Posted by Rosalyn Graham on Nov 08, 2017
Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, 7:30 a.m.
Trinity Church Community Room
 
President Erik Kolomaznik opened the meeting leading the Pledge, and Kris Engstrom gave the Innvocation.
 
Guests --  Elizabeth Dewispelaere and our speaker Michael Metz were introduced and welcomed.
 
Upcoming Meetings:
11/15 – Irina Norrell Classification talk
11/22 – No meeting – Thanksgiving Eve
11/29 —Lara’s Astonishing New Adventure (Lara Keenan, former Shelburne Librarian and Rotary member)
12/6 – Carrie Fenn, Renewable Energy 101
12/13 – Heather Lynch Classification Talk
12/20 – Club Christmas Meeting – bring material for the Hands to Honduras – Linda Gilbert will be sharing ideas of what they need.
12/27 – Holiday Break – no meeting
 
Announcements:
Roz Graham had just returned from three weeks in Hawaii, and had attended the meeting of the Hanalei Bay Rotary Club in Princeville, Kauai, where she received a club banner to bring back to Vermont for our banner collection.
 
Sam Feitelberg invited attendance at the Memorial Day event at the Veterans’ Memorial in Shelburne on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. There will be music and traditional expressions of respect and appreciation.
Sam also announced that the Memorial committee had succeeded in moving through the process of approval from the town to remove/move several trees around the Memorial and this will be happening in the next few weeks.
He also announced that Tela in Honduras is holding a “TelaThon” to raise money for the rehab center, and the Charlotte Shelburne Rotary has purchased six strollers for use by handicapped children attending the center.
 
Erik, who is active is the BNI group that meets on Thursdays at Trinity Community Room, has suggested a way to raise awareness of Charlotte Shelburne Hinesburg Rotary by organizing a regular attendance at their meetings by a member of Rotary who could give a 60-second introduction to the work of Rotary to the BNI members.  Keith Walsh reported that he had attended the BNI meeting and found it interesting and a good way to network in the community. The BNI meetings are from 8:30 to 10 on Thursday.
 
Linda Gilbert announced that Shelburne Players is presenting a farce, “I Hate Hamlet,” this weekend and the following weekend at Shelburne Town Offices. Tickets on sale at Shelburne Market.
 
Sergeant at Arms:
Sally Wadhams was a great SAA – thanks Sally.
Happy Fines:
Roz Graham – back from 3 weeks in Hawaii including visit to Rotary Club in Princeville, Kauai – happy wintery weather waited for her return
Susan Grimes – beautiful morning
Richard Fox – successful district training session
Keith Walsh – happy to see frost … a notoriety fine for tv appearance
Eric Kolomaznik – exciting experience as his 5-year-old son, a new cello player, had a great chance to meet and talk to YoYo Ma at his Flynn concert last week
Ric Flood – happy winter is arriving … daughter Megan has closed on Boston condo
Judy Christensen – Happy for cold weather
John Lowell -- Happy his entire family will be coming for Thanksgiving dinner in 2 weeks
Carol Obuchowski – a pitch for her daughter’s short story “Constellations” being included in Amazon’s literary journal “Day One.” Check it out – available on Amazon for Kindle for $1.99
Barbara Comeau – oldest daughter has her learner’s permit
Sam Feitelberg – Debbie headed to New York city to see Kyle at the Clinton Foundation
Jane McKnight – happy to welcome her first grandchild, Aria, born Oct. 27 to her daughter Gillian
Linda Gilbert – visited Colchester Milton Rotary, a great energetic (singing) group
Steve Dates – his daughter is moving to Vermont, and this past week she sold her old house and bought a new one
Kris Engstrom – happy that In Full Bloom flowers were presented by Erik’s son to YoYo Ma … and she has a third kitten
Howard Seaver --  visit to the Sculpture Park in Shoreham – a great place to visit
John Beal – only one more boat in water
Tod Whitaker – a frosted windshield – a sure sign of winter
Bill Deming – Happy for Grandma Jane
Alan Hathaway – Just Happy
Captain John Dupee – still afloat
Bob Sanders – five meetings missed with trips to Florida and Ottawa
John Hammer – Welcoming his friend Michael  Metz as guest speaker … winter is here and Killington is open .. two sisters left Monday after a 5 day visit
Irina Norrell – happy the tree that came down during the storm missed her house
Trafton Crandall – the chickens are back in action – and he brought a dozen eggs as a prize for the lucky draw number holder … and a US woman won the New York City Marathon
Erik Kolomaznik – YoYo Ma show was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his son meeting the cellist   
 
Lucky Draw:
Guest speaker Michael Metz drew Steve Dates’ number from the basket, but Steve drew the wrong card from the deck so he missed the big jackpot … but he got a dozen eggs!
 
Guest speaker:
Michael Metz is the director of Generator, applying his expertise from years of a career as a consultant for new business development to the multi-service non-profit located on Pine Street (across from Champlain Chocolates) offering support, encouragement, access to a wide range of equipment, and an atmosphere of support and creativity to the community.
Metz described Generator as “a space that is sort of like a gym – at a gym you go to use equipment you don’t have and couldn’t afford for yourself – at Generator we have 8500 square feet of space with classrooms, mentors, instructors and equipment to tackle projects in science, technology and art.”
Since 2013, Generator, which was originally in Memorial Auditorium, has been committed to lowering barriers to people seeking to develop a product or start a new business or solve a technical problem ... they lower those barriers by reducing costs, risks and access to tools. 
The non-profit has 300 members, one-third early-stage entrepreneurs, one-third artists who benefit from sharing skills with others, and many students from university and colleges applying skills they can learn at Generator to research projects.  Also local companies and non-profits are coming to Generator to use the tools and diverse shared expertise to tackle improvements to their products (e.g. Hydrator Backpack Company) or build needed equipment (ECHO building display units).
There are modern tool sets for working on wood, metal (including a forge), a prototyper, and metal fabricator, and there are weekly classes to learn how to use the tools. There are also several programs for resident workers with stipends, studio space and support.
One of the most widely known projects that benefited from Generator’s support and specialized equipment was the two developers of Pin Box, the cardboard pinball machines that they had been cutting and assembling by hand until they began to use the Generator laser cutter – their business has blossomed. Currently at least 10 viable businesses have been launched with Generator assistance.
They are also working with middle school and high school teachers to encourage novel hands-on projects for students.
Generator operates with a $420,000 budget, 50% earned and 50% from philanthropy.  Access to the facility’s resources can be purchased for $80 a month, and companies can sign up for access for several of their employees.
Looking to the future, Metz said they are making plans to diversity their income sources, with increased use of the facility, cloning the Vermont Works for Women summer program that encourages girls and women to explore non-traditional careers, and expanding their college and university connections.
 
Recorded by Rosalyn Graham