On April 7, Reading Rotarian and Eagle Scout John Halsey presented certificates of congratulations to Troop 702's new Eagle Scouts, Ben House and Bryan Doucette at their Eagle Court of Honor.  John has been working with District Governor David Gardner to strengthen the partnership between Rotary and Scouting.  John is also on a Council Member for the Spirit of Adventure Council, which includes Reading.  John has been busy attending Eagle Courts of Honor in Reading as Troop 702 (sponsored by Old South Church) and Troop 728 (sponsored by St. Agnes) have been producing a lot of Scouts reaching the Eagle rank.  In his remarks during the Court of Honor, John said that Reading is known in the Spirit of Adventure Council as the Eagle's Nest because the town has produced more Eagle Scouts over the past 12 years than any other municipality in the Council, including Boston and much larger cities and towns.

 

Reading Rotary will contribute to Boy Scouts working on their Eagle Service Project and Girl Scouts working on their Gold Award Project.  We donated $200 to Bryan's Eagle Project, improvements to the Pinevale Conservation Area trail.

 

Ben's Eagle Project was the creation of over 70 care packages that were sent to veterans overseas.

 

The Eagle Scout Service Project requires the Scout to conceive of and oversee a community service project involving many volunteers.  The beneficiary of the project must be a charitable or municipal entity.  The Scout must obtain approval from his Troop and Council, raise all the funds needed, then oversee the project to completion, following all required safety and other requirements.  

 

Rotary partners with Scouting because we both share the same mission of service to the community.

 

Congratulations, Ben and Bryan, on your impressive achievements.

 

Our speakers at today's meeting were senior members of the Girls' and Boys' Varsity Basketball Teams to tell us about their experience serving meals at Rosie's Place, a soup kitchen for women in Boston's South End.  Kalli Doherty, Matt Panacopolous, Alex Perez, Katie Nestor and Alec Gibbs recently went with  other members of the basketball squads to prepare and serve meals at Rosie's Place.  Rosie's Place has a program where groups can sponsor a meal and prepare and serve it.  Reading Rotary paid the cost for these athletes to participate.

 

They spoke about how moved they were by the experience.  They had the opportunity to meet and speak with women in need and each expressed that the experience made them more appreciative of what they have.

Please take note that our next Evening Social Meeting (April 18) will be at Biltmore & Main.  Make sure to check our Calendar for upcoming events.

 

Please also try to invite a friend or someone who may benefit from Rotary to this next Social.  The more the merrier!

Our Club will participate in the Service Week Project that the District will hold on May 21-25.  Our efforts will be in the area of serving lunch at the New England Center and Home for Veterans in Boston on May 21, 2018.  Only twelve (12) people may travel into Boston on that day.  Volunteers must be available from 10:00-2:00.  We will meet at the RMHS and car pool in from there.  We should return by 2:00.  Whether people volunteer to serve lunch that day or not, the club is also holding an underwear drive for the residents at the Veteran’s Home.  Contributions of underwear, both men’s and women’s, are due at our May 14th meeting.  Alternatively, Maureen Hanifan has offered to take cash contributions and she will make a bulk purchase.  Donations to Maureen are due by May 7th’s meeting.  If members are interested in serving lunch that day, the first 12 people to make a request to President Brian via email will go.

The Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) is a multi-district, grassroots leadership development program of member districts organized into regional divisions in various parts of the world.
 
RLI seeks to have Rotary Clubs in its member districts identify those Rotarians who appear to have the potential for future club leadership (not necessarily as club presidents) and provide those so identified with a quality education in Rotary knowledge and leadership skills so important in voluntary organizations.

 

RLI will take place on Saturday, April 28 from 7:30-3:30 at the Four Points Sheraton in Wakefield.  All Rotarians are encouraged to consider attending, especially if you are undertaking a leadership position (Officer, Director, Chair).

 

The multi-District Summit at Washington will be held May 4-6.

 

President Elect Tim is asking as many of the incoming Officers and Directors to attend the District Assembly on April 19 at the Four Points Sheraton in nearby Wakefield.  It runs from 3-6:30 pm.

 

Keep our schedule of meetings and events at the tip of your fingers.  You can sync the Club Calendar on ReadingMaRotary.org with Outlook, Google Calendar or Apple Calendar on your personal device.  Go to this page, click subscribe and follow the instructions.