Category Archives: SCSU

Associate Professor – Southern CT State University

Featured Keynote Speakers for District Assembly on 4-13-2013

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We were extremely fortunate to have two quality and engaging keynote speakers, First Selectman Michael Freda and Dr. Pam Hopkins, for our Rotary D7980 District Assembly this weekend  at the Adanti Center at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven.

  • Selectman Michael Freda, an honorary North Haven Rotarian and a SCSU Alum, will discuss the differences between managing and leading and provide inspirational stories from his career.
  • Dr. Pam Hopkins, a management professor at SCSU, will facilitate an interesting program on proactive change management with examples of how Rotary club leaders can push outside their comfort zones to get new and interesting projects done.

A draft of the program book and the agenda for the event can be downloaded as a PDF

We are just about ready to close down registrations, $50 per person, so please contact me right away if you wish to register.

Rick Bassett – District Governor Elect

District Assembly Planning Meeting

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SCSU Adanti student center

SCSU Adanti Student Center will host this years District Assembly on April 13th

Our committee got together on Jan 31st to work out the framework for the April 13th District Assembly at the Adanti Student Center at Southern CT State University in New Haven.

The District Assembly  prepares incoming club leaders for their year in office and exposes new Rotarians to core Rotary knowledge. The assembly is also an opportunity for club leaders to meet with district leaders (the district governor-elect, incoming assistant governors, and district committees) who will support club projects and activities.

The District Assembly will run from 8:30 am – 2 pm and will feature a number of concurrent sessions that focus on Club Administration, Local & Global Projects, Building & Maintaining Vibrant Rotary Clubs as well as a Grants Management Foundation Track that leads to certification by lunchtime.

We will publish a draft schedule on or around March 1st.

Registration is now open to D7980 members in DaCdb by clicking here

Planning for the D7980 Rotary 2013-14 year

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Do you see your photo? Drop us a comment.

Do you see your photo? Drop us a comment.

When most people think of what a Rotary District Governor does images of all the club visits and the amount of Rotary Chicken meals consumed often come to mind. I like to look at it as 3 years of getting ready (learning and planning) and 1 year of executing.

An incoming District Governor (DG-Elect) has to arrange  for many events long before their year even starts. Events such as: Pre-PETS, PETS, District Conference, District Assembly and District Installation (Pass the Gavel) to name a few.

At times it seems as if all of these events run together into a big blur and it is often challenging to get people excited about arranging agendas, outcomes, menus and venues a year or so before they happen. I’ve been lucky to get the help and support of my Rotary Club, North Haven Rotary, during this process and about a dozen dedicated Rotarians from other clubs in the district but still it is a big job.

What makes this process especially challenging is my overarching goal that each of these events provide some significant value to the attendees relative to the resources (time and money) which each will expend. I am striving to keep the costs as low as possible for the nicest places possible.

With GETS, International Assembly and Pre-PETS behind me I was finally able to get these big things off my plate this week:

  • The contract for the May 2-4, 2014 District Conference @ The Mystic Marriot
  • The contract for the April 13, 2013 District Assembly @ Southern CT State University
  • The contract for the July 1, 2013 Pass the Gavel @ Anthony’s Oceanview in New Haven

I’m looking forward to these events coming off nicely and am happy that I have so many dedicated volunteers who are willing to help make them successes.

Blackboard Learn 9

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It's time to embrace the horror

It’s time to embrace the horror

Well I road the Vista Courseware wave as far as I could and now SCSU is requiring everyone to switch over to the new (circa 2009) Blackboard Learn 9 system.

I was very good at running my classes in the older Vista system and could get it to mostly everything that I wanted. The newer Learn 9 system seems to have some interesting features but it means that I have to redevelop my classes from scratch.

Classes start in about a dozen days so I’d better become a Learn 9 Ninja Black Belt Courseware Jedi Master before then. Shouldn’t be much of an issue if I could just figure out where to begin……

I have a feeling that this is going to one of those semesters where I am about 10 minutes ahead of my classes as I attempt to master the mechanics of this eBeast. I hope that it doesn’t show too much.

North Haven Rotarians Take Plunge for Cancer Cure

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Dr. Richard Bassett, who is presently the Rotary District 7980 Assistant District Governor and a past president of the North Haven Rotary Club, organized a small group of hearty souls to join him for his second annual plunge into icy water on January 1st in order to raise money to fight breast cancer. The Rotary club’s plunge on New Year’s Day is their alternative to the fundraiser held in the numbing waters off Lighthouse Point in New Haven which is earmarked for that local park. Since the insidious disease has impacted various members of the club, their common goal is to support the ongoing efforts to defeat it. Guy Casella, this year’s club president who participated in the chilly activity along with his son’s girl friend, Katie Moss, announced that the six member team has nearly reached its goal of $3,000, but pledges continue to come in, and donations are still being accepted. The other three brave champions for a cure included the organizer’s son, Adam Bassett, as well as Leo Cegelka, and Jonathan Martinek. A warm reception was held at the home of last year’s club president, Rick DiNorscia. Heather L. Stocking of the New Haven chapter of the ACS had told the club, “The American Cancer Society relies on donations like this to help fund our breast cancer research, education, advocacy, and patient services; and every dollar raised is a step closer to a cure.”Checks may be made out to the “North Haven Rotary Club,” or directly to the “American Cancer Society,” and mailed to NHRC Plunge, P.O. Box 202, North Haven, CT 06473. For further information on the cause, please go to www.cancer.org/fightbreastcancer

Text courtesy of David Marchesseault, Rotary PR Chairman / Photo by Jennifer Bassett 

 

2012 Regional Economic Outlook Breakfast – New Haven

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I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 Regional Economic Outlook Breakfast at the New Haven Lawn Club which was sponsored by the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commence.

There were two very good speakers; Martha Temple from Aetna and Don Klepper-Smith from Peoples Bank who spoke on Healthcare Reform and the 2012 Economic Forecast.

I ran into many business people who I hadn’t seen since the days of Bassett Computer Systems.