Rotary Club
Of East Hartford
High Gear
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
Sage
ClubRunner

Volume 1 | Issue 41

 

 

It was a cloudy day at the Ridge, with light rain from time to time. Mary Martin was checking people in with her usual efficiency, however Marc Glass’ raffle duties were less than stellar. Not only did he try to hand out twice as many tickets as this author paid for, but the monies collected went astray several times. Perhaps that is why he later attempted to raffle off the mayor’s new car. Luckily, the funds all made their way to their intended destinations so all was well.

Mayor Pays for Own Car Keys
 President Bill got our attention by ringing the bell and we all joined in the Rotary Song and Pledge of Allegiance. He then gave the invocation himself, reciting a prayer from Mother Teresa giving thanks for Passover, Easter and our Freedom. We then proceeded to the lunch buffet, consisting of mashed potatoes, veggies and stewed beef. Salad and bread filled out the lunch menu.
 
After eating we sang the welcome song, even though we did not have any guests to which we could sing. It was good practice, especially for some. You know who you are, J.
 
Happy Jack then gave us our Sergeant-At-Arms report.
                Marc Glass paid for having his picture in the paper yet again, as well as Jay Stewart’s return to the ridge.
                George Schoen, President Bill, Art Bradbury and Ruth Sheehan all paid for the Red Sox’s good start to the season, reveling in that it was better than the Yankees’ start. Enjoy it while it lasts!
                Jay Stewart paid because she was glad to be here.
                George Agnelli paid handsomely because he was glad Jay was back as well.
                Peter and Sue Klock paid because they are looking forward to visiting their grandson in Paris next week.
                Wes Willett paid for his first attempt at writing High Gear.
                Frank Collins paid for a great Mystery Ride.
                Bob Buettner paid for leaving early as well as for disrespecting the Sergeant-At-Arms.
 
Jack Martin concluded his report noting that we would later be raffling off the keys to a new Ford Explorer. License plate EH 1 comes with the car. Mayor Marcia pre-empted this by purchasing her keys back for $4.
Suddenly The Whole Car is At Risk
There being no caring moments, President Bill presented Janet Pearson with her permanent badge, and then made the following announcements:
 
                Larry Hangland has finished creating new pages for the Sergeant-At-Arms book.
 
                President Bill attended the West Hartford Rotary club meeting on Monday which featured Dr. Binod, who was representing the Eye Clinic in Calcutta, which our club is sponsoring. Among other things, the clinic performs thousands of cataract surgeries each year, at the cost of $20 apiece. President Bill was presented with a Mother Teresa pin in recognition of our club donation to the cause.
 
                District Training is Wed, May 10 in the morning. All new officers should register. The club will pay the $30 registration fee.
 
                Kevin Kickery will coordinate names of people going to the May 13 Rock Cats game. Let Kevin know if you would like to attend. BBQ dinner is included and $4 from each ticket will be donated to the fight against Polio.
 
                Alex Wisz expects a full house at the meeting next week, as Apr 19 is Job Shadow day. An additional 40 people might be joining us for lunch.
 
                Mary Martin distributed a list of Charitable Fund donations which are partially funded from the proceeds of the annual raffle. Members’ tickets were distributed as we came in. As usual, each member (save one) is expected to sell 20 tickets. George Agnelli of course is expected to sell at least 200. The man is amazing. Please turn in your money and tickets as soon as you have completed a book. All monies are due back by May 31st, with the actual raffle being held on June 7th.
Marc Glass then held the raffle. Since Larry Hangland who won last week was not present, Marc first tried to pick a ticket for himself. Having lost track of the winnings, he told everyone that the winner would need to collect from Jack Martin. Happy Jack was having nothing to do with that. Still trying to distract attention from the missing envelope, Marc announced that the keys having been sold, he would be raffling off Mayor Marcia’s car itself. The Mayor then drew the winning ticket, and Bob Buettner was the lucky winner. Mary Martin let Marc know that he had previously given her the envelope with the winnings and so Bob got cash rather than the Mayor’s car.
Car Crisis Averted, the Mayor Reports 
 Mayor Marcia was our speaker today, giving a review of the challenges the town faces in developing the annual budget. The state has been cutting back on the amount of money being distributed the towns, East Hartford included.
 
Our current budget has a structural deficit of approx. $2M. This has forced the town to struggle to find ways to balance the budget with less income than was expected.
 
A budget freeze was enacted and a variety of savings measures were implemented. Some highlights : Planned hiring was put off and half a position was eliminated. New technology was used to help increase collections. Savings are starting to kick in from the rollout of LED street lighting.
 
Thanks to these efforts it looks like we are able to come close to making up for the decreased revenue. Next year’s budget has been approved by the town council. The increase over last year is only 1.3%, less than the rate of inflation. The budget increase over the last 3 years has only been 3%.
 
On the development side, East Hartford has been able to secure several planning grants in order to move forward with the Silver Lane Corridor project. The planned development includes the area of Silver Lane between Main St and Forbes St.  East Hartford secured a $3M grant to acquire distressed properties on Silver Lane. The outlet mall at Rentschler field is expected to proceed.
 
Mayor Marcia then answered several questions. It looks like hopes for having the casino be located in East Hartford are dim. The volunteer Patriotic Commission, which is in charge of managing the Memorial Day Parade, voted in January to forgo this year. Eversource is contributing to the fireworks display for the Fourth of July, as the town does not contribute towards that event.  All in all, a comprehensive report from our Mayor and fellow Rotarian.
 
So, the initial High Gear effort is at end. Let’s see if my mentor approves.
 
Wes Willett
 
 
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