Meeting Date:      March 1, 2024 

Presiding:            Pres-Elect Gerry Carrier 

Greeter:               Ben Kiniry

President-Elect Gerry opened the meeting at 07:30 and greeter Ben Kiniry shared some inspiration about stretchy jeans being great. On a more serious note, he asked us to consider assisting a woman and her three kids who had to move out of Bow because of a domestic violence situation.

 

Announcements:

• Gerry Carrier mentioned the Amber Alert that went out at 4:11 a.m. with a father and two missing children.
• Mike Gula - Camperships: The committee went through applications and grants and made decisions on allocation of funds. They kept some leftover funds for more requests. They received approval from President Matt Dodge and the board, and they are now issuing checks with help of Tamar Roberts. Bob Couch also sent along a Bow High School Robotics Team request.
• Melissa Howard - 4-way speech: The contest will be March 20 at the library. We are in good shape with volunteers and judges. Gerry encouraged everyone to attend.
• David Gazaway - Car show: The car show will be May 18 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sponsorships are out. The committee is working on trophy sponsors. David reminded everyone it’s an all-club event. Also need help ahead of time with signs, etc.
• Peter Imse - Town Meeting: Peter reminded members that volunteered that ballot counting would happen after the meeting. He also noted that he is still looking for assistant moderators to help in two weeks on March 12 for the town business meeting.

Donna Deos. - Her year was really great. She’s has been trying to focus on saying yes to what she wants to and focusing on the people that make her life better. Kids and grandkids are good. Rotary is awesome. Mentioned Rotary direct and how it can take money out directly on the date you mention.

Ryan Anastasi - Not in attendance.

 Zoomers suggested fine for the Old Town Hall not being muted (see below).

Dean Cascadden - Says Zoom folks could not socialize because OTH didn’t mute themselves at Old Town Hall. He said someone should pay an $8 fine. $1 happy buck for the lake being officially frozen. He’s going to skate today.

Judy Goodnow - Grandson says poop a lot. Said it would be several thousand happy bucks if she gave a dollar for each time.

Matt Gatzke. - Happy $5. He is grateful for cards, letters and people who have reached out and checked in since Emily died. He has been back to work for a while. He also noted while Emily was in the hospital, it was the second time he has been in Boston for a wet, heavy snowstorm. He thought it was really beautiful to take walks with his wife and very nice and quiet. It almost made him feel like he could live in the city. Meanwhile, he could see his driveway in Bow filling up with snow. Mike Gula reached out and came over to snow blow the driveway. Matt will have more to say next week. 

Mike Ard - Happy $5 for not being here because he’s been in Dallas. Daughter’s wedding is  April 15 so he will return to Texas soon. He said it was good to be back for a bit of time.

Dave Farr- Happy $2. Daughter went to R.I. to look at colleges. Yesterday Tanya’s mom took his son and Tanya’s son to Sky Venture in Nashua. They went skydiving, surfing and ate too much cotton candy. 

Ben Kiniry - ?? on dollar amount. He took some responsibility for playing a role in not muting Zoom. Last weekend he went snowmobiling up North and had a good time but also had to assist in a rescue. He came around a corner and an older gentleman had crashed. He helped out to get the machine back together and worked with others to get the man and his son back the 13 miles to the parking lot before calling 911. Made new friends and the man is OK.

David Gazaway. - Happy $1 because instead of his son Dylan getting a bearded dragon, they instead have a new 500 gallon “indoor pond” for fish.

Mike Gula - $5 happy bucks/fine. He heard bell but it was while he “was in the shower.” He came home with pizza last night because the kids are away. Son came out and surprised him and his wife by coming home a day early from Husson. His son shared how school is going. Taking his son skiing at Killington tomorrow. Great to see Matt Gatzke back.

Tamar Roberts - $1 owed for last week for not having numbers prepared.

Gerry Carrier - $8 for Zoom fine and extra money for being happy Matt Gatzke is back.

Tanya Frost - Happy $5 for going to Florida with her husband to get away. Her mom watched her son so she was able to have some adult time. 

Program: Owen Harrington, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

SAU 67 Future Ready Schools - Owen Harrington presented on the program. He was hired 12 years ago as principal in Dunbarton. He said he spoke to Rotary about 10 years ago.

The Future Ready Schools program is strategic planning with individual learners in mind.

They looked at how all four schools in the district could come together. The program has four buckets they want all students to experience: Awareness, communication, problem solving and analysis, and wellness.

The program has seven spokes of a wheel focused on the learner. SAU 67 decided to focus on three of the spokes to start with: Curriculum, instruction and assessment, personalized professional learning, and community partnerships. They worked with students at CRTC to design a tri-fold brochure. They also created a video that shows the committee at work and Owen listening to students about what they would like out of their learning experience. The committee is also looking for a business leader partnership and Owen asked for any volunteers or recommendations.

President Elect Gerry closed the meeting with a toast to Rotary the world over.

Respectfully Submitted, 

Vanessa Palange