District One Spring Conference - Montpelier, VT

Seven Carroll County Altrusans met on Thursday at noon at the Ranger Station at the Kanc.  Our plans were to head to Montpelier, check in to the hotel and then go to Ben and Jerry.  The weather was great. The route was across the Kanc and all the way on Rt 112 to Vermont.  We split into two cars, Cathy B, Kathy S & Lisa S in one, Pat K, Pat M, Cindy and Terry in the other.  The weather cooperated with no rain and some nice scenery. Arriving about 3 PM, we quickly checked in to the hotel and then loaded into one car and headed to Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream. There are no rules when you leave town, so we had dessert before dinner!  Wild and Crazy and Delicious.  When we came out from the Ben and Jerry tour it was pouring rain.  Cindy was kind enough to run to the car and pick us up so we minimized getting wet.

We registered at the Altrusa desk in the lobby and received our Conference packets and gift bags provided by the Greater Barre Club. They were great hostesses.  We decided to go back to our rooms to settle in and then to meet for a few snacks and a glass of wine.  Why we weren't hungry, I'm not sure.  We decided to try the restaurant in the hotel.  We were not disappointed.  The food was exceptional.  The two specials of the evening were a coconut shrimp with an orange sauce and a filet with caramalized onions.  Delicious!  We laughed and chatted until close to 10:30, looked around and realized there weren't many people left in the restaurant.  The old saying, time flies when you're having fun was certainly true.  We needed to head for bed as we had early workshops to attend.

Workshops for presidents, treasurers, first timers were held first thing on Saturday morning; then the business meeting went from 10 to 11:45.  Lunch was delicious with a cobb salad and cookies.  Our keynote speaker was Katherine Paterson, Childrens Author and Literacy enthusiast.  She spoke of her life with words and how reading can change your world. She was truly inspirational. 

After lunch there was an all conference presentation about the "new brand" and how to use the logo. From there we broke out into 4 different workshops: Service Projects, Membership Communication, Altrusa Foundation and Technology and you.  We divided up so that at least one member attended each of the workshops. More information will be shared at our regular meetings about what was learned.

The Fund Raiser fair was next. We had decided to take all of the items we had offered in previous years and have a "Must Go" Sale.  We sold soap, hand knit cloths, bracelets, and Perpetual Calendars for a total of $95.  There were many raffles and it seemed like a feeding frenzy as everyone tried to get around to each club's table.

Kathy S and Cathy B attended the reception and dinner. Another great meal and delicious dessert was served. Awards were presented. Dr. Nina Fay Calhoun, International Relations Award was presented to the Portland, ME club for their South Sudan Library Project. Letha H. Brown Literacy award was presented to 1st place, Laconia for Betty the Book Worm visits the Library, 2nd place Central Ct. Altrusa Little Free Library, tied for 3rd were Meredith for Day Care Reading Program and Northeastern, CT for Books for your Enjoyment-A Take Away Library. The Mamie L. Bass Service award was presented to Meredith "Altrusa Food Aid Concert" 1st, Merrimack Valley "Welcome Baby Head Start Project" 2nd, and Central Ct, "Well Feb Babies with Dry Bottoms 3rd.  There were so many wonderful ideas for helping our communities as we shared our projects with each other.

Our Carroll County Club received a 3rd place award for our Publicity.  A special thank you goes out to Estelle Smith (and Dr. Bob) who worked very hard at getting press releases about our Altrusa Club out to newspapers every month.

With all the wonderful projects that our club works on, perhaps next year we will submit them for awards.

Sap Bucket for the Saturday Night Auction

Saturday brought us together for a buffet breakfast and then a discussion about leadership with our Governor Elect, Mary Faries.  It was a great opportunity to exchange ideas and talk about the positives and the negatives that sometimes occur in a group. 

The final business meeting was held. Announcement of the new nominating committee was made and we concluded business early.  Our group was headed home with a stop at King Arthur Flour on the way.

Saturday night at the Auction of the Sap Buckets, a total of $1700 was taken in.  This was divided between the Alden Library (Katherine Paterson, patron) and the Local Disaster Relief Fund for the victims of Hurricane Irene. The silent Auction also netted $650 for the International Foundation.

We all agreed that this annual event is worth saving our pennies for and making the effort to attend.  Next year, will you join us when we travel to Bangor, ME?  We sure hope so.

Submitted by Cathy Baybutt