minutes of radio silence, Glenn’s voice crackled through loudspeakers at mission control, and Friendship 7 splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean. He was picked up by the USS destroyer Noa, and his first words upon stepping out of the capsule were, “It was hot in there.” He had spent nearly five hours in space.
In a highly controversial vote on February 20, 1985, the Irish government defies the powerful Catholic Church and approves the sale of contraceptives. Up until 1979, Irish law prohibited the importation and sale of contraceptives. In a 1973 case, McGee v. The Attorney General, the Irish Supreme Court found that a constitutional right to marital privacy covered the use of contraceptives.
Quote for the day……”Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt” , Herbert Hoover
GREETER:
Chris greeted us this morning with smiles and next week turner will be there with hugs for everyone.
GUESTS:
Emma Stewart - guest speaker
STUDENT ROTARIANS:
SCHOOL VACATION
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- May 25th – Blood Drive
- Jim Rumrill wants to know if anyone is interested in hosting another exchange student next.
- Lucy- our exchange student from Croatia will have lots of free time after basketball and it would be a great time to include her in your activities. Invite her over for dinner or family game night…anything to make her more connected to the members of our club!!
- April 1st SAVE THE DATE- we will be throwing a party to honor Turner and his 50 years as a Rotarian! More details to come!
- One month from today will be having the PINTS FOR POLIO fundraiser at the Whetstone.
- Monday is our next Overflow Shelter dinner. Lots of slots open for food donations. Many members volunteered on the spot so check the list from Sadie to see what is still needed.
- March 9th is the next sort a thon at the Vermont Food Bank. Need 2 volunteers from 9-12, please email Kevin to volunteer.
- 3 on 3 is coming up on March 16th. Need members to get posters and registration forms into the hands of players. Also need help with concessions, Dan & Debra volunteered to coordinate it, but they will need lots of donations.
BIRTHDAYS: Dan Deitz – Wednesday
Tom Franks – Tuesday
Turner Lewis- Better late than never!!
ANNIVERSARIES: No Anniversaries
CARDS: 5 of Clubs..… and the winner is ~ Marcy WON $43!!!!
BRAGS:
Turner: Just got back from a trip in which he made up a meeting in Jerusalem. Small club but very fun. He sat next t an 83 year old women and got to “chit chatting” and he told her they had visited the Holocaust Museum to which she replied that she and her mother were in one of the camps. He was very humbled to have met such a resilient woman.
Ali: 1. Announced a fundraiser for Winston Prouty on March 9th and 10th. The Annual Par for the Cause Mini-Golf Classic will be held at the Winston Prouty Campus, 209 Austine Drive, Brattleboro. Stay updated on the Par for the Cause Facebook event page or get tickets in advance at http://winstonprouty.org/parforthecause/ Additionally, she is no longer in the infant room but has moved up to the Pre-School room being assaulted daily by toddlers BUT loving every minute of it. She also bragged for Nikki’s semester aboard in Vietnam. They talk every day and has been getting daily pictures of the adventure.
Diane: Bragged for Josh who should be home sleeping because it is his school vacation but instead he was at the meeting filling in for Ed as Sergeant at Arms. AND Thursday was his 18th Birthday!!
Jon: Bragged for his “Old Dogs, New Tricks” weekend with his friend Steve. This year they went to Montreal where they went to a Boeing 737 flight simulator, participated in a fight club where they practiced street fighting for 2 hours and then managed to find a place that had them ax throwing. In between there was lots of drinking!!
Kevin: Bragged for his vacation in Mexico!! Thanked Lisa the travel agent extraordinaire, Liberato their pool bar bartender who keep them very well hydrated and Alma their server in the dining room who set up a very special table for them for Valentine’s Day complete with rose petals. Ginny is trying to talk him into a 2 week stay next year.
Jim: Jennifer is thankfully back to work with her 9-week-old baby in tow, which has been very good for business because everyone loves babies.
Mark: Bragged for Devi who just finished drivers ed and the bought her car. So be on the look out for her racing around town in a Jetta.
GUEST SPEAKERS: Emma Stewart from Great River Terrace
The Windham Windsor Housing Trust built a new "neighborhood" in north Brattleboro at the former Lamplighter Hotel. Great River Terrace has apartments for 22 individuals in the community who have experienced persistent homelessness or may be struggling with addiction or mental health issues.
In July 2017, the WWHT received final approval to transform the dilapidated Lamplighter Hotel on North Putney Road into an apartment complex. WWHT partnered with Health Care & Rehabilitation Services of Vermont and Groundworks Collaborative to provide services on site in a central office building between the site's two strips of apartments. The central office building also has a gathering area and a kitchen.
It is the first permanent supportive housing project in southern Vermont. According to WWHT, "supportive housing combines affordable housing with services — most often located on-site — that can help people who face complex challenges live with stability and dignity.
Supportive housing targets the most vulnerable people and gives them the support they need to live a full and healthy life. It provides chronically homeless people a way out of expensive emergency public services, and into their own homes and communities."
According to WWHT, permanent supportive housing is a "housing first model," with no conditions for sobriety or other preconditions to obtain or maintain housing and there is no time limit on occupancy.
On-site services, which are voluntary, include health counseling, substance abuse counseling and support, life skills education and coaching, employment referral and support, financial capability support, health and wellness coaching, and 24-hour crisis services.