• Good to hear from Richard that his wife is on the mend.
• And always good to see the, looking-stronger, most famous and most dignified Khun Arnaud. At several moments in the evening PP Arnaud was most deservedly thanked for his contributions to Rotary and our Club.  He remains most noteworthy.
• and always a pleasure to have Dr. Frank join us.
• and we welcomed OB’s Guests: Michael Sobel (on his 6^th visit to RCOPB) and Marvin Kelly.  They both are pilots’ enthusiasts ready to hear of BEST’s journey.
• Karen had a perceptible relaxed style of meeting attendance not having to run it – as she did so capably last year.

• PP Walter spoke highly of the BDay party for Dr. Johan.                                   There was no mention of number of candles (nor of a cake actually), but all             seemed pleased that went and those that didn’t were green with envy.             Thanks to Dr. Johan and Captain mark for the fun.
• PP Karen praised and thanked PP Arnaud for his gracious donations to the Installation night which Arnaud had to miss unfortunately.  Pres Johnathon shared that he was sad to miss it as well.
• PP OB shared that there is currently growing awareness and efforts by other NGO’s to help the residents in the Ko Sirae swamp. Sam helped OB remind the members that our Rotary club has a history of supporting really heartwarming projects in the area including Life Home Project (Women with Aids with children) and a water sanitizer to a kindergarten project in the area.
• The reason for OB to remind us all of the continuing needs on Ko Sirae is a continuing effort to use funds raised at the White Gala for the Ko Sirae Water project. Rotarian Roy wants to encourage his new club to join in this effort.                    OB promised to come back to the Club with a more outlined project.
• PP Sam (I believe) spoke of a new Rotary club in Phuket - RC Muangrae will have installation night on Friday26th and Walter shared that the dinner out on the 6^th has been moved to Thursday 8th as members will be attending the Installation Night of the RC of Andaman.
• The helmet for kid’s project (honorably called Rtn Gary’s project) is just about wrapped…success rates and helmet counts distributed forthcoming.
• The Water Safety project (honorably called Rtn Larry’s Project) is going well reports Dr. Johan.  All those water safe Rotarians that wish to add their cheers and encouragement to the kids in the program are welcome to JOIN IN THE FUN….as said ONGOING every Tuesday,Thursday, and Saturday at Naina Resort & Spa Patong.     Please, please contact Dr. Johan of details.

 

                               

                                                                         Thank you Ed Denis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wheel deal

 This 92-year-old Rotary club was once the place to see and be seen.   But its numbers had dwindled. So one member took a unique   approach to wooing new recruits, starting with the town’s civic   leaders.

Anyone need a badge polished?

 "Fill some potholes, sir. I want to prove our Rotary club isn’t just talk."

Mayor David Narkewicz and I sat in his office at City Hall in Northampton, Massachusetts, near a portrait of one of his predecessors, Calvin Coolidge. I told him I might also be good at stabbing litter with one of those spiked poles. I swore not to wound any of his constituents.

"It’s a nice gesture, but it’s really not necessary," he said. His phone was ringing; he had a meeting to get to. But I wasn’t quitting yet. For once I wasn’t fighting City Hall, but trying to butter it up.

"If you give me something to do,” I explained, “you’ll have one more reason to send a city representative to our Rotary meetings. We both win."

He shook my hand. "Let me get back to you."

 I belong to a small club in Northampton, a busy college town with a population of 28,000-plus.   It was once home to a thriving Rotary club with 92 members: doctors, lawyers, bank presidents,   even the owner of Northampton Cutlery, which supplied the U.S. Army with knives.

 But over time the club lost members and influence. The mayor gives an annual talk at one of   our Monday meetings, but he isn’t a member. Neither are the local bank presidents, partly   because locally owned banks are becoming extinct — eaten up by global banks. Today our   members include a bank manager, a couple of lawyers, and a chiropractor, but Rotary meetings   — once held at the luxurious Hotel Northampton — were no longer the see-and-be-seen events   they used to be.

 Phil Sullivan, a six-time club president and a Rotarian for 45 of his 74 years, remembers when   all of Northampton’s civic leaders were members. "But times changed," Sullivan says. "We got   older. I was the youngest one at the meetings when I began attending with my father in 1967,   and when I turned 67 in 2011, I was still one of the youngest!"

 Today our 92-year-old club has 30 members, up from its all-time low of 19. "It starts with one   meeting," Sullivan says. "First, you have to get people in the room. Maybe they join, maybe not,   maybe they tell their friends. One way or another, you give them a taste of Rotary and take it   from there."

 Thanks to Sullivan, our meetings definitely taste better than they used to. After years of steam-   table lunches elsewhere, Sullivan moved meetings to a high-end Italian restaurant. Spoleto   wasn’t open for lunch, and owner Claudio Guerra couldn’t begin to feed 20 or 30 Rotarians for   the $20 per person the club had to spend. But he and Sullivan worked it out: The restaurant   now opens early on Mondays exclusively for the Rotary club, with a limited menu that makes it   affordable for both sides: a salad, a dessert, and a choice among four entrees, including one of   the better chunks of salmon you’ll get this side of Boston. Holding meetings at Spoleto has   boosted attendance and membership.

 After Mayor Narkewicz, Police Chief Jody Kasper was next on my list.                                         A Northampton cop since 1998, she has been the department’s chief   —  the first woman to hold that role — since 2015. We talked about   the challenges a chief faces in a town like ours: the opioid epidemic;   keeping officers from bolting to the state police for better pay;   occasional sexism. Kasper said she enjoyed speaking to our club a few   months ago and hoped we would support her department by liking its   Facebook page, praising officers who do good deeds, maybe send a   letter of support.

 "We’ve got a Police Day coming up," she said. "We invite the public into the station. Kids get to   try on a uniform and learn what we do. Civic groups set up tables, meet people, get the word   out about their causes. You can have a table if you’d like."

 "We’ll be there," I said. "Meanwhile, has the mayor mentioned sending someone to our weekly   meetings? You might be one of the people representing the city at our meetings."

 "Every week?"

 "No, on a rotating basis. Maybe you’re there one week, someone from the fire department the   next week, the mayor once in a while."

 "I haven’t heard about that," she said.

 "Does it sound workable? Will it help if I keep an eye out for crime?"

So was Fire Chief Duane Nichols, who described himself as a fan of Rotary. "Your club bought us some smoke detectors and defibrillators," he said when I turned up at his office down the hall from the city’s four gleaming fire engines. In talks to groups like ours, Nichols emphasizes three steps toward fire safety: Every home should have working smoke detectors; every family should have an escape plan in case of fire; and everyone in the family should know where to meet if they have to escape. That last one hadn’t occurred to me, but it’s vital. "The last thing you want is for   somebody to run back in to save somebody who’s already safe outside," he said.

 Nichols offered to speak to us again. "We’d like that, but this is about getting you to a meeting   as a prospective member," I said. "You, the mayor, other civic leaders — not just because you’re   important but because you’re connected." He had 68 firefighters working for him. The mayor   oversees hundreds of full- and part-time employees. If people like them committed to Rotary,   that commitment might resonate through our 365-year-old town.

  "Makes sense to me," he said. "I’ll come to a meeting."

 To say thanks, I took a tissue from a dispenser on his desk and polished his badge.

 Next I swung by the Hotel Northampton, where guests through the years  have ranged from Presidents Coolidge, Kennedy, and Nixon to musicians   David Bowie, Bob Dylan, and John Mayer. I wanted to say hello to owner   Mansour Ghalibaf, an Iranian immigrant who had worked his way up from   accountant here in his adopted country. Ghalibaf lives an hour’s drive   away, but he’s a member of our club. He invited us to use his posh hotel   "for anything" at a reduced rate. A Rotary-themed paintball game in the   lobby? "Well, almost anything." I gave him a book I wrote about football,   signed "to a Patriots fan and patriot."

 At Stop & Shop, the local supermarket, I confessed to Stop & Shoplifting.   The deli department practically asks for it by displaying hot, spicy french fries right out in the   open. I’ve been known to filch a fry. Manager Mike Renkie didn’t just forgive me; he promised to   come to a Rotary meeting. He also gave us a table at the store’s annual Customer Appreciation   Day and space in the front window. Our Chowderfest was advertised right there with the $8.99   sockeye salmon fillets.

 At our next Monday meeting, I hear about other members’ recruiting efforts. Financial adviser   Helen Blatz tells of a missed opportunity. "Remember the friend I brought to a meeting? I   thought she was going to join," she says. "She chose BNI instead." That’s one of the hazards in   a town like ours: In addition to Rotary, other service and business organizations beckon,   including Kiwanis, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, and, in this case, Business Network   International. "There’s a lot of competition out there," says Blatz. "You’re looking for that   twinkle in the eye when you invite someone, but it doesn’t always happen."

Shaver, a chiropractor, wishes the club would get help from RI headquarters in Evanston to improve its website and reach young people online. Beyond that, he hopes to get Erica Olsen, director of the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic   Violence, to join. She’s his wife.

 Bob Mahar, a nonagenarian, leads our club in a song every week. He says he’s all for recruiting   younger members, "but I’m not going to rap."

 Treasurer Julee Clement reports that we’ve lost several members, though she doesn’t bemoan   their departure. "They were RINOs," she says. "Rotarians in Name Only. They don’t attend or   pay their dues, so we took them off the list."

 Then there’s Tara Brewster, vice president of business development at Greenfield Savings Bank.   Brewster is in many ways the ideal candidate for membership: young, energetic, community-   minded. But she couldn’t make a weekly meeting. "There’s a feeling we all have of not having   enough time," she says. "I’m very involved with various committee and board meetings and   with philanthropic work. But in a world that’s increasingly virtual, real relationships matter more   than ever, and that’s Rotary’s strength: making personal connections among Rotarians and   between Rotarians and the larger community. The face-to-face interactions mean so much, not   only for our business success but for our greater human longing to belong and know each other   in a deeper way."

 A few days later there’s news from Brewster: Along with three of her colleagues at the bank,   she is joining our club. Their business membership commits each of them to attend one meeting   a month. Not only that, but Greenfield Savings Bank has stepped up as a sponsor of   Chowderfest.

 Including the ejected RINOs, our club has lost a half-dozen members in the past six months and   gained seven. Nine more, including the mayor, police chief, and fire chief, will now share   business memberships. It’s a start.

 "Mr. Cook? Hello, it’s Annie from Mayor Narkewicz’s office."

 Yes, the mayor has gotten back to me. The next morning, I report for duty to the Northampton   Department of Public Works, where Richard C. Parasiliti Jr., forestry superintendent and tree   warden extraordinaire of the Forestry, Parks, and Cemetery Division, tosses me a fluorescent   yellow vest. My job: spend a shift with one of his work crews.

Next thing I know, I’m bouncing through town in a truck with a 300-gallon water tank, visiting some of the hundreds of trees the city maintains. Riding with my burly partner for the day, Jon Althoff, I learn that the strip of grass between a street and a sidewalk is called the tree belt here in Massachusetts. I learn that trees suffer from beetle infestations, gypsy moth attacks, car and truck impacts, weed wackers, and mulch volcanoes. "There’s a   mulch volcano," Althoff says, pointing at a mound of mulch piled around a tree trunk at Stop &   Shop. "They suffocate trees." The mulch keeps water from reaching the roots. "What you want   is a ring of mulch around the trunk."

 We park at an elementary school. Althoff fires up our truck’s pump and hands me a hose. Our   town’s newly planted trees enjoy the opposite of a mulch volcano: a large green pouch called a   Tree-gator. These Treegators hold 20 gallons of water that’s released slowly, to perfectly water   the tree.

 My tree is an oak sapling that isn’t much taller than I am. It takes a minute or two to fill the   Treegator at its base. You can almost hear the tree say aahh. If all goes well, it could be more   than 50 feet tall in 50 years. In 2069, I’m hoping there will be a 200-member Northampton   Rotary club holding summer meetings beneath it.

 Kevin Cook’s 10th book, Ten Innings at Wrigley, was published in May by Henry Holt and Co.

  his story originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of The Rotarian magazine.