New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                                            August 20, 2009

 

In the absence of our esteemed President Bill Walbert, President-Elect Scott Hobbs stepped into the breach and rang the bell smartly at 12:15, led the Pledge with military precision and, in the absence of Chaplain Ad, called on the good doctor John Kerchoff who graced us with a generic blessing.  When Ad slunk in late he went meekly to the rear of the chow line and experienced life as the peasants know it.

 

Amy Wilkinson announced last week that she has joined the Domus Foundation, a Stamford based organization servicing the needs of over 600 children from unfortunate circumstances.  This week, by happenstance, our speaker came from Domus.  More about her later.

 

Stand-in Scott arose at 12:45, giving himself ample time to run the business portion of the meeting.  There were no Visiting Rotarians, but Mike Hobbs had two guests;  New Canaan Library Director Alice Knapp, whom he failed to introduce [possibly from the fatigue of having introduced her so many times before, or possibly because he is losing it] and rising Duke sophomore Taylor Clarke, a former student leader at NCHS.

 

Trish reported that an additional five couples have responded positively to her R.I. Convention initiative.  It is becoming clear that you had better get your name on the list pretty darn quickly if you don’t want to be left in the lower 48.  This week’s “Montreal Moment:”  Ile Ste-Helene:  This island is home to the Biosphere, dedicated to environmental education and housed in a spherical dome designed by Buckminster Fuller.

 

Wearing his Lobsterfest hat, Scott reminded everyone to sell tickets, get their checks in to either him or David Rucci, to continue to solicit philanthropic partners [Keith Simpson has successfully recruited the Newcomers Club], and to mark their calendars for the Friday and Saturday evening shifts [the event won’t work without most people working more than one shift].  This is the event that makes all the fun giving possible.  Suck it up and do your share!

 

Wearing his Sergeant-at Arms hat, the versatile Scott then explained the theory of intelligence according to Cliff Claven.  Most enlightening.  As he moved among the crowd, Steve Risbridger volunteered a happy dollar for an anniversary [he couldn’t remember which.  Gee, I hope this doesn’t get him in trouble at home].

 

Ken Campbell then introduced our speaker, Domus teacher Garland Walton, a recent Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to France, the result of what she described as a lifelong “unhealthy obsession” with that country.  She explained the application process, what she wanted from the experience, what she did while in France, her impressions of the country and its people, and how she has used this unique experience to inspire her Domus students.  Judging from her performance here, we could not have had a better ambassador.

 

Maurice Chevalier