Christina Annas began her talk by reminding us that she was once a “little sprout”.
This led to a delightful, insightful and humorous overview of her journey from Upstate New York to California to Massachusetts and then New Hampshire.At times the talk was linear, and other points if was a winding road that took her on detours that highlighted her interesting life, and delightful sense of humor.
Christina Annas
She covered stories about her family, her educational adventures, work experiences, volunteering, domestic and international travel, her love of animals and various hobbies.
She grew up about 1 ½ hours from NYC.She never developed a NYC accent, but she shared that when angry she can sound like she comes from Long Island.As a child, because she was so tall, many could forget that she was a child, thus as an adult, she likes to remember that the child in her can still be present and playful.
It quickly became apparent that family is very important to Christina.
She shared that at the age of 20 she packed her underwear and shoes to journey to California to be nearer her grandmother, her father’s mother. She knew her father wouldn’t “approve” of her talking this adventure, so she informed him of the plan about 24 hours prior to departure. She stayed in California until her grandmother died. She thoroughly enjoyed the time she spent with her grandmother.She then journeyed back to New York with friends.It took over 5 weeks to get back east…the first of many travel adventure she shared.
She shared stories about her father, mother and her boyfriend and his son.Since her father died about 4 years ago, she has been spending a lot of time with her mother traveling around the world. She cherishes the times they spend together.
She had many memories to share about her education path.She had a dream of becoming a veterinarian but that wasn’t meant to be. She told us that getting into vet school is harder than getting into med school.She attended seven colleges before completing her bachelor’s degree.While in school, she had a knack for understanding mathematics and tutored many of her fellow students.When she graduated, she knew that becoming a vet wouldn’t be a career path she could take, she became a mathematics teacher. She taught for 15 years.Her best teaching stories are from teaching middle school kid, who gave her a “run for her money”.
Ernst Oidtmann played the piano as we sang our Rotary Welcome Song and Grandfather’s Clock.
Jim Damren’s thought of the day came from Bill Murray, “What ever you do give 100%; unless you are giving blood."
Wedding Anniversary – Jim and Lisa Damren, 31 years.
Program:Classification Talk, Christina Annas, see story above.
Charities
Phil Bush and Bill Chabot presented two donations that need concurrence from our membership.
Donation to the Girl Scouts of Green and White Mountains. Donation will go to their general fund. Motion made by Bruce Pacht and seconded by Hank Clarke to approve this donation.
Trail Alliance Accessibility work at Riverside Park.Total project $6,900.$2,500 being given in materials for the project by Foremost Builders (Dave Clarenbach) the remainder to be given by our Club if we vote in favor of this project.Motion made by Angela Nelson and seconded by John Vacavone to make a donation to permit 600 feet of walkway improvements at Riverside park
More information will be sent by Bill Chabot to our membership about both projects,and electronic voting is now open for two weeks.Respond to Bill via the email he will send us.
WebEx
Marilyn will be adding additional names to the WebEx invitation.This will result in an updated WebEx email being sent to everyone listed in the WebEx invitation.
If you plan to sign in to WebEx from your office or home, Marilyn indicated that he IT person at APD said that if you sign in via theWebEx app, you will be let in to he meeting without waiting.
Community Service and Fundraising Opportunities
Milkweed
September 3, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Riverside Park
Wear you yellow Rotary T-Shirts!
Brewfest
Friday, September 4, 2026 − Set-up
Saturday, September 5, 2026 − Cheers….it will be showtime.
West Lebanon Block Party
September 13, 2026
1:00 – 4:00 PM
Kilton Library Parking Lot
Free Food (we donated $500 for Ice Cream!)
Lawn Games, Raffles and More.
Dwinell Storage Room
Sorting, organizing, cleaning, etc. on September 18 starting at 8:30 AM…ending when done, or we have had enough. So far, Marilyn, Angela, John, Jane have signed up.If you can help let Marilyn Bedell know.
October 3rd a the Mascoma Bank on Sykes Avenue in White River Junction
8:15 AM to 11:30 AM
Let Angela Nelson or Marion Steiner know if you can volunteer.
Rotary District 7850 Regional Meeting
September 12, 2026, in Montpelier at the Dewey Building on the campus of National Life
October 3, 2026, in North Conway at the Gibson Center
October 24, 2026, in Sherbrooke, Quebec, French
November 14, 2026, South Burlington Recreation Center
All meetings will start at 8:30 AM. Jim Damren, Brurce Bergeron, and Phil Rentz will be going to South Burlington. Marilyn and Ron Bedell plan to attend all.
This will be at time for Connection and Collaboration.
"The foundation upon which Rotary is built is friendship;
on no less firm foundation could it have stood."
Let Bruce Bergeron and Jim Damren know if you would like to attend.Want to carpool?
Register at https://www.rotary7850.org/Meeting links will be found on the left bar.There is no fee charged to attend the meetings.
Social Gathering at Salt Hill
September 21, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Happy Dollars:
Tim Guaraldi – Tim, his brothers, brother, son in-laws, their sons had a fishing adventure with Larry Guaraldi.The took a boat out from Marshfield, MA.It was a fun adventure. They almost caught a tuna.
Ernst Oidtmann – He shared that physicians cannot address social isolation.Social isolation is comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes each day, thus increasing the risk of early death by roughly 30%.So he wanted you to know that coming to Rotary is good for your health.
Hannah Falcone – She shared she had a lovely vacation in Scotland with her mother.
Marilyn Bedell – In response to Tim’s fishing adventure told a joke made famous by PDG Arnie Blethen.It was a visual joke, so if you want to hear it, ask Marilyn the next time you see her.
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Queen of Hearts, Bill Chabot pulled the 8 of Diamonds…the hunt for the queen continues.
Car Wash, went to Ron Bedell
Attendance
Christina Annas, Marilyn Bedell, Ron Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Phil Bush, James Carroll, Dean Cashman, Bill Chabot, Dave Clarenbach, Hank Clarke, Jim Damren, Mela Dela Pena, Hannah Falcone, Tim Guaraldi, Ahmad Haidari, Andy Jones, Carol Keeffe, Ron Michaud, Angela Nelson, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, John Stalvey, Marion Steiner, Richard Wallace, George Wentz, Cal Wolfe, John Yacavone
UPCOMING PROGRAMS
September 3: Ariel Mondlak, District Governor 7850
September 10: John Stalvey, Alaska
September 17: Raphael Addante Atty Caldwell Law, Estate Planning
September 24: Gabe Zoerheide, Executive Director, Willing Hands
October 1: TBD
October 8: Bise Wood Saint Eugene, Tysea Orphanage in Jacmel, Haiti.
October 15: Peter Wright, MD Polio Update. He is an internationally renowned scientist on the disease.
October 22: Roy Schlieben, Executive Director, MAXT Makerspace
October 29: Jada Lindblom, Ph.D., Extension State Specialist, Economic Development, Associate Extension Professor, Recreation Management and Policy, UNH Durham (Most likely delivered remotely)
Just pick your item and follow the instructions for ordering.
Men’s and Women’s light weight jackets
Men’s and Women’s fleece vests
Men’s and Women’s fleece jackets
Blankets-Fleece 40” x60”
All jackets, vests and blankets will have Rotary logo and club name.
To save on shipping, pick up your item at Top Stitch, 233 Mascoma Street, Lebanon.
Questions? Contact Cody at Top Stitch at 603-448-2931. Turnaround time is 3.5–4 weeks.
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Rotary News
We are deeply saddened by the devastation caused by the flash floods in Nepal. Rotary members are responding alongside communities in need 💛
You can support these efforts by donating to the Rotary Disaster Response Fund. Your contribution empowers clubs to address urgent needs through disaster response grants, providing critical resources to people affected by the floods in Nepal and other disasters around the world.
Help communities recover. Donate today:www.rotary.org via MyRotary
ShelterBox, a Rotary partner agency, is responding to devastating flash floods that have struck the Rasuwa District of northern Nepal, near the border with Tibet. The scale of this disaster is staggering. At least 389 people have been killed, and reports indicate more than 1,000 people are missing. Entire villages have been inundated, homes and buildings swept away, and roads, bridges, power, and communications infrastructure badly damaged.
The sudden surge of water was reportedly caused by a glacier collapse, sending mud, ice, and rock crashing into the Bhote Koshi River and through communities.
Our response is underway. Our team is working with partners in the region to understand the rapidly evolving situation, determine how many people have been affected, and identify the emergency shelter and essential supplies displaced families will need.
Support This Work. Reports suggest thousands of people may have lost or damaged homes, and with villages scattered across remote mountainous areas and critical roads and bridges destroyed, reaching families in need will be challenging.
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