Last week we heard from Carlo Zaffanella, the vice president and general manager of Maritime and Strategic Systems (M&SS) for General Dynamics (GD) Mission Systems in Pittsfield. He leads a diverse array of programs serving the US Navy, the US Air Force, restricted customers, TSA, various government labs and a variety of international and commercial customers. The M&SS business includes submarine and surface ship electronic systems integration as well as the design, build and support of a broad array of subsurface, surface, air, airport and strategic subsystems. GD is Berkshire County’s 2^nd largest employer (behind Berkshire Health Systems), and Carlo spoke about the impact the pandemic has had on their operations – creating a choice for employees to work in house, from home, or some hybrid.

We have on the calendar a Club Assembly to talk Strategic Planning on May 5. The plan for the meeting is to split up the club into groups or tables, then work through a WOTS up? (Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats, Strengths) exercise. For those members who want to get a heads up on the process, Rotary offers a Strategic Planning Guide, which is a pretty straight forward nine-page walkthrough of their version of "WOTS up?" Be prepared to bring your ideas this this important discussion.

No birthdays or Club anniversaries to celebrate this week.