Members (10): Rod, Marty, Carol, Deb, Alan, Bob F., Ed G., Ed M., Ashley, John
Guests: Michaela Merrill (speaker)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Governor's Lunch is being planned for 3/31. Stay tuned.
• SAVE THE DATE: Rotary District 7870 Conference will be held on Sat. May 30 in Keene. Check the District Newsletter for more info.
TREX PLASTIC CHALLENGE UPDATE
The 15th bench which will be given to Union Street School has been ordered. We have collected 809 pounds of plastic film towards our goal of 1000 pounds for our 16th bench which will be donated to the Springfield Lions Club Dog Park. To date, 13,960 pounds of plastic film (over 6-3/4 tons!) have been removed from the waste stream we started this project in February of 2023, delivered to Shaw’s Supermarket, and heading to Trex Company for recycling. Please continue to bring your plastic film to the Springfield Town Library. Update.... Bench 17 will be given to the Springfield VFW and Bench 18 will be given to Elm Street School. NOTE: We need volunteers to help sort the plastic at the Library. For more info, contact Alan.
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
March 17, 2026
Jeff Burnham
Springfield Police Chief
March 24, 2026
No Regular Club Meeting
NOTE: Programs are updated on the club website.
The next board meeting will be at 11 AM on Tuesday, Apr 7, 2026 at Springfield Area Parent Child Training Center. Minutes of the board meetings can be found on the club website. All members are welcome to all board meetings, your input is valued, please come!
SERVICE ABOVE SELF
Immediate Past Club President Deb welcomed all to the Mar. 10, 2026 club meeting held at the Springfield Area Parent Child Training Center. For the thought of the day, she offered this quote attributed to Ruth Bader Ginsburg:“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you."
BOWL OF LIFE: (members put three things about themselves on paper and place into a bowl and then we try to identify the member).
"We had a "gentlemen's farm. Raised 27 pigs, Hereford/Holstein beef calves, 2 ducks, 50 turkeys, 100 chickens, and 12 raccoons" - Deb Cox
Ashley: Marion won first place in "Future Business Leaders"
Ashley: Quinn had an action packed sports weekend
Bob F: His daughter Sue got into the NY Master of Fine Arts program
Ed G: He survived a sleepover with his grandkids
RAFFLE
The weekly prize of $6 was won by Ed who gave it back to the club. The big raffle grows to $193 and only 17 cards left.
PROGRAM:
Michaela Merrill, superintendent of the Southern State Correctional Facility, provided an overview of operations at Southern State Correctional Facility, the second largest prison in Vermont’s correctional system. She discussed the facility’s mission, the challenges facing corrections today, and the efforts being made to support rehabilitation and successful reentry for incarcerated individuals.
During her presentation, Merrill highlighted several programs offered at the facility that focus on education, job training, and substance use recovery. She emphasized the importance of preparing individuals for life after incarceration and the role community partnerships play in reducing recidivism and strengthening public safety.
Merrill also spoke about the dedicated staff who work at the facility and the evolving nature of corrections, noting that modern correctional institutions increasingly focus on both accountability and opportunities for personal growth.
Following the presentation, Rotarians had the opportunity to ask questions and engage in a discussion about the correctional system and its role within the broader community.
For more information about the Southern State Correctional Facility, click here.
This bulletin attempts to give a gist of the meeting. However, it is always better to attend. If you have any complaints about the contents of this bulletin...
