Our Program today was Round One of the District 7850 Speech Contest
Speech Contest Chair, Phil Rentz and Speech Contestant, Riley Naylor
We had one contestant from Lebanon High School, Riley Naylor.
For 2024, students were asked to prepare a 5-minute speech about, “How can we increase hope for our schools?”
Here is a brief summary of Riley’s speech.
Riley began her talk by stating:
“Hope presents itself to every person in various ways. Hope is waiting for the results of a test you studied hard for, hope is getting a character in a play, of varsity in your sport Hope is wanting to make a new friend. Hope is the end goal we all want. Something about hope that is important to realize, is that it’s not just an idea or a feeling that gets lost on us when we desire something. Hope is a steppingstone to allow us to better ourselves. It is the gateway that allows a person to move forward, and work to building a future we feel joyful to be in. To quote Jonas Slak, ‘Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams a reality’.”
Some other points that Riely made about hope:
“The easiest way to find hope is to find a dream worth chasing.”
She talked about the anxiety felt by school students and how that anxiety can interfere with feelings of hope.
Of note, she shared the 31.0% of American adolescents from the age of 13-18 have been diagnosed with anxiety.
She reflected on a time in 7th grade when she got a “D” on and exam, and how she worried all day about how she was going to share this grade with her mother. She stated, “On my way home from school, my mind reeled about what I was going to say, my heart was dropping to my stomach as I prepared to tell my parents that their A+ daughter just got a “D”.” Riley shared the news, told her mother she would “fix it” by studying more. She then shared, “And how did my mom respond to this complete destruction of my mental state that I’d been carrying the whole day?” Her mom’s response was “Okay”. “I didn’t know if I should be relieved or disappointed in her lack of concern for her ’favorite child’.”
She challenged us (Rotary Club of Lebanon) to explore ways to change educational symptoms to help lessen anxiety.
She ended her talk reflecting on Rotary’s mission “to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill and peace through fellowship of business, professional and community leaders.” Riley stated, “Rotary can be an organization that "can align its mission to creating hope in educational atmosphere to build understanding of differences, allowing those differences to become opportunities for leadership, and using integrity to build better futures for others."
Read more about the history, eligibility, and prizes to be awarded by clicking on read more.
Our president, David Crandall called the meeting to order.
Bill Babineau led us in reciting the 4-Way Test.
Ernst Oidtmann led us in singing the Rotary Welcome song. He then it was time for Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey.
Humor:
What do you get when you combine a resolution with grapes? Raisin Awareness.
Who is the snowman who plays piano? Melton John.
Then it was on to our buffet lunch.
After lunch, Joy Gobin introduced the one student who was representing Lebanon High School in our speech contest, Riley Naylor. See info about her speech above.
The book being donated to the Kilton Library children’s collection in honor of Riley Naylor is:
The Light Within You. By Namita Moolani Mehra. Illustrator Kamala Nair.
Diya is excited to be going to India for Diwali, the Festival of Lights. That means she’ll get to spend time with Nani, her beloved grandma, who she hasn’t seen since her family moved from India. Now India is 7,850 miles away…
Once Diya arrives in India, she immediately feels at home with Nani. Together they go shopping at the bazaar and prepare for the festival. As Diya and Nani celebrate Diwali together, Diya’s heart soars. But all too soon, her trip will come to an end. Is there a way for Diya to take some of the light and magic of Diwali with her when she leaves?
Announcements
David Crandall has filled the two open positions on the Board of Directors. David Clarenbach has joined the board; and Ron Bedell will fill the other open seat till a 2025/2026 president is identified.
Save the Date: Changeover 2024 will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Time, place, activity to be announced later.
Members have been invited to attend a wrestling match on January 31, 2024, for a photo op, to thank us for the donation we made to permit Mascoma High School to purchase a new mat for the wrestling team.
Tim Guaraldi reminded us that we have a food drive the CoOp on Saturday. Tim thanks all you signed up to help. Our second food drive will be on February 17th from 9AM to 1PM. Please let Tim know if you can attend the February food drive.
Happy Dollars
Ron Michaud – Was happy to get an old air conditioner to the landfill.
Bruce Bergeron – Was happy to announce his new car wash and storage facility is open in Enfield.
Tim Guaraldi – Spent time in Atlanta at a meeting where it was a balmy 16 degrees…burr.
Marilyn Bedell – She was finally able to share that two weeks ago as she was putting the newsletter together, two times, all the work she had done was lost and had to be reconstructed. She is finally able to talk about this “ordeal”. The joys of technology.
Ernst Oidtmann – He was driving his car when he got an “out of oil” message and was told to stop the car immediately. When the car reached the Volvo dealership, only 1 of 6 quarts of remained. The good news the engine was still under 100,000 miles, thus under warranty. If it happens again, he would get a new engine.
Queen of Hearts Raffle
Ron Bedell pulled the 7 of spades. The hunt for the queen continues.
Car Wash
Our guest Greg won the car wash.
Next week's speaker
February 1 — Aaron Rivkin from the Hopkins Center.
From the Hopkins Center LinkedIn page: Our Manager of Impact and Community Alliance, Aaron Rivkin, recently presented at the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Conference on “Making Music Education Meaningful: Connections with Community.” The methods discussed in this session guided music educators to reflect upon their own unique community and determine best practices for community engagement, which is essential for sustaining music programs in schools
Upcoming Speakers
Feb 8: Shaun Mulholland and Tim McNamara, City of Lebanon
Feb 15: Suellen Griffin, "The Stigma of Mental Health", West Central Behavioral Health
Feb 22: Steve Taylor - Upper Valley Historian
Feb 29: Speech Contest
Meeting Adjourned at 12:58
Attendance
Members at the meeting:
Bill Babineau, Marilyn Bedell, Ron Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Dean Cashman, David Clarenbach, Hank Clarke, Dave Crandall, Jim Damren, Ed Friedman, Joy Gobin, Tim Guaraldi, Ron Michaud, Angela Nelson, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Marion Steiner, Rich Wallace, Richard Wallace, Cal Wolfe, John Yacavone
Guests
Bonnie Robinson, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment at Lebanon High School
Greg Lackore and Stella DesFress, Friends of Ernst Oidtmann. Greg has lived in the Netherlands for 29 years. Stella was born in the Netherlands. They both came to the United States just before Covid.
Standing Meetings
Membership Meetings: Third Tuesday at 3:30 PM
Contact: David Crandall
Youth Services: Second Wednesday of the month at Noon
Contact: Joy Gobin
Charities: Third Wednesday of the month at 1:00 PM
Contact: Bruce Pacht
Board Meeting: 4th Tuesday of every month at 4:00 PM via Zoom
Contact: David Crandall
Community Service Projects
Food Drives at the Co-op Centerra
Save the following dates to come and volunteer with the Food Drives:
February 17, 2024 from 9AM to 1PM
Lebanon Poker Room
Poker Room weeks will be January 26 to January 30, 2024 and March 27 to 32, 2024.
31st Bedell Classic Golf Tournament
Save the Date
Friday, May 24, 2024 at Eastman Golf Links
TOP STITCH
Rotary Vests and Jackets
John Yacavone has arranged for members to order light and heavier weight jackets and vest for us to wear when doing service projects...for days when our tees shirts just aren't enough to keep us comfortable and warm.
If you click the link below, Top Stitch has created a special website for Lebanon Rotary Club members to order the following clothing items.
1. Men’s and Women’s light weight jackets
2. Men’s and Women’s fleece vests
3. Men’s and Women’s fleece jackets
All jackets and vests will have Rotary Logo and club name.
Just pick your item and follow the instructions for ordering. If you decide to pick up your item at Top Stitch located at 233 Mascoma Street Lebanon, NH 03766 there will be no charge for shipping, otherwise shipping will be charged. If you have any questions about your order please contact Cody at Top Stitch at 603-448-2931. Turn around time is 3.5 - 4 weeks. Once you place your order your order will be processed no waiting on other orders to be fulfilled.
Rotary News
New Rotary Peace Center to open in Turkey
Rotary International is launching a new peace center at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Turkey.
By Etelka Lehoczky
Next month, Rotary International and administrators at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, will begin recruiting fellowship candidates for a new peace center opening at the university. The Otto and Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center will offer experienced peacebuilders based in the Middle East and North Africa the opportunity to complete a one-year professional development certificate program, earning postgraduate diplomas in peace and development studies.
“The center will bring together peacemakers from across the Middle East and North Africa — people with different backgrounds and viewpoints, but who share common goals — and provide them with the resources and experiences needed to work together to promote peace within the region,” says Martha Peak Helman, a trustee of The Rotary Foundation and president of the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation. The Walter Foundation donated US$15.5 million to fund the center’s operations and fellowships for up to 40 students per year in perpetuity.
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