Jack and Isabell from the Phoenix School were guests of Betsye Sargent.

 

Ethan Casey and Thomas McDonald were guests of Bill Henning.

 

Mike McLaughlin had his son, Collin, and cousin, Nancy, as guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff Holloran paid a fine for his and Patrick Langmaid's Polar Plunge photo making the front cover of the Salem Gazette.

 

Mike McLaughlin is going on a multi-country European adventure next week.  Let's all welcome his cousin, Nancy, over the next couple of weeks.

 

Liz Bradt attended an exotic animal seminar at Tufts on Sunday.

 

Bruce Whear's wife, Heidi, had a cast put on her elbow injury.

 

Juli Lederhaus had her picture in the newspaper.

 

Jason Consalvo paid a fine for his son standing on his own for the first time.

 

Rich Eisner reported on his son's hockey team...they completed the season with a perfect record...0-13!

 

Chris Casey reported that the 12 bottles of Scotch for the auction have been funded.

 

Rich Blazo played golf in Florida last week.

 

Claudia Chuber reported that 55 people have RSVP'd for the auction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy birthday to Rich Eisner on February 11th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This year's Auction which will be held on March 21st.  It is the club's largest fundraiser.  Tickets will be $60 per person or $450 per table.  We hope all Rotarians will be involved by securing one donation to the auction, by obtaining an ad for the booklet, by donating a bottle of wine, and by coming to the event with others.  The Hawthorne Hotel will be donating 2 drink tickets per person as well as the 2 bottles of wine per table.  This year will have a tighter schedule than last year, and will will include a live auction item of 12 bottles of single malt scotch.

 

This week, author and traveler, Ethan Casey spoke to us about his most recent book, "Home Free: An American Road Trip".  This is Ethan's fourth book, with his previous three focusing on his involvement and travel in Haiti and Pakistan. 

 

Ethan was immersed into unconventional travel when his father brought him to Haiti at the age of 16.  Ethan mentioned that it has taken him years to reconcile the impact that trip had on him and his growth as an individual and writer.

 

Ethan went to live in Asia for 5 years as a journalist, and soon evolved into a world-traveling journalist.  He later taught at a university in post-911 Pakistan, which gave him a unique perspective of living and working in the Middle East before and after Osama Bin Laden's attack on our country.

 

In the fall of 2012, well-timed with the election in full swing, Ethan hit the road from Seattle, and traveled the country for over three months, covering 18,200+ miles in a rented Toyota Prius.  He started east on 190, interviewing farmers, returning to his home in Wisconsin, and covering community projects like urban farming in Detroit, and mobile clinics supported by the Children's Health Fund.

 

In his talk, Ethan said his "job as a journalist is to make people slightly more uncomfortable than they want to be".  Judging by his stories, he certainly accomplished that.  Please visit Ethan's website at www.EthanCasey.com to read further about him and his travels.  You can also support Ethan by buying his book!

 

Next week's speaker will be Mike Harrington, Owner of the Hawthorne Hotel.

 

"We stand in life at midnight, we are always on the threshold of a new dawn." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.