Rotarian JoAnn Lemieux
JoAnn Lemieux was born on a US Air Force Base in Hokkaido, Japan, where her father stationed. She came to US when she was 3 months old. The family traveled a lot. They were in Tripoli, Libya for a couple of years. There were there on Sept 1, 1969, living off-base behind the US Embassy. Gaddafi staged his coup and they had to leave in 24 hours.
Her father was next stationed in northern NY where he retired and where JoAnn went to SUNY Plattsburgh after which she moved to Burlington. She got engaged and moved with her fiancé to Syracuse U for grad school, but she hated it and returned to Burlington.
Her husband got a strength and conditioning coach job at Dartmouth, so they moved to Hanover. JoAnn worked for AB Gile, eventually heading up financial services deprtment for about 10 years during which time her husband moved to a job with the Dallas Cowboys but she didn’t relocate. She was offered a position in Hartford CT with a broker; after 9/11/2001 came, she was laid off.
She was next hired by Capitus Fiancial, a national brokerage house. JoAnn covered all of New England, traveling to broker-dealers teaching planning and business concepts. Stayed at this for about 12 years while working out of her home in Orford, traveling about 4 days a week, and putting about 60,000 miles/year on her car. Her boss died young of a heart attack; not having faith in the other leaders, she left the firm.
JoAnn worked some other positions on the road but began to tire of the adventure though it was lots of fun and freedom, but still 4 days/week on the road. Her honey said, “You really don’t have to work,” a concept she didn’t quite understand. For the last 3 years, JoAnn said she’s “been doing the whole COVID thing” at home! She is grateful she had the opportunity to do good work for 25 years after growing up in a trailer park.
JoAnn presented a slide show showing why international travel is so dear to her heart.
Her 1st Rotary international experience was a Group Study Exchange program to Australia in 1992, with 5 folks from NH and 1 from VT. There were no women in Australian clubs at the time, though RI had been admitting women since 1989. The team flew directly to Brisbane and then within another day out to the Outback (Charleville, about 442 miles from Brisbane). She stayed with a man who ran the ambulance doctor service; he took her out on his plane and that was fun.
It was so dusty that when they returned to the coast and saw Carnarvon. She took a long walk which led to an almost paradise” – kangaroos, park guides, koalas – JoAnn was shocked by the beauty.
On the trip to Australia, the plane refueled in Christchurch, New Zealand, spending a half day there, and that inspired her to head there on a Rotary Friendship Exchange last year. She extended her trip to 8 weeks, resting in Honolulu, flying to Aukland, and then stopping in LA on the way home.
The Friendship Exchange members met in Aukland and spent about a week there on the North Island. Flew to Wellington on the southern tip of the North Island, the capital. Met the US ambassador there for lunch.
Then went to the South Island, Dunedin, on the eastern coast. They visited a number of places there — She visited Otago; Nugget Point and Lighthouse; Parakaunii Falls; and other scenic and cultural sights. She too a a lot of day trips. Also to Wanaka, as town at the foothills of the New Zealand “alps” where a triathlon was in progress, one of the most grueling in the world, says JoAnn.
She stayed with about 5 different families who all were fairly well off, so she didn’t suffer at all. It was one of the most gratifying experiences of her life. New Zealanders were on holiday during the Friendship Exchange so they had lots of stuff planned. At the end, they all came together to make sure we had transportation and housing. They visited lots of Rotary businesses. She flew home through Dunedin to Aukland, then JoAnn went to LA where she did some touristy stuff.
She was supposed to return to NZ this month to stay with one of her families she visited on the exchange. It will be pushed off. If you stay with folks, you tend to develop close friendships.
They went to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings workshop – we saw photos of JoAnn with a Gollum statue.
We also saw a life-size statue of Gandolph. There was lots of interesting behind-the-scenes movie stuff in the workshop.
The Maori are the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand and Australia. JoAnn shared a photo of an embroidered footstool featuring kiwis.
QUESTIONS:
Jane Mason: Did you do the actual Lord of the Rings tour?
JoAnn – No, lots of slides in the workshop.
JoAnn – No, lots of slides in the workshop.
John Yacavone: How did you end up living in Alstead?
JoAnn: Honey (Phillip George) works in Brattleboro as a financial advisor, also a special forces captain in the Army; he was one of the first Edward Jones brokers in New England. They tried to find a place that kept them in NH mid-way between where their lives were focused.
Marilyn Bedell: Did you get to go back to Christchurch?
JoAnn : No. Also, missed going to Mt. Cook, highest point in NZ. She plans to go there when she returns.
Bill Secord: What do you think of the hoopla over the Reddit brokers who brought hedge fund managers to their knees.
JoAnn: I’m very skeptical of any kind of artificial currency. I’m a little alarmed about what is going to happen, especially in the insurance industry. With the COVID, I don’t know what’s going to happen. I used to do a lot of life insurance. JoAnn was able to get Bob Mesropian $1 million in life insurance which he used as seed money for the birthing center where JoAnn’s first grandchild was born.
Steve Whitman: People in the district are concerned that it might be awkward to stay with Rotarians.
JoAnn: I didn’t find any awkwardness. The families were delightful. I had already been on a GSE and found everyone so embracing and accommodating, and of course, I loved their accents! I stayed up ‘til 1:30 AM talking with the actor son of one of my hosts.
Steve; It’s wonderful how we are treated on these trips, and we try to treat them as well when they visit us.
JoAnn: I was also host for a GSE member from Zimbabwe when I lived in my log cabin in Orford. She couldn’t believe I lived there all by myself. We had to eat dinner by headlamps when my electricity went out.
Marilyn: Friendship Exchange is one of the most economical trips you could ever take.