Last Friday our members were happier than usual to see Jim Russell at our meeting. Only a few days prior, Jim’s daughter Michelle had lost her brave battle with breast cancer. While Jim’s heart was breaking, he chose to come and spend some time with those he knew would offer him some comfort and solace. As one member put it, “what better place to be at a time like this, than surrounded by friends.” Jim also showed us what true courage and fortitude is. He turned his sorrow into a positive by purchasing a $1,000 sponsorship in Michelle’s name for “The Big Cocktail Party” on June 6th, which is to benefit the Baystate’s Health Heart and Vascular Program. Our speaker (AnnMarie Harding) was almost speechless and couldn’t believe Jim’s generosity. Those of us who know Jim were not surprised. Jim, you showed us once again what class is. We are honored and humbled to know you and have you as a member of our club for over 50 years.
AnnMarie Harding, is the Public Relations Director and Event Planner at Max’s Tavern at The Basketball Hall of Fame. She is a heart surgery survivor and is passionate about Baystate’s Health Heart and Vascular Program. We enjoyed a few laughs during her talk and would welcome her back to speak to our club anytime.
This Friday May 10th our speakers will be John Skypeck and Carol Howland. John and Carol will talk about The Western Massachusetts Chapter of SCORE. SCORE provides FREE, confidential counseling to small business entrepreneurs at 7 locations in the area. Businesses receive free advice from local experts to help start or grow their small business. Sounds like a topic you won’t want to miss.
The 2nd Annual Chalk It Up event is less than 10 days away on Saturday, May 18th! Steve Jablonski and Jack Toner are looking for volunteers for that day. Please contact Steve or Jack to sign up or for more information.
Don’t forget to “Save the Date! “ on June 18th. It is our Paul Harris Awards Dinner when our club will be giving away $10,000 in grants to area non-profits. You won’t want to miss it. See the bulletin for more details.
Drowning is the 2nd leading Cause accidental death in children under the age of 5. This hits home for me as my son Marc was pulled lifeless from a pool on his first day of camp. After twenty-five minutes he was resuscitated and rushed to the hospital. He miraculously survived. He is now living with brain damage as a result of the non-fatal drowning. It was so painful to know that my son will never be the same and I promised myself that this should not happen to any other child again. So, I started the Miracle Marc Foundation.
The Miracle Marc Foundation mission is to raise awareness about water safety, provide support to families to access swimming lessons, and most importantly, advocate for change of legislation and policy. Our mandate will be that, “the rates in child drowning decrease in the next decade.” We can do this! It all starts at home in our community. We do this by providing scholarships for children to attend free private swimming lessons. On November 1st, 2018 the first class of Miracle Marc swimmers started lessons with Water Wonders Swim School. Families can apply and learn more by going to our website www.miraclemarcfoundation.org
THIS WEEK'S Speakers are John Skypeck and Carol Howland. John and Carol will talk about The Western Massachusetts Chapter of SCORE. SCORE provides FREE, confidential counseling to small business entrepreneurs at 7 locations in the area. Businesses receive free advice from local experts to help start or grow their small business. They are the nation’s largest volunteer business counseling service. A nonprofit association dedicated to help those in business, about to start one, or just thinking about it. SCORE Chapters provide FREE mentoring to small business owners and startups.
Last Week’s Speaker (insert pic). Last week we had a few laughs with AnnMarie Harding, Public Relations Director and Event Planner at Max’s Tavern at The Basketball Hall of Fame. AnnMarie is a heart surgery survivor and is passionate about Baystate’s Health Heart and Vascular Program. AnnMarie managed to make us laugh during her talk and invited us all to “The BIG Cocktail Party”, a benefit for the heart and vascular program on Thursday, June 6th. She also offered anyone who could bring in a $1,000 sponsor for the event a free ticket ($110 value). Our very own Jim Russell stepped up and purchased a sponsorship in his daughter Michelle's name. Michelle passed away last week after a long battle with breast cancer. AnnMarie was speechless but our members were not surprised as Jim has shown his generosity in numerous ways throughout the years and continues to make a difference in our community. Thank you Jim!
Thank you to Mike Rzepka, Bob Dambrov, Michael Cooley, Paul Lambert, Tracy Woods, Anita and Dene Kimballfor serving Dinner at the Friends of the Homeless Shelter on May 2nd. Our next night for serving dinner will be Thursday June 6th. If you can help out, please email Mike Rzepka at mrzepka@dowd.com or by text.at 413-531-4104.. Thank you!
Just in time for Mother’s Day! Gardening The Community’s Annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 11 from 9am-1pm at 200 Walnut St, Springfield. Plus free workshops from 10am-12N. For more info visit http://www.gardeningthecommunity.org
Chalk It Up! less than 10 days away on May 18th. There is still time to sign up sponsors or make a donation to the event. Steve Jablonski and Jack Toner are also looking for volunteers for that day. This is a great opportunity to have your business associated with Springfield children/schools, Art, and Rotary. A real trifecta! Please contact Steve Jablonski steve@jdarchitects.com or Jack Toner jtoner@sumnertoner.comfor more information.
The District Assembly is Wednesday, May 15 and is not only for Presidents, President-Elects, Treasurers and Secretaries. It is for ALL Rotarians interested in learning more about Rotary for the upcoming year. The club will pay the $40 registration fee. There will be a full breakfast. It will be a morning of brainstorming and sharing ways and methods for setting and achieving goals for our club. I promise you, you will learn things that will help you in your professional life as well as feeling more fulfilled and empowered as a Rotarian. What do you have to lose? Please sign up today at https://bit.ly/2LcxwnN
SAVE THE DATE” June 18th, 2019 at 5:30 p.m. will be our Paul Harris Dinner. Because of everyone’s hard work this year on our fundraisers, we are able to award $10,000 in community grants to area non-profits at the dinner. Please share this link for the application below with a non-profit that you believe should be supported. Thank you to Alicia Garcia for taking the lead on the grant submission process. We are also looking to form a committee to help iron out the details. If you would like to help out please contact Jack Toner at jtoner@sumnertoner.com.
May 10th is National Small Business Day! National Small Business Day celebrates small businesses and honors small business owners. It was officially designated by the Small Business Administration and occurs around the same time of year that National Small Business Week takes place, which honors important small businesses around the country.
Dene Kimball could use a little help with displaying our Rotary flags at meetings. Dene is planning some extended vacation time soon and would like a few Rotarians to volunteer and put up the flags while he’s away (or give him a break now and then). The flags are stored at Max’s and only take a few minutes to put up or take down. Please talk to Dene about helping out. And thank you for your participation in helping to display our flags!
Do you have some news or information that might be of interest to fellow Rotarians? Please send it to Gillian Palmer at gpalmer@baypath.edu by Monday of each week for inclusion. Our weekly Bulletin goes out to more than 70 local leaders every week and is a wonderful way to spread your message. Subject to approval.
Did you know you can easily reach the Rotarian Magazine, Rotary International, the District website and our own club website right from this bulletin? Well you can! Just check out the links under "ROTARY ONLINE" on your left.
Club Information
Rotary Club of Springfield - Meeting Fridays-12:15 PM
Service Above Self
We meet Fridays at 12:15 PM
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
1150 West Columbus Ave.,
MassMutual Room
Springfield,
MA 01105 United States
