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New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                           May 29, 2008

 

A large crowd gathered at the Roger on a lovely spring day to celebrate Rotary and share fellowship with fellow Rotarians.  President Amy was in the house and called the meeting to order at the prescribed hour and then called on the venerable and august Roy Riggio for the grace.  To the amazement of all, he intoned, “Rub a dub dub, God thanks for the grub.”  In the wink of an eye he appeared less venerable and august.

 

David Rucci brought Ron Balzano as his guest.  Tracy Forbes and Pamela Andrews were also in attendance from the Miss Fairfield County Scholarship Program, accompanying our speaker [more later].

 

Amy announced that as part of the NCHS graduation festivities Phil McLain would be presenting a $1,000 scholarship to a senior student and Frank Bernardo will present a Rotary service award to another graduating student.

 

Fireman Fred then arose from his chair looking strangely incomplete.  He explained the phenomenon by cautioning against betting with the Boy Scouts.  Fred had bet his troop that if they raised $12,000 he would shave his mustache.  They raised $13,000 and the rest is history.  Fred and his Clean Your Mile assistant Laura Rubinfeld, one of whom will be absent and the other leaving early, announced that, weather permitting [check your email if you are in doubt] the Rotary team will assemble in the NCHS parking lot at 9:00 am this Saturday, May 31 [a correction from the bad poop published in this space a week ago] and proceed to clean Farm Road from South Avenue to Old Stamford Road and some portion of South Avenue as well.  Frank Bernardo will man the Karl Chevrolet pickup if the Teamster business agent doesn’t adjust his back.  Service above self.

 

Frank Bernardo, who seemed omnipresent at the meeting then rose to report on the Rotary receptacle project.  Last year the club presented 10 replacements for the aging and unattractive trash cans in town at about $750 a copy.  This year we have furnished an additional three and Frank envisions continuing at that pace until all 25 receptacles are replaced.

 

Frank then rose as the stand-in sergeant-at-arms.  While there were notable contributions, Roy Riggio’s 49^th wedding anniversary trumped by George Magoo’s 50^th, Sandy Malloy’s daughter’s wedding and John Kerchoff learning of his son’s engagement after missing last week’s meeting, the kindest thing that could be said for Frank’s standup material was that it made one pine for Scott or Steve.

 

Ken Campbell continues to overcome his image as just another pretty face by coming up with a broad range of excellent programs.  He certainly outdid himself this week.  He introduced the reigning Miss Fairfield County, Kristen Masterson who quickly put to rest any preconceived notions of pageant contestants as pretty air heads.  Kristen is a cum laude graduate of UCONN who, next year, will either be the new Miss Connecticut or a student in the accelerated Registered Nursing masters program at NYU.  She was a poised and articulate advocate for the hospice concept, which will be her personal cause.  She first became aware of hospice when her 49 year old father was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor which killed him within a year.  Hospice was wonderful to both him and to her and allowed her dad to die with minimum pain and maximum dignity.  Although that hospice was in Texas, she has been volunteering at one in Branford ever since and, following her graduate education, hopes to open her own facility in Fairfield County.  A very impressive young lady who made a strong positive impression on all present.  By the by, she is very pretty.  We don’t know what Ken’s personal cause is, but there were whispers that we should enter him in a pageant!

 

Donald Trump