Thad Omand, guest of Dan Sgalia

 

Kathy Ross and Lea Fulliger, of Dismas House

 

Rich bragged for the VT Farmer's Food Center fundraiser he went to recently

Mike bragged about the experience he had shopping for insurance with Chuck for his soccer program. Chuck took great care of him and even saved him some money!

Joe fined Terry for not letting us know that Castleton has been looking for a new Hockey coach.

Jeff Wennberg bragged for his water treatment guys. Every 3 years, the Fed requires them to test the water for lead and out of the 30 some odd taps tested, 28 had no levels of lead and 2 or 3 only had 1 or 2 parts per million. The federal limit for safety is 15 ppm!

Krista bragged for her camping over weekend.

 

Colie let everyone know about The Rutland Young Professional Mixer happening at The Palms at Prospect Bay on Wednesday night (the 17th of August) at 6:00 PM. The entertainment will be a tequila tasting hosted by Jim Sabotaso.

Lou said that out of the 14 anti-depressant drugs on the market in the US today, all but one was proven in a double blind study to be no more effective than a placebo!

 

Krista provided us with an update from the board:

We are sponsoring a boy scout's summer camp cost.

Raffle:

$17 in little pot, almost $1400 in big one. Joe won little, but not the big one.

 

Kathy is the president of Dismas House of Vermont and also chairs the Jubilee Justice project at Grace Congregational Church. She and her husband live on a hobby farm in Wallingford. Lea is a volunteer who is temporarily in the states, but originally from Zurich, Switzerland. Dismas began in the Vanderbilt era as a program to help convicts become rehabilitated, successful citizens in society. Today, they work closely with The Department of Corrections. Dismas has been in Vermont for 30 years and the house in Rutland is going on its 26th. She is inspired by the dedication of her employees in the work that they do. One adversity they have faced recently is having to reduce their number of housing spaces available for released folks. Dismas is a family mindset. They are required to be at dinner every night at 6pm. They cannot be late. Monday-Friday, volunteers cook food for the residents and either eat w/ them or drop it off. Before the eat, they all share things they are grateful for. Often times, the most encouraging thing that happens to these folks is getting a job. Her hope is that we can all work to not stigmatize and label ex prisoners. They have served their time and paid their debt to society. Allow them another chance. If you or anyone you know could possibly have employment opportunities, reach out to her and let her know.