Newsletter for Meeting of May 28, 2014
May 28, 2014 Newsletter 
By John Hammer
Charlotte Shelburne Rotary
Wednesday, May 28, 2014, 7:15 a.m.
Trinity Episcopal Church Community Room
Welcome
President Dave opened the meeting with the Pledge. Sam Feitelberg gave the invocation. Kris Engstrom was absent having her second cataract operation last week.
Guests: Vera Simon-Nobes, Speaker
Upcoming:
June 4 – Clary Franko of Sun Commons
Early June – Volunteer work in repairing a second (and shorter) bridge at the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge. The Hinesburg garden shed project will begin next weekend.
June 6 – Bowlathon at Champlain Lanes.
June 11 – Committee Meetings
June 11 – Essex Rotary Golf Championship.
June 12 – Board Meeting.
June 26 – Changing of the Guard at the Trinity Church Parish Hall.
Week of July 22 - August 2 – Volunteer at Charlotte Frogbit eradication project.
August 22 – Volunteer support to the Charlotte Senior Center Annual BBQ
District 7850 Calendar: Hot Link http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Events/EventsCalendar.aspx?accountid=50051
Announcements
Bowlathon – Ric asked for any last-minute solicitation letter addresses – It’s not too late. So far only thirty have signed up for bowling. Time of start will be 6PM with Will Wisell providing a dinner of lasagna and hors d’oeuvres of shrimp. Banners are sold out thanks to Tod.
Projects – Michael Clapp reported the Denny – Bill – Dave Memorial Bridge will be repaired during some period in June.
He issued a call for volunteers this Saturday morning to clear brush and set up batter boards at the Hinesburg Central School in anticipation of construction of a garden shed.
The club will provide 72 collective hours during one week, July 22- August 2, to help harvest the invasive lake weed frogbit. More information will be circulated later.
Essex Rotary Golf Open – Will be held on June 11. There will be two teams – the classic team which has won many times consisting of Ric Flood, Robert Maynes, Will Wisell, and Eric Hanley. The other is the classic follow-up team led by Terrill Titus, Russ Blodgett, Bill Deming and Adam Bartsch.
Potential New Member – The Club Bylaws require that potential new members be warned twice before they can be inducted into the club. In this case, this is the second notice for Ed Cafferty of 263 Half Mile Road, Charlotte. Ed is being sponsored by Ric Flood and would fit in classification as College Professor. He is active in civic affairs in Charlotte and has served in law enforcement including the Vermont State Police.
Spad’s Humor
Today’s humor concerned Dave Letterman’s ten reasons why golf was better than sex. It fell flat which according to Ric must be attributed to the fact that most present weren’t very good golfers.
Sergeant at Arms – Richard Fox started today with a very, very low-key call to action. The result was a very quiet series of fines. To him it seemed the crowd was awfully lethargic. Could it have been the dreary weather outside?
Tod Whitaker – Reported a very successful Shelburne Business and Professionals Association (SBPA) mixer last Thursday night at the Teddy Bear. The first Shelburne Farmers’ market of twenty will open this Saturday. There will be a lobster stall this year.
Michael Clapp – Happy that tonight will be the first LCYC race of the summer.
Lara Keenan – For a successful Memorial Day celebration on the Parade.
Russ Blodgett – Has a new cat to help control the mice around his house. He is allergic to cats.
Bob Sanders – Happy to be back after six weeks in Florida.
Fritz Horton – Will celebrate his 70th birthday tomorrow.
Roz Graham – Happy that Vera is here and had a fabulous weekend with out-of-town relatives. This gave her the opportunity to go to all the touristic places she never goes to.
Joan Lennes – Spoke highly of the Memorial Day celebration on the Parade.
John Hammer – Happy to see Joan back and thanked her for her service as a state legislator.
Linda Schiavonne – Happy Bob Sanders is back.
Linda Gilbert – Happy for her daughter #3 who finished the Burlington City marathon last weekend despite a leg injury.
Evan Webster – Happy to see Vera here.
Linda Barker – About to take off for two weeks in Hawaii with her family.
Ric Flood – Happy that when jokes bomb; he can pass the blame on to Spad.
Sam Feitelberg – Happy because 60 years ago on Memorial Day he proposed marriage and was accepted by his wife, Gail
John Hammer – Followed up by saying that it was 49 years Sunday since he proposed and was accepted by Dorrice, his wife.
Linda Gilbert won the draw and picked the Six of Hearts to roll over the $14 pot.
Speaker: Vera Simon Nobes, Coordinator for Argritourism at Shelburne Farms.
She deals with many statewide players including the Agency of Agriculture, Department of Tourism, Vermont Farms Association and Extension Agency.
The field of agritourism competes with agrientertainment (paintballs in corn fields, pumpkin patches, corn mazes) that is recreation on a farm.
She seeks to merge education with Argritourism as farmers are most knowledgeable about raising crops and animals for human consumption and it is important to educate the public as to where their food comes from.
There is Direct Marketing Tourism that includes CSAs, pick your own stands and pick your own fields.
Education includes formal classes, cheese dairies, wine tastings and farm stays. All these can be ways for farms to earn supplementary money.
Argritourism is a sister industry as ecotourism. In 2011 it brought $1.7 billion tourist visits, created 37,000 jobs, or 11.5% of all jobs in the state and 22.9% of visitor dollars are spent on food and beverage. Nationally the number of farms has dropped 4% between 2007 and 2012. Meanwhile Vermont has had a net gain of 12%. Since 2009 there has been a growth of 2,200 farm jobs.
The Shelburne Farms program helps farmers understand how they can manage the distractions of tourists on their farms. They provide one-on-one support to farmers to set up for public visitations. They also provide professional support such as legal and financial advice to the farmers. The big concerns are liability, sanitation, access and security.
Visit www.Diginvt.com to find out what is going on in the state with regards to farming.