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Russell Hampton
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Service Above Self Awards
Last week we once again had the honor of hearing about our amazing Service Above Self recipients and their incredible achievements and contributions to our community so far.   Many thanks to the committee members Joan DeMartino, Kelly Marion and Jay Marion.
 
From Pittsfield High School: Isolene Ungewitter, Alex Henner & Luke Mele
From Taconic High School: Greta Lacy, Morgan Risley, Felicia Graves-Deane & William Garrity  
 
Each student is requested to choose an organization near and dear to them for Rotary to make a donation of $100.00 in their honor.   The organizations chosen were:  Berkshire Family & Individual Resources, Berkshire Humane Society, Friends of renal Dialysis, NEADS, Strong Little Souls, Toys for Tots and PHS Unified Sports.  
 
The students along with Mr. Henry Duval, Principal of PHS and Mr. Matt Bishop, Principal of THS
 
 
In Memoriam - Craig Fischer ; Fred Toot
We regret to inform you of the passing of longtime member Craig Fischer this past week. Dr. Fischer, an Orthodontist, joined the club on March 14, 1974 and was a Paul Harris Fellow, served on both the club and foundation boards along with multiple committees. His smiling face has been and will be missed.  If you would like to send a card to his wife Donna, the address is:
Diane Ferrieri
1917 Empress CT
Naples FL 34110
 
Also, we were informed of the passing of past president Fred Toot recently.  Fred was president in the mid-eighties and established the Don Butler Award.  He was the executive director of the YMCA in Pittsfield for many years.  

Ring the Bell for SA

At a recent meeting we heard from Captain Justin Barter from the Salvation Army, who spoke to us about their annual kettle campaign (now 130 years strong). Captain Barter noted they are short volunteer bell-ringers and hoped members could step up for a shift. Rotary has been targeted for 9:00 to 7:00 Friday, 12/17, at Market 32 (Hubbard Avenue). Gwen Davis will coordinate Club volunteers. If you can help out for a two-hour shift, contact Gwen at mgouilette@msn.com. If you can't do 12/17 and want to volunteer otherwise, Justin Barter may be contacted by e-mail: justin.barter@use.salvationarmy.org.  
Miscellaneous Notes
Mazzeo’s Restaurant takes a traditional hiatus during the first weeks of January.  Because of this, we will meet at Restaurant 101 at the Holiday Inn in downtown Pittsfield for the first two weeks of January.   This is located on the second floor of the Holiday Inn.  You do need to enter via the first floor given the court usage of the ballroom area.   
 RSVP or Zoom
Please RSVP your intent to Joan DiMartino (joan.dimartino@gd-ms.com) by 5:00 p.m. Tuesday so she may give Mazzeo's a head count. If unable to attend, our luncheon meetings are also available live on Zoom. If you cannot be there in person, consider streaming the event via the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84791340270?pwd=bm1zNkJPemF0MGJoLzZncW5KS3Judz09.  Sometimes it takes a few moments to set up Zoom, so please be patient........ and please, if you've committed to attending, please don't neglect to attend unless there's a crisis. 

2022 Auction Update

The latest from our Auction Committee: Thank you for your continued support of the Rotary Auction! This year's theme matches our Rotary year theme: “Serve to Change Lives.” Donation forms have been distributed to the membership, so it's time to start collecting items. The auction is going to be Saturday, February 12, 2022 at Berkshire Hills Country Club. A blank donation form that you may use to collect even more great items for the auction was sent to members in a separate email. The form is also downloaded onto the Club’s website (“Home Page Downloaded Forms”). We'd love to be able to include as many local partners as possible. If you want to check to make sure that another member hasn't solicited an item already, you can view the updated item solicitation spreadsheet online [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BCO96dhdXVnOL2yacSZUH0YW_UoVG6u9lyTBkVNn8FU/edit?usp=sharing]. Questions about items or the spreadsheet can go to Alex Reczkowski. 

Invocation Duties

Brad Felix 12/23
Ed Forfa 1/6
Dave Hall 1/13
Tom Hamel 1/20
Robert Harrison 01/27
Jeff Hassett 02/03

Birthdays & Anniversaries

One birthday to celebrate this week: John Murphy on 12/23 and two Club anniversaries: Don Kuczarski 20 years since 12/21/2001 and Chris Farrell 33 years since 12/22/1988;  
Club Lottery
No winner at our last meeting, the pot is now at $717, with 19 cards remaining in the deck.