Visitor's Day Attracts Potential New Members.
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It was a brisk autumn day, weather-wise, when 16 Lexington Rotarians, one visiting Rotarian (Bob Porter, a cousin-in-law of Steve Cole, from Sacramento, California) and 11 invited guests to our annual Visitor’s Day open house met for our weekly meeting. The buffet table consisted of delicious barbeque spareribs, chicken wings, baked mac & cheese, veggies, salad and an assortment of cold cuts as well as cookies.
The meeting was called to order by Pres. Michelle and after the Pledge, one verse of America, and the Invocation, fines and happy dollars were in order.
Among many contributions, Ugur E. paid happy dollars for his new position at a local University, PP Nick C. paid for his upcoming trip with Nancy to Florida as snow birds.
PP Don M. then gave us a report of his trip to Cebu City in the Philippines with Rotaplast to assist volunteer doctors from the U.S. who were there to operate on children who were suffering with cleft palates and cleft lips. On the first day of the mission approximately 200 potential patients arrived to be screened for a procedure to correct their deformities. Some of these children had traveled for two to three days to get to the hospital. Of the 200 who were screened, 105 were accepted for the procedure. Over the next seven days 44 cleft palates and 47 cleft lips were corrected by these volunteer surgeons. Although Rotaplast began as a project of the Rotary Club of San Francisco, it became a separate non-profit corporation in 1996. Kudos to PP Don for volunteering to get involved in this International Service Project.
Our guest speaker for today was Dick Berardino, a former member of the Lexington Golf Club. Dick is a player development consultant for the Boston Red Sox. A former outfielder and longtime manager in minor league baseball, he also spent three years (1989–91) as a coach with the Red Sox. As a player, Berardino batted and threw right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 190 pounds). Dick compiled a record of 753 wins and 858 losses (.467) with two championships in 21 seasons (1966–67; 1971–85; 1987–88; 1997–98) as a minor league manager. Nineteen of those 21 seasons were spent in short-season leagues. In 1968, Dick joined the Red Sox organization as a minor league coach, and 2017 marked his 50th consecutive year with Boston. From 1971 through 1985, he spent 15 consecutive seasons as the manager of the Red Sox' Short Season Class A New York–Penn League farm clubs, the Williamsport Red Sox and the Elmira Pioneers (also known as the Red Sox and Suns during his 13-year tenure there). Dick returned to the NY-PL a dozen years later, in 1997–98, as manager of the Lowell Spinners. In addition to his minor league managerial and coaching assignments, and his three years as bullpen and third-base coach on the Major League staff of Joe Morgan in Boston, he also has served the Red Sox as spring training coordinator, assistant field coordinator of minor league instruction, and roving outfield and base-running coach. Dick shared some of his experiences while with the Red Sox.
The 50/50 was $60.00, won by our guest speaker, Dick Berardino.
PP Bob S.