Spoke 3/31/2016

Posted by Philip Rentz 
 
 
Called to order by: Don MacMeekin
 
Opening Song: R-O-T-A-R-Y
 
Patriotic Song: My Country ‘Tis of Thee
 
Invocation: Steve Whitman        
 
Song Leader: Kevin Gould               Song: Moonlight Bay; short and sweet!
 
Visiting Rotarians:
 
None              
 
Guests:
 
Michael Samson, Canaan Town Administrator
 
 
Raffle: Forrest Cole had the correct answer to the National Parks quiz, but he pulled the Queen of clubs and not the Queen of Hearts! The question was: what National Park was featured in the RI magazine? Answer: Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the most visited of all of the National Parks.
 
Announcements:
*District Assembly April 2nd
*Riverside Club Golf Tournament May 26th   Contact Bruce Bergeron or Kimberly House.
*Upper Valley Nighthawks baseball looking for host families for visiting players.
(Flyers were at the tables for the Tournament and the Nighthawks.)
 
 
Brags:
Ernst Oidtmann: Holland wants to build a ‘mile high mountain off the coast’
Bruce Pacht: Back for 10-days in Tanzania, the Hotel he stayed in was the meeting place for several Rotary clubs. Bruce brought back a banner from The Rotary Club of Bohari Dar-es-Salaam.
Willey K. attended the Home Expo and had a visit with Deacon Boucher at the Chamber Booth and a photo-op with the Easter Bunny.
Jaime W. was relieved to have his hound recover from bloat.
Jean W. and husband Bob visited their daughter Carrie in Michigan who is defending her PhD thesis.
Jen Grant and Rob had a great time in Charleston SC.
Paul T. talked about economic development and that Henry Ford out-fitted his first assembly plant with $30,000 in machine tools!
Linda C. announced the production of Peter and The Wolf at Lebanon Opera House.
Bruce P. announced that his daughter Hayleigh, a 3rd year nursing student at UVM will be in a nurse residency program at DHMC.
Paul B. bragged at our table that his wife reads every word of the Spoke and the RI Magazine – remarkable!
 
 
 
Rotary Minute: Rich Wallace
 
Speaker: Michael Samson, Canaan Town Administrator, gave a presentation on the Mascoma Community Health Center non-profit organization which promises: ‘Right Care, Right Cost, Right Here’! The plan is to build a health facility between Canaan and Enfield that will provide health services at a cost of approximately $1,300 per person versus $4,000 per person at traditional facilities. The health center would provide services to residents in Dorchester, Canaan, Grafton, Orange, and Enfield, many of whom are without insurance. The land has been purchased and most of the funding is in place.  Ground breaking is scheduled for May 1, 2016 and the facility will be operational by March of 2017. They have received pledges from more than 2,600 residents to join the health center and from nine employers and institutions. Additional information is available at their web-site.