Events

12:00 - 1:00 PM Colchester Town Offices Champlain Room

All members welcome

Rotary social gathering at Erica Marks' and Fran Tougas' home

5:30 - 7:30 PM

Armando Vilaseca President of The Cuban American Friendship Society (CAFS) will be the Colchester Milton Rotary's featured speaker this Thursday at McGillicuddy's On The Green in Colchester.

CAFS is an organization with a mission to build community relations between the people of Cuba and the US. It was founded in 1988 by Sandy Baird and has taken dozens of groups to Cuba over the past decades.

CAFS organizes trips to Cuba focused on connecting people and learning about the many facets of the country. Discussions will include US and Cuban relations and the impact of the economic embargo placed on Cuba. From health care and education, agriculture, music, and arts our travelers get to experience a bit of all these areas so they leave with a better understanding of the country and its challenges.

If you would like to order lunch please arrive by 11:30. Meeting starts at noon.
RSVP to info@cmrotary.org

If planning to attend, please RSVP to info@cmrotary.org
If you would like to order lunch, please arrive by 11:30. The Meeting starts at noon.

If planning to attend, please RSVP to info@cmrotary.org
If you would like to order lunch, please arrive by 11:30. The Meeting starts at noon.

Jeanne Shea grew up on a small farm in rural Vermont and has been a faculty member at the University of Vermont since 1998. A first-generation college student, she earned a B.A. in Asian Studies from Dartmouth College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Harvard University. Jeanne's teaching and research focuses on experiences of health, healing, caregiving, and aging in social and cultural perspective, with a focus on China, Taiwan, Canada, and the US. Jeanne has been awarded four Fulbright awards, including a student research Fulbright in Beijing (China) in 1989-1990 that focused on Chinese history and culture, a faculty research Fulbright in Shanghai (China) in 2012 focused on family-based caregiving for the elderly, a faculty research Fulbright in Tainan (Taiwan) in 2022-2023 that focused on programs and policies supporting aging in Taiwan, and a Fulbright Specialist Award from 2024-2027 joining a roster eligible for matching with foreign host institution projects. Recently, she submitted an application proposing for the University of Vermont to host a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) from Ethiopia to help internationalize the university and the surrounding community from August 2026 to June 2027. The scholar we wish to host focuses on ethnic conflict, conflict resolution, and African societies and cultures. Rotary of Colchester/Milton kindly provided a letter of support for our application. Results of the competition will be announced this fall. Fingers crossed! In this talk, Jeanne will describe the Fulbright Program and the kinds of awards it offers and UVM's Fulbright S-I-R application.

The Colchester Milton Rotary welcomes Emily Phelps, Certified Financial Planner at East Rise Credit Union. Emily will be speaking about navigating finances in uncertain times.

If you would like to order lunch, please arrive by 11:30. The Meeting officially starts at noon.
Please RSVP to info@cmrotary.org to reserve your seat as space is limited.

Emily joined EastRise in 2015, moving between teller, member service, and consumer lending before her passion for discovering financial solutions led to her transition to the Financial Counselor position. In this role, Emily reads credit reports, does budget planning, and strategizes money and debt management to help members on their path to financial possibilities. She loves reducing financial stress for members and helping them reach their long-term goals.

All members' attendance is requested.

The Colchester Milton Rotary welcomes Charity Clark, Vermont's Attorney General. 

If you would like to order lunch, please arrive by 11:30. The Meeting officially starts at noon.
Please RSVP to info@cmrotary.org to reserve your seat as space is limited.

Charity R. Clark was sworn in as Attorney General of Vermont on January 5, 2023, and is the first woman to be elected to this position. Since then, she has made protecting Vermonters a trademark of her administration, suing Monsanto for PCB contamination of Vermont’s waterways and schools and bringing a case against Meta for Instagram’s harm to young users’ mental health. She also successfully advocated for the recommendations of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Commission, housed in the Attorney General’s Office, and continues her work to bring focus on the issue of sexual and domestic violence. A passionate defender of reproductive rights, Attorney General Clark joined a challenge to a ban on the abortion drug mifepristone, allowing Vermonters to retain access to this safe and effective abortion medication. 

Attorney General Clark’s career in the Attorney General’s Office began in 2014 as an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Protection Division. Later, she was appointed Chief of Staff, serving in the role from 2018 to 2022. During her tenure as Chief of Staff, and the first person to ever hold this position, she oversaw the Office’s expungement clinics, training countless attorneys to assist Vermonters seeking to expunge or seal their criminal records. She also championed the effort to achieve status as a Breastfeeding Friendly Employer and create a dedicated space for breastfeeding employees and visitors to the office, an effort that she would bring to fruition during her first few months as Attorney General. 

Attorney General Clark was born and raised in southern Vermont and grew up working in her family’s grocery store in Londonderry, Clark’s IGA. She is a graduate of Burr & Burton Academy in Manchester, the University of Vermont, and Boston College Law School. Before she entered law school, Attorney General Clark was a policy analyst at the Vermont Governor’s Office under Governor Howard Dean. In 2005, she began her legal career as an associate at a law firm in Burlington, Vermont, and later in New York City. Attorney General Clark is an avid skier and hiker, completing the Long Trail in 2021. She is chair of the board of her town library and serves as a justice of the peace.