Charlie called the meeting to order, Julie lead us in the Pledge, Rennie lead us in the Reflection and collected the happy and sad fines.
John T had the 50/50 raffle ticket, no winner. Happy Birthday anyway John!
The calendar raffle winners were Linda Largey (John T) and Sheila Duvarney (Loiuse).
Our guest was Ellen Gale, President of the Montachusett Rotary Club in Leominster.
Jai Fields and Joseph, honorary members awaiting their 90 day final approval, were in attendance. Monalisa Dupiton was present as Jai's guest.
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We watched Part 2 of the video "Is Your Chapter Welcoming?"
GENERAL TOPICS
Charlie and Frank will be seeing Pam Anastasi this week, and will get more info regarding the Guatemala trip.
The Johnny Appleseed Festival is coming up quickly - stay tuned for more details.
Our off-site meeting at AIS is set for 9/16. Lunch will be provided by AIS and is buffet style. We voted to pay our regular price for lunch and to donate the funds to the Bahamas Hurricane relief project. The format for the meeting will be a brief 15-minute meeting, then a tour of the facilities. NO open-toed shoes allowed!
Ruby has stepped up to chair the calendar project. She is currently selecting pictures for the months.
John T mentioned a raffle basket and placemat fundraiser. Watch for more info.
Claire suggested that we sponsor a fun community project/event, as opposed to a fundraiser. Build-A-Bear is one potential option. For example, we could get 100 bears, and hold a contest to determine which kids from the school we choose will get to participate. Details need to be worked out but we all agreed this is a great idea.
Louise has several teddy bears to donate to the local hospital, and suggested doing the Build-A-Bear event the same month as the teddy bear donations to make it a "kids' month".
Former DG Mike Ellis will speak to us on September 30, and all are welcome to stay longer after the meeting to hear more from Mike.
Julie will be documenting project status and completion dates (more info needed on this task).
Claire is now our official Speaker Chair. Speaker suggestions should be run past Claire.
Mary will confirm the lunch price for our Oct 21 joint meeting with the Fitchburg club.
On October 28, Julie, Johnny, Ruby and Christine will present suggestions that came up during the "newbies" meeting.
Ellen joined us today to talk about an upcoming event - a Comedy Night fundraiser. The event will be held on Friday October 4th, in Westminster, and tickets are $40 for a meal and the show, or $20 for just the comedy show. Charlie will send an email with more details.
FUN FACT - The Origins of Comedy
Aristotle taught that comedy was generally positive for society, since it brings forth happiness, which for Aristotle was the ideal state, the final goal in any activity. For Aristotle, a comedy did not need to involve risque humor. A comedy is about the fortunate rise of a sympathetic character. Aristotle divides comedy into three categories or subgenres: farce, romantic comedy, and satire.
On the contrary, Plato taught that comedy is a destruction to the self. He believed that it produces an emotion that overrides rational self-control and learning. In The Republic, he says that the guardians of the state should avoid laughter, "for ordinarily when one abandons himself to violent laughter, his condition provokes a violent reaction." Plato says comedy should be tightly controlled if one wants to achieve the ideal state.
