This Week’s Rotary Chips, January 7, 2013 By Nancy Burzon
Guests:
Congressman Peter Welch
Jahnine Spaulding
Charles Bailey and family
We Missed You: Jeff Chabot, Elias Haj, Gary Ladabouche, Terry Moran, Catherine Nelson, Jacquelyn Rodd, Dick Rohe, Win Thomas, Doug Wilson, Wendy Wilton, Mary Ann Kennedy.
Notices: None
Brags/Fines: Not done due to full agenda.
Announcements:
Caprice, we sponsor the Snowball Dance annually. She is asking people to take some time to attend on Jan. 26. Caprice and Cale are the regulars. Dinner is at 7:00. Let Caprice know if you want to participate.
Chuck, same date is the Mentor Bowling event. Schedule on Jan. 26 at 2:30. There should be no conflict with the Snowball Dance.
Tom announced the Chamber mixer at new the new UPS Store at CVS Plaza. There will be lots of refreshments and lots of stuff to give away.
Rich announced $18,700 net from tree sales. Another $80 came in today from tree sales. Checks are still coming in.
Brian announced that Wed. at 9:00 AM he will take down the lights, put the stands away. Ask for volunteers.
Chuck thanks to Tom and chamber for allowing us to do sales there.
Lou reminded folks to complete the membership survey. Clubs that are sustaining are changing. There is a survey so please fill it out. We want the club to keep growing.
Jason announced the Board meeting on Thursday at 7:30 AM in the usual place.
Hull Maynard, works on Governor’s Council on Veterans Affairs. He has been involved for last 4 years. Given our guests today, he wanted to be sure people were aware of that.
Stephaney shared a Rotary Minute. She researched the 4-way test. What year was it developed? Herbert Taylor, President of Rotary International, wrote it in 1932.
When was Rotary given the right to use 4-way test? Began using it in 1940. It is now translated into 100 languages.
How many words in 4-way test? 24.
It was originally intended as a checklist for ethical behavior and is now a hallmark of Rotary.
Raffle: 502 drawn. Bill won. $915 in big pot. George drew for Bill, 7 of Hearts. The pot is still growing.
Guest Speakers:
Jason Cable introduced Peter Welch, who made a presentation of military awards to Charles Baily, a Vermont man who had lost his original metals in a house fire. The entire Baily family was on hand for the presentation, made in front of the Rutland City Rotary to a standing ovation.
Joan Watson introduced Jahnine Spaulding from Operation: Military Kids. Jeannine is an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer serving with the UVM extension. Any school child that has a loved one in the military can be served and supported by the program. Vermont has highest number of casualties per capita—not a great statisic.
She spoke about the changing nature of military. In Vermont, most are in National Guard. They live in many towns, interspersed in the communities. They have many deployments—up to 4 deployments. In U.S. military, there are typically 365 suicides per year, a 20% rise in last 2 years. It seems to be primarily due to the multiple deployments, as people don’t have much time to bounce back before they are off again. It is very tough on families at home. It is estimated to take about 3-4 years to reintegrate. We are now right in middle of the reintegration process. The process goes smoothly for 85%, but the remaining 15% need more supports. This particularly impacts the kids.
There are many sources of stress. The program is designed to help kids through the process and become more resilient. There are 149 school age children of military families (active duty) in Rutland County. They tend to have anxiety about parent’s safety; loneliness, abandonment. There can be limitations on afterschool and weekend activities due to transportation.
Military bases have supports, hospitals, etc. But, Vermont does not have a base that offers programs for military families.
Jeannine’s role is to educate community members to how they can support better and connect with military members. She helps kids build their network. She needs ideas from the community on how to get the information out to kids.
Thank you Jahnine!
Jason asked us to conclude with a moment of silence for Roy Rotella, who recently passed away.