Please welcome to Mary E. Oliveira who joined Bristol Rotary recently. Mary is a former teacher of Portuguese and Spanish in Southern New England and teacher of the English language in Lyon, France, where she lived for two years.  There, in Lyon she also worked as events coordinator for Advanced Computer Research Institute which employed multi-nationals. She speaks several languages and is an avid international traveler and student of history and world culture. Mary is a graduate of Southeastern Massachusetts University (now University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth) with post graduate studies in local universities, including Brown.  She has also served in Public Relations for the fashion industry and written and produced for a designer, in various media outlets,  fashion shoots and shows which included New York Fashion Week.   Welcome, Mary. Below being inducted by her sponsor Mary Jo Tavares and President Paul LaFleur. 

 

As we have every year, Bristol Rotary provides support to organizations feeding children and seniors in difficulty during the holidays. On the right, Paul LaFleur, President of Bristol Rotary, is giving a check for $2500 to Emily Mushen, Executive Director of the East Bay Food Pantry, for their Food4Kids program. And on the left, Paul donates $50 Seabra gift cards to Madalena Sylvestor, Resident Services Coordinator at the Franklin Court Independent Living. In addition, $50 Seabra gift cards were also given to the Benjamin Church Senior Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annually,  Bristol Rotary donates financial awards to selected outstanding and deserving students from schools in our community. Below, is Bristol Rotary Board member Cidalia Rodrigues giving those awards to two outstanding high school graduates: Marina Abrev on the left, and Shivani Mehta on the right.  Marina is a graduate of Saint Mary Academy - Bayview. Marina is planning to go to the Fordham University in NY in the Fall to study Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Communications. While Shivani will attend Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Shivani will major in Neuroscience. Both women have excellent academic records, have been leaders in their respective schools, and have helped their communities.  We wish them good fortune in their chosen fields. Well done!

 

At our first meeting of the new fiscal year, three members of Bristol Rotary received the prestigious Paul Harris Award for continuous and exceptional contributions to Bristol Rotary Club over the years. They are (left to right): Mary Jo Fidalgo-Tavares presenting the awards (future President) and Elizabeth Habecker (past President); then Mary Jo and Angela Cabral (past President); and finally Paul LaFleur (current President) and Mary Jo. Congratulations to all three. 

 

We are happy to welcome Glenn Donovan as a new member of Bristol Rotary. Below Glenn is congratulated by Paul LaFleur, President of Bristol Rotary.

 

Glenn Donovan is a retired Radiation Safety Technologist serving 37 years at Lifespan Hospitals. He also taught in their Nuclear Medicine and X Ray Technology schools. He is currently volunteering as a court appointed child advocate and a long-term care ombudsman.  Glenn also serves on the Bristol Conservation Commission. He is also the husband of another Bristol Rotarian, Susan Donovan, State Representative Bristol/Prudence Island District 69, Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.

 

Welcome aboard, Glenn

 

 

 

 

 

Rotary International initiated a program asking all Rotary Clubs to offer financial support to Ukraine early in the invasion by having Rotary Clubs all over the U.S. and other countries contribute to Rotary's Disaster Relief Fund. This fund was to be dedicated to Ukraine and and sent to Rotary Clubs in-country as well as in neighboring countries. Bristol Rotary's  members donated over $3,000 at the time. Bristol Rotary wanting to continue the support as more and more refugees were sent to our area, teamed up with  Dorcas International, a local 501(c)(3), dedicated to helping and integrating Ukrainian families locally.  Through a fundraiser, Bristol Rotary was able to contribute to Dorcas for their immediate needs. See near the top of the picture, Paul La Fleur giving a check to Dorcas representatives, the first of checks totaling $5,000. But, that was the beginning, throughout 2022 Bristol Rotary focused on local help to Ukrainians, not only those families arriving during the current conflict, but also those left homeless during the first Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014. Both groups of refugees still had families left behind and were eager to help them too.  Working with the local 2nd Baptist Ukrainian Church, Bristol Rotary led by Ken and Mary Watkinson, Bristol Rotarians, and supported by the Club and other Bristol donors, have collected, packaged, and delivered to the Church over 45 truckloads of medical equipment, hygiene kits, warm clothing, bedding, winter coats and other vital items. The value of these contributions are in the tens of thousands.  These were processed at the church and distributed  to the refugee families with the remainder sent to their families and friends in Ukraine. These shipments in containers were also paid for by donations from many other supporters including Bristol Rotary. The containers make their way into Ukraine by special underground routes using air, trains and trucks. This local support to our local congregation of Ukrainians will continue to be one of Bristol Rotary's charitable projects for "as long as it takes."

 

Chief Anthony Silva, ret. (left), accompanied  by Kevin Lynch, Chief of Police of Bristol, came to our Rotary meeting to stress the importance of  stopping Impaired Driving. Chief Silva represents the "RI Impaired Driving and Engagement Council." Chief Silva stressed that the car is the most dangerous weapon we have - killing more people in the U.S. (over 35,000 p/a) than any other - even guns! He reiterated all the cautious actions to take when dealing with driving after drinking (the legal limit .08%) or driving after taking marijuana. Or, more importantly what you can do to prevent a friend from doing so. Surprisingly, with the legalization of marijuana in RI, the police have many more tools for identifying alcohol than marijuana abuse while driving.  More tools and standards need to be developed for dealing with marijuana police stops. Chief Kevin Lynch will be speaking to us at a future meeting (March 15) about actions the Bristol Police are taking to protect our businesses and schools in Bristol in the dangerous national environment we're in.  Come to our lunch meeting at DeWolf, lunch is $20. Please send an email to jdelabry@gmail.com, if you would like to come listen to the Chief.. 

   

The new Executive Director of the East Bay Food Pantry (EBFP), Emily Mushen, briefed us on the impact the EBFP has had in the East Bay during this transition year of 2022. She reiterated their mission to "engage, educate, and empower the East Bay in creating a hunger-free community." She thanked Bristol Rotary for our continued financial support not only last year, with the Food for Kids program, but for our donations at the height of the pandemic, when food insecurity was at its most challenging. See below Emily's further comments and EBFP's incredible performance through out last year. 

At the beginning of the holiday vacation period, children in need don't get their meal as school is closed. To meet this need, the East Bay Food Pantry has created a "Food 4 Kids" program, though their funds are strained this year. Here Bristol Rotary President, Paul LaFleur, brings some help with a check for $2,000 to Emily Mushen, Executive Director of the EBFP.

 

Below on right is President Paul LeFleur giving a check to Diane Sanna, Asst. Superintendent of Bristol Warren Regional School District (center) for the Guiteras School Art Department to supplement their budget for art supplies. On left is Sarah Jacobs, Visual Arts Teacher, for Rockwell and Guiteras Schools, who gave a compelling presentation of the need to continue art programs at these difficult times for her students. 

Bristol Rotary has been having its luncheon meetings at DeWolf Tavern for over 10 years. Chef Sai Viswanath has made his restaurant welcoming and the home of Bristol Rotary all those years. And, the food is always excellent! The real test of this relationship was during the pandemic. Despite all the pressures that DeWolf and all the other restaurants faced during Covid, Chef Sai always accommodated Bristol Rotary and the changes we were forced to make. We both did what we could to help each other out.  Here, Elisabeth Habecker, President of Bristol Rotary (fiscal year 2021/2022), offers our thanks the Chef Sai for his unfailing support and hospitality to the Club. On the right, Chef Sai counters with his thanks to Bristol Rotary - at the meeting where a new President, Paul LaFleur, is inducted for fiscal year 2022/2023.

 

Joyce Watts, the Director and inspiration for Global Outreach, spoke about their broad services for people in need. Global outreach and its partners are dedicated to putting this mission into action by providing a full range of charitable, human service, educational, religious and community development activities. 

 

Ken and Mary Watkinson updated us on the situation in Haiti and specifically on the children's school in La Mothe, with over 200 students, that they have been selflessly helping with medicines, clothing and financial support. Bristol Rotary has held several fundraisers in the past to help this cause as well. It is called Haiti's Child.  In short, the situation in Haiti continues to be very dangerous with lawless gangs controlling the country and stealing or attacking any source of money or goods. The Watkinson's have suitcases full of medicines that have not been sent to Haiti for fear that they would be stolen. However, the support continues to be collected here while we continue to find new ways to get it to Haiti. 

 

 

Margueritte Heenehan, volunteer administrator for many churches and support groups in the community, is being inducted into Bristol Rotary. Here she is being pinned by her sponsor Marilyn Mason, with President Liz Habecker in support.