We learned the sad news that long time Rotarian Marshall Raser has passed away. Raser was just shy of his 98th birthday when he passed and was the patriarch of Carr Hardware. Marshall was a lifelong Rotarian and served as the past President of the Pittsfield Rotary Club, also as Assistant District Governor aid, and he was honored with the Paul Harris Fellow Award for his service. He volunteered for 40 years with his wife Marian for Freedom Guide Dogs where they boarded, trained, placed, and fundraised for the blind. He served on the board of the Lake Onota Preservation Association and the Pittsfield Economic Development Center (PERC) along with many other local boards and charities.
In his honor, the Board has agreed to match all fines at our next luncheon, slated for March 26th. Fines raised will be added to the Whitehouse Scholarship fund. Photo credit: Berkshire Eagle
Please be reminded, for those interested in room setup and all other things Auction, you are invited to a quick meeting at 12-noon, Thursday at Berkshire Hills CC.
We are not having a luncheon meeting, but fear not we will be meeting for our 3rd Thursday soiree at Patrick's Pub - 5:00 PM.
If you have not already received your supply of printed tickets, they will be available at our luncheons going forward. Contact Jim Bronson to arrange a pickup or delivery at anytime. His cell is 814.932.3168 or email to Pittsfieldrotaryauction@gmail.com. As a reminder, you can instantly get tickets by going to the website - easiest way to get people excited for the event and getting it on their calendar.
Please be pushing hard on getting your expected auction items, searching for new ones, selling program ads and promoting the event. ALL ITEMS ARE DUE TO MOLARI THIS WEEK!!
Jim Bronson provided an update on auction planning and reminded members that, with just one week remaining, a significant amount of work takes place after donated items are submitted. This includes Ron Latham manually entering items into the database, developing item packages, coordinating ad entries and logo submissions, and overseeing catalog design and production. A video presentation is also being developed for this year’s auction.
We are about100items short of our usual400 items. Please continue making your asks and submit donated itemsas soon as possible.
Saturday March 28th is the big day, Berkshire Hills Country Club, Pittsfield
A volunteer sign-up sheet is being passed at meetings. Be sure to grab your spot
Please be on the lookout for a story about Gabriela Leon, the new social worker at the Pittsfield Athenium and updates on the all-important Auction, happening next Saturday!
Two weeks ago, we were introduced to one of our student guests for the month of March: Mason Manning, a student in the culinary arts program at Taconic High School.
Last week we met Sam Touray, a senior at PHS. Touray is a member of the PHS track team and a link leader at the school. He plans to attend a 4-year college and study some level of engineering.
Please help Mason & Sam feel welcomed at our meetings.
Our 2026 assignments for Feed My Sheep are Mondays, March 23rd, June 8th, August 10th and October 26th. We need 5-7 volunteers to assist with the activity. We have access to the Church starting at 4:30 to start preparing. Your help is needed for prep, serving (which starts at 5:30 and ends at 6:00), and clean up. We would also like to have some additional volunteers to break bread with the participants. If you are up for a great meal and can lend a listening ear, please let Nick Kirchner know. If you help please let Nick know by email.
For those not familiar with this, Feed My Sheep community meal program at the First Baptist Church in Pittsfield. The Rotary has been involved in the program for a number of years along with several other community organizations. Each organization is part of a rotation that purchases, prepares, and serves a supper meal. There are currently 30-40 meals served.
In a meandering tale, we learned more of the unique life history of club vocalist Gwen Davis. Leaving stories of the Hawaiian waves aside, we learned that earlier on in her life, Gwen attended Boston University on a musical scholarship, after a while there she drifted down to New Orleans, oops - wrong song - she did however make her way to Los Angeles where she worked a time for Royal Business Machines hawking typewriters. The click & clack wore out its welcome after a couple of years and she got into the flower business, selling them to tourists and celebrities alike, to include a sale to Prince! She later made her way north to become the "Foreclosure Princess" for a firm in New Hampshire. Eventually she found her way back to the Berkshires and a position at Bank of Boston. Gwen and husband Mark are both retired and living their best life.
We learned the sad news that long time Rotarian Marshall Raser has passed away. Raser was just shy of his 98th birthday when he passed and was the patriarch of Carr Hardware. Marshall was a lifelong Rotarian and served as the past President of the Pittsfield Rotary Club, also as Assistant District Governor aid, and he was honored with the Paul Harris Fellow Award for his service. He volunteered for 40 years with his wife Marian for Freedom Guide Dogs where they boarded, trained, placed, and fundraised for the blind. He served on the board of the Lake Onota Preservation Association and the Pittsfield Economic Development Center (PERC) along with many other local boards and charities.
Jack of Clubs is your ticket to Rotary riches! The pot is currently $226.