Charlie called the meeting to order, Frank lead us in the Pledge and Rennie lead the Reflection
Julie won the 50/50, and against all odds, won the $7 pot! A winner two weeks in a row :)
The calendar raffle winners were John Diggins $50 (Lisa), Donna Babeu $50 (Louise), and the big winner for the year - Norma Legreaux $250 (Christine)
Membership Update
No updates this week
FORUM MEETING
Election of Officers for 2020
We voted for Officers today according to the list handed out over the last 2 meetings. All officers as listed were approved.
Next month, the Board will vote on some minor by-law changes.
General Topics
Our holiday dinner at Brady's was a huge success. The price, food, and service were tremendous. Special THANKS to Dean for running the Yankee Swap, and buying the first round!
Pam Anastasi has committed to the Polar Plunge for Polio again this year. Please consider donating to her worthy cause.
Raffle Calendars are now available for sale. Our goal is to sell a minimum of 10 each. When selling, emphasis the terrific odds of winning, and that buyers can really help the community by purchasing a calendar.
There will be a dinner to celebrate the success of the Breakfast for the Bands. This will most likely be held at Brady's. Details to come. We will also give our appreciation to staff from Manor on the Hill for their volunteer service at the Breakfast.
The Build-A-Bear project is almost underway. Claire told us that the bears' shirts will not have the Rotary logo embroidered on them, but Charlie will look into ordering Rotary pins instead, possibly at no cost. Ruby, Christine, Claire, and Louise will pick up the completed posters on January 3rd, and we will set up a "social" judging event for the following Saturday. We are checking into holding the social at the Gazbar back room.
Charlie and Christine visited the Northstar shelter, and Christine updated us on a potential service project where club members can run the shelter for a week, making dinners for 5 families nightly. Another service project opportunity is working with Catholic Charities by providing food, clothing, and coat drives.
The Guatemala clean water project is in full planning stage. Johnny has his itinerary, and payment has to be submitted over the next couple of weeks.
The District Assembly will be held in Leominster next year, at the Doubletree Hotel. There will be new member and other training workshops to attend. This is a wonderful opportunity for everyone, especially considering the Leominster location. The date is April 18, 2020. Stay tuned for more information.
For Rotary apparel, Northeast Apparel on Hamilton St in Leominster has our logo file. Stop in and order from their extensive catalogs. Charlie will invite the owner in to speak to the group soon.
Snow Globe
Interesting Facts
Initially snow globes consisted of a heavy lead glass dome which was placed over a ceramic figure or tableau on a black cast ceramic base, filled with water and then sealed. The snow or "flitter" was created by use of human bone chips or pieces of porcelain, sand or even sawdust. As they became more sophisticated, the glass became thinner, the bases were lighter (Bakelite was popular during the Art Deco period) and the snow was made out of particles of gold foil or non-soluble soap flakes. For health and safety reasons, white plastic has become more common in the construction of modern snow globes. The liquid has evolved to light oil and then a mixture of water and antifreeze (glycerin or glycol). An added benefit was that glycerin and glycol slowed the descent of the snow. Caution should be taken if a snow globe is broken because the liquid, which can contain antifreeze, can be deadly to cats and dogs if ingested or licked off their fur.
