"We're here again today to do the work of Rotary. Thank you for the four-way test, which guides our lives and our work. Thank you for this food, bless it to our needs and to your service. Keep up always mindful of the people all over the world who are victims of hunger, disease, violence, and depression for whom Rotary was established over 100 years ago. And, as always we should understand that Rotary is for them. God Bless."
John the prayer this week was wonderful thank you so much!
Bob Murphy served as our greeter and meal and attendance taker.
Joanne Traverse pitched in for Bill Shannon as well.
Thanks to all who helped out.
Visiting Rotarians and Guests:
There were 18 members in attendance today.
There were no visiting Rotarian or guests today.
Make Ups:
There were no make-up cards received today
If you missed today's meeting, you have until November 11, 2009 to complete a makeup.
If your days are full, consider a make up at eClub One. Log on to www.rotaryeclubone.org/ and follow the instructions for a make up. You should spend 30 minutes on the site.
Click for
where our members have made up recently.
Announcements:
There were no big announcements today.
Spencer Alert:
From our understanding, Spencer is in the hands of the Lynnfield's Rotary club.-----
Spencer wants to come back to us at the TBM rotary, I guess, but we're told that he has transportation problems. Harry Martin will stay on top of this!
Raffle:
There were no winners today
BobJeff Alert:
All Bobs were in attendance today, and this time Bob Murphy did not forget his leftovers. Your dog must be excited every week you come home! (Bob do you have a dog?)
We have officially switched over to a Jeff Alert this week??????
Word has it (from our secret investigative reporter) that Pres. Jeff was out of town (maybe Arizona), playing golf and smoking special imported cigars!!!
Fines and Happy Dollars:
No fines today.
It seems everyone was very happy with their happy dollars. There weren't any huge announcements again. Everybody was really just happy to enjoy lunch with their fellow Rotarians.
Program:
Steve Mooney introduced our guest speaker Kristen Palace. Kristen is an Attorney for Special Education in Massachusetts.
Kristen explained the way special education is run in Massachusetts.
Children with disabilities used to be isolated or never identified. Parents used to have to go outside the system and pay out of pocket to get help and education for their children.
These days we have a strict plan in place. Kristen's job is making sure the system doesn't fail the parents and children placed in special education circumstances. This included but not limited to Mental Retardation, Hearing impaired, Speech impairment, Visual, emotional issues, Autism, and learning disabilities such as ADHD. And many more.
Local and Private Schools are required to find and locate children with a disability, it's required by the law. The evaluation process can be lengthy but very helpful to the children who need it most. This is called the IEP evaluation; these are so called Road maps for the future development and goals for that particular child. An IEP team is set up and this team gets together with the child's parents. This developmental plan is composed by professionals, parents, and teachers. They will determine placement and further education for the child. This IEP plan is re- written annually.
Kristen's job is to make sure the laws and rules are not failing the parents and child in the system. Parents will go to great lengths to make sure there child has the best care and education.
This is the commitment we make to ensure equal opportunity for all disabled children.
Kristen ended her presentation with a quote from Gandhi:
"Our child's future depends on what we do in the present"
Membership Moment:
A strong membership is so important to the overall success of any organization. Growth and retention have to be in the spotlight constantly. As membership chair I have been charged with heading the largest committee in the Club...each and everyone of us. Collectively we can make TBM stronger, more involved in the communities we serve and fun.
When was the last time you asked a friend, a neighbor or business associate to come to a TBM meeting? I admit, it's been a while since I put out an invitation and I have a goal to find one person to join our ranks during this Rotary year.
I ask everyone to please share your thoughts and ideas as to how we can grow the ranks of TBM.
