Called to order by: President Kevin
Opening Song: Rotary
Patriotic Song: America the Beautiful
Invocation: Jon Blodgett
Song Leader: Cathy Schneider Song: Good Night Irene
Visiting Rotarians:
Tom MacMeekin, past president of Rotary club of Devises, Devonshire England
Guests:
Ernst had a monkey as his guest and it sang to us.
Raffle: Jon Blodgett did not draw the Queen of Hearts, so the pot grows
Announcements:
Garlan had two Opera tickets to give away, not sure if anyone took them
Australian visitors will be here on October 10. Steve W still needs a house for one female visitor so here is your opportunity to be involved.
Steve Needs Drivers for some of the day trips as we host the Australians, reach out to him if you are interested.
October 13 will be dinner with our Australian guests at Dowds county Inn. This will replace our normal Thursday meeting.
There was a signup sheet passed around to indicate if you are interested in joining the Riverside club as it hosts James Vara on August 16th at their normal Tuesday meeting at 7:10 AM in the Dwinell Room.
Brags:
Rotary Minute: Rich Wallace on Membership Retention, very good points made.
Speaker: Captain Tim Cohen of the Lebanon Police Department spoke about what it is like to be a cop in the current climate. Tim opened by telling us he is a very avid drum collector, restorer and musician playing some 4-6 times per week and teaching several students during the week.
He attended the police academy and graduated in 1997. He set the stage by sharing the story of his friend and academy make, Jeremy Sharon, who he last saw at a funeral for a fallen officer. That night officer Sharon was shot and killed in the line of duty. Very sad memories and it changed his attitude about his job and people he interacts with on a daily basis. He realized it was changing him so he had a decision to make, let the job dictate who he is and how he reacts to situations or to remain true to who he is and do the best job he can. He has chosen the latter, being true to himself.
The job is difficult and they see the bad side of events so it could be easy to be tainted by the situations police endure. He and most all of the other officers he knows fight this every day. It is hard not to become hardened and withdrawn given their work environment.
The picture painted does not condone the behavior of the officers who overstep, but of one of managing the situation so that it is handled as effectively and with the least amount of collateral damage and injury as possible. It became exceedingly clear that it is very difficult, in the heat of the moment, to always be in control but they have to do their very best to meet the expectations of the general public and their colleagues.
Tim did state that in the three departments he has worked in he has seen no evidence of Race or Religion playing a role in how an officer responds to a situation.
Submitted by: Don MacMeekin
