Home Page | Rotary Club of Great Barrington

The Great Barrington Rotary Club 2021 Scholarship applications will be available on February 1, 2021. The applications may be accessed through the following link: greatbarringtonrotary.awardspring.com

Applicants must be graduates of Mount Everett or Monument Mountain High Schools. Students must be planning to attend a college, university, or technical school in the fall of 2021. Scholarships are for undergraduate programs only. Recipients are selected primarily on financial need with consideration of grades and school and community involvement.

The club supports scholarships primarily through our Annual Golf Tournament “Drive for Scholarships” held at Wyantenuck Country Club in July. The Club holds other events such as Truck Day, Pumpkinfest and Bike n Fly to support the students. The Student Assistance Fund of Rotary also accepts individual donations.

The applications are due electronically by April 15, 2021. Awards will be presented in May.

Monthly food collection for the People's Pantry--March 4

Dear Fellow Rotarians.

The Pantry is still hopping! Numbers of people served on Thursdays continues at high levels which means the need is great. As previously reported, led by Anne Hutchinson, we have expanded our services by an extra day by being open on Monday evenings from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. The extra day program started on February 3 with other openings on February 10, 17, 24 and as I write this on March 2. The Pantry has never done this before. Things started slowly as one might imagine but the word is getting out. The evening opening is popular with folks who cannot get to our regular weekly Thursday morning openings.

All of this is by way of saying that, as usual, we need all the help we can get. Please show your support for this important community organization by bringing in food for Wednesday's Rotary meeting (or the week after or the week after that). The choice is yours: Canned soups, canned vegetables, pasta sauce, peanut butter, tuna and beans. Packaged items: cereal, rice, pasta. Toilet paper is always needed. Thanks to all of you that donate food on a regular basis.

Cash is an alternative to food donations. Checks preferred but we will also accept currency. Thanks to all those who are writing regular monthly or quarterly checks. A very faithful bunch.

There are three Rotarians who serve on the People's Pantry Board: Our Club President, Jessica Speer-Holmes, Anne Hutchinson and me. As previously reported, Anne was recently elected to the post of Vice President for Operations.

See you Wednesday!

George

PS: This time of year, be careful about storing canned goods in your car. A very cold night will likely freeze the contents and rupture the can's seal creating a little crack that cannot necessarily be seen. But the microbes can see the crack and will move right in.

Community Wide Book Read of No Visible Bruises Discussion Next Week

Today will be our club's discussion of No Visible Bruises by Rachel Louise Snyder. All are welcome and encouraged to attend and bring guests, regardless of whether you have read the book! No Visible Bruises was recently names as one of the Times Critics Top Books of 2019: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/books/times-critics-top-books-of-2019.html Our presentation and discussion will be facilitated by Dr.Susan Birns, anprofessor emerita at MCLA with an extensive background in family violence. Dr.Birns serves on the board of advisors for the Elizabeth Freeman Center and is a member of the executive committee of the Berkshire Country Domestic and Sexual Violence Task Force.

Today's Meeting is at Koi, $15 per person

Please remember, today's meeting will be held at Koi on 300 State Road in Great Barrington due to an annual conflict at Crissey Farm. The cost will be $15 per person. There will be choices for your lunch dish. Koi has been wonderfully accommodating and gracious about hosting us. See you there!

Youth Exchange Ski Weekend January 24 - 26

The Youth Exchange Ski Weekend will be hosted by our club at Butternut this weekend! Many thanks to those of you who have already signed up to volunteer, to host students or to run the whole thing (Anne!). We have two critical volunteer jobs left to fill. We need a Rotarian to pick up lunch each day and bring it to the Youth Exchange Students in the lodge at Butternut at 11:30am (and ideally, join the students for lunch). This can be a different volunteer for Saturday and Sunday. Rotary pays for the lunch. Please sign up using the following Sign-Up Genius link or let Anne Hutchinson or Jess Speer-Holmes know if you can help with this job: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d48aaa629abf49-youth1

Rotarians and their family or friends are invited to join the Youth Exchange Students for dinner Friday night at the Pizza House at 6:30pm or Saturday night at Fiddleheads at 6:00pm. Please see details and link for Evite to RSVP below. If you would prefer not to deal with Evite online but would like to attend, please let Anne Hutchinson or Jess Speer-Holmes know. Please RSVP no later than Thursday (today would be ideal)!

Friday night dinner: Pizza House, 6:30pm, Food and soda will be paid for by Rotary for all. Beer or other alcoholic beverages will not be paid for by Rotary. Evite link to RSVP - http://evite.me/HZFgJB7VmR

Saturday night dinner: Fiddleheads, 6:00pm, $30 per person will cover pasta buffet (including veggies and proteins), dessert, soda, coffee, tax and tip. Bar tab will be extra. Rotarians and their family/friends pay for themselves. Rotary pays for the Youth Exchange Students. Evite link to RSVP - http://evite.me/DeuUmKcd5g

Breaking Bread Chili Throwdown Fundraiser

Breaking Bread Kitchen will host its first annual Chili Throwdown Fundraiser to benefit Breaking Bread Community Meals for those in need in Southern Berkshire County. It will feature chilis from "some of your favorite restaurants and chefs!" The cost is $25 per person. There will be a cash bar, a Spin the Bottle Wine Pull and an auction. The event will be held from 5:30pm until 8:00pm on Saturday February 29 at the American Legion Hall in Sheffield. This is a great opportunity to support an organization with which Rotary is deeply involved as one of the key teams providing the meals throughout the year.

Please spread the word about the NYC bus trip

Please help spread the word about the December 21st bus to NYC sponsored by Rotary. Tickets are $50 round trip (which is a great bargain). Oskar and Mike are leading the trip (can't think of anyone more fun for the job). This is an important fundraiser for the club. Please spread the word. One easy way is by sharing the Facebook event by going to the Great Barrington Rotary page, clicking on the event, clicking on the "share" button and choosing from the various ways to share. Tickets and more details may be found at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/holiday-shopping-trip-to-nyc-tickets-70162490899?fbclid=IwAR3ifnuQTcf18buqOXmgjeNpbfsVwKtq791wU-cqq3bu4jXjYZzC9hs6hDU

A Jolly Time Decorating Downtown

Many thanks to all who helped hang the holiday decorations downtown on Saturday. Everything looks great and a jolly time was had by all. Special thanks to Peter Dillon for organizing!

WSBS Radiothon for the Watson Fund Raised More than $6600

We had a very successful Radiothon Monday with over $6,600 raised. Ed McCormick, Julie Hannum and Bobbie Hallig rocked it as part of the on-air team. Stephanie Carlson, Barbara Manring and Ray Murray volunteered to answer the phones and take pledges. We were very pleased with the results! Many thanks to those Rotarians who made it happen, to Smitty Pignatelli for helping out and to WSBS for giving us this valuable time on the air.

Volunteers needed for Watson Fund Radiothon on WSBS

Volunteers needed for the Watson Fund Radiothon being held as part of the Smitty Pignatelli radio show on WSBS, Monday December 9 from 7:00 to 10:00 am. Two different shifts answering the phones or delivering pledges. 7-8:30 am and 8:30-10:00 am. Our own Julie Hannum, Bobbie Hallig and Ed McCormick will be on air. It is busy and fun! Please let Ray Murray know ASAP if you can help. rmurray@raymurray.com , (413) 822-3890

Tutors Needed for the Literacy Network of South Berkshire

The Literacy Network is looking for new volunteers to tutor adult learners in Berkshire County. If interested, please contact Susan Borek by email sborek@litnetsb.org or by phone (413) 243-0471.

Restaurant Raffle

Posted by Barbara Manring

I will have restaurant raffle tickets with me tomorrow and appreciate any selling that you are able to do. I will also have an envelope for money to be turned in and one for the stubs. As a reminder, Cheryl and I will be selling the tickets at the Farmer's Market this Saturday so stop by if you would like. Thanks for your help!

Please Sign-Up for Bike N Fly Jobs

Posted by Jessica Speer-Holmes

We need a lot of help to make our annual Bike N Fly event a success. The Bike N Fly is a critical event that brings in important funds we use to support local organizations and to provide scholarships to local students. It is our hope that every Rotarian will come together to help with this event.

You should have received a link to the Sign-Up Genius by email. It is also posted here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d48aaa629abf49-bike1 . Please consider signing up for both a volunteer shift (or more than one!) and to bring food supplies that will be needed for the bikers. If you have questions about the volunteer shifts, please contact Steve Bannon at scbannon@gmail.com or 413-446-6957.

Truck Day

Truck Day is fast approaching! It is next Sunday, May 19th from 10-3 at Butternut. Please sign up on the Volunteer list and please, please sell those Duck Race raffle tickets! More tickets are available from Alice Naylor. Remember, every Volunteer gets a cool Truck Day T-shirt!

Truck Day Sign-Up Link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0a48a5a82ea0fc1-truck3

Great Barrington Rotary Club's Drive for Scholarships

Posted by Barbara Manring

The Drive for Scholarships continues to receive business sponsorships for the Golf Tournament which takes place on July 25. To date we have $20,050 in hand with additional pledges awaiting payment. The business sponsorship component forms the base of the money we raise.

A second component of the Drive for Scholarships is the restaurant raffle. Tickets will be available at Rotary on June 26th and the cost is $5 per ticket and 20 for a book of 5. There will be 24+ restaurants included for the two drawings which will take place at the Golf Tournament. A list of the participating restaurants will be available at the Rotary meeting as well. Selling restaurant raffle tickets is not required, but it is hoped that you will want to sell some.

Cheryl and I will be at the Great Barrington Farmer’s Market on July 13th selling tickets and we will also have Rotary materials at the table.

A third component of the Drive for Scholarships is the Circle of Friends through which we send out letters to individuals asking for donations to Rotary’s Student Assistance Fund. This will begin early July and this year we will be writing notes on the requests with the hopes of receiving a larger number of donations.

The Golf Tournament at the Wyantenuck Country Club is the climax of the Drive for Scholarships which attracts a full number of teams. The golf fees, on course games and raffles pay for the Tournament. The money for scholarships is primarily earned through the three other components of the Drive for Scholarships.

Thank you for all the support you give to raising funds for much needed scholarships!

Barbara

Spring NYC Bus Trip

Posted by Oskar Hallig

Ads deadline extended for the 2019 Rotary Book

Posted by Alice Naylor

Please help solicit ads for the new Rotary Book which will replace the program traditionally distributed at the Bike N Fly. The new booklet will be a comprehensive booklet highlighting all of the work Great Barrington does in our community and internationally. It will be distributed at all Rotary events including Truck Day, the Bike N Fly and the Drive for Scholarships. All sponsors of those events receive a $50 credit toward an ad in the booklet. It is our hope that this new approach will help us consolidate our sponsor solicitations for the year rather than approaching businesses multiple times in one year. It will also give sponsors more exposure by including them in the booklet that will be distributed throughout the year. Ad order forms and an ad size sheet may be found on the left-hand side of our website home page under "home page download files" at the following link: https://gb-rotary.org/ Please note, there is a special ad form for event sponsors (which includes their $50 credit) and there is a separate form for those who do not otherwise sponsor an event. Please contact Alice Naylor with any questions.

RSVP Needed for Regular April 17 Meeting

Posted by Jessica Speer-Holmes

We anticipate a lot of people being out of town for the school break next week. It would be helpful for Crissey Farm to have a count for the meal for the meeting to be held on April 17. Crissey Farm has been very accommodating and flexible in not requiring us to give them a set number of attendees in advance for each lunch meeting or to pay for a set minimum so we are trying hard to give them the information they need for this particular meeting. Please use this Evite you should have received by email to indicate whether or not you plan to attend by Monday, April 15. The link to the Evite is here: https://www.evite.com/event/02AFKHVNVV6VDQE5AEPJLOAD3RTQHA/rsvp

Citizen of the Year

Posted by Michael Wise

This annual award event is coming up in June. Please nominate someone you believe deserves this recognition. Forms for this purpose, along with an explanation of the criteria for the award, will be available at the meetings this week and next.

Bike and Fly Signs

Posted by Michael Wise

If you have Bike & Fly lawn signs from last year (or before), please get in touch with Michael Wise. We need to know how many have to be updated, or replaced, for this year’s event.

Prizes Needed for One Raffle Basket

Posted by Louann Harvey

This is just a friendly reminder of our remaining raffle basket -

Date Night which will be raffled off at Bike N' Fly - Dinner Gift Certificates - Board Games - Candles - Theatre Tickets (Richard Gave Tri-Plex already)

Again, please use your imagination here too.

Thank you for helping with this !!!

Louann

Volunteers are needed for Youth Exchange Ski Weekend January 26-27

Several volunteers are needed to help with parts of the Youth Exchange Ski Weekend our club will host January 26-27. John Benedict is in charge. Please contact him with any questions directly via johnrbenedict@gmail.com. Please use the Sign-Up Genius link to sign up for a volunteer slot at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d48aaa629abf49-youth.

Monthly People's Pantry Donation - Shampoo

Wednesday, December 4 is the People's Pantry collection date for the month of December.

Shampoo! Shampoo is consistent with the toothpaste we brought in last month. Hopefully, each donor will bring in multiple bottles.

Checks and currency are very welcome as well.

See you on Wednesday. Please support the People's Pantry!

George

President's Message

Posted by Jessica Speer Holmes

Hello all,

I won't be able to join you this week as I am part of an all-day conference call with YMCA of the USA. Thank you to Barbara Manring for leading today's meeting

Three notes for this week:

1) It is not too late to make People's Pantry donations for this month. Please see George's message below for information.

2) Our April 22 regular lunch meeting at Crissey Farm will not be held. We anticipate low attendance due to the school vacation and would like to be respectful of Crissey Farm's need for good attendance to make the function worthwhile for them from a business standpoint.

3) There will be a Truck Day meeting on Tuesday, March 17 at 5pm at The Brewery. Please join us. These meetings are always fun and many hands will make light work of Truck Day 2020.

See you next week!

Jess

Volunteers Needed for Watson Fund Radiothon

We are seeking volunteers to help out from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM on Friday, December 7. We need one Rotarian to be on air from 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM and 2-3 additional Rotarians from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM to take pledges. Please contact Susan Smith if you can help. Her email address is ssmithlaw@barringtonlawoffice.com

Welcome to our Club!

Service Above Self

We meet Wednesdays at 12:15 PM
Crissey Farm

424 Stockbridge Road (Route 7)
Great Barrington, MA 01230
United States of America

District Site

Venue Map

Catherine Coleman Flowers reveals Americas dirty secret

Flowers discusses the inadequate management of wastewater in rural communities, bridging partisan divides, the ways those two topics intersect — and how Rotarians can be part of the solution

Water for Peace

The Supurunda Water Supply Project in Papua New Guinea has been a successful example of how Rotary is advancing peace and providing clean water and sanitation.

Club innovation: The expat experience