Changeover 2020
Celebrating Service
A Time for Celebration! Reflections on 2019/2020 by Marion Steiner and Liss Mooney, our Co-Presidents!
Welcome and thank you all for joining this evening. We are here tonight to recall and celebrate the past Rotary year, honor and thank this years’ board, committee members and club members and set up our incoming president for a positive and successful start to his year.
Just as this is not the changeover we all envisioned, this was certainly not the Rotary year we thought we were going to have. Covid-19 upended much of Rotary as we know it. Due to the global pandemic, we were forced to cancel, heavily modify or indefinitely postpone major fundraisers, and many of our core community service events. Our club has not had in person gatherings to fully enjoy the fellowship of Rotary for almost four months. Our community outreach and visibility was curtailed. Despite these challenges, and this truly unprecedented time, our club has accomplished much.
- We inducted amazing new members
- We raised a lot of money for charities
- We donated charitable funds to both global causes like a water project in Ghana, and local like a donation to Upper Valley Snow Sports/Whaleback
- We used a district grant to enhance the lives of the children and teens at Romano Circle
- We pulled off a highly successful and fun Brew Fest
- We provided scholarships to deserving local high school seniors
- We participated in an international Inbound Friendship Exchange with a club from Alberta Canada
- We mobilized and delivered $200 worth of turkeys to The Haven on Thanksgiving to meet a large gap in feeding less privileged families at the last minute
- We filled and assembled Listen baskets
- We supported two Interact Clubs
- We cleaned up parks
- We contracted for and started building a custom website which will take our club into the future
- We served lots of Listen dinners
- We sponsored first grade readers
- We donated children’s books to the Kilton Library
- We had a rich, interesting and engaging slate of programs and presenters
- We ran food drives
- We donated to the Rotary Foundation
- We helped to End Polio Now
- We engaged, we did the work, we gave.
- We were Rotarians.
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and deepest appreciation to the members of the golf committee, pie committee and Brewfest committee. The time and effort put into planning these events and executing Brewfest were admirable and greatly appreciated
We would like to thank the members of the board for their work and commitment to the club and recognize the amount of work that occurred in both at the board level and board committees to move the club forward
We would like to thank Jon Yacavonne for his excellent slate of presenters for the year and his adaptability in changing schedules.
Special thanks to Bill Babineau who is stepping down from the role after several years acting as our club treasurer and Dan Affeldt whose technical skills and support helped us rapidly move to virtual club and board meetings.
Unending appreciation to Marilyn Bedell who was a source of Rotary wisdom, support, encouragement and our anchor. Marilyn was also instrumental in keeping our club moving when the Covid crisis seriously impacted both of our professions causing our work demands to temporarily interfere with our Rotary schedule.
So no, it was not the Rotary year we all planned or the two of us imagined as we were inducted at changeover one year ago, but it was Rotary in action. It was giving, it was fellowship, it was community. The Rotary Club of Lebanon New Hampshire did it’s part to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace wherever we could in whatever form we could.
We wish Paul all the best as he begins his Rotary year as the president of our club. We feel the club is poised to have a spectacular year, even with the uncertainty that remains globally and know it is in good hands with Paul and his incoming board.
Rotarians on Our Zoom Changeover
(Where's Waldo?)