Posted by Sue Copley on Dec 30, 2016
Dear Members and Friends of Monadnock Rotary,
  
On December 27th our club had a special treat: Emily Garland, a recent ConVal graduate who is now a student at Endicott College, shared her work with children and families in refugee camps in northern Greece.  This was not a travelogue, but rather a glimpse into the life of a young woman's decision to do something very concrete to make this world a better place.  Emily's talk included photos of the endless rows of temporary tents housing refugees, unaccompanied minors as well as families from many different countries who fled because of war, famine, violence, and losing their homes to bombings.  She also introduced us to numerous refugee friends who were helping with the NGO projects to improve the sanitation and overall health and nutrition of those in the camps.  When she returned to the U.S. in the fall, Emily continued to volunteer to support refugee families in Boston one day a week -- and she leaves on January 10th for further learning and service projects in various refugee camps in different parts of Greece.  She is a young woman of tremendous courage and compassion, and I think we were all incredibly inspired by her talk and what is perhaps evolving into her life work.
     
At this December 27th meeting Jim Guy gave the Opening Words, a wonderful poem by author Don Miguel Ruiz (on the basis of Jim's Invocation, I subsequently ordered Ruiz's book, "The Four Agreements").  Tom Warren shared a terrific 'hat story' about how how his father, grandfather, and middle school science teacher influenced his life.  And I think we will all remember Tom's 'ice cream cone' story!
 
      January 11th 5 - 8 pm is our annual supper at Reynolds Hall to celebrate the success of the fall's Monadnock Wellness Festival, and to present checks to the local non-profits with whom our club shares the financial success of the 2016 MWF, skilfully chaired by Dale Gabel.  The evening event is also a special time to enjoy the company of club members, friends, potential new members, and representatives of the invited non-profits who will each briefly describe their organization's mission, programs, and services.   So...
          1.  Please invite potential new members to be your guests at this celebratory supper party.
          2.  Go on clubrunner (or email Dale Gabel) with the names of your attendees -- your name, the name of your spouse/partner, the names of your other guests.  This is really important as a firm number is needed in order to have the appropriate amount of food, tables, etc.
          3.  Please bring something to contribute to the "drinks table" to be shared with those present.
          4.  As Rotarians, please try to "spread out" among the tables so that we can all meet guests and help host.  We don't want "some tables of Rotarians and some tables of guests"!
          5.  Come and enjoy stimulating conversations, delicious appetizers, and a special buffet dinner, all prepared by Lou-Ann Poor with the able assistance of Chuck Simpson; it will be a worthwhile and fun event!!
 
And please Remember:
      o  Tuesday, Jan. 10th:  No Club meeting
 
      o Tuesday, Jan. 17th -- YES!!  Monadnock Rotary will meet for its usual hot breakfast (with thanks to The Dublin General Store) and a meeting featuring a presentation by the Directors of The Grand Monadnock Youth Choirs, Maria Belva and Esther Rhoads.  
          John Goodhue will share Opening Words, and Chuck Simpson will tell us a "Hat Story."   Chuck will be the first club member to start our Winter/Spring theme for hat stories:  What was your first paid job? (not necessarily full-time)  What was it, where was it, what did you actually do, and -- most importantly -- what were the "lessons learned" that have remained with you?  Of course you actually have the option of choosing from any one of your first paid jobs, since the rest of  us will probably not know whether it was actually 'the first' or not!
 
See you at the January 11th, 5 - 8 pm, Post Holiday Monadnock Rotary party at Reynolds Hall! 
 
With gratitude,
        Sue Copley, 2016-2017 President