This is one of several new banners Jane Mason has made for our ClubRunner home page. Thanks, Jane!
Welcome to another issue of our weekly bulletin!
Find out who our upcoming speakers are, what we covered during the last weekly meeting,
and learn more about Lebanon Rotary and our projects.
Future meeting schedule and speakers
November 2 Jim Schachter, CEO New Hampshire Public Radio
November 9 Club Business
November 16 To be rescheduled….Rod Smolla, President, VT Law School
November 23 No Meeting –
November 30 Carl Gross, Manager Lebanon Municipal Airport
December 7 Aaron Rivkin, Hopkins Center for the Arts
December 12 Holiday Party at the Quechee Inn
December 14 Club Business – 2024/2025 Election of Officers and Trustees
December 21 Ernst Oidtmann Piano Recital
December 28 NO MEETING – Happy Holidays
January 4 Jon Chaffee, President of Sustainable Lebanon
Rotary Club of Lebanon, NH
In Person at SERVICE CREDIT UNION
Thursday, October 26, meeting at noon
Attending: Phil Bush, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, Steve Whitman, Bruce Bergeron, Bill Babineau, Dean Cashman, Rich Wallace, Angela Nelson, Ernst Oidtmann, John Yacavone, David Crandall, Hank Clarke, Jim Damren, Ahmad Haidari, Joy Gobin, Cal Wolfe
4-Way Test of the Things We Think Say or Do…Phil Bush
Joke of the day – Dave Crandall
This day in Red Sox history – Bill Buckner, Game 6 against the Mets
Birthdays/Anniversaries
Dan Nash birthday this Sunday
Strategic Planning Discussion
Membership
Maybe not focus on attracting younger members but consider members in the 40-60-year-old demographic along with women and DEI representation.
DEI—we need to engage with under-represented groups.
We should promote our programs—consider posting in the Valley News.
Upper Valley Young Professionals have a volunteer subcommittee that would be happy to get involved in Rotary projects.
We need to ask, “Why do people want to join?” If we can answer that we can attract members.
We should consider going after nonprofit employees, especially those who present at our club meetings.
We are meeting with a team of three tuck students who will have a report by December on a possible marketing program.
Member Retention
Should we be doing more member surveys.
Can we do a better job with new member orientation.
Socializing – Keeping Rotary Fun
What about non-members – those who don’t attend meetings
What can we do to connect with them?
Should the board have a systematic approach to staying in touch with members who don’t come to meetings.
Should we start having “fireside chats” with new members?
Is our sponsor/mentor program working as it should?
Are we engaging members with volunteer activities even if they aren’t attending meetings.
We should consider listing members in our newsletter.
Rotaract—how can we promote Rotaract at colleges?
Committee Involvement
Do we have the right mix of volunteers and activities?
Are we trying to do too much?
Should we be good at many things or great at a few things?
There is a lot of crossover with committee assignments.
We are a small club, and we can’t keep expanding committees.
Some committees are not active.
In-person meetings are valuable; social connection is important.
Perhaps one meeting each month could be a social gathering of some kind and one meeting a month just for committees to meet.
We should promote an annual calendar, so everyone knows what is coming up and when—make sure everyone has Save the Date cards.
Consistency matters.
Succession Plan
We need to figure out what we are going to do next year when we no longer have a president-elect; what is our plan?
Rotating officers?
It is unfortunate that recent presidents have not stayed active with the club.
Other Items
We should review our bylaws.
We should feature a membership barometer for exhibition at all our meetings.
Next Steps
Board will revise strategic plan based on this discussion and distribute to the club for one final round of feedback.
An additional meeting to discuss strategic planning is not necessary.
Announcements
Charities board announcements
Charities voted to allocate $5,000.00 toward modernization of the Opera House as it celebrates its 100 years of service to the Greater Lebanon area. A donation at this level comes with recognition on the permanent donor board to be installed at the Opera House, and with a plaque on one of the new theatre seats. Because the amount allocated exceeds $1,000.00, a confirmation vote of the Club is necessary to complete the process. A discussion and vote are scheduled to take place at our regular meeting on Thursday, November 9.
Two seats need to be filled for three-year terms July 1, 2024-June 30, 2027. John Yacavone, currently serving an unexpired term, is standing for election to one of the seats. Bruce Pacht, who will complete his first, three-year term on June 30, 2024, is also standing for election. Charities is seeking any other Rotarians who wish to stand for election to Charities’ Board of Trustees. The nominating period begins with circulation of this memo and will end on November 10, 5:00 p.m. A ballot containing the names of all nominees will be circulated for electronic voting during the two-week period November 16-30; voting will close after the regular Rotary meeting on November 30.
Phil Bush would like to be considered for the Charities Board.
Charities is sending budgeted funds to the City to provide two picnic tables (similar to those installed at Riverside Park) at Baker’s Crossing Conservation Area.
New sign installed at Riverside Park
This month has seen the first requests for reimbursement from Emma’s Garden for our District-matched grant expanding agricultural production in the Kenyan village of Nyandoche Ibere.
Charities is sending budgeted funds to The Rotary Foundation to support the continuing efforts of global polio eradication.
Rotary Leadership Institute in St. Johnsbury—Crandall is attending.
Join us on November 11 in Lyndonville for the District Training starting at 10:30 a.m.
And then stay for an evening to celebrate the Rotary Foundation with:
Brenda Cressey, Past Chair, Rotary Foundation
Mike McGovern, Chair, International PolioPlus Committee
Past Trustee Chair of the Rotary Foundation Brenda Cressey, in 2018-2019 Brenda served as the first woman Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair; and
Past Rotary International Vice President/Past Rotary Foundation Trustee Michael McGovern is currently serving as Rotary International’s PolioPlus Committee Chair
Everyone is welcome to the District training from 10:30AM to 3:30PM and lunch is included - no cost!
The Foundation Dinner includes a buffet dinner and cash bar for $40USD per person.
Please note that there are two separate registrations for each of these events!
November 11, 2023
University of Vermont -
Lyndon Campus
1001 College Rd, Lyndonville, VT
Everyone welcome to come
for all or any part of the day
lunch included.
Separate registration is required for the evening Foundation Dinner.
.png)
