Pledge: Pres. Keith Wescovich
Prayer: Joan Camire
Song: Bill McLaughlin
Brents Card Game Winner: Matt Vogt
Sergeants Report: Lee David
Welcome Guests: Jordan Wells of the Essex Club, Chris Small
Raffle Winners: Jason Smith, Paul Moore, Stan Niemerski
Happy Bucks: Walter Osborne doing better (3 weeks away from putting weight on surgically repaired foot), Turkey Fund with Liberty Bank doing well. Proceeds from HB is going to this fund which buys Thanksgiving turkeys to those in need.
Announcements:
John Donnelly: Host families are needed for Clement LeFrancq our Youth Exchange Student. Lee David, who hosted a student recently, said it would be great if someone could help by taking him out for a day or dinner or any activity.
Ken Roche is not up for visitors yet but cards and emails are welcome.
Marty: Talked about the Wine Tasting, thanking Joan Michaud for taking care of the insurance for the event. Committee assignments were handed out. Marty told the club that it's vitally important we sell tickets and obtain items for the silent auction. The WT is only a few weeks away.
Bill O'Shaughnessy: Called a meeting of the WT Publicity committee after the regular meeting
Keith: After the program, please stay and prepare the dictionaries for distribution to the 3rd graders of Westbrook, Old Saybrook and Old Lyme.
Program: John Donnelly introduced Christopher Small, Exec. VP of Ingetrated Services
Chris Small has a background in higher education, attending Ripon College in Wisconsin, was the Director of Athletics at the Univ. of Tulsa, Dir. of Admissions at Trinity and now works at the company he founded, GDA Integrated Services. GDA works with colleges and universities to help recruit students. Chris went over some points to know about selecting colleges and financial aid.
- Does it make sense to go to college given the high cost? That depends largely on what you would have done with the money instead but statistics show that if the student can handle the academics of college, it is a good investment
- Getting into college isn't as hard as people think - there is plenty of capacity. 85% of completed applications are accepted
- Just because you never heard of a college, doesn't mean it isn't an excellent institution. Ex. Hendrick College has had more Rhodes Scholars than any other school including ivy leage schools. The Univ. of Tulsa last year had admitted more national merit scholars than any other school in the nation.
- Financing: To save money, go to the state college in your state rather than a state college of another state - its probably just as good. Few families pay full price with 40% of students getting some sort of scholarship or aid. The best deals are in the south and midwest plus the cost of living is lower. Private schools can be less expensive than public schools because they tend to have more endowments for student aid. Don't spend a lot of time trying for athletic scholarships because there isn't much money available as opposed to academic scholarships. The exception is Div. 1 schools.
GDA INGETRATED SERVICES
33 Main St, Suite F, Old Saybrook CT 06475
860-388-3958
www.gdais.com
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