For the 30th year, Milford Rotary is pleased to present THE MOST AMAZING golf event ~ where Golfers are treated like royalty, Sponsors are heralded as true community champions, and Volunteers are oh so greatly appreciated! For more information visit www.Golf100Holes.com. To sign-up as a volunteer, Click Here.
A major part of this fundraiser is The 100 Holes Raffle with 10 chances to win part of the $12,500 in cash prizes. Each $20 raffle ticket has six valuable coupons:
Giorgio’s Restaurant coupon for either $10 off your $50 dinner purchase or $20 off your $100 dinner purchase (Milford, Merrimack or Manchester location)
10% off at Papa Joe’s Humble Kitchen in Milford
Valuable discounts at Contemporary Automotive in Milford
15% off your signs at The Copy Shop in Amherst
Free Twin Pretzels & Beer Cheese with a beer/wine purchase at Station 101 in Milford
A FREE Drink, up to 24oz. at Aroma Joe’s (Amherst location)
Purchase your raffle tickets from one of our dedicated Golfers, from any Milford Rotarian, from one of our 50/50 Non-profit Partners, or online by Clicking Here
Proceeds from 100 Holes of Golf support the Milford Rotary Club's charitable giving and scholarship programs. With the help of our many supporters, the Club annually return around $100,000 right back to our communities through our community support programs.
Get ready for May Day, celebrating Older Americans Month, and our annual Chicken BBQ for area Senior Citizens! The OAM theme this year is "Powered by Connections". Milford Rotary is pleased to create an opportunity for social connecting and to support organizations that help create those connections throughout the year.
Who starred as Cat Woman in the 1967 TV season of Batman?
And for the extra point, who starred as The Joker?
No....wait those weren't questions Thursday night! (Answers on the next page)
Bravo to the Alternative Facts!!
Milford Rotary sponsored four teams at the 4th Annual Greater Souhegan Trivia Night challenge! Once again, our brilliant Alternative Facts were triumphant ....kinda,sorta.....in their tie for 5th place with a team called "And In Last Place"! 37 teams participated this year and that is nearly a tripling of participation since the first year of this event. Alternative Facts team members included Tom Grella, David Sturm, Greg King, Tom Young, Carrie Young, and Anne Tarry. They were rock stars earning 39 points.
Friday, February 16th was a fabulous day to hit the slopes at Mt. Sunapee and spend some time around the table enjoying Rotary Fellowship & Sisterhood! Looks like John Siemienowicz, Janet & Skip Spalding, Greg King, Jay Dinkel, Steve Desmarais, Alec Buchanan and Mark Fougere had a great day!
We sure do miss the CASA Snowfest Ski & Golf fundraiser held in early February for decades at Loon Mountain. Milford Rotary Club members participated in this fabulous event for years. Remember the Swamp Rats Team? Today's get-together, organized by Mark Fougere, looks to be a new Club tradition and fills that February Fun on The Slopes void. Bravo! #SunapeeSwampRats #ComeJoinUs
Sam Belcourt has invited the Club to hold its 2/14/24 weekly meeting at the Windows On West Street (WOWs) located at the Milford High School, 100 West Street. Windows on West Street is a student-operated restaurant that serves as the real-life course for students and an opportunity for community members to enjoy a warm delectable meal.
The entrance to WOW faces West Steet and is to the left of the main entrance. Parking at the High School is limited. Please consider carpooling. Also, Bob Moulton has offered parking at Kenmore Stamp which is located just down the street from WOWs at 119 West Street.
Sam and Jennifer DiMaria, from the Milford Applied Technology Centre, will discuss ways in which Community & Business Leaders can partner with the CTE Program.
Our chief Pit Boss, Stan Kankowski, has arranged for the Milford Rotary Club & Foundation to be the featured non-profit at the River Casino & Sports Bar in Nashua. Our 10-day stretch runs from Monday 2/19 through Wednesday 2/28. Under New Hampshire's "Charitable Gambling" Rules we'll get a percentage of the take each evening! The casino is located at 53 High Street, Nashua, NH.
Stan and President Todd are planning a "Rotary Fellowship Night" for Friday 2/23. Any and all Rotarians, guests, friends of Milford Rotary, prospective members and neighbors are welcome to drop by! The River Casino's Famous Friday Night Chicken Toss starts at 7pm and you too could win up to $200 in cash with a good toss!
700 fresh NH Balsams from Colebrook await your purchase! Well, in truth, 698 .... we sold two trees during the unloading on Sunday 11/19! All proceeds support Milford Rotary's charitable giving and scholarship programs. Locally, Milford Rotary serves Amherst, Milford, Mont Vernon, Wilton and Lyndeborough.
Many thanks to 38 students who came out to help - From Milford High School, Athletic Director Don Gutterson and members of the Student Leadership Team, and From Souhegan High School members of the Souhegan Sabers Football Team football team with their coach, Robin Bowkett.
The online reservation and sales options are active at MIlfordRotaryTrees.org . In-person sales starts at 9AM sharp the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov. 24th). Hopefully, with the quality and price point of our trees combined with the community's continued support and goodwill for our service. we'll be sold out by December 10th!
Many thanks to Susan Robert and Fred Lozier for loaning us their parking lot!! The Frederick's Pastries parking lot at 109 Route 101A in Amherst is a fabulous location for this fundraiser. And a big shout-out to Naji at Naji's Pizza who graciously shares his "facilities" when needed and collaborates with parking in the back of the lot.
To jump to the volunteer sign-up registration "portal" - Click Here
More photos posted in the 41st Christmas Trees album - Click Here
As has become a Club Tradition, the annual Christmas Tree fundraiser kicks off in high style the weekend before Thanksgiving with the sales lot set-up on Saturday and the tree delivery on Sunday. The online reservation and sales options are already active at MIlfordRotaryTrees.org . In-person sales starts at 9AM sharp the day after Thanksgiving (Friday, Nov. 24th). Hopefully, with the quality and price point of our trees combined with the community's continued support and goodwill for our service. we'll be sold out by December 10th!
Many thanks to Susan Robert and Fred Lozier for loaning us their parking lot!! The Frederick's Pastries parking lot at 109 Route 101A in Amherst is a fabulous location for this fundraiser. And a big shout-out to Naji at Naji's Pizza who graciously shares his "facilities" when needed and collaborates with parking in the back of the lot.
To jump to the volunteer sign-up registration "portal" - Click Here
Everything is rolling forward rapidly for our sixth year of hosting the Milford Pumpkin Festival Community House Lawn venue with our friends from the Milford NH Lions Club!
Over a dozen non-profit, school, municipal and church organizations will be on hand around the lawn and Rotary Park including our "Ducky" friends from the Nashua West Rotary Club. In addition to doing a food concession on Saturday and Sunday, we'll have Scarecrow Making, Pumpkin Painting and Face Painting happening under and around the big tent. Many thanks to the Milford Recreation Commission, Scouts Troop 1794, and the MHS National Art Society students for jumping in the help with these three big family activities. And if that weren't enough - there'll be really great music throughout the event at the Community House Lawn stage on all three days.
Friday and Saturday nights it is adult time! And what a tremendous outpouring of support we've received this year from the Brewers, Vinters & Distillers!! 26 are coming over the two- night event and remember they are all donating their libations to "raise one for charity"! Many thanks to Xfinity for sponsoring the commemorative tasting glasses!
This is just one of six venues that make up the Milford Pumpkin Festival!! For more information, please visit the Milford Pumpkin Festival wesbite - Click Here
The Milford Rotary Club traveled to Nashua on Wednesday July 12th to honor Peter Ten Broeck, a beloved member of our club, and to celebrate his major Rotary milestone – 60 years of perfect attendance! As Club President Todd Leo noted, “Peter has been passionate about Rotary longer than I’ve been alive!”
Peter’s Rotary story started when he was a youngster and his father was an active member of the Boston MA Rotary Club. As an adult, Peter joined the Rotary Club of Framingham MA and twice served as their President. Throughout his professional career, one caveat he had when seeking new employment positions was that he had to be able to schedule his work commitments around his weekly Rotary Club meetings – that was a make-or-break stipulation!
As is our tradition, Past President Chris Rogers presided over the Club's induction of our new officers and directors. Chris has been our master of ceremonies at "Passing The Gavel" for well over 30 years. Many thanks to Past President Doug Knott for his leadership, Immediate Past President Paula Telage and outgoing Directors Susan Robinson, George Scollin, and Glen Flessas for thier service.
MIA from the photo - Tina Brown, Tom Young, Charlie Voelker, and Mike Ciardelli For more photos, check-out the Photo Album or CLICK HERE
Lots of great news coming soon from the Golf Committee about the 29th Annual Milford Rotary 100 Holes Of Golf In One Day Tournament. So many great stories and such outstanding news! You'll surely hear the term "record breaking"!!
Let's kick it off with a hearty round of congratulations to three Club members who have been principal players in the past few years in moving this event to even grander heights! In honor of thier contributions to growing the event, Doug K, Patty and Paul W were inducted into the 100 Holes Hall of Fame! Congratulations on this well deserved recognition!
For more photos from the event check out the Photo Album or CLICK HERE
The Milford Rotary Club’s 29th annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament was held on Friday, June 16, 2023 with over 60 golfers “running” around the Amherst Country Club’s beautiful 18-hole course in their personal quests to play 100 Holes In One Day! All told, this year’s event was a smashing double-eagle success! The weather held and everyone had loads of fun volunteering, playing golf, and together raising a record-breaking amount of money for charity!
The highlight of the evening’s celebration was a well-deserved coronation! As Marc Chareth shared, “In its 29 years, hundreds of golfers have played in the 100 Holes tournament. And in that time the event has raised $2 Million Dollars for charity and scholarships! But one golfer, just one golfer has single-handedly raised $200,000 – Mr. Joe Clement!” In honor of that accomplishment, Joe was “crowned” THE KING of 100 HOLES!
If you haven't already purchased your "winning" 100 Holes Raffle Ticket, online ticket sales are open until 5pm on Thursday June 15th! CLICK HERE for the link to our secure point of sales.
Each raffle ticket has valuable local coupons and 10 chances to win part of the $12,500 in cash prizes!
Our End-of-Year Celebration (aka Ted Langdell Day) was another remarkable and delicious event! The evening was capped off by the announcement of this year's Stan Powers Award recipient!
For more photos from the event check out the Photo Album or CLICK HERE
To learn more about Stan Powers and the award created to honor his many years of Service Above Self CLICK HERE
Our usual Wednesday noontime club meeting is cancelled for June 7th as we will be convening at The Keller's Yellow Barn on Friday June 9th for our annual end of year celebration!
The Milford Rotary Club is pleased to be honored as a ShelterBox Bronze Hero during the Rotary Year of 2022-2023.
According to ShelterBox, “2022 was our biggest year yet and your support helped us to reach over 400,000 people across 22 projects in 12 countries. This year is shaping up to be just as busy and your continued support is truly appreciated.”
The mission of ShelterBox is “To build awareness of global displacement and to facilitate providing families with life-saving shelter and essential tools and supplies that will enable them to rebuild their homes and transform their lives after disaster.”
But their work translates into so much more for the people affected by disasters!
After a pandemic related hiatus, the Milford High School Interact Club is back in action thanks to the efforts of MHS faculty advisor Jessica Bouchard and Milford Rotarian Greg King. Members of the newly reformed Milford High School Interact Club and faculty advisor Jessica Bouchard recently collaborated with Meals On Wheels of Hillsborough County to help serve a meal and exercise with senior citizens at the Hampshire Hills Dome. For the past few years, Hampshire Hills has partnered with the NH Wellpoint Foundation to offer a Winter Walking Program to area senior citizens. New this winter are Tuesday lunches offered through MOW of HC.
The Milford Rotary Club's annual Christmas Tree Sale kicks off for the 40th year on Friday November 25th! The committee worked closely with our growers, the Weir Tree Farm in Colebrook, to pre-order our trees and to minimize cost increases due to the shortage of trees again this year along with the higher gas prices and related delivery charges. Given that shortage, Christmas tree industry predictions are that demand will be brisk and vendors will sell out fast! If last year's record breaking 10 days to sell 700 trees is any indication, come early before they are all sold!
For more information about ALL of the fun activities, great venues and wonderful live entertainment happening throughout the weekend, please visit www.MilfordPumpkinFestival.org
Update 10/5/22 - 13 Steps will not be able a to join us Friday night, but The Mighty Colors, a classic rock band, will be stepping in on stage!
Thank you to everyone who voted for the Milford Rotary Club! Your heartwarming support and recognition inspires us to do more! We are pleased and proud to share these honors with our friends from the Amherst Lions Club as we all volunteer to work in service to our local, regional and global communities. #ServiceAboveSelf #WeServe For more information about other Best of the Best 2022 honorees, click here
Milford Rotarians welcomed a new member at our August 24th meeting. Welcome Carolyn "Carrie" Young!! Sponsored by her Dad, Carrie and Tom Young also stepped into a piece of Milford Rotary history by becoming the 9th duo of parent-child club members and the 8th to be members at the same time.
(Note - numbers subject to correction as we explore deeper parts of MRC history in preparation for the 75th anniversary)
For the 54th consecutive year, the Milford Rotary Club will be organizing its annual community pancake breakfast. What started in 1969 as a festive fundraiser under the big top in the “Super Save” parking lot has flourished over the past five decades.
Always the first Sunday after Labor Day, this year’s event will be held on Sunday Sept. 11th at the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club. We’ll be serving an all you can eat breakfast of pancakes, sausages and bacon with coffee, orange juice and tea. Please see any Milford Rotarian for tickets or show up at the door for a suggested donation of $5.00/ per person and kids eat free!
The principal way funds are raised is through event sponsorships by businesses and individuals. Interested in having your business associated with this great community tradition? Then become a Milford Rotary Pancake Breakfast sponsor!
The suggested sponsorship levels for the pancake breakfast are:
Platinum - $500 or more
Millennium - $250
Century - $100
Gold - $75
Silver - $50
All sponsors are honored in several ways:
Your name is printed on the breakfast placements served to every guest
Every Milford Rotarian will know of your sponsorship
You will receive four complimentary tickets to the breakfast
For those who donate $250 or more, a large sign with your name or logo will be displayed prominently at the event!
For an additional $50 you can also sponsor a table! Your company name will be placed on your table to show your support of your community and Rotary!
To learn more about this opportunity or to sign-up as a Pancake Sponsor, please contact Pancake Chairperson Mike Goodwin at mgoodwin@svbgc.org.
What a proud Family, and Rotary Club of Milford, NH Family! President Douglas Knott and Immediate Past President Paula Telage were thrilled to present our dear friend Peter Ten Broeck with his 59 years of Perfect Attendance Award! His son, Derek Ten Broeck, a long time member of the Groton Pepperell Rotary (notice he is wearing a Milford Rotary 100 Holes of Golf shirt), his daughter Tina and his wife Suzi also joined us for some yummy cake and lots of fun. We also presented Peter with this year's Milford Rotary 57th Annual Swim Meet tie-dye tee shirt, a gift from the Swim Meet Committee and the Club. We just know he will ROCK that shirt! #rotaryrocks
In 2021-2022 the Rotary International theme was "Serve To Change Lives". Under Queen Paula Telage’s splendid leadership we did just that! Moving beyond the height of the pandemic, we were able to come back together in-person and offer a virtual option at our weekly meetings. We did some major community service work at the 56th Milford Rotary Swim Meet and the 32nd annual Milford Pumpkin Festival in 2021. Together we sold 700 Christmas Trees in the record setting time of 10 days! After a two-year hiatus, the Club brought back the Senior Citizens’ Chicken BBQ in May 2022 to the delight of over 250 attendees. As we closed out this Rotary year, the 28th annual 100 Holes of Golf In One Day Tournament was a record-breaking success!!! Along the way this year we raised and gave away around $140,000 through our charitable giving and scholarship programs! And we had loads of FUN! Just Imagine what great successes the new Rotary year will reveal with President Doug Knott at the helm!!! #ImagineRotary
THIS Rotary Club knows how to celebrate the end of another very successful Rotary Year! Truth be told, we have been doing this since 1950! The 2022 Ted Langdell Day (as our year end party is known) was awesome! Great to see and share social time with so many members, friends from other clubs and new friends! Congratulations to Rev. Al Hoyt on being named the Stan Powers awardee this year for his outstanding work as a Rotarian and member of this club. More photos to be posted ~ Click Here
Looks like our leadership team is having loads of fun at the 2022 RI Convention in Houston, Texas! More photos can be found in the RI Convention 2022 photo album - Click Here
Hear from six members of Rotary Clubs in RID7870 as they share their personal stories about how Rotary changed their lives. Among the six is our very own Paul Wydra! Paul's segment starts at timeframe 56:00. Click the title to go to the YouTube video - "How Rotary Changed My Life". May 26,2022
Milford Rotary Club is pleased to partner with these seventeen non-profit organizations to raise funds in support of all the great work we all do to improve our communities and the lives of our neighbors. For every ticket they sell, the organization will get 50% of the $20 purchase price! Click the READ MORE button below to access direct links to purchase raffle tickets specifically on behalf of these wonderful organizations.
The Milford Rotary Club’s 28th annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament is rapidly approaching. Rain or shine on Friday, June 17, 2022, over 60 golfers will be running around the Amherst Country Club’s beautiful 18-hole course in their quests to play 100 Holes In One Day while having loads of fun raising money for charity.. Among the golfers will be some Rotarians participating to raise funds for their Rotary Club's charity fund as part of our 50/50 Rotary Club partners program.
Once again the honorable Joe Clement will be leading the charge for the Henniker Rotary Club. Joe has participated in nearly every 100 Holes Tournament and was an initial inductee into the tournament’s Hall of Fame. As Milford Rotarian Alec Buchanan noted at the time of Joe’s induction “Joe has only missed a couple of years in the event's history and that was because we forgot to call him! “
Joining in the fun this year are the Charlestown Rotary Club (contact Nick Hobart), the Hooksett Area Rotary Club (contact Aaron Telage), the Hudson-Litchfield Rotary Club (contact Connie Dionne), and the Rotary Club of Lowell (contact Mark Cassidy)! Each of these clubs will “earn” and get to keep 50% of their raffle ticket sales. To also field a golfer, and gain those HUGE bragging rights, each club needs to sell over 50 tickets! Can we count on you to help these partnering Rotary Clubs? Please reach out to the clubs or their contacts to purchase raffle tickets. Just imagine what these clubs will be able to do with the funds they raise through the 100 Holes of Golf 50/50 partners program!
100 Holes of Golf and Great Raffling for Rotary Charities
A number of our guests took the time to say thank-you on Facebook and tell us what a wonderful time and great meal they enjoyed, and how appreciative they are of our efforts! As N.G. from Amherst wrote "Thank you all for the wonderful lunch. From the people who greeted us in the parking lot, to the servers (all so friendly and polite), to the servers and the entertainment…..everything was great. A great time today, and so very much appreciated.”
This event was a wonderful way to recognize May as Older Americans Month. The OAM theme this year is "Age My Way", an opportunity for everyone to explore the many ways older adults can remain in and be involved with their communities. The goal is to foster discussions about how planning, participation, accessibility, and making connections all play a role in aging in place – emphasizing that what each person needs and prefers is unique. Needless to say, the annual Milford Rotary Chicken BBQ for Seniors continues to be a great gathering for making connections
Event photos have been posted in the albums - Click Here
Friendly Reminder - No regular Club meeting at the Community House on Wednesday this week as we'll be working at the annual Senior Citizens Chicken BBQ @ the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club. Come join us for some fun community service and a great meal!
Myth - You think Rotarians are stodgy? Not in Milford! Just another weekly boring -NOT!!- meeting of the Milford NH Rotary Club. On Wednesday April 6th, we celebrated our 100 Holes of Golf In One Day Tournament Kick-Off at Giorgio's. Pictured below is our hard-working 2022 100 Holes Team. If you are interested in attempting this "Marathon of Golf Tournaments", or if you'd like to purchase a raffle ticket or two let us know or visit our website Golf100Holes.com
I am pleased to report that our efforts to "Serve To Change Lives" is making a difference. For your information please find the attached pictures and my morning email from Mateo my friend and Rotarian in the Lublin Centrum Rotary Club in Poland. We have another relief donation queued up and ready to be transferred on next Tuesday.
Thank You All For What You Do, JB
Please click on the "Read More" button below for the firsthand update and photos from Mateo Karczmarczuk, Rotary Club of Lublin Centrum,
For those of you who missed John's Update #1 email, here is a link to the information and photos - CLICK HERE for the PDF file.
On March 23rd, President and CEO of Bellman Jewelers, Inc., David Bellman presented a very interesting talk about the history and the growth of his business, a family business located in Manchester, to the Rotary Club of Milford, NH. It is quite a story! He was also joined by his son Alex Bellman, the business' COO. Pictured below are with Milford Rotarian Paul G. Grummett and his wife Joan B Grummett. Thank you David and Alex for sharing your time with us!
Bellman Jewelers' founder sparkles as Guest Speaker
As District Governor, and fellow Milford Rotarian, John Siemienowicz recently shared “It is hard to know what actions to take that will be fruitful and helpful in this difficult time of unprovoked violence against Ukraine.” Rotary International and many other local and internal organizations are stepping up with a myriad of opportunities to support Ukrainian relief efforts. The need is great and it is growing each day. Some of these voluntary opportunities are providing more direct support than others.
Please click the READ MORE below for photos and important information on how you can help Serve to Change Lives
Keeping with the Rotary International theme for March of “Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene”, the Milford Rotary Club welcomed members of Pure Water For The World to our first meeting in March 2022. Pure Water’s Executive Director Matt Korn and past Executive Director Carolyn Crowley Meub shared an informative update on the organization’s work and, more specifically, on an upcoming project in El Coyote, Honduras. Milford Rotary was pleased to present Matt and Carolyn with a check for $10,105 that will support the El Coyote initiative to provide 22 homes and 66 individuals with sustainable access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene education training.
Calling all Golfers, Sponsors, Community Partners and Volunteers ~ Milford Rotary's premier annual fundraising event is kicking off for 2022!
The 28th annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament will take place on Friday June 17,2022 at the Amherst Country Club. As Alec Buchanan likes to point out this really is a huge raffle disguised as a golf tournament. More to come soon about our fantastic "all cash" prizes raffle, golfer amenities and gifts, and sponsorship opportunities. Stay up to date on the details at Golf100Holes.com Come join the fun!!
As we closed out 2021, our weekly speaker chairs brought us a variety of great talks, we sold out of Christmas trees in record breaking time, recognized more “Rotary Heros”, added another new member to our ranks, and had a wonderful Christmas Party and fun-filled Christmas Eve Eve Eve meeting with lots of shenanigans thanks to Mike Rasmussen and Professor Scollin!
Jim Minner invited George Rollend to visit as our Guest Speaker early in the month. George shared information and pictures about the Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary in Amherst.
President Paula bestowed some more “Hero Awards”! On 12/8 she presented awards to our hard working Christmas Tree Committee Marc Lancaric, Peter Lyon, Patty McIntyre & Pete Basiliere. The committee was thrilled to announce that we sold our 700 Christmas Trees in 10 days!!! That was certainly a record-breaking tree season! We are all very grateful to our new customers and to our friends in the community who once again supported this annual fundraiser - it will help us help so many throughout 2022.
She also presented Hero Awards to Even Diane Shieh, May Balsama, Janet & Skip Spalding and Matt Curtin for staying extra late on Sunday night (12/5) to help break down the stands and clean everything up!
And to round out this very successful calendar year, we welcomed another new member to our Club - Rev. Craig Phillips, Ph.D.! Attorney Tom Quinn masterfully conducted the new member induction and Craig's wife Meta was also in attendance.
Rev. Craig jumped right in and was our “Guest Speaker” at the Club’s 12/15 meeting. He shared tales and photos from the great libraries in the world where he has had the privilege to do research - including the Vatican Library, the British Library, The Library of Congress, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Bodleian at Oxford, the Widener at Harvard, the Athenaeum in Philadelphia and numerous others.....IMPRESSIVE for sure! Thank you, Rev. Craig!
Just a reminder - the Milford Rotary Club will not be meeting in-person or via Zoom on Wednesday 12/29/21. We'll see you again at our next regular meeting in the New Year - Wednesday 1/5/22, 12 noon at the Community House 5 Union St.
Get ready...all hands on deck are needed....the annual Christmas Tree Fundraiser has begun!
The camper has been revamped for more space and better electricity.
The site at Frederick's Pastries parking lot was set-up in record time on Saturday.
700 trees were offloaded, put into racks, and stored along the lot in just - get this - 45 minutes on Sunday.
The two trees donated to the Amherst Congregational Church's Sleigh Bells Market Place were the FIRST two items SOLD!
AND we made our first sale of the season at 9:30 a.m. - four days before our official opening!
Many hearty thanks and a Rotary standing ovation to the Souhegan High Sabers Football Team and the Nashua South Interact Club members who helped us with the unloading and tree set-up on Sunday!!!! Their enthusiasm and energy were greatly appreciated!!
A photo album for 2021 Tree Sale has been set-up on our website and
will be updated as more photos are shared - Click Here
For more information about the Christmas Tree Sale,
A BIG Milford Rotary Club welcome to our newest member - Matt Curtin! Matt is a longtime member of the Milford community and we look forward to seeing all the GOOD he will continue to do in our community as a Rotarian! We are thrilled that he chose to be a member of our Club! Thank you as well to Past President Bob Moulton for officiating Matt's Induction Ceremony.
The Milford Rotary Club's very own Dr. Diane Shieh invited Christopher Viaud, the Owner Chef of Greenleaf Restaurant in Milford, to be our guest speaker on Nov. 10th. Chris was recently on Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 18 and shared his experiences in Portland and what it is like to cook for Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Padma Lakshmi. Last week a Club member asked Diane how she was able to get Chris to come and join us. She stated that she eats at Greenleaf practically every day - yum! Well, thank you for doing that for the good of our Club, Diane! Chris - please feel free to come back and join us anytime!
Thank you to our fantastic hosts, Chip Pollard, Gage Perry and their GM Ben, for welcoming us to Station 101 on The Milford Oval, for our weekly Rotary meeting on 10/20! We all had a blast! Let's do this again soon!
Thank you to Cyber Security Expert, and Amherst Lions Club member, Don Holden, for speaking with the Milford Rotary Club about Cyber Security. A big thank you to our Speaker Chair, George Scollin, for inviting Don to meet with us!
Such a COOL Rotary Meeting! A very big thank you to Aerial Fitness Instructor Jackie Wydra, wife of Milford Rotarian Paul Wydra III, for such a sensational performance at our weekly meeting last week! Jackie - your talent and enthusiasm was so great to behold! Thank you for taking the time to be with us!
Milford Rotarians and our partners from the Milford Lions Club will be busy hosting the Pumpkin Festival's Community House Lawn venue on October 8, 9 and 10! Lots going on during the day thanks to the eleven local non-profit groups joining us for Saturday and Sunday. There is a Dunk Tank coming!! We are just one of six venues around The Oval featuring fun, food & festivities all weekend long! For more information about the entire festival, please visit the Milford Pumpkin Festival website Click Here
Thank you to the Memo Foundation, Milford Unitarian Church, Pink Revolution of NH, Milford Conservation Commission, Milford Junior Spartans Football, Milford Methodist Youth Group, St Joseph Hospital, Monadnock Roller Derby, Milford Recreation Department, Souhegan Interact Club and Scouting Troop 1794!!
Continue reading for more information about the Beer, Wine & Spirits Tastings Friday and Saturday nights!!
The Milford Rotary Club is proud to be named, and to have been honored at the Best Of Greater Merrimack Souhegan Valley Region 2021 Awards, as Runner Up Best Service Organization/Club!! Below are MRC members, Dave Hanlon, Vasiliki Partinoudi, Paula Telage, our new Eversource friend Kelly Merritt,Tina M Brown and her co-worker Shane, and our very own May Balsama. (Missing was Steve Desmarais). Dave and Steve also won their own awards for their business NH Custom Builder and May as a part of the BHHS Verani Team. Congrats to all and thanks to Liz Calabria for putting on a GREAT Celebration! (Bottom pic: We did not want out new friend at Eversource to be lonely in his own award picture so we friendly Milford Rotarians stepped in and joined him!!)
Just announced today, Milford Rotary Club has been named the Runner Up for Best Service Organization/Club as voted on by readers of the Nashua Telegraph’s neighborhood newspapers, your customers, clients, and voters from the Chamber’s membership! AND a Bronze Hero recognition from ShelterBox.
Thank you to the Town of Milford and to Milford's Police, Fire, Ambulance and Public Works Departments for collaborating with the Milford Rotary Club to provide this opportunity for a community gathering to remember 9/11, and to honor the fallen and those who serve today. More photos located HERE and we will add photos as they become available.
For those unable to attend the 9/11 community gathering, here is a link to a video produced by Granite Town Media, a Town of Milford Department led by Milford Rotarian Chris Gentry's CLICK HERE
A very special thank you to Milford Rotary's very own Fabulous Fitzy-Fitzgerald, looking quite spiffy we might add, for being this week's speaker. He talked with our group about Vinyl Record Albums and asked members to bring in any records they thought could be special, unique, rare or to just find out what they could be worth. The appraisals may not have made any brand new multi-millionaires but it was certainly a lot of FUN! Below you will see Fitz appraising some vinyl for Mike Ciardelli, David Sturm, Sheila J. Sturm Steve Desmarais and Gary Farmer. Another great meeting for the Rotary Club of Milford, NH!
Thank you to this week’s Rotary Club of Milford, NH speaker, DJ Garcia, who owns Wilton House of Pizza, with his wife Amy. Here’s DJ enjoying a bit of our FAMOUS FINEMASTER FUN with Chad Zingales, Steve Desmarais, David Sturm & Bill Andrews!! WHOP is more than just pizza, guys! Be sure to check out their catering menu as well – their website will make your mouth water! Thanks to our Speaker Chair Marc Lancaric, for inviting DJ. https://lnkd.in/dyUhPwNP#rotaryrocks
Thank you to this week’s speaker, Bob Martel, of Positive Results Hypnosis https://positiveresultshypnosis.com/index.html , for ‘hypnotizing’ us with his presentation on how we all need to take care of, and be kind to, ourselves first, in order to properly help others. He shared some great tips on how to reduce stress, breathe easier and how to try to live more in the now. These things can ultimately make each of us happier! Thank you, Bob!
A big thank you to Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH Special Events & Business Engagement Coordinator, Linda Carter, for joining the Milford Rotary Club for their Bowling For Kids' Sake VICTORY Celebration at a recent lunch meeting! Our Club has been participating in this event for 15 years. (We have won this event 13 out of those 15 years!) We love BBBS and are so proud to say we raised just over $6,000 for their critical youth mentoring programs this year. We look forward to next year!
Here are just a few of the MRC Bowling Team with the coveted trophy!
There's still time........But be sure to get your 100 Holes of Golf raffle tickets purchased by Wednesday night before the BIG drawings on Friday June 18th!
Purchase tickets online at the 100 Holes of Golf website - Click Here
Winners will be drawn starting at 12 Noon on Friday June 18th. Drawings will be LIVE on Facebook every 30 minutes with the Grand Prize drawing during the Post-Tournament Awards Banquet. Catch the drawings on FaceBook @MilfordNHRotary100HolesofGolf - Click Here
Last Call on Raffle Tickets ~ Stay Tuned for Drawings!
No regular Club Meeting on Wednesday June 23rd - we all get a post-100 Holes break!
The Wednesday Noon June 30th Club meeting is CHANGED to Tuesday June 29th at 6 PM. This will be an evening of celebration to "Pass The Gavel" and usher in a new Rotary year! Please contact President Tim if you are planning to attend.
Get those gaming skills sharpened! The Milford Rotary Club will be the featured non-profit at The River Casino & Sports Bar in Nashua from March 22nd to March 31st! The River offers a wide variety of table games including Roulette, New Hampshire Hold ‘Em, Blackjack, New Hampshire 21 (just like Spanish 21, but with some new, fun bets), Let It Ride, the Big 6 Money Wheel, and table stakes no-limit cash Texas Hold’em Poker. And remember, our Foundation gets a percentage of the proceeds! Click here for more info about The River Casino & Sports Bar
From Ken Yie of the Queen City Rotary Club in Manchester -
The Queen City Rotary Club is partnering with the Hooksett Area Rotary club for a collection drive, with the goal of filling up a storage unit! "Fill the MI-BOX!" event
The are collecting various personal, household, clothing and food items for local organizations like New Horizons, Families in Transition, Waypoint, food banks, and school districts. Collections will be held from 1/16/21 to 1/24/21 - Saturdays and Sundays 12:00-4:00pm and Wednesday night 5:00-7:00pm at SNHU Parking Lot #40, 40 W. Alice Ave in Hooksett.
Milford Rotarians Paula Telage, Tina Brown and Peter Lyon along with Joan Grummett ( Paula's Mom ) and Michael Woodbury from
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust had a fun time filling lots of the 1300 festive holiday gift bags that will be given to Meals-On-Wheels recipients. Thank you St Joseph Community Services for the fun opportunity to serve! #ServiceAboveSelf
Be sure to check out the new website with online ordering and delivery service at MilfordRotaryTrees.org So many new features this year - Online Ordering, QR Codes, and Serendipity Delivery! It is going to be a great season! Interested in some community service? We welcome any friend of Milford Rotary to come help us at the tree lot! Sign-up HERE
Last year a group of Milford Rotarians volunteered to help pack-up gift bags that St Joseph Community Services distributed to their homebound clients. We had a really fun time doing some meaningful holiday community service.
Once again St Joseph Community Services would welcome our volunteer help. The packing day is Tuesday, December 8th at Labelle Winery in Amherst from 10:30am-3:00pm. It is a large room—plenty of space for social distancing and we won’t have any more than 10 people/hour packing (other than admin staff who will be coordinating it). Volunteers can choose 1-2 hour shifts. As of 11/5 the 12 - 1:30 time slot is full. Anyone available to form a team to do a 2 hour shift for the 10:30-12 or 1:30-3 time slots?
Let President Tim know if you are interested and your preferred 1 to 2 hour block of time. Please email him by Wed 11/11/20.
Photo - 2019 SJCS Holiday Gift Packing - Many hands made light work and we had a chance to meet new friends
Thank you to everyone who jumped in, picked up a scarecrow kit and created a display!!
Over 230 free scarecrow kits were distributed to 114 families, businesses or organizations.
𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬!
𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐰 - Beware of the devilish ghouls at 11 Souhegan St who were able to kidnapped Santa Claus!
𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 - 32 Elm St (There’s nowhere like home….or Bar Harbor Bank & Trust)
𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 - 344 Elm St Unit #52 (Remember Coca-Cola melts Wicked Witches!)
𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 - 90 Valhala Drive (Rocking it with Charlie Brown, Linus and Lucy & The Great Pumpkin!)
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - 380 Nashua St ; 6 Mont Vernon St - Emerson Park - near entrance; 202 Whitten Rd; 15 Garden St; 16 Clinton St; 18 Crosby Street; 50 Elm Street; and 5 Oxbridge Way.
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 - Best Father-Daughter Display (Team Dr. Joe & Miss P. @ 380 Nashua St); Most Enthusiastic Group or Organization ( Milford Garden Club – The Hydrangea Lady @ Emerson Park – one of 6 displays created by their members); The Goriest (That meat cleaver was dynamite @ 202 Whitten Rd); Most Beautiful ( a tie of couples - @ 15 Garden St and 16 Clinton St); Most High Flying (18 Crosby St – you blew us away!!); The Cutest and The 1st To Display (50 Elm St – you rock on both!!); and Most Family Pumpkin Fest Fun (@ 5 Oxbridge Way).
𝐎𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛, 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠! More Photos have been posted in the Scarecrows 2020 Photo Album
We may not be able to host our traditional Pancake Breakfast this year, but these incredibly loyal sponsors STILL stepped up to support this important fundraiser. Without their help, we would not be able to support the many charitable causes that we do.
Please show your support for these sponsors in any way you can, if only to drop by and say “thank you” for staying strong during this difficult year.
On Thursday, September 3rd, thirty-nine members of the Milford Rotary Club gathered to enjoy a BBQ style boxed dinner and fellowship, socially distanced of course, at the President’s Lawn Party & Member Recognition Night in Centennial Park. It was so great to have so many Club members back together in person again!
Club leaders used this event to honor some very hard working and deserving Rotarians. Past President Janet Langdell presented a Stan Powers Award to MRC Treasurer Todd Leo and to the current MRC President Tim Finan. Todd Leo was also presented with a Paul Harris Fellow. President Tim Finan presented MRC Board Member and 100 Holes of Golf Chair, Douglas Knott, with a Paul Harris Fellow. Allise de Smet was presented with her third Paul Harris Fellow. The Paul Harris Fellow recognition is among the highest honors bestowed by Rotary International. This fantastic night came to a beautiful end with a gorgeous double rainbow in the sky.
In 2005, to recognize the 100th Anniversary of Rotary International, the Club created the Milford Rotary Club Centennial Park, in the shape of the Rotary Emblem, for the entire community to enjoy on the grounds of the Milford Community House. The Park also lists the engraved names of Park contributors as well as the names of Milford Rotarians who are no longer with us. Former President Bob Moulton placed a vase of red and white roses near the names of those who have passed.
President Tim invites all members - active, honorary and prospective - to gather in-person for a Member Recognition Event on Thu. 9/3/20 6 pm at Rotary Centennial Park. Bring your own chair, plan on social distancing, and face covering required.
Dinner meal catered by Chef John Sullivan available for $15 per person. Please pre-pay at our donations page on ClubRunner CLICK HERE. There will NOT be any collectors collecting money at the event. If you prefer to pay by check, please send the check to Milford Rotary Club P.O. Box 618 Milford NH 03055 (and let Tim know that you are sending it). With or without a meal order, please let Tim know if you can attend!
There will be be NO ZOOM MEETING next Wednesday. Due to the special circumstances of this event and the situation we all find ourselves in, members with perfect attendance WILL NOT be penalized for not being able to make this event.
District 7870 is pleased to announce that it will once again hold its annual golf tournament on Friday, August 21, 2020, at Brentwood Golf Course, South Course, 365 E Surry Rd, Keene, NH 03431. Golfer spaces are $100 each or $400 for a team and each player will get a bag lunch, golf balls, cart, prizes, and a take-home dinner. The shotgun start will be 11:00 am. To play contact Rich Berryman at rberrymandds@gmail.com All money raised, after expenses, will be used to benefit Rotary. District 7870 consists of 60 Rotary Clubs located in Vermont, south of Addison and Orange Counties, and all of New Hampshire, south of Grafton and Carroll Counties and west of the 71st Longitude. If you would like to learn more about District 7870, or find a Rotary Club in your area, please visit https://www.rotary7870.org/. More information will be posted on the District website as it becomes available.
Rotary District 7870 Open at Brentwood Golf Course - August 21
We recently held our annual Passing of the Gavel, via a Zoom meeting, and the 2020/2021 Board of Directors took their oaths of office for this new Rotary year. As is tradition, Milford Rotary Past President Chris Rogers, CPA, presided over this year’s event.
The incoming leadership team includes: President Tim Finan, President Elect Paula Telage, Vice President Doug Knott, Immediate Past President Janet Langdell, Secretary Tom Young, Assistant Secretary Jane Lyttle, Treasurer Todd Leo, Assistant Treasurer Verna Hoyt and Directors David Hanlon, Billy Clark, Mac McNamara, Paul Wydra, Douglas Rupert and Claudine Hessmer-Husainy, Sergeant-at-Arms Mike Ciardelli and Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms Tom Grella. Thank you all - it will be a great year!
Milford Rotary Club Annual Passing of the Gavel 2020/2021
District 7870 is pleased to announce that it will once again hold its annual golf tournament on Friday, August 21, 2020, at Bretwood Golf Course, South Course, 365 E Surry Rd, Keene, NH 03431. Golfer spaces are $100 each or $400 for a team and each player will get a bag lunch, golf balls, cart, prizes, and a take-home dinner. The shotgun start will be 11:00 am. To play contact Rich Berryman at rberrymandds@gmail.com All money raised, after expenses, will be used to benefit Rotary. District 7870 consists of 60 Rotary Clubs located in Vermont, south of Addison and Orange Counties, and all of New Hampshire, south of Grafton and Carroll Counties and west of the 71st Longitude. If you would like to learn more about District 7870, or find a Rotary Club in your area, please visit https://www.rotary7870.org/. More information will be posted on the District website as it becomes available.
Rotary District 7870 Open at Bretwood Golf Course - August 21
The Milford Rotary Club is pleased to announce that it has awarded $32,000 in scholarships, in amounts ranging from $1,000 - $2,000, to 26 deserving students in the Milford, Amherst, Wilton, Mont Vernon and Lyndeborough area.
The Milford High School recipients are: Autumn Aren, Gabriella Monico, Elisabeth Roadcap, Valeri Vander-Heyden, and Lauren Auger.
The Souhegan High School recipients are: Thomas Greenwood; Megan Tupaj, Isabelle Aiello, Alec Reitter, Micheal Estabrook and Alexandra Lacrosse.
The Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative High School recipients are: Natalie April, Madeline Smith, Kaitlin LoVerme, and Jude Roberts.
The following students were awarded our club's Marcia Perry Scholarships for Performing Arts: Evmorfia Alton - Amherst, Delaney Corcoran - Mont Vernon, and Sarah Whittier - Milford.
The following returning students received scholarship renewals ranging from $1,000 to $1,500: Elise Lambert - Amherst, Hannah Kelley - Wilton, Allie DeGraffenried - Milford, Karly Infanti - Amherst, Emmett Ramm - Amherst, Allison Skare - Milford, Lexi Balam - Lyndeborough, and Fiona Kennedy - Wilton.
Best of luck to all of the scholarship recipients! We hope to hear more about your accomplishments!
Throughout the months of event planning, Club and committee members were concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on the logistics of the 100 Holes event, and, especially, on the willingness and ability of gofers and sponsors to participate. As it turns out, this will be a record breaking year for 100 Holes of Golf fundraising thanks to the tremendous outpouring of support from all of the golfers and sponsors, and from everyone who purchased a raffle ticket! THANK YOU ALL! BRAVO to the 100 Holes Committee for their steadfast perseverance and for leading the way!
Tournament and Raffle results on next page........
LATE BREAKING NEWS - START TIME FOR DRAWINGS CHANGED FROM 9AM TO 1 PM
MANY thanks to everyone who purchased 100 Holes Of Golf raffle tickets! New this year - Facebook Live raffle drawings throughout the day on Friday June 26th for the 10 cash prizes! Starting at 1 pm and then on the hour and half-hour.
Proceeds support the community service, charitable giving and scholarship programs of the Milford Rotary Club and Foundation.
• Who – NH & VT Rotary Clubs - Rotarians, friends, neighbors, family - the public is invited to join!
• What – Rotary is bringing to your home a “Stayin’ Alive Disco Gala” like nothing else you have ever experienced
• When – June 6th, 7:30pm - 8:45pm
• Where – Online (Zoom) Go to www.7870gala.com to register
• Why – Support our local businesses, healthcare professionals, first responders, etc.
• How – Donate at least $20, and you’ll get admission to a unique, entertaining, fun evening event right in your own home
Remember - when signing up to click on the name of your favorite Rotary Club in the information page! All the money donated in the name of that Club (minus about 3% transaction fee by the website for processing the funds) will go back to that Club to buy gift certificates from local restaurants to then be given to local Covid-19 heroes of the Club's choice. Donors can even suggest names of local heroes for a Club to consider!
"Rotarians across the United States and Canada are gearing up to volunteer and encourage volunteers via our social,church and business networks. Those who are in good health and low risk can train to join the front line workers while those who need to stay further from the fray can train to help via telehealth support."
Please read the "more" section for additional information from DG Nancy Russell.
The Masters and The British Open may have been canceled this year, but a premier Rotary sponsored golf tournament is rolling forward – the 26th annual Milford Rotary 100 Holes Of Golf In One Day Tournament.
We are not unmindful of the fact that, at this writing, the country, and the world, is in the midst of a horrifying pandemic and that our country is in the throes of an economic upheaval. This is precisely why we have chosen to roll forward and why we are reaching out for your help. Milford Rotarians are in this for the long haul!
In spite and in light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Milford Rotary Club has chosen to carry-on with the 100 Holes of Golf Tournament. Each year this event raises considerable funds that are distributed to local, regional and international community and non-profit organizations, and are used to provide $30,000 in scholarships to area students. In just the past two decades, the Milford Rotary Club has donated well over $1,200,000.00 in charitable grants and scholarships. Over two-thirds of that sum has been raised by the 100 Holes of Golf In One Day Tournament.
Given the tremendous impact that the Covid-19 crisis is having on all of our hometowns, we anticipate that community needs for assistance will be far greater in the coming year than ever before. And we expect to be called on to do more – perhaps at unprecedented levels to help meet needs directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceeds from the 100 Holes Tournament will help us meet our commitment to the communities we serve and will support COVID-19 relief efforts. The Rotary motto is "Service Above Self" and the Milford Rotary Club is committed to meeting this challenge, but we need your help and the help of other civic-minded residents and businesses.
For now we are still on for June 26, 2020 at the Amherst Country Club. If possible, we want to take advantage of the longer daylight and cooler weather of early summer. Precautions will be taken to keep golfers and volunteers safe. We are monitoring directives from Governor Sununu and will re-evaluate the plans at the end of April, but this tournament will still take place in some manner shape or form this year. And the raffle will still occur!!
How can you help? Become a sponsor, come play golf, and/or buy a raffle ticket! We have around 50 golfers already committed to playing! For more information, please visit www.golf100holes.com.
Raffle tickets are ONLY $20 each, with 10 chances to win on each ticket -
1st Prize is $5,000
2nd Prize is $2,000
3rd Prize is $1,250
4th Prize is $1,000
5th Prize is $750
And 5 other prizes for $500 each
Each raffle ticket has six valuable coupons on it, including a $20 off coupon to anyone of the three Giorgio's restaurant - which itself will pay back the price of the ticket!
Raffle tickets can be purchased online at https://golf100holes.com/online-raffle-ticket-payment/ When purchasing a ticket online, you will be asked to provide the name of the “Ticket Seller”. Enter the name of any Milford Rotarian you know or please feel free to enter our Club President's name (Janet Langdell) as the "Ticket Seller". After the transaction, your “Ticket Seller” will make arrangements to get your tickets and coupons to you.
100 Holes of Golf In One Day Tournament Rolls Forward!
Just like everyone trying to ride out this pandemic, we are weary and scared. But as many of you know, we are also seeing so much that reminds us of the goodness of our neighbors. Thank you to everyone who is supporting us -- whether it be monetary donations or food. We are most grateful. Note that we DO ACCEPT fresh eggs and we can take meat purchased at the grocery store. Here are the most wanted items in the food pantry:
Shampoo/conditioner Deodorant Baby wipes Cooking Oil/Mayo/Ketchup/Salad Dressings Cold Cereals Baked Beans Rice and Pasta Side Dishes Canned Tomatoes (diced, etc) Hearty Soups and chowders Baking mixes (brownies, cakes, etc.) Sugar and flour
We are generally open 8-4:30 Monday through Friday but our hours are a little flexible during this crisis, so if you want to drop earlier than 8 or after 3 PM or on the weekends, please call 673-9898 and make arrangements. We are happy to meet you whenever is convenient.
You can make a monetary donation by credit card at https://www.sharenh.org/donate/ and click on DONATE TODAY. You can also mail or drop off a check or cash to SHARE Outreach, 1 Columbus Avenue, Milford, NH 03055.
With 38 members joining in, the Milford Rotary Club held its first virtual meeting on 4/1/20! It was a great opportunity for sharing experiences, ideas and jokes, and sharing lots of much needed laughter. We heard from the Covid-19 front-lines - Thank you Judi, Jane & Paula for the updates from your healthcare facilities.
As one member wrote – “It was a blossom in our Spring of Social Distancing.”
The fine masters’ theme for next week is “April Fools Pranks - ones you pulled, or ones where you were the recipient, or even just a bystander.” Get ready for some laughs!
Given Governor Sununu’s Emergency Order # 17, the Milford Rotary Club will not be conducting any in-person meetings from now through May 4th. However, we will be holding Online Club meetings using ZOOM!
This is The Truth and Not an April Fool’s Day joke !
We expect that this will be a great new adventure in “social gathering” for our Club! By all reports ZOOM has worked well for other Rotary Clubs.
PE Tim Finan is our resident ZOOM guru. He will send you the Meeting Invite with a link. At the time of the meeting, simply click the link. If you do not have the ZOOM app installed, you will be walked through the installation (Windows, Mac, IOS or Android). Be sure that your computer or phone microphone is turned on.
Not a member of Milford Rotary Club but interested in joining us for a meeting? Please email President Janet at milfordnhrotaryclub@gmail.com and we'll get you on the invite list.
A little more about ZOOM for anyone interested….
From a Zoom FAQ page -
Do participants need a Zoom account to join a meeting?
No. Anyone can join a meeting using the Zoom mobile apps or desktop applications for Windows and Mac. This means you can hold meetings with students, co-workers, friends etc without them having to create an account.
Can I use Zoom on a mobile device, such as a smartphone?
Yes. There are official free apps available for iOS and Android. The apps support many of Zoom’s features, including hosting meetings and viewing screen sharing. Zoom also includes built-in support for calling in to a meeting over telephone.
If you are interested, here is a link to some info about using ZOOM. This video is geared more towards showing you how to host a meeting but it does go over the onscreen icons. Don’t worry - you do not need to have a ZOOM account to join a meeting. Click Here for the Link
In response to the community appeal shared by Rotarian Judi Dunbar on behalf of St Joseph Hospital, Past Presidents Bob Moulton and Mike Ciardelli have been busy searching through our storage and supplies. They came up with 4 cases and 8 packages of unopened gloves. And thank you Bob for the "lunch money" donation towards another Covid19 Response project. Photo of Bob, Mike was social distancing at home #doingwhatwecantoserveaboveself #everylittlebithelps And they were delivered "in-style" to the Milford Medical Center.
Thank you to all who have been dropping off food, paper products, and monetary donations for the food pantry, We are most grateful as are the families who are picking up food.
Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who are not only giving their time during this crisis, but also adjusting quickly to new ways of doing things.
By the end of the day, we estimate we will have distributed food for 2,500 meals this week alone. We need the community's help to keep feeding people who need us, especially while churches and other groups are not meeting.
If you are out shopping and would like to pick up items for us, here is a list of things we can really use (but anything is much appreciated):
Baked beans Mayo, ketchup, mustard, cooking oil Snacks/crackers/cookies/etc Cold cereal and instant oatmeal (microwave packets) Beef Stew Jelly Canned pasta (like ravioli, etc) Side dishes (like rice or pasta mixes) toilet paper and paper towels Baby wipes
If you see any disinfecting wipes, we would love them for the office as we are going through them quickly trying to keep everything clean!
Update 3/18/20: The 100 Holes Committee had a remote chat today thanks to the assistance of Paul Wydra.
Golfers - As of today we have 50 golfers signed up but there’s still room for more!
Sponsors – The committee really needs the help of the Club. We have many different levels available including: $10,000 Event Sponsor, $2,500 Tournament Sponsor, $1,500 Bridge Sponsor, $1,000 19th Hole Closest to the Pin Sponsor, $1,000 20th Hole Longest Putt Sponsor, $750 Photo Cart Sponsor, $500 Hole Sponsors and $500 Pro Shop Credits Sponsors. If you, or your business, would like to help us with any of these levels please contact Doug Knott doug@knottslandcare.com or call/text 603-689-5030
Tickets – The final draft of the ticket is going to the printers tomorrow (3/19)! The committee will work out, and share with the Club, the logistics of getting tickets in the hands of all golfers and Club members soon!
Effective 3/16/20 - Due to the rapidly evolving Covid-19 situation, the Milford Rotary Club will be putting their regular weekly meetings on hiatus. There will be no Club meetings on 3/18/20, 3/25/20 and 4/1/20. The MRC Board of Directors will continue to monitor the overall situation closely and share additional information about future events and Club meetings. Committees and work groups are encouraged to continue their conversations and work using virtual meeting methods or other means while being sensitive to the potential health ramifications; and to share their progress with Club members and the community via email, website posts and social media.
For the 20th ++ year, the Milford Rotary SWAMP RATS Ski Team had a great time at Loon Mountain supporting CASA-NH! And they assure us there was some actual skiing involved! Bravo to all who were able to attend!
Great meeting today (1/8/2020) to kick-off the new calendar year @ Milford Rotary Club! We had a "full house" for our lunchtime meeting - 52 members and 4 guests
Members were treated to a wonderful presentation by guest speakers Sue Bee & Karen Van Der Beken from Building on Hope ! For more info about their current project at Nashua PAL - CLICK HERE
We inducted another new member - Welcome Jim Minner! Jim is our #11 new member in the past year 11 months!
Great to hear from Dudu our exchange student on the fabulous year he is experienceing....including SNOW.
And our fabulous Fine Masters were in rare form today too. Wonderful way to start the new calendar year and 2nd half of this Rotary year!
Start boning up on those factoids and bits of usually useless information, the 2nd annual Souhegan Trivia Bowl is coming up! Once again Milford Rotary will be fielding a team or two. Last year those who attended had a great time for not one but two great local organizations! CLICK HERE for more info or to sign-up for a MRC Trivia Team.
Once again the Milford Rotary Club is sponsoring two teams at the CASA Snowfest. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this great CASA event. For more details about joining the Milford Swamp Rats Ski team, please click here or contact Paula Telage.
Get ready for some fun festivities and exciting games of chance as we "work" to raise funds at The River Casino & Sports Bar March 2 through 11, 2020. Chairman Stan K and fellow Rotarian Dave G are working on the details. Invite some friends and maybe a few prospective members and head to The River in Nashua on one (or more) of your designated dates. All proceeds "earned" support our charitable and community work. Stay tuned for more details!
Dudu, our Rotary Exchange student, had a unique opportunity to be immersed in American history when he visited Plymouth, MA for America's Hometown Thanksgiving celebration and parade. Rev. Al Hoyt, who was marching in the parade, and Verna Ross-Hoyt graciously organized the trip. Maybe you saw portions of the television coverage of the festivities on WCVB? For more information about this annual event, please visit USAThanksgiving.com If you do, you'll also see that the local Rotary Club was one of the event sponsors!
Based on available records and recollections, it looks like Milford Rotarians have been selling Christmas Trees since 1983! The 37th year got started on a high and bright note. With the racks set-up and more lights strung, we are ready to receive 700 NH grown Balsam trees on Sunday 11/24. This year we will also be selling birdseed wreaths - made in the USA and a perfect gift idea or hostess present! Trees are 6ft tall and up and priced at $45 and up (depending on size). The wreaths can be purchased for $20 each. Sales "officially" start at 9AM on Friday 11/29. Thanks to the gracious collaboration from Frederick's Pastries, during the week trees can be paid for inside the pastry shop. Look for our trees, signs and lights at Frederick's Pastries parking lot at 109 Route 101-A Amherst, NH. Throughout the multi-week event, photos will be posted -Click Hereto view.
All proceeds from the sale of the trees and wreaths will benefit our charitable giving and local scholarship programs. So far in calendar year 2019, the Milford Rotary Club has awarded $30,000 in academic and vocational school scholarships to local students, and has donated over $55,000 to a diverse group of charitable, school and community organizations. Can we count on your help to do as much good or more in 2020?
Milford Rotary Club received an Honorable Mention award as the Best Service Organization/Club in the Souhegan Valley at the annual SV Chamber Of Commerce gala on Wednesday 9/25/19. We were second only to the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley! That says a lot! Thank you to the voters and our supporters. And thank you to Mike Ciardelli, May Balsama, David Strum and Sheila Strum for accepting on our collective behalf as pictured below with SVCC Executive Director Wendy Hunt.
Today "officially" starts a new Rotary Youth Exchange adventure for a fine young lad from Brazil! Welcome Eduardo Wilnes Simas Pereira!
Heartfelt thanks to the Hansen Family for volunteering as our initial host family! And thank you Bob Moulton for serving as our Youth Exchange Officer.
The 25th Annual Milford Rotary Club's 100 Holes Of Golf In One Day Tournament, held on July 26th, was another Great Success filled with loads of fun and wonderful fundraising! The success of this event is driven by the generosity of our sponsors, the dedication of our players, the loyalty of our volunteers, and the support of each and every person who purchases a raffle ticket!! THANK YOU ALL!
We are in search of Rotary Youth Exchange HOST Families!
Have you ever considered hosting a foreign exchange student? NOW is your time!! We have a young man from Brazil joining our community for the 2019/2020 school year. He would love to experience OUR culture with YOUR family, and likewise, you can learn all about his culture, too!! It's a win-win!
A Youth Exchange Student typically resides with your family for approximately 3 to 5 short months, as we aim to have at least 2 and possibly 3 host families per school year. During this time, these students become part of your family, someone you will remember forever and look forward to keeping in touch with over the years, long after they have graduated from Souhegan High School and moved back home! Most financial responsibilities are taken care of by the Milford Rotary Club and/or the Youth Exchange Student.
If you, or someone you know, would be interested in this rewarding opportunity, please contact Milford Rotary Youth Exchange Coordinator, Bob Moulton at (603) 860-3314 or
The 2019 District Golf Event (Scramble Format) will be held on Friday, August 16th at the Bretwood GC North Course(365 E Surry Rd, Keene, NH 03431) with a Shotgun Start beginning at 11:30 am.
DG Nancy Russell would like to have all D7870 Rotary Clubs participate in this fun and fellowship event.
The cost will be $100.00 per player/ $400.00 per team. This includes golf, cart, bag lunch, prizes and dinner
Should your Club have 1-3 golfers…we will combine them with another Club’s team with fewer than four players. Trophy will be awarded only to the Team with a minimum of three Club members. One non-Rotarian accepted with handicap greater than 10.
We will need non- golfer volunteers to assist with multiple event tasks so please have interested Rotarians or friends/family contact me (rberymandds@gmail.com)
Any left over funds will be donated to the Rotary Foundation.
Please join us for the weather will be perfect, the course in great shape and the food and fellowship outstanding!
The Deadline for signup is August 1st Register online at rotary7870.org
As part of our annual end of year celebration (aka Ted Langdell Day festivities) President Bob Moulton announced this year's Stan Powers Award winner - Cynthia Dokmo!
Established in 1991, this award honors the accomplishments and memory of an outstanding Milford Rotarian, Stanley E. Powers. Known as “Mr. Rotarian” Stan Powers exemplified the finest qualities of a Rotarian. Annually, the board honors a member (or members) of our club who has/have demonstrated a Stan Powers commitment to Rotary service.
Congratulations Cynthia!!
For more photos from the 2019 Ted Langdell Day festivities CLICK HERE
Just a reminder .......There will NOT be a regular club meeting at noon on Wednesday, June 5th.
Instead, we will be meeting on Friday, June 7th at Keller's Yellow Barn for our annual end-of-year celebration (aka the 44th annual Ted Langdell Day).
In case you have some free time on Wednesday, June 5th and would like to do some meaningful volunteering, United Way of Greater Nashua is holding a food packaging event at SHARE Outreach Inc. Here's the info from their website -
Help us as we package 10,000 meals for the food pantries of Greater Nashua. Donations tend to decline following the holiday season and many families who rely on school lunch programs during the school year need to find alternatives come June, this event produces food for emergency reserves during the difficult summer months.
This volunteer opportunity is family friendly and open to anyone who wants to participate in a hands-on, energy packed experience which directly fights hunger in our community.
The Rotary Foundation transforms your gifts into service projects that change lives both close to home and around the world. During the past 100 years, the Foundation has spent $3 billion on life-changing, sustainable projects. With your help, we can make lives better in your community and around the world.
Club members of the Milford Rotary are gearing up for the 41st Annual Senior Citizen Chicken BBQ Luncheon on May 1 at the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley, located at 56 Mont Vernon Street in Milford.
Last year it was The Eagle......this year it is The Rubber Chicken!
Milford Rotary Club will be the featured non-profit at The River Casino & Sports Bar for 10 days in April.
Grab some friends and head over to The River for some fun games of chance during this 10 day stretch.
Remember - A portion of "the take" comes back to Milford Rotary! So losing is winning!
BIG NEWS - Get ready for the Famous Friday Night Plastic Chicken Toss on April 26th at 7pm
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! Winner, Winner, $CASH! Toss Rubber Chickens into a pot and win a Chicken Tenders Dinner or $CASH Really! Make one out of three chickens into the pot, win Chef Mike's fabulous, award-winning chicken tenders! Sink all three and get a $CASH prize!
A group of MRC members headed over to Hollis to help the Hollis Brookline Rotary Club fill food bags for the Nashua End 68 Hours Of Hunger program. We helped a great group of community volunteers pack up more than 4,000 pounds of food into 271 bags full of food! This will ensure that Nashua’s children do not go hungry over the February school vacation week. Thank you Hollis-Brookline Rotary for the invitation! It was fun!
The Hollis-Brookline Rotary Club is hosting a community service project on Monday, February 18th, in Hollis. They will be meeting at the Lawrence Barn 28 Depot Road at 5:30pm to load bags of nonperishable food items for income-eligible students to take home with them for the February school recess. It is in support of Nashua's End 68 Hours of Hunger (E68) group (Click Here for more info about E68).
As H/B President Erika Cross MacDonald mentioned, they don't need any money just some eager Rotarians and friends to do the work. The project takes 30-40 people and they don't have that many members in their club. They will be inviting the Hollis-Brookline Interact club and parents as well as the HBHS basketball team. Some Rotarians from Merrimack will also be on hand. Claudine is reaching out to the Souhegan Interact Club as well.
Great opportunity to lend a hand and socialize over community service with some new friends. Please let Bob Moulton know if you'd like any more information and/or if you'll be able to attend.
The annual District Conference is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, May 3, 4, and 5, 2019, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore, 50 Ferncroft Rd., Danvers, MA 01923
Four other North East (Boston area, Central MA, etc.,) Rotary Districts (7890, 7910, 7930, 7950) will join us at the Double Tree Hotel for their conferences. All five Districts will have a grand gala dinner and entertainment on Friday 3rd, 2019 evening. Here is link to more information and registration - CLICK HERE
By the proclamations from the State Governors of New Hampshire and Vermont, October 22 to 28 will be recognized as the Rotary Week of New Hampshire and Rotary Week of Vermont. All Rotarians are volunteers. They come from various walks of life. They excel in their own professions. They bring their talent, time and treasure to help their fellow human beings.
New Hampshire is represented by three Rotary districts - Rotary District 7870, Rotary District 7850, and Rotary District 7780.As Rotarians in District 7870 we have been supporting community projects with monetary grants, scholarships to students, hosting exchange students to foster international understanding and sharing countless hours of voluntary service in various community organizations such local soup kitchens, schools, senior centers, etc. Our district has also supported clean water initiatives, community development projects, medical assistance programs etc. in several countries such as Honduras, Haiti, India, Nicaragua, Mongolia and Cambodia.
The Milford Rotary Club is honored to serve the communities of Amherst, Lyndeborough, Milford, Mont Vernon and Wilton, and the community at-large! Together, we make a difference through our community service work, collaboration with other organizations, fundraising activities, and charitable giving & scholarship programs!
We share this news with great sadness and a heavy heart. The Milford Rotary Club has lost a very special member of our Rotary family. Past President and Paul Harris Fellow Mel Reever passed away on September 13th. He leaves us with a vibrant tapestry of a life well lived - member of the Greatest Generation and U.S. Air Force veteran, avid skier and golfer, devoted family man, successful business owner, dedicated Rotarian and, among many other accomplishments, a generous friend. Mel's gentle smile, sunny disposition and unique sense of humor will be deeply missed. It's hard to imagine Rotary meetings without him. Let us keep Mel's family in all our thoughts and prayers.
Memorial visiting hours are on Thursday, September 20th from 2:00-4:00 pm at the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. A memorial service will be held on Friday, September 21st at 11:00 am in the Congregational Church of Amherst, 11 Church Street, Amherst, NH. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery, Milford, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to The Milford Rotary Club Foundation.
According to team leader May Balsama, "It was a picture perfect day for a huge crowd of well into 2,000. More than last year! With the help of Allise de Smet and Al Hoyt we made it to the end with a little chili to spare. Lots of happy samplers of all ages! Al's home grown jalapeno peppers were a big hit!"
From the photos and emails, it looks like May and Richard Balsama, Al Hoyt, Peter Lyon, Doug Rupert, Tim Finan and the ever camera shy Allise & John S. had a great time. Of course Tim did some beer sampling - surely this was research for the Milford Pumpkin Festival Beer & Wine Tasting!!
Thank you May for taking the lead and organizing Milford Rotary's participation in this Henniker Rotary Club fundraising event!
Milford Rotarians and friends "fielded" a team for the annual CIGNA 5K in Manchester. Still wondering if Dr. Joe was contemplating a switch to the "younger" SNHU team ..... Great fun for a good cause!
The Milford Rotary Club extends many thanks to all of the sponsors, volunteers, players, and raffle ticket purchasers who helped ensure the success the 24th annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament.
For the first time in 100 Holes history, the Course Marshall and Officials had to call an end to the Tournament before the 100th hole. A severe storm rolled in around 6:45 pm and the course was cleared - rapidly! The monsoon like wind and rain even took out the Officials Tent. Final scoring for the tournament was based on four (4) completed rounds.
The 100 Holes Madras Plaid Jacket - Congratulations to Christian Raudelunas on being the Madras Plaid recipient and overall low gross winner for the fourth consecutive year! The 2018 Ted Jordan Award- Congratulations to Dave Gendron on a fabulous day of golf. and earning this year's Ted Jordan award. The 2018 Callaway Winner- Congratulations to Aaron Nickerson on a great day of golf and for being the low scorer in the Callaway division. 2nd Flight Winners - Congratulations to Scott Buchanan (lowest Net score) and Tim Bates (lowest Gross score). 3rd Flight Winners - Congratulations to Geoff Bly (lowest Net score) and Kevin Broadhurst (lowest Gross score).
And for the first time in a couple of years, two ladies rocked the course - Carol Powis and Marty Thebodeau. These golfers were on their 98th hole when the sound of the Marshall's horn ended the tournament. Congratulations ladies on a great day of golf!
CLICK HERE for a link to photos from the 2018 100 Holes Of Golf In One Day Tournament.
CLICK HERE to view 100 Holes photos taken by Mike Rasmussen
If anyone would like to share a photo but does not have a Gmail or Google account to access photo uploading, then please send your picture to MilfordNHRotaryClub@gmail.com
At today's meeting, Kaity Stanton and Melissa Goerbig, from Big Brothers Big Sister of NH, joined us for what has become an annual event - The Bowling Victory Celebration. The Milford Rotary Club has supported the annual Bowling For Kids' Sake Fundraiser for many years, and, in fact, has won 10 out of the past 12 years by gathering donations and bowling! Kaity confirmed today that our team lead all of the others in both donations and bowling scores! Bowling Team co-captains, Doug Knott and Paula Telage, extended a HUGE thank you to our very generous Rotary Club members and to our team members who displayed their highly skilled bowling prowess. This annual event is always fun and a great fundraiser for BBBS of NH. This year the event raised $9839.53 and our club contributed 43% of the total. The competition this year came from four other extraordinary Rotary Clubs - Hollis-Brookline, Nashua West, Nashua, and the Souhegan Valley. As Paula noted, "This is just another example of how ROTARIANS TOTALLY ROCK!!"
The Moving Wall will be set up in the sports field in front of the Souhegan High School at 412 Boston Post Road, Amherst NH.
Thursday, July 19
7:30 a.m.: Procession featuring the NH Patriot Guard Riders escorting The Moving Wall from Milford High School to Souhegan High School. The route - West St, to Elm St, through The Oval, to Amherst St, then on to Main St in Amherst and Boston Post Road to Souhegan High School. All are welcome to fly their flags and greet The Moving Wall and the escort team along the route.
8 a.m.: Wall arrives at Souhegan High School
8 a.m. to Noon: Wall to be assembled by veterans and volunteers
Noon: Open visitation begins
1 p.m.: Welcoming ceremony
7:30 p.m.: Taps and night watch begins
Friday, July 20
Opening ceremony
5:30 p.m.: Amherst / Milford Chorus High School present patriotic songs
6 p.m.: Opening ceremony
7:30 p.m.: Taps and night watch begins
Saturday, July 21
2 p.m.: POW/MIA wreath laying, Gold Star and Blue Star Mothers
3 p.m.: A special presentation
3:20 p.m.: Echo Taps by Jennifer and Keith Raiche
7:30 p.m.: Taps and night watch begins
Sunday, July 22
3 p.m.: Closing ceremony - Veterans salute to all the fallen on The Wall and from all wars, and Final Walk
7:30 p.m.: Taps and night watch begins
Monday, July 23
7:30 a.m.: Wall dismantling by veterans and volunteers
Theresa Grella shared a link to some wonderful photos from the June 15th Flag Day 5K! Below are a few to preview. Some were added to Judi Dunbar's photos available in a Clubrunner Photo Album - Click HereAnd CLICK HERE for a link to Theresa's official race photo collection! Thank you Marie and Theresa Grella - "The Dynanic Duo"!
The June 27th meeting was jam packed with fellowship and sisterhood as we shared heartfelt best wishes with Betsey White and Rick Boyd, celebrated The Year Of The Quinn, and heralded in a new line-up of officers and directors led by incoming President Bob Moulton. Betsey was one of the first two women inducted into the Milford Rotary Club in 1991. Over the years, she has served the Club in many capacities including being our first female President. While we regret her retirement, the Club has proudly named Betsey an Honorary Member. Rick Boyd graciously visited the club to share his news. Due to family and business commitments that have him traveling each week, Rick, a past President, has elected to resign his Rotary membership. We will miss Rick especially at the annual swim meet!
CLICK HERE for photos from the meeting. Below is a year end video created by Tim Finan and Paula Telage.
Doubly great news! Milford Rotary's "challenge" donation to the Hollis-Brookline Rotary Club's Puerto Rico energy project put them over the top to provide not 1 but 2 emergency solar power & water purification units to Puerto Rico. These Solar Outreach System (SOS) trailers will not only serve the people of PR in their time of need, but will be redeployed to other areas of the world as a response to future disasters when emergency power is needed. AND the best news from HBR President Julie Rowland - a couple more clubs have pledged donations, so HBR is planning to fund raise for a 3rd unit! Bravo to all of the RI District 7870 Rotary Clubs that supported the effort and to the project champions - Hollis-Brookline Rotary and Revision Energy.
For more information about the SOS units CLICK HERE Pictured below are Club Presidents Tom Quinn (Milford) and Julie Rowland (Hollis-Brookline).
A special meeting organized by the club's Membership Committee was held on Wed. 5/16 at the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club. Milford Rotary Day was a wonderful success and enjoyed by all the members present and the 30-or so invited guests! Bravo to Mike R, Rich P, John S, Steve D, and Prez Tom! Thank you to Olivia Hattenburg, Steve O’Connor, Hayden Rogers! These students volunteered to help out that day as well as with the prep work leading up to the luncheon. Thank you to PDG Sandy McGonagle and her husband John, incoming DG Venu Rao, and PDG Tony Gilmore for attending. Many inspirational stories were shared in-person and by video around the question "Why Rotary?" To borrow from Steve Desmarais - Rotary provides the opportunity for effective local, regional and international group philanthropy built on a solid foundation of genuine fellowship.
Congratulations to the Milford Rotary Club Bowling Team for once again capturing first place in this years Bowling For Kids' Sake tournament, benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire. The team raised over $4,200 for this great organization.
The Milford Rotary Club was honored to receive the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club's 2018 Community Hero Award. Presenting the award to President Tom Quinn were SVBGC Ex. Director Mike Goodwin and Governor Chris Sununu. Milford Rotarians attending the awards dinner were moved by the compelling stories shared by this year's Youth Of The Year candidates. Congratulations to finalists Lily Ayotte, Benjamin Lopez, and Nicole Jutras, and to the 2018 Youth Of The Year recipient Shelby Houghton.
The wild, wacky and very hard working Golf Committee kicked-off this year's march to the 100 Holes Of Golf Tournament in fine form at Giorgio's today. We were honored to have so many visiting Rotarians and guests at today's meeting. Bravo to Connie Dionne for his help in enlisting, among others, the Lowell Rotary Club in 100 Holes ticket sales. 55 golfers are signed up already - the committee is looking for at least 10 more. Volunteer sign-up is available on Clubrunner. Sounds like new event features are on the horizon too! Oh and be sure to tell everyone that Chairman Knott has not one but two bridges to sell you...for the day of July 27th. For more information, please Click Here to visit the 100 Holes website. More photos from the kick-off meeting are posted in the Photo Albums section or Click Here
Lace up your running or walking shoes for a fun and patriotic Flag Day 5K on Friday June 15, 2018 at 6::30 pm.
The 3.1 mile course will take you through scenic Amherst NH with the start and finish lines at 11 Church St by the Amherst Green. The Flag Day 5K benefits the presentation of The Moving Wall at Souhegan High School July 19-23, 2018.
To honor our nation's Vietnam War veterans, Amherst community activist Marie Grella and the Milford Rotary Club are organizing the presentation of The Moving Wall, a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, in Amherst on July 19 - 23, 2018. The 5K race will be timed by Millennium Running. For more information about the Flag Day 5K please CLICK HERE.
Dani Huckabone, our outbound Rotary Exchange student, is having a great time in Argentina! Dani is an Amherst resident and senior at Souhegan High School. Here are a few photos and be sure to go to the "read more" for a message from Dani!
Once again the Milford Rotary Club will be sponsoring a ski-golf team (or two) at CASA's annual Snow Fest! Milford Swamp Rats Head Coach is looking for participants be they veterans or newbies. The festivities start Thursday night (2/1) with a pre-ski strategy session. Paula will be bartending, hostessing and leading the cheering section. Overnight accommodations are available at Condo-Chez Chareth courtesy of Julie Chareth. Friday February 2nd is race day! Coach Joe reports that there will be an added feature this year - 5 PM post skiing (Friday) skating party at the Riverwalk private ice rink featuring a professional skating exhibition and ...drinks. Contact Joe for more details!
Milford Swamp Rats Head Coach Joe Raczek giving an interview in 2017
Many thanks to all who attended and shared a scrumptious variety of dishes for the potluck cocktail party. Raffle prizes this year were chosen in support of local businesses all of which support their communities in many ways - Giorgio's, Papa Joe's and Union Coffee in Milford; Mont Vernon General Store in downtown Mont Vernon, and The Flying Butcher in Amherst. Thank you to our roving photographers - Kerri, Tim, Tom, Greg and Bob. Photos posted under photo albums or Click Here.
Maja Ledin, our inbound Rotary exchange student, did a fantastic job today as our "guest speaker". Maja shared stories about her family, her life in Sweden, and her desire to experience life in the U.S.A. Her three reasons for participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange were: to live in the US, to improve her English language skills, and to experience High School! From the sounds of it she definitely is experiencing American High School. Maja is a member of the Souhegan cheer leading squad, a member of the Intercact Club and a member of the Souhegan International Club. Oh.....and in addition to keeping us laughing today, she likes lobster! Bravo & Welcome Maja!
In addition to the Club's Photo Albums posted on Clubrunner, Milford Rotary is fortunate to have members and friends of the club who like to snap photos at our events. Below are links to those collections.
Hard to believe August has come and gone! Milford Rotary had great fun last month in Henniker at Fire On The Mountain! Great job by May, Richard, Ken, Tom and Peter representing the Club and presenting some mighty fine chili!We understand that Allise had a hand in the cooking too. Bravo! We also helped Peter T. celebrate two milestones - 51 years of perfect attendance and his 81st birthday! Peter's son Derek brought a contingent from the Groton-Pepperell Rotary Club to join in the festivities! Great to meet and share some fellowship with Rotarians for across the border! And to top all that off, Maja Ledin arrived from Sweden. Maja is our in-bound exchange student. She will be attending Souhegan High and living with the Hessmer-Husainy family. Maja is jumping right into life in New England - she has already had her first lobster roll, cheered at her first football game, enjoyed the surf at a NE beach and more! Welcome Maja!
We'll be flipping pancakes and cooking sausage alongside Milford's finest Firefighters on Sunday Sept. 10th 8 Am - 12 noon! All proceeds support Milford Rotary's charitable giving and scholarship programs and the Milford Firefighters Relief Association. The Firefighters will be cooking up their excellent waffles too! Come one down for a great breakfast!
RID 7870 DG Jon Springer visited the Milford Rotary Club on 7/12/17. Great to meet him and his "better half" Mary. The "take-away"...the numbers show it - RI and our district clubs are having a positive impact! Lots of great ideas being moved forward at the district level...stay tuned!
As has become our Club’s tradition, Past President Chris Rogers presided over the June 28th festivities when the gavel was passed and the new officers and directors were inducted for their tours of duty. Assisting Chris were Past Presidents Mel Reever, David Sturm, Steve Desmarais, and Jay Dinkel.
Kudos, many thanks and rounds of applause were shared with outgoing President Ken Fordham and Immediate Past President Cynthia Dokmo for their dedicated service to the Club.
Upon stepping up to the podium for his first “official” speech as Club President, Tom Quinn got the “new year” off to a great start with a hilarious quip prompting a roar of laughter from the audience!
~ Past President Jay Dinkel and new President Tom Quin ~
~Perhaps the caption is "It's Mine NOW!" ~
MRC's 2017-2018 Board of Directors President – Tom Quinn President Elect – Bob Moulton
Vice President – Janet Langdell
Immediate Past President – Ken Fordham
Secretary and Assistant Secretary – Allise de Smet and May Balsama
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer –Tim Finan and Cynthia Dokmo
Directors (continuing) – Karen Keating, Mike Ciardelli, Judi Dunbar
Directors (new) – Todd Leo, Peter Lyon, Steve Sareault
For more pictures, please visit the Passing The Gavel 2017 photo album – Click Here.
Gregg Burdett, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, attended today's meeting to share a special thank with the club. As Co-Captain and Head Cheerleader Paula Telage wrote, Gregg wanted to "praise us for our utter dominance as the BBBS Rotary Bowling Victors – once again." The best news was that the funds raised this year helped BBBS reduce their waiting list by 100 and serve even more children in need. Bravo to Co-Captains Doug Knott and Paula Telage, the MRC Bowling Team and all who donated, and, especially, to Big Brothers Big Sisters for the great work they do all year round!
Sports Month is nearly her for the Milford Rotary Club! The 52nd annual swim meet and the 23rd annual 100 Holes of Golf fundraiser!! We fundraise to be able to do community service projects, award academic and vocational scholarships, and make grants to worthy non-profits and community initiatives! Come join us!
The Milford Rotary Club celebrated the end of another Rotary year in fine fashion at Keller's Yellow Barn. Attendees included current and former Club members, family members, RID 7870 District leaders, and friends of Milford Rotary. As usual the food prepared by our Master Chefs and served by their helpers was delish! The jokes and laughter flowed and the "Rotary fellowship" was abundant. The annual raffle was outrageously fun and, once again, the "4th Annual Bourbon Hustle" was very profitable for the Milford Rotary Club Foundation. Congratulations to Janet Langdell for being awarded the 2017 Stan Powers Award. Many thanks to our gracious hosts Rob and Christine Keller!
Photos of the festivities can be found under "Photo Albums" on the homepage or by Clicking Here and CLICK HERE to jump to Mike R's event photos on Flickr.
Milford Rotary's 2017 Interscholastic Interview Competition culminated at the "Showcasing Business and Student Connections" awards event on Thursday May 18th at the Milford High School & Applied Technology Center. The showcase featured student workforce learning presentations, the NH Scholars program and the presentation of the interview competition awards.
The top prizes in the Interscholastic Interview Competition this year went to Maya Flores (tied for second, Stefani Stroms (first place) and Shannon Drew (tied for second). Congratulations ladies!
Many thanks to the Interview Competition judges - Rotarians Tom Grella, Judi Dunbar, Jane Stewart, and Paul Spiess and Michelle Pelham, Executive Director at Ledgewood Bay.
Just a friendly reminder...the regular 5/31 Club meeting has been canceled in lieu of the Club's annual end-of-year gathering (TL Day) to be held Friday, June 2nd @ Keller's Yellow Barn Wilton Center, NH. See the event listing or Karen Keating for more details.
Milford Rotary's 2017 Interscholastic Interview Competition is nearly complete! The competition will culminate at the "Showcasing Business and Student Connections" awards event on Thursday May 18th 5:30-7:30 pm at the Milford High School & Applied Technology Center. The showcase also will feature student workforce learning presentations and the NH Scholars program.
The Interview Competition judges this year were - Rotarians Tom Grella, Judi Dunbar, Jane Stewart, and Paul Spiess and Michelle Pelham, Executive Director at Ledgewood Bay.
Event sponsors are Steven A. Desmarais Construction; Contemporary Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep; BankersLife, Glenn Flessas; Edward Jones Investments, Mark Chareth; Ledgewood Bay; and Boyd & Bufford Insurance Agency, Rick Boyd.
Well.....it is official…..the Milford Rotary Club is #1
At least at charity bowling and for the 10th time in 12 years!
Alyssa Salmon, Development & Communications Director @ BBBS, has announced the final 2017 Rotary Challenge tallies-
Milford: $4,125 raised; 1528 total pins
Nashua Rotary: $3435.00 raised; 1338 total pins
Merrimack: $646.00 raised; 1329 total pins
Nashua West: $325.00; 1281 total pins
Hollis: $725 raised; 835 pins
"Thank you to everyone who came out to participate in the 2017 Bowl for Kids’ Sake on Friday night to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH! It was a great night with so much positive energy- what a great show of support for kids in the community! Thank you everyone who participated this year by bowling, donating and fundraising- you are making a BIG difference!” - Alyssa Salmon
(bolding and highlighting added cuz the Milford Rotary Bowling Team and supporters earned the bragging rights!)
On the eve of the Masters at Augusta National, Milford Rotarians kicked-off their march to the 23rd annual 100 Holes of Golf In One Day Tournament to be held July 28, 2017 at the Amherst Country Club. This is the Milford Rotary's largest fundraiser each year. As Co-chair Marc Chareth noted "Over 2/3rds of the $100,000 Milford Rotary donates each year to non-profits and in scholarships is raised by this event." Funds are raised primarily through the sale of raffle tickets for a chance to win one of 10 cash prizes totaling $12,500. Event sponsorships are available and golfers interested in playing are encouraged to inquire. For more information about how you can be part of this fantastic event, please visit www.golf100holes.com
Pictured below is the 2017 Golf Committee. Buried in the center of this "wild and crazy" group is Alec Buchanan who has been a Golf committee member since the beginning 23 years ago.
Click Here for more photos from the lunch at Giorgio's.
According to Coach Raczek, the Milford Rotary Club has been sending a team or two to CASA's annual Snowfest ski & golf fundraiser since at least 2003! This is one of our favorite charities. CASA-NH and their partners at Loon Mountain sure do put on a fantastic and unique event. Thank you Coach Joe Raczek and Lodging hosts Marc and Julie Chareth! Check-out the video featuring remarks from Joe and Marc.
Here's an example of why we do what we do as Milford Rotarians. CAST Youth Empowerment & Service (YES) team meeting on 3/20/17 - educating and empowering the kids at Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley! Word is that they also had a great visit from WMUR's Suzanne Roantree and videographer Ben. Milford Rotary Club proudly supports CAST and SVBGC!
Milford Rotarians traveled over to the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club to celebrate Wild Card Wednesday with a "we'll bury 'em in the mix" performance by Stevie D and the Fabulous Five!
For more photos, check out the photo album section by CLICKING HERE.
On January 20th at about 10:20 pm EST, the District 7870 Global Study Exchange (GSE) Team will take off from Logan Airport for Mysuru India. Heading up this adventurous group is Milford Rotarian Claudine Hessmer-Husainy. Accompanying her are Sarah Marchant, Nina Giannotti, Allison Morris, and Suzanne Delaney. As an all female team, they have dubbed themselves Claudine's Angels of Peace.
The team will be in India for three weeks, learning about the culture of Mysuru and the surrounding areas. Each member of the group will have the opportunity to learn about their respective professions in India. This includes city development (Sarah), international students (Nina), STEM education and innovation (Suzanne), and journalism (Allison). Mysuru (which recently changed its name from Mysore) is in the southwest of India and is known for its tourism and regal palaces. Incidentally, last year, Mysuru and Nashua officially became sister cities! That initiative was championed by State Rep. Latha Mangipudi.
Pictured above from the left are: Suzanne Delaney, Nina Giannotti, Sarah Marchant, Claudine, Allison Morris and Hollis/Brookline Rotary President Krishna Mangipudi
The Rotary Foundation’s Group Study Exchange program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for business people and professionals between the ages of 25 and 40 who are in the early stages of their careers. GSE teams members are selected through a competitive application process. Save for the team leader, applicants cannot be Rotarians The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visits in paired areas of different countries. For three to six weeks, team members experience the host country's culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.
Rotary unites more than a million people around the world to make a difference in their backyards and around the world. Visit the NEW Rotary website for interactive features and stories. https://www.rotary.org/
Congratulations to Peter Ten Broeck on achieving 52 years of perfect attendance at Rotary! Here's Peter in 2017 celebrating 52 years with President Ken and in 2013 at 49 years of perfect attendance. Still looking good Peter and stylin' in those fancy pants!
While most of the Club's members enjoyed a festive holiday gathering at the new SVB&GC Teen Center on Sunday night, Rob Keller and his compadres enjoyed Rotary-style fellowship while selling Christmas Trees!
Rob was joined by Mark Bausha and Seth Zeigler on sales with Claudine Hessmer-Husainy doing a double shift as cashier! With 28 more trees sold Sunday night, the count is over 400. Rob shared that over half the trees were sold this past weekend - 111 on Saturday and 98 on Sunday! That means the cashbox is filling up and there are less than 300 trees to go. All proceeds from the Christmas Tree sale go towards Milford Rotary's charitable giving and scholarship programs. For photos of the Christmas Party, CLICK HERE
Today we celebrated Mel Reever's birthday - November 2, 1925 - 91 years young! Big Mel has been a Rotarian since 1969 and was our Club's President in 1972-73. As we all know and love, Mel is never at a loss for a big smile and a quick quip, especially, when the Fine Masters come around!
Milford Rotarian and Wilton businessman, Phil Tuomala was honored recently by District 7870. Phil, affectionately known to his fellow Rotarians as "Vernal Pool", received a Paul Harris Fellow from the District. Past Club President Cynthia Dokmo made the presentation. Paul Harris Fellow recognition is among the highest honors bestowed by Rotary International.
Last year the 100 Holes Committee added The Madras Jacket award for the top golfer at 100 Holes. This year they instituted the 100 Holes Hall Of Fame as a way to recognize outstanding support and commitment to this event over the past 22 years and in the years to come. The first five inductees represent a wealth of inspiration and vision, community and player support, and fundraising dollars.
First to be recognized were the founders - Mike LaVallee and the late Ted Jordan who dreamed up this event and got the ball soaring. Fitz Fitzgerald was honored as the ONE golfer who has played in all 22 of the 100 Holes tournaments to date. Henniker Rotarian, Joe Clement, was honored for his many years of participation and for raising loads of money each year for the event. This year Joe raised $12,800 in raffle ticket sales! As Alec Buchanan noted in 2013, Joe has been participating in the 100 Holes of Golf tournament since the beginning. As a matter of fact, he has only missed a couple of years in the event's history - and that, according to Alec, was because we forgot to call him! The Amherst Country Club was awarded Hall Of Fame status for 22 years of dedicated collaboration. As many agreed, The ACC is the only place for this event!
Pictured from left to right: Maurica Smith ACC Operations Assistant, Joe Clement, Adam LaVallee accepting on behalf of his father Mike, Fitz Fitzgerald, and Mary Jordan.
Up next for the Milford Rotary Club is the 22nd annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day tournament. On Friday July 29th, sixty-five golfers will play from dawn to dusk at the Amherst Country Club in their quest to complete 100 holes of golf in one day and raise loads of money for the Milford Rotary Club Foundation.
Funds are raised through sponsorships and the sale of raffle tickets @ $20 each with 10 chances to win part of the $12,500 cash prize pot with a top prize of $5000. Raffle tickets are available from any Milford Rotarian and there is still time to get in on the action by purchasing one or more. Each ticket includes valuable coupons like $20 off dinner at Giorgio's.
100 Holes golfers are treated like rock stars. They are supported throughout the day by a bevy of volunteers, are treated to lunch provided by Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen and The Flying Butcher, and are honored at a post-event banquet served by Giorgio's Ristorante.
Who will go home this year with the Ted Jordan award, the Callaway award and the coveted 100 Holes Madras Plaid Jacket?
The longest, continuously organized Rotary Swim Meet in the USA (if not the world)! This is not a "RINO" event, we don't just write a check! Milford Rotarians will be working this two-day event alongside a cadre of community volunteers, town staff members and swim team parents. Together we put on an awesome swim meet! Many thanks to our sponsors some of whom have been helping for decades!
"Delicious as always" "This is a great event" "Thank you all for doing this - everything is wonderful!" "I know how much it takes to put this on - thank you to everyone!" These are just a few of the comments shared by our guests at the 38th Annual Senior Citizens Chicken BBQ! Seniors from the Souhegan Valley, Merrimack and Nashua attended the event. Well over 280 meals were provided! Many thanks to the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club for sharing their facility space and to our sponsors! Photos of the event are posted - Click Here
Thank You BBQ Sponsors, Entertainers, Helpers & Guests!
Milford Rotary will keep the Bowling Trophy for yet another year! That means they raised lots of money to help Big Brothers Big Sisters! For photos of the annual event CLICK HERE
Milford Rotary welcomed two new members to its ranks - Peter Lyon of Amherst and Tom Young of Merrimack. Lyon, a retired Amherst Police Chief, is new to Rotary and is also a newly elected Amherst Selectman. Young, a former Milford Rotarian, elected to return to our club from the Merrimack Rotary Club when his professional endeavors brought him back to Union Street. He is a paralegal with the firm of David G. Sturm, Counselors at Law PLLC. Picture below from left to right are Tom, Peter and Club President Cynthia Dokmo.
The 38th annual Chicken BBQ is coming up in May! Thank you to the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club for providing the location once again! This is a great luncheon with raffles and entertainment that Milford Rotary puts on for 300+/- area senior citizens. It's free for the seniors and a whole lot of fun! Stay tuned for more details. An questions - please contact BBQ Co-chairs May Balsama or Paul Wydra.
Just a reminder - The Annual District Training Assembly is Sat April 9th, 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM at the Keene High School and hosted by the KHS Interact Club. Registration starts at 8:00 AM with Coffee and Pastries; Program starts at 8:45.
You can sign up for the District Training Assembly on the District website using this link to register - Click HERE
Click HERE to view the 2016 District Training Assembly agenda
The Milford Rotary Club recently welcomed Chad Zingales as its newest member. Past President and Chief Fine Mater Steve Desmarais presided over the induction ceremony and had the honor of pinning Chad.
His classification is listed as "Plastic Injection Molding" but we all know him as a fine educator!! Thank you Bill Andrews for your good humor, positive outlook and dedication to Rotary and to your students! (click on the title to view a larger version of the photo)
Coach Joe and the Milford Rotary Swamp Rats Ski & Golf Team had a fine time at the annual CASA-NH Snowfest! This was their 13th appearance at this fun filled event. Snowfest, in its 16th year, is one of CASA’s largest annual fundraisers. To learn more about CASA-NH click here.
The "Wildcard" meeting scheduled for February 10th is shaping up to be one of our most memorable gatherings in 2016!
C-SPAN representatives, La'Shawna Saint-Preux and Vanessa Torres, will be Milford Rotary Club's featured speakers on Wed February 10th. In addition to their informative presentation, the C-SPAN bus will be on-site and available for tours. If you plan to bring a guest or join us to make-up a Rotary meeting, please let President Cynthia know in advance.
"The C-SPAN Bus is an interactive, multi-media learning center that brings C-SPAN’s coverage of public affairs to communities nationwide and teaches students, teachers and the public how to follow Washington Your Way. Click here to watch the Bus in action! Aboard the C-SPAN Bus, visitors are invited to learn about C-SPAN’s Campaign 2016 coverage through a campaign app which allows visitors to explore potential presidential candidates, events, and footage from the campaign trail. In addition, through interactive exhibits, students and educators will learn about the public affairs network’s programs and resources, including its in-depth coverage of the U.S. Congress, White House, federal courts, and the American political process."
Our fabulous Fine Masters did it again on Wednesday!! Here is a 3 minute "short" that only begins to capture the fun and fellowship shared at this week's meeting. To view full screen on YouTube click here
You Ain't Goin' Nowhere...Until The Fines Are Paid
Milford Rotary's annual Christmas Tree Sale got off to a great start on Friday morning 11/27th! First purchases were made by that dynamic mother and daughter team of Joanne Laychak and Lesli Rendall! As you know Joanne is an honorary member of the club and Les is a longtime supporter of all our activities. Incidentally, Les is already making plans to bring her advisory group and other Souhegan students to help out at the Senior Citizens' BBQ in May 2016! Click HEREfor more photos from the MRC Trees 2015 album.
Here are some first-timers changing the netting.... and no one had their glasses! Video by Jane Lyttle
One of the projects Milford Rotary supported this year was the PBJ Traveling Health Clinic's 2015 mission to Jamaica.
Thank you Dr. Adele de Vera for bringing this opportunity to our attention! This group of volunteers have created a very successful win-win program for the women and children of Jamaica, for the local schools and donors who support the PBJ's effort and for the PBJ volunteers.
Why the pancakes served at the 47th annual Milford Rotary Pancake Breakfast of course! Pictured below, Grace liked hers so much she took some home!
Despite a bit of drizzle, Milford Rotarians served up over 412 breakfasts this morning.......and that ONLY counts the first time through the line at this all you can eat event. 2015 marked the 47th consecutive time that the club has put on a pancake breakfast fundraiser. Many thanks to the Infanti family for the use of their parking lot. The Infanti's have played host to this event since 1976. A shout-out of thanks as well to our cuisine consultants John Sullivan and Team Yankee Chef for their help! Many thanks as always to everyone who attended, sponsored and worked at the breakfast. All of the proceeds will go towards Milford Rotary's charitable giving and scholarship programs.
Co-chairs Mark F and Peter B will have further information on the fundraising totals from the sponsorships, ticket sales and donations but it is sure to be another great year. The fun and fellowship quotient was definitely over the top this year! To view some photos from the pancake breakfast CLICK HERE.
Once again Milford Rotary is participating in Rotary International’s youth exchange program. Our inbound student, Adeola Adesiyun, arrived on September 4th. Adeola is from Lagos, Nigeria. According to Doug Rupert, her folks are both architects, she has two older brothers, one of whom lives in Canada, and she has completed Nigeria's standard 11 years of education. Adeola will be living with Julie & Matt on the farm for about 3 months, then with Shannon Chandley and Tom Silvia in Amherst. There is an opening for a third host family from Amherst or Mont Vernon so that Adeola can attend Souhegan High – please see Doug Rupert for details.
Our last breakfast meeting is Wednesday August 26th. The September 2, 2015 meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on the Community House Lawn. Bring family & friends for the "Burger Bar" with 35 toppings. RSVP to Betsey Whtie by Aug 28th.
The September 2, 2015 club meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on the Community House lawn. Dinner will be a "Burger Bar" with 35 toppings. Reservations are required, so please RSVP to Betsey White by Friday, Aug 28, 2105. The program and dinner will start @ 6:30 PM. Bring your spouse, friends & neighbors! Hope to see you there!
Tomorrow - Friday July 31st - is the big day for Milford Rotary's 21st annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament. Let's hope that our 50-plus golfers and numerous volunteers get some good rest tonight! Tomorrow will be a long but fun filled day of golf, golf, and more golf! Many thanks to our generous event, hole-in-one, food & beverage, and hole sponsors!
And best of luck to all of the 100 Holes raffle ticket buyers!! Check back after Friday night's raffle ticket drawing to see if you won some part of the $12,500 prize money!
Ten years ago - March 2005 - we broke ground on this project to mark the 100th anniversary of Rotary. It's beautiful to walk through, and quite breathtaking from above. Not often are we privileged to get such a view.
With Past President Chris Rogers presiding over the festivities, Milford Rotary Club's new officers and directors were inducted at the June 24th lunch meeting. Assisting Chris were past presidents Betsey White, David Sturm, Marc Chareth, Colleen Moynihan and Alec Buchanan. Once again we showed that the Milford Rotary Club is rich in colorful fellowship and goodwill.
MRC's 2015-2016 Board of Directors President – Cynthia Dokmo
President Elect – Ken Fordham
Vice President – Tom Quinn
Past President - Rick Boyd
Secretary and Assistant Secretary – Colleen Moynihan and Janet Langdell
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer – Paula Telage and Tim Finan
Directors (continuing) – Steve Desmarais, Tom Grella, Sheila Strum
Directors (new) – Rob Keller, May Balsama, Doug Knott
Sergeant-at-Arms - John Siemienowicz
Cynthia Dokmo, our club’s new President, added some royal humor to the event as we start the 66th year of “Service Above Self” under the Milford Rotary Club banner.
Many thanks were extended to our "new" Past President Rick Boyd for his leadership and enthusiasm. Rick received a special tee-shirt from his fan club as did his gracious wife Kathy.
For more pictures, please visit the 2015 Installation Photo Album
Milford Rotarians (from the right - David and Sheila Sturm, Tim Finan and Paula Telage along with Paula's hubby Aaron) ran in the Hollis Rotary Fast 5K Race!! Looks like they had a good time for a good cause! For more info - http://www.hollisfast5k.com/
The Milford Rotary Club recently honored and presented George Sklavounos, the owner of Giorgio’s Ristorante & Meze Bar and Giorgio’s Ristorante & Martini Bar with the prestigious Paul Harris Award for his service to their annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day fundraiser. Year after year, George has selflessly donated his time and delicious food for the dinner at this annual event. Event Co-chair Marc Chareth shared the following, “George has really gotten behind this event which has evolved into our Rotary Club's most important and successful fundraiser. George and his team from Giorgio's have fed our volunteers and many hungry golfers each year for over 10 years now at our post tournament banquet. We can't thank him enough for his continued support.” Pictured below - 100 Holes of Golf Committee Members and Past Club Presidents, John Siemienowicz (left) and Marc Chareth (right) present George Sklavounos with his Paul Harris Award. Photo courtesy of Stan Kankowski.
The 2015 Interscholastic Interview Competition wrapped up on Thursday evening with a reception at Hampshire Hills. The purpose of the competition is to help prepare students for real world interviews by building confidence and skills through feedback from a panel of judges.
Pictured below, flanking the winners, are Club President Rick Boyd and Committee Chairman Mike Rasmussen, and from left to right the winners were Jillian Day (1st Place - Tie), Zandra Morris (3rd Place), Alexander "AJ" Smith (2nd Place) and Samantha Lees (1st Place - Tie). Jillian and Zandra attend Wilton-Lyndeborough Coop High School, and AJ and Samantha attend Milford High School.
Milford Rotarians, lead by Coach Knott, raised $4875 for the Greater Nashua & Salem Big Brothers Big Sisters organization! The 2015 Bowl For Kids’ Sake event on May 14th was a fun time of fellowship, bowling and helping a great local charity. According to Paula Telage, the team’s head cheerleader, “We are the champions! We did it and won by a landslide!” Other Rotary clubs participating this year included Hollis/Brookline, Nashua West, Nashua and the Happy Hour Club. Although final dollar and pin numbers are pending, it looks like this was another great success for the Bigs and Littles! Below is a photo of our 2015 bowling team and their supporters courtesy of Stan Kankowski.
Another win for Milford Rotary and our local nonprofits!
Below the infamous "Wait....What?" photographer, Mike Rasmussen, shares links to his photos from the 100 Holes Kick-Off event and this year's Senior BBQ. Enjoy!
By Chris Davidson, Rotary Club of Newport News, Virginia
(Downloaded 2/23/15 from theTHE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE DISTRICT BULLETIN February 2015)
I attended the first ever Rotary Young Professionals Summit held in Chicago on 26-27 September, which gathered 30 Rotarians under the age of 40 to discuss how Rotary can better attract and engage young professionals.
The summit was a huge success and thoroughly captured the essence of what Millennials and members of Generation Y are looking for mentorship, friendship, opportunities, and fun. One of my Rotary mentors, past RI Vice President Anne L. Matthews, who I had worked with on district membership projects, had encouraged me to apply.
If you missed NH Chronicle's feature on CASA's 15th annual Snowfest and snow golf tournament on Wednesday evening, it is now available to watch online (link below). Milford Rotary's Swamp Rats are featured quite prominently! Bravo to all who participated - great cause to support and, as always, wonderful Rotary-style fellowship! http://www.wmur.com/…/wednesday-february-18th-snow…/31381292
We are one week past our CASA ski event, but it was such a good time that a re-cap is in order.
Guests arrived at the Chareth condo around 6 PM Thursday. This year the Swamp Rats Team included Dave and Sheila, Glenn F. and Shannon E., Coach Joe and head cheerleader Paige, our hosts Marc, Julie and Erica Chareth, Stan K., Julie W., President Rick, and blender queen Paula T.
After dinner at Gypsy the pre-event strategy party got underway. for dinner. Glenn kept the tunes going with some great 80s music with Paula and especially Sheila (who else) dancing up a storm. Paula kept the blender going, and really fun and ... and fun and fun.. what else can I say... bonding took place. Rotary fellowship doesn't get much better! Sheila and Dave got the sanity award for crashing early, while everyone else dropped off between 1 and 3 AM.
Friday morning saw the Swamp Rats Ski Team report to the base lodge just in time to make last registration. Joe was on Paige duty, so he deputized Rick Boyd to lead the golf squad. We played in an eight-some and recorded a 17 (for nine holes). Dave's extra sleep paid off as he reportedly was the star golfer. Our 17 was one stroke better than our arch enemy Rick Coveno's team and two better than the Manchester Firefighters. The firefighters made some noise about "erasergate" or some other nonsense, but Coach Raczek, taking his cue from Coach Belichick and Tom Brady, denied everything. However, he did admit to sticking pins in a voodoo doll around the time the other two teams were playing while he was still back at the condo with Paige.
Like the Patriots, when you have a dynasty, others take pot shots at you. President Boyd was outstanding in his first year on the Swamp Rats team, leading us to first place hardware.
As usual, a great time was had by all. Conditions were ideal, and the ski golf event supports a great cause while also providing our club with a great fellowship opportunity. Thanks again to the Chareths for hosting.
PS: NH Chronicle did a piece on the CASA event and Marc was interviewed about the Swamp Rats' long history of participation. WMUR's NH Chronicle will feature the CASA Snowfest on Wednesday February 18th 7 pm. Hope you can tune in! CASA - NH is a great organization helping children in need. Click HERE for more info.
Photo taken by David Pushee and downloaded from the CASA-NH Facebook page on February 9, 2015
Milford Rotary had a great showing at the 2015 CASA Snowfest on Friday, February 6th!
Thank you to Julie Chareth for the accommodations and to Coach Joe for organizing the team. We heard Coach was multi-tasking - coaching remotely while being on Paige duty during the competition. Milford Rotarians Stan K, Dave S, Glenn F, Marc C, Julie W and Rick B were joined on the slopes by Julie and. Erica Chareth and Shannon Enoch. Great fun for a great cause. To learn more about CASA and the Snowfest, please click HERE.
Check-out this great postcard created by Milford's own Amy Conley (www.NHView.com) and on sale at the new coffee house, 42 South St in Milford, called Union Coffee Company (www.unioncoffee.co). Union Coffee Company is owned and operated by the Fimbel Brothers, Derek and Paul, from Mont Vernon. They offer a great place to gather and some excellent coffees, teas and tasty treats.
Please take: New England Rotary Member Survey - by Sat Jan. 31st
Re-posted from Rotarian Rick Bassett's FB and blog postings. Thank you Rick!
All Rotarians in the 8 NE PETS Districts are encouraged to participate in this survey.
Your input is important to your club’s success and we invite you to participate in an anonymous short survey about your experience in Rotary and your club: what you like about our club and what you think could be improved.
We are interested in your honest opinions. There are no right or wrong answers.
All responses are confidential and anonymous. No one will be able to find out how you answered these questions. NorthEast PETS is hosting this online survey and will only provide statistical summaries in the survey reports.
The survey will take five to ten minutes to complete.
This survey is a tool to help your club better understand your members’ perception of Rotary, what might be done to increase member satisfaction, and determine what can be done to keep active, engaged Rotarians.
If you have any questions about this initiative, contact PDG Carolyn Johnson, 2015 NorthEast PETS Chair (cfj2@mac.com)
Thank you for all you do through Rotary – it makes a difference!
The Milford Rotary Christmas Tree Sale is up and running at the Frederick's Pastries parking lot 109 Route 101A in Amherst! We started with 700 beautiful NH grown Balsams from Colebrook NH! The 2014 "grand opening" sales team of Judy Dunbar, Franz Fritsch and Steve Sareault sold at least 7 of the beauties by 12:30 PM and after Steve shoveled out a good portion of the snow covering the trees! Rotarians will be onsite from 10 AM to 8:30 PM on weekends and 5 PM to 8:30 PM on weekdays. If you need a tree in between, Frederick's Pastries has agreed to collect your payment. ALL proceeds go to the Milford Rotary's charitable giving and scholarship programs - the more we take in, the more we can give back to the communities we serve!
First day, first shift team with one MIA Rotarian.
Leave it to President Rick to find a unique and delicious raffle prize for our weekly meetings! Handmade chocolates with a Rotary wheel from Ava Marie Chocolates of Peterborough. Great regional touch as we Light Up Rotary!
The Milford Rotary Club was honored to announce not one but three Paul Harris Fellows at its November 12th meeting. Congratualtions to all on three very well deserved recognitions.
Pictured below: PHF Gene Madigan after being pinned by his wife Jan; PHF Cynthia Dokmo being pinned by her hubby Lew; and PHF Seth Zeigler being pinned by his wife Sharon with President Rick and Past President John doing the honors. Photos courtesy of Michelle Sampson.
The Milford Rotary Club participated in the 2014 Southern NH Expo. Many thanks to May Balsama for the table top torch symbolizing the RI theme - Light Up Rotary!
Friday, October 10, 2014 - The Milford, Souhegan and Wilton-Lyndeborough Interact Club and Milford Rotarians kicked off a weekend of fund raising at Milford's 25th annual Pumpkin Festival. The burgers, hot dogs and sausages, accompanied by some tasty veggies, were flying off the grills amidst loads of laughter and good cheer. The hallmarks of this "joint venture" are always great teamwork and camaraderie. All of the proceeds raised go towards the Interact Club's community work and charitable donations.
The 2014 Apple Crisp Golf Outing will be Tuesday, September 30, 2014. It will be held at the Bretwood Golf Course, 365 East Surry Road, Keene, New Hampshire (South course). The cost is $80 per golfer (in advance if possible) and includes golf, cart, steak or chicken dinner and prizes.
If you are interested in playing, make your check payable to MILFORD ROTARY CLUB for the number of players in your group. Please advise me by return email of the names in your group. You may mail the check or bring it on the 30th. Family, friends, former Rotarians and anyone willing to pay the freight and put up with us is welcome on a first come, first serve basis.
You've heard the phrase and seen the logo......Any idea what it all means? Continue to the next page to read RI President Gary C K. Huang's call to arms
A commemorative stone marker was placed at the pocket-park on Main Street in Wilton. The park is located beside Nelson's Candy store. The black granite marker celebrates Milford Rotary's donation towards the park's fence and the club's ongoing commitment to supporting community betterment initiatives in the Wilton.
Milford Rotary held its two signature events during the fourth week of July - the 46th Annual Milford Rotary Swim Meet and the 20th Annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament.
Around 645 swimmers representing eighteen teams raced in 86 events at Keyes Pool on July 19th and 20th. As a community service event, the annual swim meet goes far to support youth development and the summer swimming programs.
The following Friday 58 enthusiastic golfers raced around the Amherst Country Club course in pursuit of low scores and completing 100 Holes of Golf before sunset. As our premier fundraiser, 100 Holes 2014 was a great success. The committee will have final numbers in the coming weeks but rumor has it that the event will set a new record for net proceeds and that is a wonderful way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this truly unique golf tournament.
The Milford, New Hampshire and the Danli, Honduras Rotary Clubs are pleased to announce that The Rotary Foundation has approved a Global Grant which, when completed, will improve the health of 425 families – including many children - by providing them with clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education. This project will serve nine dispersed, remote communities in the rural municipality of Trojes, Honduras, located along the Nicaraguan border, about three hours northeast of Danli. The total cost of the project is $188,000, of which $138,300 was funded by Rotary Clubs, Rotary Districts and The Rotary Foundation. The remaining funds will be provided by a Native Energy carbon credit program.
In memoriam - William Ferguson III (Years of Rotary service 1952-2014)
Milford Rotary lost a dear friend and dedicated member on June 18th with the death of William "Fergie" Ferguson. World War II veteran, "Rambling Reporter" and dedicated community volunteer, Bill lived a life of service above self. To read more about Fergie's life and exploits, click here.
Bon vonage to Jenny - 2014 Inbound Rotary Exchange student
On June 10th, Phatsuda Somsuk (aka Jenny), our 2014 inbound Rotary Exchange Student, headed to Boston for her trip home.to Pak Kret (city) Nonthaburi (province) Thailand. Jenny had a fantastic year here in the Souhegan Valley. Milford Rotary very fortunate to have such an outstanding young women participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange and we hope she will visit again. To see the photos and read the full story, click here.
June Induction Ceremony
Once again Past President Chris Rogers presided over the annual induction of our club's officers and directors. As Chris noted "I have done this 23 or 24 times and am honored each time I am asked (to conduct the induction ceremony)." The atmosphere was rich in fellowship and goodwill as we start the 65th year of Service Above Self under the Milford Rotary Club banner.
MRC's 2014-2015 Board of Directors
President - Rick Boyd
President Elect - Cynthia Dokmo
Vice President- Ken Fordham
Secretary and Assistant Secretary -
Colleen Moynihan and Tom Quinn
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer -
Claudine Hessmer-Husainy and Paula Telage
Directors continuing for another year:
Carl Michaud, Michelle Sampson and Chris Nervik
Directors inducted for new two-year terms:
Fitz Fitzgerald,Tom Grella, and Sheila Sturm
Sergeant-at-Arms - Tim Finan
Past President - John Siemienowicz
Pure Water for The World (PWW) announces October trip to Haiti
Some of the highlights of the trip include - touring PWW's training facility in Port Au Prince, traveling to rural areas to view PWW's work first-hand, visiting homes and schools where PWW is engaged, and assisting with filter installations in homes or schools. For more information, click here.
Many thanks to Maggie Gelbwaks, Past President Julie Whitcomb's daughter, for sharing this great photo on Facebook. Maggie came across a Rotary Wheel on top of Mtount Evans (a 14,000+ foot peak) in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Do you know what this monument represents? To lean more, click here. For some additional photos including the monument's interesting base, click here.
Mt. Evans Rotary Peace Memorial placed there by the Rotarians of District 113 (Now D5450) in 1941 in honor of the Rotary International convention that was hosted by Denver Rotary in June 1941.
On June 10th, Phatsuda Somsuk (aka Jenny), our 2014 inbound Rotary Exchange Student, headed to Boston for her trip home to Pak Kret (city) Nonthaburi (province) Thailand. Jenny had a fantastic year here in the Souhegan Valley. In addition to the day-to-day fun, she had the opportunity to travel and see many parts of our country including a trip to California. As Cy noted, Jenny frequenlty extended a helping hand when needed to her fellow exchange students. Jenny's year abroad was enriched and facilitated by her three wonderful host families - The Spalding, Drew and Opre Families - and her "Rotary guides" Doug Rupert and Cy Thibault. MIlford Rotary very fortunate to have such an outstanding young women participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange and we hope she will visit again. For more photos click the "More..." below.
On Wednesday July 2nd, Milford Rotarian Paula Telage had the opportunity to visit the Zurich Rotary Club - the only English speaking Rotary Club in Switzerland . As pictured below, she exchanged our Milford Rotary Club banner with the incoming President of the Zurich club Flavio Calligaris-Maibach. According to Paula, the Zurich Rotarians were excited when she mentioned that we might be able to link their website to ours and post this picture. Their club website is: Rotary - RC Zurich Belvoir International - Einstiegsseite - Distrikt 2000
Paula wrote "They could not have been nicer! Aaron and I joined them for a 7pm dinner meeting at the gorgeous Belvoirpark Restaurant where we dined under crystal chandeliers and enjoyed their very warm and welcoming company. They recently held their Run4Change fundraiser which raised 40,000 francs (about $44,000) for their international charity, the St. Jude India ChildCare Centres."
The June 25th meeting was full of recognitions and pinnings. With only five days left of his term, DG David Hoopes dropped in for lunch to make a special Paul Harris Fellow presentation to David Sturm. This is David's second Paul Harris Fellow and was presented in honor of his good work and dedication to Rotary. In addition, David was instrumental in organizing this year's district conference.
Once again Past President Chris Rogers presided over the annual induction of our club's officers and directors. As Chris noted "I have done this 23 or 24 times and am honored each time I am asked (to conduct the induction ceremony)." Assisting Chris were numerous past presidents including Alec Buchanan, Bill McNamara, Jay Dinkel, Julie Whitcomb, and Betsey White. Many thanks were extended to our "new" Past President John Siemienowicz for a job well done, to our departing Board members, and to members who have stepped up to serve again on the Board including Michelle Sampson and Past Presidents Fitz Fitzgerald and Colleen Moynihan. The atmosphere was rich in fellowship and goodwill as we start the 65th year of Service Above Self under the Milford Rotary Club banner.
MRC's 2014-2015 Board of Directors
President - Rick Boyd
President Elect - Cynthia Dokmo
Vice President- Ken Fordham
Secretary and Assistant Secretary - Colleen Moynihan and Tom Quinn
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer - Claudine Hessmer-Husainy and Paula Telage
Directors continuing for another year: Carl Michaud, Michelle Sampson and Chris Nervik
Directors inducted for new two-year terms: Fitz Fitzgerald,Tom Grella, and Sheila Sturm
Sergeant-at-Arms - Tim Finan
Past President - John Siemienowicz (ex-officio member)
The Milford Rotary Club lost a dear friend and longtime member on June 18th with the passing of William Ferguson III. Bill, or "Fergie" as he was affectionately known, joined the Milford Rotary Club in 1952 at the behest of his brother-in-law William B. Rotch who was a charter member of the club. A Paul Harris Fellow, Bill was president of the club from 1960-1961. His dedication to community service is exemplified by his instrumental roles in the planning and construction of the Keyes Memorial Pool and as a founding member of the Souhegan Valley Land Trust.
Bill's official club biography starts off with this quip - "We don't know if there is any truth to the rumor that when Bill was born he asked if he could say a few words." Although he was in the insurance business for a period of time, Fergie probably will be best remembered as the cub reporter for the Milford Cabinet and Wilton Journal turned columnist, freelance writer and magazine editor. For many years he wrote and edited the club's Rotary Roundup newsletter. His moniker in the Cabinet was "Rambling Reporter". Some might say that the "rambling" part could equally describe his love of good storytelling and his passion for traveling. Certainly the Rotary Classification of "Literature and Prose" was aptly assigned.
A Massachusetts native by birth and a World War II veteran, Bill found his way to Milford in the 1940's by-way of his wife Helen's roots in our community. To borrow from one of Bill's trademark lines - I think I heard the Lady at the Post Office say that Bill Ferguson was a Milford native even though he wasn't born or raised here.
In 1966 Milford Rotarians, led by John Bilodeau, organized the first annual Milford Rotary Swim Meet. This was an invitational meet combined with other fun events to celebrate the building of a new Town Pool in Milford NH. Every year since then the Milford Rotary Club, with significant help from the Town of Milford, the Milford Recreation Department and Commission, and the Granite State Swim Association, has organized and sponsored this summertime event.
This is definitely not a “RINO” (Rotary In Name Only) event. We don’t just write the checks to fund the swim meet. Over the two days of this swim meet, Milford Rotarians can be found on-deck timing events and handing out ribbons, flipping their famous burgers at the concession stand, parking car, selling tee shirts, and so much more.
Currently 15 to 18 teams from across New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts with 550-600 swimmers head to Milford for The Rotary every July. Some of these are year-round teams and some are summer teams affiliated with Town recreation programs. They come to compete against each other and against the clock. But most importantly they and their parents and fans come for the FUN that is the hallmark of the Milford Rotary Swim Meet.
Has or does your Rotary Club sponsor a swim meet? Do you know of another “Rotary Swim Meet”? If so, please send us your story! Help us learn the truth and answer the questions – Does the Milford NH Rotary Club put on the longest continuously operated Rotary Swim Meet in the United States? In the world?
If you can help or would like to share a story or a photo, please email Rotarian Janet Langdell at MilfordRotarySwimMeet@gmail.com
Yours In Rotary Service, Janet Langdell
As seen in these photos from 2013 community spirit abounds and it is all about the kids and having fun.
Milford Rotarians were honored to have Professor Lawrence Lessig as their guest speaker on June 11th. Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University and the founder of NH Rebellion.
NH Rebellion is an organization with the straightforward objective to make big money in politics the central issue in the 2016 presidential primary by asking every presidential primary candidate to clearly answer a question - "How are you going to end the system of corruption in Washington, D.C.?" The premise being that in order to make any “sensible progress” on any important policy issues, we must reform how political campaigns and elections are financed thereby shifting the focus away from the tasks of raising money to fund elections and back on the job that public officials are elected to do.
Sprinkled with humorous quips and thought-provoking facts, Lessig’s presentation and the follow-up question and answer period were very informative and entertaining. For more information about NH Rebellion please visit their website at http://www.nhrebellion.org/ or on Facebook under NH Rebellion. An expanded version of Professor Lessig’s presentation appeared on TED Talk and is posted on the NH Rebellion Speakers Bureau page at www.nhrebellion.org/speakers_bureau.
The 2014 Ted Langdell Day party was another smashing success and a marvelous celebration of our club's accomplishments this past year. As President John noted, with all that we did and all that we leveraged, over $300,000 in local and international support was generated by our club this year. Many thanks to our gracious hosts Rob and Christine Keller for sharing their fantastic antique barn with us.
The MHS Interscholastic Interview Competition sponsored by Milford Rotary came to a close on Wednesday June 4th with a reception and awards presentation at the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club. Pictured below are MHS Career Development Counselor Rich Paiva, competition winner Alexandra Hoffman, finalists Mitchell Banuskevich, Mitchell Roske and Emily Saunders, and Cynthia Dokmo who served as the competition organizer. In the second photo below, Incoming Rotary President Rick Boyd congratulates Alexandra Hoffman.
Pledge One For Peace is the name of a new project being undertaken by the Souhegan Earlyact Club. Instead of talking about peace they and all of the participants will be creating peace! Each participant will pledge to perform an act of peace or conflict prevention. Each pledge will be written on a Peace Dove and pinned to the PLEDGE ONE FOR PEACE TARP. The goal is to have GLOBAL participation from Rotary, Rotaract, Interact, Earlyact and students from all over the world. To print out a copy of the Pledge One For Peace Dove along with instructions on where to send your completed Peace Dove, please click here.
At the May meeting of the Milford, Souhegan and Wilton-Lyndeborough Interact Club the students presented checks to a number of very worthy charities - Bridges Domestic & Sexual Violence Support, The Hope For Gus Foundation, Wilton's Open Cupboard food pantry and Doctors Without Borders. Most of the funds raised came from their hard work selling hamburgers and sausages at the Milford Pumpkin Festival. In 2013 they raised over $4000. To read more about their activities, please click here. Many thanks to the Interact Faculty Advisors - Judi Zaino, Maggie Paul, and Nancy Tong - for their dedication to these outstanding students!
Pictured below are just some of the 70+ students who belong to the local Rotary Interact Club.
For the past few months Milford Rotarians have been involved in this new student-centered project. To cap off the competition, a reception will be held on Wednesday, June 4th, 6:30 pm at the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club. Contact Cynthia Dokmo for further details.
Coming up on June 6th - Ted Langdell Day
Come one, come all and help celebrate Milford Rotary's 2014 success story! $35 per person, games, raffles, presentation of the Stan Powers award, and extra special Rotary fellowship.
Don't forget to get your main course selection into Karen Keating asap!
Thank you in advance to Rob and Christine Keller for use of their BIG YELLOW BARN!
To read more about Ted Langdell and Stan Powers, please click here.
Pictured at left are some of our Past Presidents enjoying TLD 2013!
Please plan on attending the June 11th meeting and welcoming our guest speaker Lawrence Lessig to the Souhegan Valley! Mr. Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and founder of Rootstrikers, a network of activists leading the fight against government corruption. For a bit more information, please click here.
Word just in that the Flying Butcher (formerly The Amherst Meathouse) will once again be one of our 100 Holes Lunch sponsors.
Tee & Green and other sponsorships are available. Interested in being a sponsor or know someone who might be - please contact Tom Quinn or Marc Chareth.
Many thanks to Foodee's of Milford owner John Bowen who agreed to work with us again on Pizza for the Swim Meet. John has been integral to this production for many years and has not increased his rate for the swim meet pizzas in 4 years!
Bravo and thank you to Carl Michaud and Sheila & David Sturm for so rapidly saying YES to sponsoring the 2014 Coaches and Officials Hospitality suite at the 46th MRSM! This is a new feature for our meet but one that is now customary at the larger swim meets.
Wednesday May 7th was a perfect day for a barbeque! Seniors from all over the Souhegan Valley joined Milford Rotarians for the 36th annual Senior Citizens' Chicken Barbeque. Many thanks to the Yankee Chef and Frederick's Pastries, tothe wonderful musicians and vocalists from Milford High and to Lesli Rendell's team of Souhegan High freshmen who did a fantastic job serving and cleaning-up. Many thanks to Bedford Fields, The House By The Side Of The Road, Shaw's of Milford, Dunkin Donuts, and Moulton's Market for their wonderful raffle prize donations! Bravo to the event organizers Jane Lyttle and May Balsama.
Milford Rotary was ably represented by Bob Moulton and Stan Kankowski at the Milford Pride Town Wide Clean-up Day, held Saturday, May 3rd by the Milford Improvement Team and The Benevolent #7 Masonic Lodge. Bob and Stan were assigned the area on Perry Road near the Rte. 101 Bypass. The duo picked up approximately 10 bags of trash. While not one of the most visible parts of town as Bob said, "Every little bit helps make Milford the great place it is to live". Stan wondered if time picking up trash by the side of the road was applicable to work release for any future time in the slammer. Bob opined that the warden would probably just make us chiefs of the work crew.
Milford Rotary Club once again provided financial support to the annual Souhegan Valley Crop Walk to Fight Hunger. Organizers of this year’s event set the goal of raising $35,000, to push the cumulative total for 25 years over the $600,000 mark. According to organizer John David, it looks like the 2014 CROP Walk will raise closer to $37,000, when all pledges are turned in. To read more about this event, click here.
From Sheila Sturm, Human Rights Committee Chair - Thank you J.M. Princewell for your generous donation to Milford Rotary Club supporting our fundraiser for Lotus Pedals, a Lotus Outreach project that supplies bicycles to adolescent girls in Cambodia, helping them get to and from school safely and efficiently. Your donation helped purchase 8 of 20 bicycles. Well Done. I also want to thank Souhegan Cycleworks, and The Skin Care Studio by Kylee B Ross, for their generous donations to Milford Rotary Club supporting our fundraiser for Lotus Pedals. Their donations combined enabled the purchase of 3 of 20 bicycles. To learn more about the Lotus Pedals project, click here.
Dave Gendron became Milford Rotary's newest member on May 14th. Welome Dave!
Congratulations to Cy Thibault on earning a Paul Harris Fellow Plus 2!
On May 7th, President John Siemienowicz presented Sara Amato-Larabee and Josh Larabee with Paul Harris Fellow honors on behalf of the Milford Rotary Club. Sara and Josh have chosen to make donations from the Amato Family Fund for the last two years to the Milford Rotary Club Foundation, recognizing the positive impact of this resource in our community.
Peter Tenbroeck, on the left, and John present Josh his PHF along with dropping off two sets of golfer tickets! Look for Josh and his brother-in-law Geoff who will both be playing and participating in the Milford Rotary's 20th Annual 100 Holes of Golf Tournament
Claudine Hessmer-Husainy received her first Paul Harris Fellow at the April 23rd meeting. During the presentation, Past President Julie Whitcomb highlighted Claudine's many contributions as a Rotarian including for her work in founding the first EarlyAct Club in our district and her active participation in many of our international endeavors. To Claudine's surprise, her hubby Mozammel dropped in from work in Rhode Island to participate in the PHF pinning. Bravo on a well deserved honor!
On April 30th Assistant District Governor (ADG) and District Secretary Dennis McMann joined the club for lunch and to do some Rotary work. Dennis presided over a very special presentation to John Siemienowicz and Allise de Smet during which John received his Benefactor wings, and they both received an engraved crystal award and lapel pins recognizing their contribution as a Major Donor. John and Allise join Milford Rotarian Peter TenBroeck as a Major Donor.
For more information about the various opportunities to support Rotary International, please click here
What do wings and crystal have to do with Rotary? The answer would be easy if you were at a recent Milford Rotary Club meeting. On April 30th Assistant District Governor (ADG) and District Secretary Dennis McMann joined the club for lunch and to do some Rotary work. Dennis presided over a very special presentation to John Siemienowicz and Allise de Smet during which John received his Benefactor wings, and they both received an engraved crystal award and lapel pins recognizing their contribution as a Major Donor. John and Allise join Milford Rotarian Peter TenBroeck as a Major Donor.
Rotary International confers Benefactor status on those who make a provision in their estate plan for The Rotary Foundation or make an outright gift of US$1,000 or more to the Endowment Fund (formerly the Permanent Fund). Those individuals or couples whose cumulative donations to the Rotary Foundation reach US $10,000 or more are recognized as Major Donors.
For more information about the various opportunities to support Rotary International, please click here
At the May meeting of the Milford, Souhegan and Wilton-Lyndeborough Interact Club the students presented checks to a number of charities. Pictured below are just some of the 70+ students who belong to the local Rotary Interact Club.
Once again the Milford Rotary Club helped sponsor the annual Souhegan Valley Interfaith CROP Walk. This year was the 25th anniversary of the event and it looks like they will exceed their goal of raising $35,000! Bravo to all who organized, supported and participated in this great Souhegan Valley community event!
Top photo - “Walkers Ready to Start” - Six walkers in front, showing their new Anniversary Souhegan Valley CROP Hunger Walk T-shirts. Bottom photo -“Walkers Gather for Ice Cream in Emerson Park” – Dave Boissonnault with his back turned to us, showing the logos on the back of the T-shirt, looks down at his 5-year old son, Cooper, ice cream cone in hand.
Wednesday May 7th was a delightfully sunny day and perfect for a barbeque! Seniors from all over the Souhegan Valley joined Milford Rotarians for the annual Senior Citizens' Chicken Barbeque. Rotarians grilled up their famous barbecued birds with the "very secret sauce". A well received variation this year was the delicious "homemade" side dishes prepared by our friends at Yankee Chef. Per tradition, dessert included those sinfully good brownies from Frederick's Pastries along with that ol' New England favorite - Hoodsie Cups. Lovely vocal and musical entertainment was provided by Milford High students and Lesli Rendell's team of Souhegan High freshmen did a fantastic job serving and cleaning-up. Many thanks to Bedford Fields, The House By The Side Of The Road, Shaw's of Milford, Dunkin Donuts, and Moulton's Market for their wonderful raffle prize donations! Most importantly the seniors in attendance had a wonderful lunch and social gathering filled with Rotary style fellowship. Bravo to the event organizers Jane Lyttle and May Balsama. More photos are available under Photo Albums on the Home Page or by clicking here.
On May 7th, President John Siemienowicz presented Sara Amato-Larabee and Josh Larabee with Paul Harris Fellow honors on behalf of the Milford Rotary Club. Sara and Josh have chosen to make donations from the Amato Family Fund for the last two years to the Milford Rotary Club Foundation, recognizing the positive impact of this resource in our community. Look for Josh and his brother-in-law Geoff who will both be playing and participating in the Milford Rotary's 20th Annual 100 Holes of Golf Tournament.
In the top photo, John presents Sara with her Paul Harris Fellow (PHF) at the annual Senior Citizens' Chicken Barbeque. In the bottom photo, Peter Tenbroeck, on the left, and John present Josh his PHF along with dropping off two sets of golfer tickets!
Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, and founder of Rootstrikers, a network of activists leading the fight against government corruption. In addition to conducting a number of TED Talks and authoring numerous books, Mr. Lessig was the organizer of the NH Rebellion - the 185 mile walk accross NH this past January which helped encourage voters to ask all political candidates: “How will you end this system of corruption in Washington?” Recently, he launched "a citizens' funded and crowdsourced superpac to end all superpacs" Here is a link to his blogsite http://www.lessig.org/. and the MayOne Superpac site http://mayone.us/. Please plan on attending the June 11th meeting and welcoming Mr. Lessig to the Souhegan Valley!
Milford Rotary was ably represented by Bob Moulton and Stan Kankowski at the Milford Pride Town Wide Clean-up Day, held Saturday, May 3rd by the Milford Improvement Team and The Benevolent #7 Masonic Lodge. Bob and Stan were assigned the area on Perry Road near the Rte. 101 Bypass. The duo picked up approximately 10 bags of trash. While not one of the most visible parts of town as Bob said, "Every little bit helps make Milford the great place it is to live". Stan wondered if time picking up trash by the side of the road was applicable to work release for any future time in the slammer. Bob opined that the warden would probably just make us chiefs of the work crew.
Pledge One For Peace is the name of a new project being undertaken by the Souhegan Earlyact Club. The Earlyact students took their inspiration from the Make Peace wall project sponsored by the Westport (CT) Sunrise Rotary in which people of all ages as peace makers and peace builders contributed their thoughts on peace and conflict prevention. The Souhegan Earlyact students came up with the idea of engaging in peace efforts with a call to action and plan to take their project GLOBAL!
The Make Peace wall, as displayed at the 3rd Annual Westport Mini-Maker Faire on April 26, 2014, was filled with ideas on how to create and foster peace and conflict prevention.
Instead of talking about peace they and all of the participants will be creating peace! Each participant will pledge to perform an act of peace or conflict prevention. Each pledge will be written on a Peace Dove and pinned to the PLEDGE ONE FOR PEACE TARP. The goal is to have GLOBAL participation from Rotary, Rotaract, Interact, Earlyact and students from all over the world. To print out a copy of the Pledge One For Peace Dove along with instructions on where to send your completed Peace Dove, please click here.
Souhegan Earlyact Club Launches Global Peace Project
From Sheila Sturm, Human Rights Committee Chair -Thank you J.M. Princewell for your generous donation to Milford Rotary Club supporting our fundraiser for Lotus Pedals, a Lotus Outreach project that supplies bicycles to adolescent girls in Cambodia, helping them get to and from school safely and efficiently. Your donation helped purchase 8 of 20 bicycles. Well Done. I also want to thank Souhegan Cycleworks, and The Skin Care Studio by Kylee B Ross, for their generous donations to Milford Rotary Club supporting our fundraiser for Lotus Pedals. Their donations combined enabled the purchase of 3 of 20 bicycles.
As noted on their website, Lotus Pedals "provides heavy terrain bicycles to rural Cambodian girls that would not otherwise be able to traverse the considerable distance to the nearest school." For more information about Lotus Outreach click here and for more information about the Lotus Pedals project click here.
Claudine Hessmer-Husainy received her first Paul Harris Fellow at the April 23rd meeting. During the presentation, Past President Julie Whitcomb highlighted many of Claudine's contributions as a Rotarian including for her work in founding the first EarlyAct Club in our district and her active participation in many of our international endeavors. Claudine helped organize the Milford-Lahore Peace Express trip to Pakistan in 2012 and more recently spearheaded our club's participation in The World's Greatest Meal to Help End Polio. She also serves the Milford Rotary as our Assistant Treasurer. In addition to her volunteer work as a Rotarian, Claudine serves on the boards of Andy's Summer Playhouse and the Amherst PTA. To Claudine's surprise, her beloved hubby Mozammel dropped in from work in Rhode Island to participate in the PHF pinning. Bravo on a well deserved honor!
Just a reminder that Bridges will be holding their 2014 Milford Hope event on Wednesday May 21st. The Milford Rotary Club is in the second year of a three year commitment to donate $10,000 each year to Bridges. For more information about this wonderful and unfortunately much needed community resource, please click here. To RSVP and for additional information about the event, please contact Pamela Auer at 603-889-0858 ext. 214 or development@bridgesnh.org.
Preparations are well underway for Milford Rotary's 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament. So save the date - Friday July 25th at the Amherst Country Club.
Captain Tom Quinn is looking for Tee & Green and other sponsors. Many thanks to our Hole-in-one sponsors -
The 100 Holes Raffle Tickets, with the great coupons, are ready for sale! Milford Rotarians should see Cynthia Dokmo to get their allotment. Paula Telage is organizing the 50/50 Program with our local non-profit partners.
Anyone interested in golfing as an individual or on a team should contact Marc Chareth or Ray Bent. As a special treat for the 20th, these guys are organizing a Pool Party & Pig Roast for our golfers. Sponsored by Edward Jones Investments, this added event will be held on Saturday July 26th.
The "volunteer" sign-up sheet for tournament day tasks will be going around soon. If you are interested in caddying, please let Tom or John know as soon as possible.
One of the highlights at this year’s Rotary District 7870 Training Assembly on April 5th was a break-out session conducted by our local Earlyact Club.
The Souhegan Earlyact Club presented the début of their Leadership Project video. Below are some photos from the video.
Bravo to the all the Earlyact members and to their advisor Claudine Hessmer-Husainy.
A copy of the video is available on the Milford Rotary Club's Facebook page. Click here to visit the club's Facebook page then scroll down to locate the video. You'll need to click on the block arrowhead to start the video.
Senator Kelly Ayotte is scheduled to visit the Milford Rotary Club on Wed April 23rd as our guest speaker. Rotarians and invited guests will have an opportunity to dialogue firsthand with Senator Ayotte.
The Milford Rotary Club was treated to a sweet after lunch presentation by local "chocolate and sugar" artist Doug Nelson. Doug, a third generation candy maker, owns and operates Nelson's Candies located at 65 Main Street in Wilton. Doug's daughter Janet operates a branch of Nelson's in Cornville, Maine making it four generations of Nelson candy artists since 1914.
In addition to being a wonderful raconteur and sugar artist, Doug is an accomplished musician. To serve his musical avocation, Doug plays with his band, Sweet Tooth, and operates a music café next door to the candy shop in Wilton. Next up on the "Locals Café" calendar is the Rynborn Legend BOBBY RADCLIFF. Mr Radcliff will be backed by the Skip Philbrick Blues Band on Saturday April 26, 2014. Doors open at 7 pm General admission $30 Tickets can be purchased at Nelson's Candies 65 Main Street Wilton, N.H. 03086 (or by calling 603-654-5030 to reserve by credit card- note $2 charge per ticket) Tickets are limited! House band to open - BYOB. Check them out on Facebook under Nelson's Candies.
On Wed May 7th the club's weekly lunch meeting once again will be transformed into a huge Chicken BBQ where the honored guests are our area senior citizens!
For 36 years Rotarians have been inviting seniors living in the local area to join us for a free, no reservations needed barbecue.Click here for more history about this community service event.Rotarians, assisted by Lesli Rendall's Souhegan High students and other student groups, do all of the cooking, serving and clean-up. Rotarians are asked to pay $20 for their lunch that day with the "extra" dollars helping to offset the cost of this community service event. Bring your appetite and gift of gab! The famous Rotary Chicken is delish and our guests love to chat.
ADG and Milford Rotarian Doug Rupert and his lovely wife MaryAnn are on a tour of Australia. Along the way they took in a Rotary meeting at the Rotary Club of Melbourne. As Doug noted in a recent email this is the oldest Rotary Club in Australia. They meet in the Grand Ballroom of the majestic Windsor Hotel that is right next door to Parliament Maybe the location explains the $42 per person for lunch. Hope Doug will share some insights about their Footy Tipping fundraiser!
Milford Rotarians and significant others were out in full force at Loon Mountain on February 7th for the 14th annual CASA Snow Fest. They fielded three teams this year and had a whole lot of fun supporting this very worthy organization.
Pictured above are Ryan Hansen, Dave Talbot a former Milford Rotarian, Dave Sturm, Head Rat Joe Raczek, Mark Fougere, newest member of the squad Paula Telage, Dave Hammer and Steve Desmarais. MIA at photo time were Allise de Smet, John Siemienowicz, Tina and Paige Raczek, Julie Whitcomb, Ruthie Fougere, and Marc and Julie Chareth.
The local Interact Clubs from Milford, Souhegan and Wilton-Lyndeborough High Schools worked extra hard last October selling burgers and sausages at the 24th annual Milford Pumpkin Festival. Supported by their Rotary liasons and assisted by a passel of Milford Rotarian grillmeisters, the Interact students raised well over $4000! The Interact Club uses these funds to support a variety of community betterment projects and organizations.
On February 6th, surrounded by members from both clubs, Rotary President John Siemienowicz presented the Big Check for $4250 to Interact Club leaders Adna Glusac, Ryane Sullivan, and Patrick and Ryan Lynch. Plans are underway already for the Rotary Interact Club concession stand at the 25th annual Milford Pumpkin Festival October 10, 11 &12.
The January 8, 2014 meeting was bustling with new member inductions. Doug Knott, May Balsama and Paul Spiess were inducted as "new" Rotarians at the first meeting of 2014. Doug is probably the "newbiest newbie" in the group and was sponsored by Fine Master Desmarais. May has been a "friend of Rotary" for many years through her work as Director of the local chamber of commerce, business owner, community volunteer and "up and coming" real estate broker. May was sponsored by Karen Keating. Rounding out the trio was "returning" Rotarian Paul Spiess who was a Milford Rotary Club member from October 2002 through December 2009. Welcome to Doug, May and Paul!
Al will be remembered and beloved for many reasons
especially that twinkle in his eye and smile that would light up a room.
Our thoughts and prayers are with LeeAnn and the family.
Services: Calling hours will be on Monday, January 6th from 4:00-8:00 pm at the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. The Trisagion will be held at 6:00 pm. A Masonic service will be conducted at 7:45 pm. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 12:00 noon in the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, 111 Island Pond Road, Manchester, NH. Burial will follow in Riverside Cemetery, Milford. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the New England Heart Institute, Office of Philanthropy, 100 McGregor Street, Manchester, NH 03103. Obituary available at Smith & Heald website.
2013 was another banner year for the Milford Rotary Club.
We welcomed Michael Brisebois, Tim Finan, Karen Keating, Steve Sareault, Rob Keller, Armand Chery, Mike Rasmussen, Paula Telage, Mike Viola and Doug Knott, and re-welcomed Ed Killam to the club. Paul Harris Fellows were presented to Dave McBee, David Hammer, Chuck Simpson (Monadnock Club), Joe Clement (Henniker Club), and Sheila Sturm.
The Club provided support and assistance to a wide variety of charitable causes and community betterment initiatives in 2013. Those donations included the following: NH Association for the Blind, Wilton-Lyndeborough Co-Op High School pitching machine, Milford High School We The People program, Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club projection equipment, SHARE Outreach Inc. capital campaign and program support, Bridges Domestic & Sexual Violence Support second year of a three year commitment, Opportunity Networks capital campaign, Watatic Grange dictionary project, Open Cupboard senior dinners program, Shelter Box for Typhoon Haiyan relief, Polio Plus and many many more.
Pictured above - Milford Rotarians present a capital campaign donation to members of the SHARE Outreach Board of Directors.
Partnering with Pure Water for the World, Milford Rotary embarked on a Global Grant project to provide sustainable clean water and sanitation facilities along with hygiene education to at least 140 homes (630 people) in the municipality of Trojes, El Paraiso, Honduras. This initiative is proceeding like gangbusters with support and participation from other District 7870 clubs and from clubs in New York and Montana. Without a doubt, we'll be hearing more good news about this project from Doug Rupert and the committee in 2014. For more information on Rotary's Global Grant program click here.
Phatsuda Somsuk, our inbound Rotary Exchange Student from Pak Kret Thailand, arrived in August. According to Janet Spalding, Phatsuda's first "host Mom", the experience has been fantastic for everyone involved.
Maggie Zavgren our outbound Exchange Student is spending this school year in Turkey. To learn more about Maggie's adventures, here is a link to her BlogSpot.
What would a Milford Rotary Club fundraiser or community service event be without the great help we receive from the Interact Club members? That said, what would Columbus Day weekend be without burger flipping and sausage cooking with the Interact Club during the Milford Pumpkin Festival? Great fun and super collaboration all around!
Each November the Monadnock Rotary Club organizes a Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) event. Our Club once again sponsored four area students to attend the 2013 RYLA program: Jaida Silomba, Wilton-Lyndebourgh ~ Hanna Hembrow and Erin Tyrrell, Milford ~ Annie Feraco, Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club.
Together, club members and friends of Rotary, successfully put on the 35th annual Senior Citizens Chicken BBQ in May for around 300 Seniors; organized the two-day Milford Rotary Swim Meet for over 500 swimmers and the 100 Holes of Golf in One Day tournament in July; once again flipped hundreds of pancakes in September; and sold over 700 Christmas Trees before year's end. We roasted consummate Rotary Fine Master George Infanti in February and mourned his passing along with that of longtime Milford Rotarian Richard Fitzgerald Sr. (aka Papa Fitz) in 2013. In between Milford Rotarians also participated in Bowling for Kids' Sake with the Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Greater Nashua, and Snow Golf at Loon for CASA of NH!
Speaking of Snow Golf - CASA's 14th annual SnowFest is coming up on February 7th and Coach Joe (Raczek) is putting a team together for the 2014 event. See Coach Joe to sign-up for the title defending Swamp Rats Golf/Ski Team and here's a link for more info - CASA SnowFest 2014
From recent meetings and club assemblies, it sounds like Prez John and Prez-Elect Rick have lots in store for 2014. So stay tuned - 2014 promises to be another great year of fun fellowship and enriching community service! FYI - January is Rotary Awareness Month, let's all help spread the word!
The annual Christmas Tree Sale got into full swing on Black Friday! The air was crisp, the sky was blue, the fire was roaring and sales were brisk!
Brian and Joanna from Hollis arrived to buy Tree #1 even before the chainsaw was plugged in! They own Second Avenue Consignment across Route 101A on Paul's Way. Apparently they have been eyeing our trees all week and will be back to get a second one for their home.
Tree #2 went home with Roberts family from Amherst. Upon arrival they went straight to the back of the lot to pick-out a still wrapped tree. As Mr. Roberts explained, they love the surprise of not knowing what the tree will look like until they get home. The Roberts family has been buying their Rotary trees this way for years and have never been disappointed!
Greetings All and Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!
A few quick reminders as we head into the holidays and tree sales -
Holiday Party Sunday, December 1st 5:30 - 9:00 pm @ the SHARE Center (map and directions below)
Karen Keating and Prez John need to know if people are or are not attending the holiday party and what folks attending plan to bring (appetizer, side dish or dessert) by end of Wednesday Nov. 27th. Please let them know directly or respond via the Clubrunner Invitation Accept or Decline feature.
For those who care to do a bit more shopping, on Sunday we will be collecting unwrapped presents for children (newborns to teenagers) that will be donated to the local Holiday Toy Store.
Got any gently used or extra baseball equipment? Dr. Joe (Raczek) is helping his friend Bill collect baseball equipment for donation to kids in need in Nicaragua. As Joe wrote:
"Travelling to a developing country presents many opportunities to volunteer and assist with unmet needs. Nicaraguans, like those in many Latin countries, love baseball. However, many many many kids are too poor to be able to afford proper equipment. Bill will be returning to Nicaragua in January, and he has taken it upon himself to try to collect as much baseball equipment (mostly used gloves, but balls, bases, bats, scorebooks, and anything else) as possible and distribute it to groups in the area he’ll be volunteering.
If you have any of the above in your garage or basement, especially gloves, that you can contribute you can drop the items off at my office (380 Nashua St. Milford) anytime. I’ll deliver whatever I collect to Bill and he’ll see that it gets into some happy kid’s hands in Nicaragua."
Got any empty wine bottles? If so, Stan K wants to hear from you!
Our local vintner, Stan Kankowski, is on the hunt for 400 or so more wine bottles to fill with his delicious "homebrew". So if you could, save those empties and let Stan recycle them for you.
The annual Christmas Tree Sale begins Friday November 29th @ 10 AM!
If you haven't signed up yet to sell trees, please do so ASAP! The clubs needs everyone to help with at least three shifts including a weekend day. 800 + beautiful evergreens are piled high at Frederick's Pastries just waiting to be sold to a good home. First 100 trees sold come with a Centennial Park commemorative ornament.
In early November Super Typhoon Haiyan devastated vast parts of the Philippines. Although the news coverage has lessened, the aftermath of this horrific natural disaster remains. According to a November 22nd web posting by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 4.29 million people have been forced from their homes and 13.26 million people have been affected by Haiyan.
In response to this news and as part of Rotary International’s worldwide endeavors, Milford Rotarians stepped up to help in the global relief efforts aimed at addressing the immediate needs of Filipinos affected by this disaster. At the November 20th club meeting, President John mentioned the club's donation for one box and two donations from members for two more boxes. Hands immediately went up along with shout-outs of "I'll help" by a host of members and the total increased to four boxes in a matter of seconds.
At the October 30th meeting, to a standing ovation from his fellow club members, PeterTenBroeck was awarded a certificate honoring his 49 years of perfect attendance!
So far the Fall of 2013 has been overflowing with fun and good works! Phatsuda Somsuk (aka Jenny), our 2013 Rotary Exchange Student, arrived and started her year with a flourish. We flipped pancakes and burgers around town with lots of support from the Interact Club. We honored a fellow Rotarian and longtime supporter of our 100 Holes of Golf. Prez John's powers of persuasion got us 6 website sponsors and our local RI Foundation Chairperson stripped us of a few dollars to reach the fall End Polio Now goal. Read on for photos, highlights and more fun to look forward to.
Thanks to the leadership of Jay Dinkel, Milford Rotary has been sponsoring a Kenyan student named Harrison Marubu Mwangi since 2010. Harrison is enrolled in the secondary education program operated by EDUCATION for All Children (EFAC). To make this sponsorship more meaningful for the Club and for Harrison, it would be great if members would drop a letter or email to Harrison from time to time.
It is not too late to make the next mailbag to Kenya. The deadline for sending in correspondence for this term is November 1st. The third term ends on November 22nd for the Christmas holiday and EFAC wants to make sure your letters arrive well before the students go home. Please send letters/emails to info@educationforallchildren.org or in c/o EFAC 11 Heather Drive, Rye, NH 03870 and please let President John know of your intentions.
SHARE's Holiday Program is a decades-old tradition in the Souhegan Valley. There are many ways you can participate and celebrate the holidays by helping people in need - Adopt a family or a single adult, Donate gift cards, Donate food items to help fill the holiday food baskets or to keep the pantry shelves full, Make a financial donation, or Volunteer.
This is a great way to share the holiday spirit and help people and families in need. For more information check out the holiday section of SHARE's website at http://www.sharenh.org/share-the-holidays.html.
Milford Rotarians have been very supportive of this program in past years and the SHARE families could really use our help this year. Please contact Cynthia Dokmo for any additional questions.
The Milford Rotary and Amherst Lions Clubs recently teamed up to help the Amherst Police Department purchase R.A.D. (Rape Aggression Defense) equipment. The Amherst Police will offer this self-defense training program to area women of all ages in early November. Details and enrollment information may be found on the Amherst Police Department website at www.amherstnh.gov/emergency-services/police-department, or calling the Amherst Police Department at 673-4900.
For more information about the joint venture, please visit the Press Room for links to articles in the Cabinet and Amherst Citizen - Click Here.
Above from left, John Siemienowicz, president of the Milford Rotary Club; Mark Reams, Amherst chief of police; Robert Flegal, president of the Amherst Lions Club; and Charlie Vars, program chairman of the Amherst Lions Club, postefor a photo after teaming up to purchase self defense equipment for the Amherst Police Department.
The Milford Rotary Club welcomed its newest member on September 4th with the induction of Armand Chery. Sponsored by Rick Boyd, Armand is a certified personal trainer and the owner of Amherst Yoga and Fitness Studio. Past president Julie Whitcomb presided over the induction.
After the ceremony, Senior Finemaster Desmarais asked Armand about his thoughts on the process of becoming a Rotarian. With a sly smile and great sense of humor, Armand admitted that he would "miss the free lunches" which brought a roar of laughter from his fellow Rotarians.
One of Armand's specialties is Boot Camp Fitness - so Rotarians beware there could be a kettle ball competition in your future! Welcome Armand and for more information about Amherst Yoga, please CLICK HERE to visit their website.
Phatsuda Somsuk is from Pak Kret (city) Nonthaburi (province) Thailand. She will be attending Milford High School and is in the 11th grade. Phatsuda will begin her stay living with the Spalding family and later in the year will have the opportunity to live with two other local families - Marty & John Miller and Cammie & Steve Opre.
In the photo below Phatsuda, or Jenny as she is also known, was greeted bright and early Friday morning at Logan Airport by her “host brothers” David and Jimmy Spalding.
Everyone was still smiling later in the day when they toured the High School!
Past District Governor Tony Gilmore brought a surprise with him when he joined us for breakfast on 8/21. PDG Tony presented Dave McBee with a Paul Harris Fellow for his work as chair of the District’s New Generations committee and in helping to establish new Rotaract, Interact and Earlyact clubs in District 7870. Congratulations Dave on your second PHF and thank you for your work on behalf of Rotary.
Thanks to the leadership of Jay Dinkel, Milford Rotary has been sponsoring a Kenyan student named Harrison Marubu Mwangi since 2010. Harrison is enrolled in the secondary education program operated by EDUCATION for All Children.
Some of you may recall that Nancy Van Sciver, EFAC’s founder, was a guest speaker in January 2010. EFAC believes in empowerment through education and is much more than just a scholarship program. As Nancy has stated, “EFAC combines not only scholarships but mentoring and global connections so that EFAC scholars not only are educated, but have the highest potential to hold good jobs and to become the leadership of their generation in Kenya.”
As Claudine wrote upon receiving the award "I share this award with the awesome kids of the Souhegan EarlyAct club for their great work on the "Peace and Understanding" video we created for the advancement of understanding, goodwill and peace in the world!"
Souhegan EarlyAct Club receives District Youth Service Award
The week of July 20th to 26th began with a two day swim meet and ended on a high note with the 100 Holes of Golf in One Day tournament. Both events were fun filled and tremendous successes each in their own way.
Milford Rotarian Paula Telage recently traveled to Scotland on holiday with her friend Amy Bombard. Paula and Amy spent their last night in "Burns Country" enjoying the hospitality of the Rotary Club of Ayr. In the photo above, Paula is seen presenting a Milford Rotary banner to President Kevin Bell and he reciprocated with a scroll.
The tag line for the Rotary Club of Ayr is Fun & Friendship, through helping others... - sounds like a club any of us would want to visit! Here is their website http://rotaryclubofayr.org/
Members of the Milford Rotary Club have organized a special “Tickets for George” initiative to honor George Infanti and his commitment to Milford Rotary’s Centennial Park. The goal is to sell an additional 1000 raffle tickets for the club’s 100 Holes of Golf in One Day raffle. While all of the net proceeds from this raffle benefit the Milford Rotary Club Foundation, one half of the proceeds from this special initiative will go directly into a fund established in George’s name for the long-term maintenance of his beloved Centennial Park.
Each $20 raffle ticket provides an opportunity to win up to $5000 for the first place drawing with a total of $13,000 in cash prizes for the lucky 10 winners. The raffle tickets also include valuable coupons, such as, $20 off at the Copper Door restaurant!
To help kick start this time limited initiative, an anonymous donor has stepped forward and agreed to match up to $10,000 in raffle ticket sales earmarked for George’s fund through this special initiative. So, if all 1000 tickets are sold, $10,000 will automatically go towards the George D. Infanti Memorial Fund and the donor will match that amount bringing the total raised in honor of George to $20,000!
“Tickets for George” will be available from now until Thursday July 25th at these local merchants – County Stores, Milford Paint and Paper, The Yankee Chef, Stephen Marx Salon, Ciardelli Fuel Company, and Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen. Look for a “Tickets for George” booth on the Amherst Green during the July 4th Celebration.
Rotarians and volunteers are needed to help on July 4th at the “Tickets for George” booth on the Amherst Green. For more information, please contact Cynthia Dokmo.
The Infantis have shared a request to those of you planning to attend the memorial gathering for George Infanti on Monday June 24th 2:00 pm at Centennial Park, PLEASE WEAR RED. It was GI's favorite color. As Colleen Moynihan said "We want to make sure there's enough red in Milford for George to see us all! "
The Milford Rotary Club and our hometowns lost a truly wonderful member of our communities on June 13th when George Infanti lost his valiant battle with cancer. Our sincerest and heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Mario Infanti, Ruth Infanti, George's four children and his grandchildren, Jim Infanti, and all of George's family.
There has been an increduble outpouring of wonderful memories and accolades for George posted on Facebook and Twitter and on the local news media websites. For those of you who missed these tributes or who would like to re-visit them, here are a few links:
(The latter is a great piece originally written by Robert Michaelson of The Patch after our February 2013 Roast in George's honor)
A friend of Milford Rotary sent a message along in which she wrote, "This is one of the things that spurs me on to volunteer with the hope of making a difference. It certainly applies to George - there's a hole in the world!"
"How do you want to be remembered?
For the car you drove?
As the guy who slid into second with his spikes up?
The woman in the power suit who everyone feared?
The one with the most toys?
Or someone who cared?
Someone who did good?
Someone who, on the day they're gone
people will say today...there's a hole in the world?"
A memorial gathering in honor of George Infanti will be held on Monday, June 24th at 2:00 pm at Rotary Centennial Park, Milford NH. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of George to the Milford Rotary Club Foundation P.O. Box 618, Milford NH 03055.
Robert "Bob" Moulton was honored as a Stan Powers Award recipient at our annual outing on June 11th. This annual award is made to one or more Milford Rotary Club members who demonstrate a level of commitment to Rotary service as exemplified by the late Stan Powers. In addition to tirelessly serving as our club's treasurer, Bob is one of our Interact Club liaisons, helped lead a trip to Nicaragua, and is always ready to lend a hand to make our club activities successful! Bravo Bob - congratulations and well done!
Milford Rotary's membership continues to grow! Last week we celebrated a trio of new members inducted since April 10th. Today that trio became a quartet!
Welcome Michael Brisebois! Past President Colleen Moynihan officiated the May 29th induction ceremony assisted by Mike's sponsor Rick Boyd.
Rotarian Brisebois is the Vice President of Product & Supplier Quality at Hitchiner Manufacturing in Milford. Mike is well know throughout our communities, in part, through his work with the Milford Improvement Team and as an active member of the Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce. Currently, Mike serves as SVCC's chairman. Coincidentally, the SVCC chair-elect is none other than new Rotarian Karen Keating!
To the applause of fellow Rotarians, Tim Finan of Milford was recently inducted as a new member of the Milford Rotary Club. Finan, a Network Consulting Engineer at Cisco Systems and longtime community volunteer, joins Karen Keating and Rob Keller as Milford Rotary’s newest members.
Keating, a Nashua resident and member of the St. Mary’s Bank team, is well known around the Souhegan Valley through her involvement with the Milford Improvement Team and the regional chamber of commerce. Rounding out the trio is area native Robert “Rob” Keller, a UBS Financial Services vice-president and resident of Wilton Center.
Bridges and Rotary to Host Fundraising Cocktail Event
Milford Rotary Club Assists in Organizing First Time Event at the
Boys & Girls Club of the Souhegan Valley
MILFORD, NH – Bridges, a Nashua-based domestic and sexual violence support group, and the Milford Rotary Club have teamed up to organize and host an informational cocktail and fundraising reception at the Amato Theater at the Boys and Girls Club of the Souhegan Valley May 22nd, 2013 at 6:30 PM. The event is free to attend and will feature testimonials from Bridges clients who will share their experiences of survival and of the impact of Bridges in their personal situations.
The event will mirror a similar annual event to be held in Nashua for the seventh time on May 15th at the Crowne Plaza hotel. This will be the first time Bridges has hosted such an event in Milford and the proceeds will be used to support the work of Bridges’ Milford office on Elm Street in Milford. Guests will be treated to complimentary hors d’oeuvres and other treats and a cash bar will be available.
“We are very excited to bring this event to Milford and help tell Bridges story while raising money for our Milford office,” said Pam Auer, Development Director for Bridges. “Our Nashua event raised over $100,000 from over 350 guests. The event had grown to the point where we thought we may need to find a new location to grow. Thankfully, the Milford Rotary Club agreed to help us put on a Milford version this year.”
“The Milford Rotary Club recently made a multi-year financial commitment totaling $30,000 to build their Rosebush Endowment, but we also wanted to do something more hands-on,” said Ryan Hansen, President of the Milford Rotary Club. “As part of our commitment, the club is working with Bridges to increase public awareness and understanding about their organization and services. Unfortunately, Bridges is a much needed community resource in our area. If we can help Bridges to break the cycle of violence that exists, we will see a reduction in so many other areas of need that stem from an unstable or dangerous home life.”
Interested in taking a chance to win some cash, in getting some great coupons from local businesses, and in helping the Milford Rotary Club raise funds for its charitable giving and scholarship programs that help many local nonprofit organizations, community groups and students?
Milford Rotary’s annual raffle ticket sale begins this week and it’s a win-win-win proposition thanks to our generous ticket sponsors – the Copper Door, H2O Disposal Services, Valvoline of Milford, and Black Dawg Sealcoating!
This raffle is part of Milford Rotary’s annual 100 Holes of Golf in One Day Tournament and we are also looking for golfers and sponsors! For more information please visit www.Golf100Holes.comor contact any Milford Rotarian.
Milford businessman and Bedford resident, David Hammer was recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow at a recent meeting of the Milford Rotary Club. This honor acknowledged Hammer’s financial contribution to the Rotary Foundation, and highlighted his contributions to the Milford Rotary Club and community service work. Named for the founder of Rotary International, the Paul Harris Fellow is one of the most prestigious honors presented by Rotary.
President Ryan Hansen congratulates David Hammer as Dave's wife Audrey looks on.
Milford Rotary welcomed another new member on April 10th - Robert "Rob" Keller.
As pictured above, Past President Doug Rupert officiated and President Ryan Hansen, Rob's sponsor, assisted in the induction ceremony. Rob is a financial advisor with UBS. He and his family live in Wilton Center where they are restoring one of the historic homes just down the road from Andy's Summer Playhouse. Restoration seems to be in their blood - Rob and his wife Christine previously restored the Owen Fisk home on Union St in Milford. As many will recall, Owen Fisk, father of current member Richard Fisk, was a longtime Milford Rotarian. Welcome Rob!
According to the club's electronic files, April 1st was a BIG day! It marked the 44th anniversary of Mel Reever becoming a Milford Rotarian. Soon after joining the club in 1969, Mel served as our President from 1972 to 1973. Below are some then and now photos. Big Mel still has that devilish twinkle in his eye and is always ready for a hearty laugh. Congratulations Mel and thank you for your years of service above self!
Milford Chief of Police, Mike Viola, was inducted into the Milford Rotary Club today!! Past President Julie Whitcomb presided and Mike's sponsor Capt Chris Nervik assisted. Welcome Mike!!
Chris got the job of pinning Mike during the induction ceremony.
Welcome new Milford Rotarian - Chief Michael Viola
The Milford Rotary Club held a special meeting on Wednesday February 20th to roast one of its own. More than 125 Rotarians and friends came together to honor George Infanti for his many decades of “Service Above Self”. Organized by the Ladies of Table Three (Cynthia Dokmo and Betsey White) the luncheon was a tremendous success. Best of all - it was a total surprise for George!
The Souhegan EarlyAct club is up and running in Amherst thanks to Rotarian Claudine Hessmer-Husainy. The students are working on a Peace & Diversity video project in which they explore their views on peace and will be including interviews, poetry, art and other media. Claudine has arranged for an exchange between the Souhegan EarlyActers and an EarlyAct Club in Lahore, Pakistan.
Peace and Understanding Writing Project is expanding! This is an exchange project that Claudine initiated last year as part of the Pakistan trip spearheaded by club members. In addition to a 4th grade class at Amherst’s Wilkins School, a 7th grade class at Amherst Middle School has joined the project along with about 100 students from Peshawar, Pakistan. The goal is to increase peace and understanding through the exchange of letters, videos, and messages between the students.
Claudine reports that after talking with Past DG Rick Manganello, it looks like her Peace and Understanding Writing Project could become the model for an international New Generations pilot program targeted to high school-aged students. Bravo Claudine!
The Milford Rotary Club is pleased to announce the induction of two new members – Mr. Steve Sareault of Milford and Ms. Paula Telage of Nashua. On January 23rd, Past President Allise de Smet presided over the ceremony and was assisted by Rotarians Mark Fougere and Paul Grummett who sponsored the new members. Mr. Sareault is a Project Manager with Fulcrum Associates of Amherst, and Ms. Telage is a Development Associate for Home Health and Hospice Care of Merrimack. In addition to the usual sense of fellowship there was a strong family connection in the room - both of Steve's daughters have been very activie in the local Rotary Interact Club and Paula's maiden name was Grummett! Welcome Steve and Paula!
Plans are in motion for the Milford Rotary Club to participate in the Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) program for 2013-2014.
Maggie Zavgren of Wilton has been confirmed as our 2013 outbound RYE student. She will be heading to Turkey in September. If her name rings a bell, it might be because her sister, Sadie Rose Zavgren, was our outbound student to Thailand in 2011.
With an outbound student confirmed, the club is expected to host an inbound RYE student during the 2013-2014 year. As yet, there has been no word on who that inbound student will be nor where they hail from. In addition to celebrating Maggie’s participation, the key point right now for Milford Rotary is to be prepared to host the inbound RYE student and that includes housing.
As Marc Chareth explained “The expectation of our hosting from the District is an important priority with our outbound confirmed. A household with high school kids in the school system the student will attend is also important. Milford, Souhegan or Wilton-Lyndeborough are all options.”
As a former RYE host home participant, Jay Dinkel remarked on what a wonderful experience it was for him and his family to host an exchange student. He went on to say that having 2 or 3 host homes probably enhances the experience for the inbound student.
If anyone is interested or knows of a family interested in hosting a RYE student, please contact Doug Rupert or President-elect John Siemienowicz.
A special highlight of our annual holiday party came courtesy of that renaissance man Stan Kankowski. Stan's dessert offering was a replica of the Community House in the form of a gingerbread house!
Bravo Stan and bravo to Prez Ryan who was the highbidder at $90 for this delish creation! The auction proceeds and funds raised in the evening's raffle will be donated to St Joseph Community Services Meals-on-Wheels program.
Thank you to JP Pest Services for use of their fabulous facility and to Savoir Faire for the festive decorations. Savoir Faire is a new event coordination and decor company owned by Mary Pat Burke and Paula Raymond.
Great job by our Holiday Party Committee - John S, Rick B, Sheila S, and Julie W!
Breaking News from the Milford Rotary Tree Lot (@ Fredrick's Pastries 101A Amherst) ~ Dec 22nd & 23rd ~ All Trees are just $20!
Word on the street is that Milford Rotarians not only sell great trees, but they do a super job cutting them down too!
Chef extraordinaire, Fred Loizer planned to get rid of a tree in front of Frederick’s Pastries. Milford Rotarians with saws in hand were hanging out in Fred’s parking lot selling Christmas Trees. Then along came a holiday shopper wanting a really big tree! For a C-note the customer got a freshly cut tree and got it delivered to their home by Steve Desmarais and Phil Tuomala.
Great way to get week 2 of Christmas Trees sales going! Bravo Fred, Steve and Phil!
Beware of Rotarians with saws and on a mission to raise lots of money!
Milford Rotary Club's Annual Christmas Tree (and wreath & roping) Sale is in full swing at the Frederick's Pastries parking lot Rte 101A Amherst NH. Your purchase supports a real win-win endeavor! The trees are NH grown and ALL of the proceeds go to charity and scholarships. Click here for a map to the Christmas Trees!
Dave and Donna from Nashua purchased the first tree sold within a half-hour of "officially" opening the lot! They kicked off a wave of sales on Day 1. Pictured above with Dave and Donna are Interact Club member Jimmy Spalding and Rotarian Franz Fritsch.
Thank you in advance to all of the Milford-Souhegan-Wilton/Lyndeborough Interact Club members for helping out at the tree lot!
Thank you in advance to all of our new customers and to all the folks who have made buying a Milford Rotary Christmas Tree part of their holiday traditions!
To: Club Presidents, Club Members, Partners, and Supporters of Amigos De Honduras
From: Chris Parkinson, Chair of Amigos De Honduras and 2013 Team Leader
Date: November 2, 2012
Re: Amigos De Honduras Projects – Trip Dates set for February 2nd to the 10th
I have been a part of the Amigos De Honduras program for the past twelve years. We take great pride in the fact that over that time numerous teams of Rotarians from 29 of our clubs, have constructed 5 schools, expanded 2 schools, converted 2 buildings into schools, painted and repaired 4 schools, and have worked on a youth center. We have also repaired hospitals and constructed a Dental Clinic. Also over that period, we have had 18 medical and dental missions and have served more than 21,000 people. Finally, we have installed more than 25,000 water filters and more than 125,000 people now have pure water to drink which has greatly improved their health status.
This past year I was part of a great team of 33 Rotarians and Friends of Rotarians that ventured to Danli, Honduras (my eighth trip). This team was led by Bob Couch (his eleventh trip). The projects that this team was involved with concentrated on three main areas 1) The third phase of a school we built in Los Robles that added two more classrooms: 2) Medical Care and Dental Teams which saw more than 1500 people; and, 3) Pure Water Projects in the village of Quebrada Larga.
As we look ahead to 2013, the trip dates have been set for February 2nd to the 10th. Orientation /Informational meetings have been set for Saturday, November 10th at 10 AM in Springfield VT at the Public Library and for Tuesday November 13th at 7pm in the offices of Combined Services LLC, Two Delta Drive, Concord, NH. If you have questions or you plan on attending either of these sessions please e-mail me at cep617@comcast.net
We are in great need for funding for our projects and are requesting donations from Rotary Clubs, from Business, and from individuals. The Rotary International District 7870 Foundation is a not-for-profit 501c3 charitable organization. Checks should be made out to “Amigos De Honduras”. Please send contributions to our Foundation Treasurer, Alan Kanegsberg.
I would very much like to thank you in advance for your support of the Amigos De Honduras program. In closing, let me share with you one of my favorite quotes from Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Amigos De Honduras Projects – Trip Dates set for February 2013
As a recent guest speaker, Rotarian Jay Dinkel passionately talked about EDUCATION For All Children – a program through which his family and the Milford Rotary Club have sponsored two students in Kenya. EFAC believes in empowerment through education and is much more than just a scholarship program. As noted on their website, “EFAC combines not only scholarships but mentoring and global connections so that EFAC scholars not only are educated, but have the highest potential to hold good jobs and to become the leadership of their generation in Kenya.”
Jay shared two outstanding letters from EFAC scholars Joshua Angwenyi and Harrison Mourubu.
Click here to read a letter from Joshua, a fourth-form student that Toni and Jay have sponsored. He is also at Rongai, and about to graduate. In this letter, he summarized his four years at Rongai and what the opportunity has meant to him.
Jay asked for help from his fellow Milford Rotarians to maintain regular communication with these scholars, especially, Harrison. The students do not have regular internet access at the school but Jay has offered to forward any correspondence that members would like to share. The students greatly appreciate hearing from us. Please contact Jay Dinkel for more information.
To read more about EFAC’s mission and student accomplishments, please visit their website at EducationForAllChildren.org.
On Sunday, September 9th the pancakes were flying and delicious local maple syrup was flowing at Edgewood Plaza during the Milford Rotary Club’s 44th Annual Pancake Breakfast.
With lots of enthusiastic help from our local Interact Club and from the Nashua Community College Rotaract Club, Milford Rotarians served breakfast to over 515 guests.
This annual event is one of the club’s three major fundraisers. Many thanks to the more than 200 local businesses whose donations support this event and the club’s charitable work throughout the year. As Rotarian Michelle Sampson noted - All of the proceeds from this event are poured (kinda like maple syrup) right back into the community in the form of scholarships and grants to area organizations and community betterment projects. According to co-chairman Mark Fougere, the pancake breakfast raised in the vicinity of $30,000.
Bravo to the committee led by Mark Fougere and Pete Basiliere, to all who helped make this a successful event and to Doug Rupert for the bushels of crisp local apples!
Friday July 27th 2012 - News alert from the Amherst Country Club, Amherst, NH –
44 valiant golfers braved the course and some inclement weather to participate in the 18th Annual 100 Holes of Golf in a Day tournament organized by the Milford Rotary Club. And they did this all in the name of charity! The 100 Holes event is Milford Rotary’s major fundraiser each year and all of the proceeds go to support local, regional and international non-profit organizations, community betterment projects and scholarships. Many thanks to the golfers, sponsors and volunteers who helped make the tournament a success! This year's Hole-in-One sponsors included:
To learn more about this unique golf event where players are treated like royalty, please visit www.golf100holes.com
With Past President Chris Rogers presiding over the festivities, Milford Rotary Club's new officers and directors were inducted at today's club meeting. Assisting Chris were numerous past presidents including our elder statesman "Big Mel" Reever. Despite some rain drops that moved the ceremony indoors from Centennial Park, the atmosphere was rich in fellowship and goodwill as we start the 63rd year of service above self under the Milford Rotary Club banner.
A rousing round of applause signaled the club's immense appreciation for Past President Bill McNamara who is retiring as Sergeant-at-Arms after many years of service. This was followed quickly by equally enthusiastic applause (and a little sigh of relief) for Jane Lyttle as she was inducted as our new Sergeant-at-Arms.
Many thanks were extended to our "new" Past President Julie Whitcomb who will be carrying forward her dedication to Rotary as an Assistant District Governor along with Past President Doug Rupert.
MRC's 2012-2013 Board of Directors
President - Ryan Hansen
President Elect - John Siemienowicz
Vice President- Rick Boyd
Secretary and Assistant Secretary - Jen Krause and Judi Dunbar
Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer - Bob Moulton and Janet Spaulding
Directors - Alex LoVerme, Seth Zeigler, Walter Schnecker, Chris Rogers,
and Janet Langdell
Sergeant-at-Arms - Jane Lyttle
Past President - Julie Whitcomb (ex-officio member)
Photos: Julie passes the gavel to Ryan and our new presidential family!
Photos courtesy of Stan Kankowski.
New Officers and Directors inducted for 2012 - 2013
The March/April 2012 Issue of New Hampshire HOME Magazine featured an ad by Simpson Landscape. Our beautiful Centennial Park is featured in the ad. Thought it was worth sharing! How many other places have you seen photos of Centennial Park? Hint #1 - www.milford.nh.gov
Centennial Park, Simpson Landscape & New Hampshire HOME Magazine
At the club's annual year-end outing, Bill "Mac" McNamara was honored as our 2012 Stan Powers award winner.
As Prez Julie noted, week after week and event after event, Mac tirelessly serves as our sergeant-at-arms.
Bravo Mac and thank-you for all you do on behalf of our Milford Rotary Club!
Bill McNamara - our 2012 Stan Powers Award recipient
This Wednesday will be the last day that a 10% bonus will be awarded to non-golfing club members who turn in their tickets and payment. So far Mel and Janet Langdell are the top ticket sellers but we all know that John and Allise are just warming up. Sell those tickets. I have lots more for those of you who want to rack up points for your side.
Support your team. Get out there and sell,sell, sell.
A Paul Harris Fellowship was presented posthumously to Mrs. Betsy Fisk wife of Milford Rotarian Dick Fisk. Betsy, a Milford native, was a “PK” – a preacher’s kid. As the daughter of Congregational minister J. Wayne Haskell, she spent a lot of time across the street from our meeting place. In addition to being a devoted mother and active community member, Betsy was a well respected member of the nursing profession. Among other positions, Betsy served as the Milford High School nurse and as a professor of nursing at Fitchburg State University. As past president Bill Andrews mentioned in making the presentation, Dick and Betsy got Bill and Sharon interested in Rotary, and Dick sponsored Bill for membership back in 1970. Betsy was one of our club's very supportive "Rotary Anns". Dick, a second generation club member, has been a Rotarian since 1964 and served as our president in 1971-72.Thank you Dick for your donation to Rotary in honor of Betsy!
This is Nick Hames and Susan Taylor from the Boys and Girls club, thanking us for the donation of funds to travel to San Diego for the national convention.
A few months ago, Deb and Steve Puderbaugh and Joe Pratt--all from our 7870 district—visited the Milford Rotary club and spoke about their recent trip to Pakistan. The Pratts and Puderbaughs were lucky enough to take part in Polio National Immunization Days during their visit to Pakistan. While participating in multiple polio camps and in a National Polio conference, the Rotarians discussed what else they could do to eradicate polio in Pakistan and other countries worldwide.
AT THIS VERY MOMENT, Joe Pratt, a former district governor, is climbing Mt. Everest in an attempt to raise $100,000 to help eradicate polio forever. As of Wednesday April 25th, he hadn't even hit the $10,000 mark. Please consider a donation in any amount to Joe's campaign. We can't all climb Everest, but we *can* write checks!
Former three term Governor of New Hampshire and presently sitting senior Senator
Jeanne Shaheen was the guest speaker at Milford Rotary on April 4th. Senator Shaheen spoke about efforts in Washington concerning national debt reduction, energy efficieny, tranportation funding, and small business development. Senator Shaheen is the only woman in U.S. history to be elected both a Governor and a United States Senator.
Senator Shaheen is presented a momento of her visit
by Milford Rotary President Julie Whitcomb.
The George and Steve Show was captured on video at the March 21st club meeting and made page one of the Cabinet on 3/29/12 - above the fold too! Very nice article by Mike Cleveland.
Our finemasters are the best purveyors of a good hearty laugh in the Souhegan Valley and parts beyond. They truly reflect the fellowship and camaraderie of Rotary International in general and the Milford Rotary Club in particular.
Friday 2/3/2012 - This just in from Prez Julie - "So they did it again! The Loon Mountain CASA Ski/Golf event was a fabulous win for the team of Joe, Dave and Stan, who brought home the gold! Congratulations team!"
Stan sent along the "official" 2012 photo featuring Dave, Joe, and Stan along with
our honorary Swamp Rat, Rick Coveno, who completed the foursome. Rick is the husband of
WMUR's anchor/reporter Amy Coveno. Known as a superb athlete and competitive ski/golfer, Rick meshed well with Coach Joe's creative approach to the sport! According to Stan, "a better
teammate couldn't have been found, especially, considering Rick bought most of the beer
including the traditional "breakfast beer".
Bravo Swamp Rats! We all hope that Rick can join us for lunch - soon!
Come enjoy loads of fellowship around the pool and poker tables and the karaoke machine! Hors d’oeuvres and drinks will be provided by the Milford Rotary & Friends Team heading to Pakistan in February. Donations will be collected to purchase books for orphanages in Pakistan.
Why: Fellowship, fun and fundraising
When: Saturday, January 7, 2012 ~ 7:00pm until 10:00pm
The 10 Million Charity Miles Giveaway program begins at midnight, December 14, 2011 and ends at 11:59 p.m., December 31, 2011. During this time frame, you may vote for one of the listed charities (including Rotary International) to increase the percentage of the miles that they receive. You may vote once per day. Membership in MileagePlus or OnePass® programs is not required to vote for your charity. Each charity is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 25,000 miles. The donated miles will be deposited by January 31, 2012.
As of 12/24 Rotary was in third place with 9.3% of the votes. Today, Dec. 30th, Rotary is in second place with 17.6% of the votes. Your daily votes are adding up!
Here's the website where you can vote each day - http://10millioncharitymiles.com/ Look for the Rotary Wheel - your clicks and votes are one more way to support the great work done by all Rotarians worldwide.
Businessman Steve Forbes was the Milford
Rotary Club’s guest speaker on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011. Mr. Forbes was
stumping on behalf of Texas Gov. Rick Perry for the Republican nomination for
president. For complete coverage of Mr. Forbes's presentation, please see Nancy Bean
Foster’s article in the Union Leader and Mike Cleveland’s article in the Nashua
Telegraph.
Day 24 of the Milford Rotary 2011 Christmas Tree Sale started
with 8 lovely trees. The other 892 trees and all of the wreaths and roping having
been purchased and the money banked for the club's future charitable and
scholarship projects. By 10 AM, Steve D. and Bob M. had the racks
already loaded onto the trailer. So your fellow Rotarians doubled as display models to
show off our wares (see photo). How many Rotarians does it take…..
900 Christmas trees, dozens of wreaths, and yards and yards of roping have arrived for the club's annual Christmas Tree Sale. Thank you so much to all who helped unload the trees over the weekend! Many thanks to Frederick's Pastries for the use of their parking lot at 109 Route 101A in Amherst, and to College Bound Movers for the delivery and unloading assist. Please see the "Oh Christmas Tree 2011" photo journal for more pictures of the team in action. Remember tree sales begin Friday November 25th! All of the proceeds are used to fund the club's charitable giving and scholarship programs.
On Wednesday September 21st, the Milford Rotary Club recognized Jennifer Krause as a new Paul Harris Fellow for her contributions to our club and to the Rotary Foundation.
A photo journal of this event has been posted. To see the photos go to the Photo Journals section on the right of your screen under the NY Life ad and click on the title "Remembering 9/11..." The ceremony was videotaped by Milford's Community Media Department and is being re-broadcast on Milford's cable channel 21 during September. Afterwards it will be posted as a streaming video on the Town of Milford website.
At a recent club meeting, Dave Trudo of New Boston, on the left, received his grand prize raffle winnings of $5000 from 100 Holes Chairman Alec Buchanan, Rotary President Julie Whitcomb and Past President David Sturm who sold the winning ticket to Mr. Trudo. (click on the picture to enlarge it)
Despite the raindrops and overcast sky, Milford Rotarians put on a fine feast for our Senior neighbors with a lot of great help from some of our younger friends!
On Wednesday February 26th the Milford Rotary Club will participate in the "World's Greatest Meal to Help End Polio" at their regular 12 noon luncheon meeting. Members and Guests will be asked to make a voluntary donation of $1 (or moreof course) to End Polio Now.The total donations will be matched 1:1 by the Club and then sent on for a 2:1 match by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. This amounts to a 3:1 match for all donations collected at the Milford Rotary Club meeting on February 26th! For more information contact Claudine Hessmer-Husainy.
The Milford Rotary Club has been working with Milford’s Recreation Commission and Department of Public Works to refurbish the sign at Trentini Little League Park in East Milford. In January, Classic Signs erected the repainted and updated sign. Here are the before and after photos.
Now a little Milford Rotary and Milford Town history……….
Hours of time volunteered to the greater good and significant contributions to the Rotary Foundation lead to not one, not two but four Paul Harris Fellows being awarded to Milford Rotarians. Judi Dunbar and Bob Moulton were presented with their first PHFs by President John Siemienowicz. Just before surprising Judi and Bob with this special recognition, John and Allise de Smet were honored respectively with their "plus 2" and plus 1" Paul Harris Fellows.
For the 45th year in a row Milford Rotarians will be flipping pancakes and serving up an all you can eat breakfast from 8 AM to Noon on Sunday September 8th at the Edgewood Shopping Center in Milford. The suggested donation for breakfast is $5 for adults and $3.50 for children under age 12.
This is one of Milford Rotary's three annual fundraising events. The principal way funds are raised is through event sponsorships by businesses and individuals. The suggested sponsorship levels are as follows:
Platinum Club $500.00
Millennium Club $250.00
Century Club $100.00
Gold Star Club $ 75.00
Silver Star Club $ 50.00
All sponsors are honored in several ways:
Your name is printed on the breakfast placements served to every guest
Every Rotarian will know of your sponsorship
Your name will be included in our annual report of support from the community
For those who donate $250 or more, a large sign with your name will be displayed prominently at the event!
To learn more about this opportunity or to sign-up as a Pancake Sponsor, please contact Mark Fougere or Pete Basiliere.
Seeking Sponsors for the 45th Annual Milford Rotary Pancake Breakfast
The Milford Rotary Club recently made a multi-year financial commitment to Bridges: Domestic & Sexual Violence Support totaling $30,000. As part of that commitment, we also are working with Bridges to increase public awareness and understanding about their organization and services. Unfortunately, statistics show that Bridges is a much needed community resource in our area.
Bridges is a nonprofit organization that provides free and confidential services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, teen dating violence, child sexual abuse, elder abuse, stalking, and harassment. They provide crisis intervention, emergency shelter, court advocacy, support groups, and education and outreach to both women and men.
Above is your invitation to the Bridges To Hope event on May 22nd at the Amato Center that will feature a 1 hour presentation about Bridges. There will be tasty treats, a cash bar, and great networking before the presentation. This is a fundraiser and there is a soft ask, but don't let that deter you from attending. We really want to get the word out as many folks in our Souhegan Valley communities are unaware of the valuable services and support provided by Bridges and many thought that the Milford office of Bridges closed last year. All donations received at the May 22nd Bridges to Hope event will stay in Milford to support the local office.
If you are able to attend and have not already been contacted by a Row Captain, please RSVP to Ryan Hansen at rhansen@hansenprint.comor (603)672-7599. For more information about Bridges, please visit www.bridgesnh.org .
Rotary International float "All the Places We Go!" during the 124th Rose Parade on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, Calif. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. (SGVN/Staff photo by Sarah Reingewirtz)
On Friday 11/23, Miss Logan Elizabeth (age 3 and very soon to be 4) stopped by the tree lot and picked out a beautiful tree with her Dad. Here's a photo they sent us of their Rotary Tree all decorated for Christmas and Santa's arrival. Love the Star! Thank you Logan and Dad Dan!
This year the Milford Rotary Club and the local Rotary Interact Club sponsored six area students to attend the District 7870 RYLA conference organized by the Monadnock Rotary Club. The students attending from our area were Liam Rendall from Souhegan High School, Raven Gaudreau from the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club, Matthew Guyotte from Wilton Lyndeborough Cooperative High School, and from Milford High School James Spalding, Anna Thonis and Mary Beth Sareault.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an international program created by Rotary International as a way to encourage strong leadership in youth and to recognize promising young leaders serving their own communities and beyond.
RYLA participants from Wilton, Amherst and Milford (left to right)
Matthew Guyotte, Liam Rendall, Mary Beth Sareault, Anna Thonis, James Spalding, and Raven Gaudreau.
Please help the Milford Rotary collect for Hurricane Sandy victims. The area Rotary Clubs have a tractor trailer in Nashua we're filling with specific goods requested by our Rotary Clubs in the NY and NJ area ravaged by Sandy. The buzz about the storm has died down, but the need is very real. Please help us fill the collection boxes at each of the five drop-off locations in Milford, Amherst and Wilton. We want to fill a McLaughlin Mayflower moving van and send it on its way by Nov 16th, if not sooner. Thank you in advance!
Under the leadership of Milford Rotarian Claudine Hessmer-Husainy, the Souhegan EarlyAct Club has been established for elementary and middle school students ages 9 to 13. This innovative program, the first of its kind in our district, is starting in Amherst with the intention of involving other Souhegan Valley schools. The mission of EarlyAct is to promote goodwill, understanding and peace through the active participation of its student members so that with committed citizenship and effective leadership they may improve the quality of life of their school, local and global communities. For more information or to get involved with the Milford Rotary Club sponsored initiative, please contact Claudine. Click here to view the Souhgean EarlyAct brochure
In September, MRC members hosted a visit by the GSE Team from the Dominican Republic.
Pictured above during their visit to Centennial Park in downtown Milford are Team Leader Melvin Brioso on the left with William Acosta, Elizabeth Mateo Perez, and Carmen Feliz.
The local Rotary Interact Club will be fundraising at the Milford Pumpkin Festival by selling delicious sausages and other good eats. Milford Rotarians will be helping "man-the-grills" while the dedicated students sell and serve. Milford Rotarians can support the Interacters by signing up to cook, and, of course, by stopping by to say hello and buying a sausage or burger or both. Interact students from the three local high schools are very supportive of our club's events and regularly help at all of our big community service and fundraising activities.
The Rotary Interact Club concession stand will be on the corner of Middle Street and Union Square beside the Milford Town Hall on Oct 5, 6 and 7th. For any questions, please check with Julie Whitcomb or Bob Moulton. For more information about the Milford Pumpkin Festival, please visit www.milfordpumpkinfestival.org.
Interact Club fundraiser at the Milford Pumpkin Festival Oct. 5,6, &7th
Pancakes will be flipping, syrup flowing and sausages sizzling on Sunday, September 9th at the Milford Rotary’s 44th Pancake Breakfast. This great community event is designed to raise lots of money that in turn is redistributed to support area non-profits, community betterment projects and scholarships. Funds are raised primarily through event sponsorships and we need your help!
Businesses and individuals can sponsor this event by making a donation to the Milford Rotary Club Pancake Breakfast. The suggested sponsorship levels are as follows:
Platinum Club $500.00
Millennium Club $250.00
Century Club $100.00
Gold Star Club $ 75.00
Silver Star Club $ 50.00
Sponsors are honored in several ways:
Your name is printed on the breakfast placements served to every guest
Every Rotarian will know of your sponsorship
For donations of $250 or more, your name will be displayed on large signs at the entrance to the breakfast
Admission at the door for this all-you-can eat breakfast is $5 for adults and $3.50 for children (age 12 and under).
Please join us at the Edgewood Shopping Center (County Stores parking lot) 321 Nashua Street, Milford NH on Sunday September 9th 8:00 am to Noon for another fantastic Pancake Breakfast.
Dozens of "Welcome Rotary swimmers" signs along our gateway streets, perfect weather, 18 swim teams from across New Hampshire & northern Massachusetts, 545 athletes, hundreds of family members & fans, 1478 event entries, 142 relays, average of 43% individual improvement across the teams, 390 hamburgers flipped, 230 hot dogs rolled, 40 lbs of onions chopped & fried, 76 cheese sandwiches grilled, 132 breakfast sandwiches served, 600++ vehicles parked, nearly 270 groovy tee-shirts sold ....... and it All adds up to a BOAT LOAD of FUN!
Our host team - the Milford Keyes Swim Team lead by head coach Molly Lai.
BRAVO! Raymond Area Rotarian Joe Pratt, a former district governor, has reached the top of Mt. Everest!. As you'll recall, Joe was using this climb as a way to raise funds to help END POLIO NOW. All donations of $100 or more count for credit towards the Paul Harris Award.
The Milford Rotary Club put on a fine feast of barbecued chicken with all the fixings for area senior citizens at the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club on Wednesday, May 2nd. Guests came from all over the Souhegan Valley including Milford, Amherst, Wilton, Mont Vernon and Lyndeborough.
The Master Chefs of Rotary cooked up over 300 split broilers. Rotary alum Alice Wheeler was invited to share the blessing that traditionally begins the luncheon. Lesli Rendell and her team of Souhegan High students once again provided invaluable assistance manning the serving the trays, tending the beverages and pitching in wherever needed. Due to a slightly lower than expected turnout, there were some tasty leftovers donated to the Nashua Soup Kitchen.
For those of you who couldn't make it this year, have no fear there is a barbecued chicken event in your future! Chairlady Jane Lyttle and future Chairlady Judi Dunbar were overheard planning the 35th annual Senior Citizens' Chicken BBQ even before the birds were off the grill.
Bravo Jane for a fine feast and fun event!
More event photos posted under Photo Journals to the right of your screen as the 34th Seniors' BBQ
34th Annual Senior Citizens’ Chicken BBQ – Another Rotary Success!
Our Peace Express Team to Pakistan will be sharing their insights and experiences
with the Club on Wed, March 28th - a meeting you wont want to miss.
For more information and photos, visit their FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/#!/MLPeaceExpress
What an exciting and informative meeting awaits us when our Milford-Lahore Peace Express travelers return and share their adventures and insights with the club!
The MRC Board of Directors voted this week to help underwrite expenses for the upcoming SHARE Outreach, Inc fundraiser. The January 28th event features a 60's style evening with The Transistors. The club's donation will cover the cost of the band. Hampshire Hills is providing the room. All of this community support will mean more proceeds going to SHARE!
February is nearly here and that means the return of the MRC’s Swamp Rats – our Golf
& Ski Team! The Swamp Rats will defend their first place title in the Snow
Golf competition at the CASA Snow Fest 2012. This fundraising event for CASA will
be held Feb. 3rd at Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH.
The late Bob Jackson of Amherst was a devoted Rotarian whose legacy of Service Above Self will live on through a generous donation by his cousins, Jeff and Dale Milne, establishing the Robert F. Jackson Community Improvement Fund.
The Milford Rotary Club warmly welcomed Julia Lengvarská at the August 24th breakfast meeting. Julia is our inbound exchange student from Slovakia.Many thanks to her host family – the Lyttles of Milford! Julia has already demonstrated her savvy diplomacy skills – after the traditioal presentation of a banner from her home club to our Prez Julie, Julia presented our fine masters with some delicious candy from Slovakia.Talk about getting on their sweet side! Welcome Julia!
One of our GSE Team members, Amina Chughtai, made friends with our youngest "Honorary Rotarian" Paige April Raczek at the Memorial Day BBQ at Marc Chareth's home.
For the 43rd (or is it 45th time??), the Milford Rotary Club will sponsor an annual swim meet here in the Granite Town. Teams from across New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts have been invited to attend . Read on for some of the history of how this all began. See you at "The Rotary" on July 16 and 17th!
April 2 in Lebanon, NH. A day full of learning about Rotary. Institute Courses I, II, & III. The Club pays your tuition. See continuation for more info, Dave McBee to register
Mark your calendars and save the date – the Rotary chicken barbeque is coming! To take advantage of springtime weather, your local Rotary Club is moving the 2011 Senior Citizens' Chicken Barbeque to Wednesday May 4th, 2011 at 12 Noon at the Souhegan Valley Boys and Girls Club in Milford. This year marks the 33rd consecutive year that the Milford Rotary Club has hosted this community service event to honor our older residents and neighbors from Amherst, Milford, Mont Vernon, Wilton, and Lyndeborough. As always the luncheon is free to local senior citizens and no reservations are required.
Milford Club President Doug Rupert presents the new club badges to the Souhegan Valley Rotary Club while RI President Ray Klinginsmith and RI Director Ken Grabeau look on.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 marks the 106th anniversary of
Rotary International. How amazing that one man's idea could have such an impact on the world.
Watch RI President Ray Klinginsmith ring the New York Stock Exchange closing bell 23 February
Rotary International News -- 18 February 2011
RI President Ray Klinginsmith will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on 23 February during a ceremony with representatives from Rotary and Sanofi Pasteur, a leading provider of polio vaccine, in honor of Rotary's 106th anniversary and in support of a polio-free world.
Rotarians can watch the event through streaming video at http://www.nyse.com.
Representatives of the two organizations will also take part in opening bell ceremonies in four financial markets in Europe that day: Lisbon, Portugal; Amsterdam; Brussels, Belgium; and Paris. Video of the events will be streamed at www.euronext.com.
That evening, the New York Stock Exchange Building will provide a dramatic backdrop for an equally dramatic message: End Polio Now, which will be projected onto the building. Grammy Award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo, a participant in Rotary's "This Close" polio awareness campaign, will attend the lighting. Other landmarks around the world will be illuminated during the week of 23 February in support of Rotary's pledge to rid the world of this crippling childhood disease.
Congratulations to the team of Joe Raczek, Stan Kankowski, Dave Hammer, Marc Chareth & Mark Fougere for winning the CASA Ski/Golf Challenge recently held. For pictures of the event see the Photo Journal.
RI President Ray Klinginsmith will be featured at the Gala Charter Celebration & Dinner for the Rotary Club of Souhegan Valley (Nashua) on Monday, February 21, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua, NH.
Reservations are required and registration is available on the District 7870 website. Cocktails and fellowship begin at 6:30 PM followed by dinner at 7:30 PM. Cost is $40.00 per person. Attire is jacket & tie for gentlemen.
With the announcement that Rotary International President Ray Klinginsmith will be attending the Chartering Dinner for the new Souhegan Valley Happy Hour club, it has been decided to make that event, on Monday, February 21, our meeting for that week.
Thus, there will be no meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 23. The Charter Dinner will be at the Nashua Crown Plaza, to begin at 6:30. Cost will be $40, and of course, partners are invited.
Our regular meeting on February 9 will take place, as the Valentine Social is a voluntary attendance event, but we hope all will come, with partners. We will be celebrating 20 years of Women In Rotary, with Martin Michaelis, our president 20 years ago, relating the tale of the happy quest towards that goal!!
Make sure to be at the January 26th meeting when once again the Bowl For Kid's Sake Trophy is presented for the 5th year in a row to the Milford Rotary Club.
The true winner's of the event are the kids of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Valentine Dinner at the Mile Away on Monday, Feb 7th.
Cash bar & light hors d'oeuvres at 6:00 PM. DInner will be served at 7:00 PM. Contact Cynthia Dokmo with any questions.
Ryan Hansen and Chris Nervik have been working hard getting this years tree sales organized.
The schedule is on the website. Please sign up for three shifts, one shift on a weekend is required.
Contact Ryan or Chris with any questions.
Tree sales begin on Nov 26, 2010 at Frederick's Pastries in Amherst, NH.
Your annual opportunity to purchase Giorgio's Gift Cards has arrived!
Please plan to sign-up and pay for your gift cards at next week's MRC meeting (Wed Nov. 17th). The gift cards come in $25 and $50 amounts, and will be delivered at a subsequent club meeting. These gift cards are great presents to share with family, friends and employees during the holiday season!
Please remember – the purchase of these gift cards is the club's way of thanking the folks at Giorgio's for the wonderful 100 Holes of Golf in a Day celebration dinner and encouraging them to participate next year!
For more information please contact John Siemienowicz.
The NH District Foundation dinner will be held Tuesday, November 16, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Nashua @ 5:30 PM. Reservations for the dinner are required and can be made on the district website -
http://www.crsadmin.com/gen/Accounts/50052/Eml/10f1ca4a-7b08-475d-af70-91338597edc8.pdf
Reservations are required by October 31, 2010.
Good food, good company and loads of laughter made for a fabulous afternoon on Wednesday October 6th when the Milford Rotary Club put on its 32nd annual Senior Citizens Chicken Barbeque. Area seniors were treated to a luncheon of the Club's "world famous" barbequed chicken with all the fixings including delicious brownies from Frederick's Pastries of Amherst. The Milford Rotary Club hosts this community service event each year to honor our older residents and neighbors from Amherst, Milford, Mont Vernon, Wilton, and Lyndeborough.
The first Milford Rotary Club sponsored Senior Citizens Chicken Barbeque was held on October 3, 1979, at Rotarian Fred Macone's house in Mont Vernon, and provided meals to 165 senior citizens and 48 Rotarians in the midst of falling snow! The inclement weather didn't stop Rotarian Ralph Talarico from entertaining the guests with his accordion playing and songs like "In the Good Old Summertime" as they sat around tables set-up in Fred's driveway.
This community event quickly out grew the Macone's yard and was moved to the Keyes Memorial Park in 1981. Since that time the barbeque has been held at the Knights of Columbus Hall (now the home of SHARE Outreach Inc.) and the American Stage Festival (now the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley). Thanks to the level of community support and cooperative effort that exists in the Souhegan Valley, the Milford Rotary Club has been able to continue this tradition for over three decades.
More recently, the barbeque has been held at the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley. According to Seth Zeigler, event chairperson, around 250 seniors attended this year. As Milford resident Doris Rebidue said "It was great!" and with 98 years of life experience she is well qualified to assess the event.
As the Milford Rotary Club celebrates its 60th anniversary as a service organization in the Souhegan Valley, club members remain committed to continuing this tradition of honoring our older neighbors with a luncheon. To take advantage of springtime weather, the 2011 Senior Citizens Chicken Barbeque will be held on Wednesday May 4th. As always the luncheon is free to local senior citizens and no reservations are required.
We are celebrating our 60th Anniversary with a special lunch at the Hampshire Dome on Thursday, October 21st, in conjunction with the Southern New Hampshire Expo. Lunch will be at noon, and Governor Lynch has been invited. Rotarians are urged to invite friends, partners, and prospective members. Following lunch, we will have a booth at the Expo, and need a few more Rotarians to help man it in 1-hour shifts until 7PM. Stephanie Kruy has put together a collage of brochures, posters, photos and slide shows to help us explain Rotary to our neigbors and prospective members.
Milford Rotary will have a booth at the Expo Oct 21, 2010 at the Hampshire Hills Dome. Rotarians are needed to help man the booth from 2 - 7 pm. Sign up is available on the website.
See Stephanie Kruy for information regarding the Expo.
http://www.southernnhexpo.com/
The annual Senior Citizen's Chicken BBQ will be held on Wednesday, October 6, 2010 at the Souhegan Valley Boys & Girls Club at 12:00 noon.
For information contact Seth Zeigler or Christine Janson.
Clouds didn't keep anyone away from the wonderful pancakes at County Stores Plaza, as Milford Rotarians served up thousands of pancakes to hungry patrons on Sunday, Sept 12. A great job was done by Co-Chairs Mark Fougere & Ed Killam, assisted by Dining Room Chief George Infanti and Cooking Chief Walter Schnecker. Our Interacters also did a great job on set-up & take-down. A huge thanks to all! Can't wait to see Dave McBee's pictures, which will inlcude guests that ranged from 5 days old to 101 years!
Yogi Berra, that sage Yankee, once said "It's deja vu all over again" and many old yankees say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" so in keeping with that spirit the MRC 2010 Apple Crisp Golf Outing and General Good Time will return to that wonderful course north of the City of Elms - Bretwood Golf Club on Tuesday October 5, 2010.
Doug Rupert was installed today as the 62nd President of the Milford Rotary Club. Doug joins thousands of other Rotarians who take the leadership
of their Rotary club on July 1, 2010. Congratulations to Doug!
Doug Rupert Installed as Milford Rotary Club President
Just a reminder that we go to our summer schedule starting June 16, 2010.
Rise & shine for our breakfast meetings that start @ 7:15 am.
The cook schedule for the breakfast meetings is on the website and there
are plenty of open slots available. Please sign up!
July 30th is coming quickly. Turn all raffle ticket money in to Betsey White. The work schedule is on the website for sign-up or review. Please contact John Siemienowicz with any questions.
Alec Buchanan and Bill King are collecting raffle prizes for Ted Langdell Day.
For those members who are attorneys, accountants, insurance & stock brokers, a gift certificate for golf or a restaurant would be greatly appreciated. Please contact Alec or Bill with any questions.
Doug Rupert is going to produce the paper club directory. Stan Kankowski & Walter Schnecker will be taking photos for the new directory. Please let Stan or Walter know if you need a new photo taken. Also, please review & update your information in Clubrunner by May 15, 2010.
Our newest 5 club members will be giving their classification talks at the meeting. Don't miss the chance to find out all about Angela Flaherty, Cyndy Kilman, Christine Janson, Rick Lambert & Mozammel Hussainy.
The weekly meeting on April 28th will be a Club Assembly. Topics will include the results of the club membership survey, summer meeting schedule, and the possibility of moving the Sr. BBQ to the spring. Let Doug know if you have any other issues/topics you would like covered.
Don't forget the Interact Spaghetti Dinner Thursday, April 22, 2010 at
Milford High School. Doors open @ 5:45 PM. Tickets will be available at the door - $10 each or 2/$18. Bob Suprenant promises it will be an eventful evening. Don't miss it.
Thank all of you who sponsored Crop Walk participants Betsey, Alice and Cynthia with your generous contributions. We have raised almost $500!
To those members who weren't in attendance this week and who would like to sponsor us, please give contributions to Betsey White. Checks should be made payable to CWS/CROP WALK.
For those of you who would like to participate in the walk, please contact Cynthia and she will forward a registration form to you. The Crop Walk will take place on Sunday, May 2, rain or shine. There are two routes-one is 6.2 miles (Milford to Amherst and back again), the other, 1.8 miles (Milford only).
Twenty five percent of the proceeds will go to SHARE; all pledges go to the work of ending hunger.
The District 7870 Conference will be held May 14-16, 2010 in Burlington, VT.
Information is available on the District 7870 website, or see Stephanie Kruy if you are interested in attending.
The District Assembly will be held Saturday, April 10, 2010 in Keene, NH.
Contact Stephanie Kruy if you are interested in attending. It's a great event for new members and seasoned Rotarians.
Applications for High School students attending college, and returning
college students are available on the website.
They can be found under "Site Pages" on the left of the home page.
No login is required to download the applications.
Betsey White is coordinating with SHARE the adoption of several large
families for Christmas. Names of family members were handed out at the
Nov 16th meeting. Call or email Betsey if you were not at the meeting and
want to participate.
The schedule is available on the website.
Please sign up for THREE SHIFTS, including at least ONE WEEKEND shift.
Please also be sure you are working with someone who can lift trees on to cars if you are not able to do so yourself. Thanks Ryan Hansen
Oct 9 - 11, 2009
www.milfordpumpkinfestival.org
The work schedule for cooks is available on the website. Please sign up to help our Interact Club with their first fundraiser. See Michelle Sampson or Judy Dunbar with questions about the event.
The meeting will be held at the Boys & Girls Club instead of the
Community House. REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE NOW ON THE WEBSITE.
Speaker is Jack McCarthy. Bring a guest to this event!
100 Holes of Golf
2009 Raffle Ticket Winners
$ 5,000 Glenn Flessas
$ 2,500 Rick Manganello
$ 1,250 Phil Tuomala
$ 1,000 Tony Martinez
$ 750 Rick Manganello
$ 500 Sydney Moreau
$ 500 Bill Gould
$ 500 Michael Dube
$ 500 Dave Pastor
$ 500 Brian Hall
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
COUNTY STORES PARKING LOT
Sponsor List Updated as of 9/10/09 8:46 AM
Work Assignments are on the website. It is your responsibility
to find a replacement if you are unable to fulfill your time slot.
Tuesday evening, July 21st our club will join members from the Hollis-Brookline, Hudson, Merrimack, Nashua and Nashua West Rotaries and compete for the Rotary Club Bowling Champion Trophy at the Big Brother Big Sisters of Greater Nashua 4th Annual Bowl for Kids' Sake Rotary Challenge.
This is a fun event and everyone is encouraged to attend. According to President Steph we will have our weekly meeting at 5:00 pm and the bowling begins at 6:00 pm. (There will be no meeting on Wednesday morning July 22nd. Darn.)
Here's what YOU can do:
1. Practice your bowling between now and then in the hopes of making the team.
2. Plan to be there that evening to support the bowling team and have a great time.
3. Gather pledges and donations to the cause.
Our club has won this event each of the three years that it has been held and I hope that we can keep the trophy for another year!
President Dave presents a check for $10,000 to the Souhegan
Valley Boys & Girls Club on June 17, 2009. The money is
designated for the Clubhouse Early Education Center.
The changing of the gavel takes place Wednesday, June 24th
@ 7:15 am.
Make sure you're there to see how Dave persuades Stephanie
to make the meeting, if he ever finds his "Make Dreams Real"
brief case and Presidential Citation, and what pranks may
befall him as he steps out of his role as Club President and
into his new role as Assistant District Governor.
Congratulations to Paul Grummett the 2009 Stan Powers
recipient. Alex Loverme presented Paul with his
lobster dinner as President Dave announced the award.
Check out photos from the event on the website.
Elizabeth Rotch was present at the June 3rd meeting of the
Milford Rotary Club, where her mother, Patty Rotch
was honored by the Milford Rotary Club with a PHF.
Peter TenBroeck, Club Foundation Chair,
Kathleen MacNamara was honored with a PHF, presented
by Peter TenBroeck at the June 3rd meeting of the
Milford Rotary Club.
Kathleen was surprised to say the least, and at a loss for
words as she was recognized for her many contributions
to the community, including raising money for cancer
research through the sale of daffodils every year.
Chris Rogers was awarded a PHF by ADG Robin Eichert.
Chris was recognized for being a member of the Milford
Rotary Club for 30 years with 25 years of Perfect Attendance.
He was surprised and pleased by both the honor from the
club, and by the presence of his family.
Congratulations Chris!
See more pictures in the photo section of the website.
Justin Mazimpaka spoke to the Milford Rotary club on
March 11, 2009.
He spoke about moving to the United States from Rwanda, Africa after the terrible genocide in 1994.
Honduras Team - Bob Blakeman, Doug RUpert, Stan Kankowski and
Julie Whitcomb pose with Carl Miller, Ken Grabeau and President
Dave with the large donation for more water filters in Honduras.
Ken Grabeau received a check for $2500 from President Dave Sturm for Pure Water for the World.
The Milford Club has been instrumental in providing support for the water project in Honduras.
15th Annual Golf Tournament ~
Amherst Country Club ~
August 7, 2009 ~
Awards dinner sponsored by Giorgio's Ristorante ~
Chairmen - David Hammer & John Sieminowicz ~
Colleen is collecting raffle ticket sales money.
July 17-18, 2009 Keyes Field Milford, NH Work Assignments are posted on the website under "Site Pages". Please contact Wes Kogleman if you have any questions.
We desperately need timers on Friday the 17th from 8:30am to 11:30am & again on 2:00pm to 3:30pm! Please contact Wes Kogelman @ w.kogelman@buyatimeshare.com if anyone is available for these time slots? The sooner the better!
June 9, 2009 ~ 4:00 PM ~ 14 North Main St. Mont Vernon, NH ~
Live Band ~ Raffles ~ Surprise for the very fine Fine Masters!
Sign up with Steve Stepanek, Sue Robert, and Franz Fritsch.
Scheduled for Saturday, June 27, 2009
Two tours are available - 9:30 am and 12:30 pm.
Each tour is limited to 30 participants.
The tours will be for Rotarians and one guest each.
If room is available, we will open the tours up to
family members and friends.
See complete story content for details.
Steve Desmarais & Fitz Fitzgerald were presented Paul Harris
Fellows by Alec Buchanan.
They received the honor for all the hard work and dedication they
have given to Rotary and the local community for over 20 years.
Congratulations for an honor well deserved.
See more pictures under the Photo section of the website.
At its core, Rotary is a service organization. In 1917 an endowment fund was proposed within Rotary International and set up "for the purpose of doing good in the world." Made a distinct entity in 1928 and renamed the Rotary Foundation (TRF), it has received contributions totaling more than $1 billion since the first donation of $26.50 in 1917. Providing scholarships and grants for students and university teachers, grants and awards for technical training and funds to help combat hunger and provide clean water throughout the world, have all been objectives of Rotary and TRF. With the threat of polio still looming over parts of the world, Rotary and its global partners, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are committed to inoculate every child with a polio vaccine and eradicate this disease worldwide.
TOUR OF THE WILTON PUBLIC & GREGG FREE LIBRARY IN PLACE OF THE REGULAR WEDNESDAY MEETING. PLEASE LET ALLISE KNOW IF YOU WILL NOT BE ATTENDING, OR IF YOU ARE MEETING THE GROUP AT THE LIBRARY SO YOUR LUNCH WILL BE BROUGHT THERE.
We are joining with Share, the Souhegan Chamber of Commerce, the Boy's & Girl's Club, the Greater Nashua Workforce Housing Coalition and perhaps a couple more non-profits, to present "Communities & Consequences" to the community. It will count as a regular rotary meeting, and will supplant the lunch meeting that day.
Agenda is as follows:
5:15 - 5:45 Appetizers, beverages, networking
5:45 - 5:55 Introduction by Ben Frost of New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency
5:55 - 6:55 Viewing of film "Communities & Consequences"
6:55 - 7:30 Panel Discussion & Questions. Panel to include Dennis Nesbit, GNWHC President, Ben Frost, Bill Parker, Milford Community Development Director, and one player to be named. David Sturm will moderate the panel.
The program will trace the relationship between local zoning & tax policies, the cost (and lack of) workforce housing, the increase in the median age of the population of New Hampshire and its implications for the future. We hope to have 125 - 150 attendees.
Rotary will have a table at the Chamber Expo to be held Thursday, October 23, 2008 at Hampshire Hills. Please support the Chamber and Rotary at this event.
THE SPONSOR APPRECIATION NIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED PER PRESIDENT DAVID STURM. THERE WILL BE A REGULAR WENDESDAY LUNCH MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, SEPT 17, 2008.
Great job by Michelle Sampson and Judi Dunbar! Thanks for the great work.
The Milford Rotary Club will again be selling hot dogs, burgers and our famous sausage sandwiches on Middle Street for the 19th Annual Great Pumpkin Festival. Festival dates are October 10-12, 2008. The cookwagon will be set up for Friday night October 10th and all day on Saturday, October 11th. Michelle Sampson and Judy Dunbar are co-chairs for the event. For schedule and information - www.milfordpumpkinfestival.org
Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - 10:00 AM start, arrive by 9:15 AM - $70.00 per golfer
Sign-up, rules and directions are available in the "Downloads" section of the website. Please print out the registration form and return to Alec with a check ASAP.
Kudos to everyone who made this year's Ted Langdell Day such a hot ticket! Tom, Sue, Alex and all the cooks, Cynthia and Lew and everyone who pitched in. This event is a great tradition and the event and the turnout speak to what a great club we have.
The Milford Rotary Club received its charter from Rotary International (RI) in 1950.
Since that time the organization has distinguished itself as the premier service organization in the SouheganValley of southern New Hampshire. The club serves the towns of Milford, Amherst, Wilton, Lyndeborough, and Mont Vernon, with a combined population of 40000. The Milford Club, like all Rotary clubs worldwide, meets weekly to conduct business and provide fellowship for its members. Since its founding, the club has more than doubled in size; meetings are held on Wednesdays at noon at the Livermore Community House in downtown Milford.
Stephanie Kruy, Paul Grummett, Doug & Mary Ann Rupert, Colleen Moynihan, Allise de Smet & John Siemienowicz, Joan Grummett, Suzanne & Peter TenBroeck, Connie & Jeanne Dionne
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#doingwhatwecantoserveaboveself #everylittlebithelps
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~ Past President Jay Dinkel and new President Tom Quin ~
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