Former Lebanon Rotarian and mental health professional, Suellen Griffin, was our speaker today.
Suellen Griffin
Ron Michaud introduced Suellen. He reminded us that Suellen spent 12 years at West Central Behavioral Health, then left the Upper Valley to take a position in Maine as the Interim President Maine Behavioral Healthcare. For the past 4 years, she has been working as consultant. Ron stated she is working with an organization in Chicago. Suellen is remembered as a past president of our club, for being the founder of our Brew Fest.
Suellen started her talk by reminding us that better management of behavioral health issues has been on the rise especially post covid. Many are more aware of the problems of anxiety and depression.
She then shared that addressing behavioral and mental health issues can be hard to address due to the stigma that comes with many of the diagnoses.
Stigma can be defined as a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that society or groups of people have abut something. These sets of negative attitudes and beliefs can lead to fear and apprehension.
Our president, David Crandall called the meeting to order at noon.
David welcomed our guest speaker Suellen Griffin.
John Yacavone led us in reciting the 4-Way Test.
Ernst Oidtmann led us in singing the Rotary Welcome song. Our second song was Silver Threads Among the Gold.
David then quizzed us on an item from "This Day in History". Where and when did the U.S.S Maine sink?
On February 15, 1898, an explosion of unknown origin sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba harbor, killing 266 of the 354 crew members. This led to the start of the Spanish-American War by the end of April.
Then it was on to our buffet lunch.
After lunch, Suellen Griffin educated us about the Stigma of Mental Health. See above.
Bill Secord presented the book for the Kilton Public Library's Children's Collection being given in honor of Suellen Griffin:
Do You Remember? by Sydney Smith
From the author/artist of the multiple award-winning of Small in the City comes an innovative and moving look at memories, filtered through the mind of a child.
Can you hear the morning wind in the trees? Can you feel the snowflakes landing on your wrist? Can you taste the sweetness of the warm berries?
Can you hear the Spring peepers singing from the frog pond?
Using a series of descriptions and the luscious pictures that accompany them, a boy describes the memories that are so meaningful to him as he is about to move into a new home. With an audacious structure and brief, self-contained episodes, Sydney Smith takes us into the mind of the boy as he processes the complex emotions that he experiences as he contemplates his new surroundings.
Announcements
Report from Membership Task Force: Bruce Pacht summarize the work done by a subcommittee of the Membership Committee regarding what it means to be a member of the Lebanon Rotary Club. Bruce distributed an email to all members about this topic earlier in the week. (if you didn't see the email, let Bruce know and he will send it to you again.) Today was the first of two days for members to give feedback to the membership committee.
Rotary international has cut back on stated membership requirements. This group charge was to define what membership means beyond paying RI dues, District dues and Club dues. Meaningful work, purposeful activities and participation are considered as important parts of Rotary membership.
The goal of the work being done by the membership committee is to define what being a Lebanon Rotarian means to us. We need to be able to express this potential new members.
The subcommittee is proposing that commitment to Rotary should include 30 hours of participation every 6 months. Bruce outlined in the email that was distributed to us a variety of ways we each can demonstrate that we have committed 30 hours to Rotary every 6 months.
Bruce then sought feedback from members at the meeting. Several scenarios about current members desire to be a part of Rotary and want to participate in some of the service we perform in our community, but work pressures continue to prevent them from being as present as the might want to be. Are there ways we can accommodate the individuals? It was suggested that members of the subcommittee reach out to members who currently won’t be able to meet the expectations set out by the subcommittee to get their thoughts on what it means for them to be a Lebanon Rotarian. Another question was raised about Rotary's rule of 85 (years of membership + age = at least 85). If you met the rule of 85, you can petition the club to be relieved of attendance and participation requirements. This doesn't happen automatically, it must be requested. So it is hope that those members who meet this requirement will not petition for this designation and will continue to be be active for as long as the are physically able to participate.
Food Drive at CoOp at Centerra on Saturday. Two more volunteers needed. One of the two identified at the meeting. Tim hopes to report next week that another person comes from 11 AM to 1 PM to help.
Listen Dinner for 2/29/24 to be rescheduled as another cook team signed up to help on this day. Dean will let us know when the next dinner will be for our club.
Round 2 of the Speech Contest has been moved to Saturday, March 2nd. It will be help at Computac, 2 Buck Road, Hanover at 11 AM. Members are welcome to come and hear Riley speak again. Once again, she will be the only speech contestant. She is required to participate in a second round of the contest to be eligible to move on to Round 3 at the district level.
Our meeting on February 29th is being cancelled. This is the 5th Thursday of the month. The speech contest will replace this meeting.
Dave Crandall announced that he will be representing Rotary on a panel that will follow the showing of the movie, Join or Die, at the Briggs Opera House on Saturday, February 17th at noon. "Based on Robert Putnam’s trailblazing academic work Bowling Alone, about the decline of American civil society, Join or Die argues that club membership is the bedrock of American community and democracy. Following Putnam’s journey as he researches the health of communities and their correlating civic participation, the film investigates Putnam’s theory alongside modern-day club-builders and includes interviews with acclaimed academics and politicians."
Other News From Members and From our Web Page
Mascoma High School Interact Club - From Bruce Pacht
Information from Lindsey Coolidge, the faculty advisor at MVRHS to our Interact Club in the Mascoma Valley:
Dessert Auction: We made just over $400 in our Dessert Auction this year and a little over $700 in our concessions efforts this season so we have a nice chunk heading into our treasury to fund service efforts.
The February Break Box project with Friends of Mascoma is helping the Friends of Mascoma food pantry to pack food boxes for families in need for over our upcoming February break. I will be going to the pantry in Canaan this Friday with four of our Interact members to pack these boxes.
Food packaging effort for international service: I have seen other food packaging organizations as well and that it is hard to truly know anything about them without setting up an appointment to find more information. Most I saw started at a $4,000 price point minimum, similar to RISE last year. Interact does not have enough funds on its own and our National Honor Society would not have substantial funds to help offset the remaining cost due to some inflated costs of their typical service efforts throughout this year. RISE mentioned they only need about a month's notice for scheduling. I also believe that 10,000 meals was the minimum to my knowledge when I spoke with their representative.
Earth Day potential project: We hope to connect with the Canaan Conservation Committee and participate in their Earth Day clean-up efforts as our spring clean-up event for this year.
National Honor Society service potential: We are in talks with our NHS about partnering on some type of spring service project that is yet to be determined.
Charities will be discussing changing the ratio of our support for a food-packaging event in partnership with our two Interact Clubs, to consider reducing their financial contribution down from its current 50%.
Speech Contest Change…Round 2 at 3/2/24 at 11:00 am at John Hochreiter office, Computac, 2 Buck Rd. Hanover, NH
Meriden Library — John Yacavone
The Lebanon Rotary Club donated funds to the Meriden Library for ten tables to be used in their new community.
Pictured Left to right John Yacavone, representing Rotary, Shannon Dexter, from the Friends of the Meriden Library and
Jim Allen, Director of the Plainfield Libraries
On the table is a plaque thanking the Lebanon Rotary Club, it will be hung in the community room.
From Upper Valley Business Alliance (UVBA):
YOU'RE INVITED
UVBA Economic Outlook Breakfast and Annual Meeting March 21, 2024
Please join us to dive into crucial topics affecting our region and bi-state area - housing, workforce and childcare. This is a great opportunity to hear predictions and trends for 2024 from our panel of experts.
Speakers include:
Rob Dapice, Executive Director of NH Housing Finance Authority
Maura Collins, Executive Director of the Vermont Housing Finance Agency
Brian Gottlob, Director, NH Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau
Joanne Roberts, Early Childhood Education Consultant and coordinator of Vital Communities Early Childhood Education Initiative
Chris Emond, CEO, Boys & Girl Club of Central New Hampshire
Clay Adams, President & CEO, Mascoma Bank
Thank you to our sponsor Mascoma Bank.
Date/Time
Thursday, March 21
8:00 - 10:00 am
Fees/Admission
$35 pp includes breakfast buffet
$165 for Table of 5
$300 for Table of 10
Location
The Fireside Inn
25 Airport Road
West Lebanon NH 03784
Happy Dollars
Ron Michaud shared that a Barbershop group (compliments of Bruce Pacht) made Valentine’s Day very special by sing to him and for Hilary…the love of his life. He was touched that this happened despite Hillary having died. He was touched by this act of kindness.
Raffles
Queen of Hearts
Bill Babineau pulled the 8 of clubs . The hunt for the queen continues.
Car Wash
For the second week in a row, Dean Cashman won the car wash.
Upcoming Speakers
Feb 22: Steve Taylor - Upper Valley Historian
February 29: Meeting Cancelled
Saturday, March 2: Round 2 District 7850 Speech Contest to be held at Computac at 11AM. Address: 2 Buck Road. Members welcome to attend.
March 7: Club Business Meeting
March 14: Susan Mathison – Common Man/Plymouth Rotary, Ukraine.
Common Man for Ukraine is a nonprofit alliance of donors and heroes working with Rotary Clubs in Plymouth, NH USA and Zamosc, Poland.
We have funded an all-volunteer network to provide basic humanitarian aid to refugee orphans and children with parents in Poland and Ukraine.
We are "common men" working to help our neighbors who face a needless war in Ukraine. Fiscally, we are a separate fund operating within the Plymouth Rotary Foundation 501(c)3.
So far, Common Man for Ukraine has delivered:
• 900+ tons of food
• 10,000 sleeping bags
• Hundreds of generators
• Bloodmobile
• More than $400,000 toward kids' mental health services
Meeting Adjourned at 1:03
Attendance
Bill Babineau, Marilyn Bedell*, Ron Bedell, Bruce Bergeron, Phil Bush, David Clarenbach, Hank Clarke, Dave Crandall, Jim Damren, Tim Guaraldi, Ahmad Haidari*, Will Koppenheffer, Ron Michaud, Ernst Oidtmann, Bruce Pacht, Phil Rentz, Bill Secord, Rich Wallace, Steve Whitman, John Yacavone
* Joined by WebEx
Guest Speaker – Suellen Griffin
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
Golf: Let Ed Friedman know if you want to know when Golf Planning meetings are happening. Dates vary.
Brew Fest: Let Phil Rentz know if you want to know when Brew Fest meetings are happening. Dates Vary.
Community Service Projects
Lebanon Poker Room
Poker Room week will be
March 27 to 32, 2024.
31st Bedell Classic Golf Tournament
Save the Date
Friday, May 17, 2024 at Eastman Golf Links
Changeover 2024
Save the Date:
Changeover 2024 will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Time, place, activity to be announced later.
Brew Fest 2024
Save the date! August 31, 2024
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
Making Rotary Simply Irresistible
Posted on
Tom Gump, aide to 2024-25 RI President Stephanie Urchick, addresses the opening session of the International Assembly in Orlando, Florida, USA, 8 January.
By Tom Gump, Aide to the 2024-25 Rotary International President
Since the 2024 Rotary International Assembly in early January, participants at Rotary’s annual learning event for incoming leaders have been talking a lot about making our Rotary clubs “simply irresistible.” This term was used as the title of a 1988 song and a 1999 movie. In terms of Rotary, it was first used by Past District Governor Louisa Horn and recently championed by Stephanie Urchick, 2024-25 Rotary International president.
So what does “simply irresistible” mean in terms of an organization? According to Deloitte’s description of “The Simply Irresistible Organization,”TM an irresistible organization has five elements: (i) meaningful work, (ii) supportive management, (iii) a positive work environment, (iv) growth opportunities, and (v) trust in leadership. I truly believe that together, we can make Rotary an irresitible organization if our clubs provide these elements to our members.
Meaningful Work – No one joins a club to do nothing. Our members join for various reasons, but they all join to do something meaningful. This is true whether it be a traditional or virtual club and whether it focuses on local and/or international projects. We need to give our members purposeful opportunities, and we should change up these opportunities somewhat regularly so our members don’t get bored doing the same thing. How do you know which opportunites to provide? Give your members what they want by conducting a member satisfaction survey.
Supportive Management – Rotary International is improving in this area, with the Board of Directors just recently implementing three-year goals for its various paired zones. Goal setting and accountability are also happening at the district and club levels.
Rotary also invests in its leaders through various learning opportunites. Our zone coordinators receive these opportunities at the Global Support/Global Philanthropy Seminars. District governors-elect receive them at the International Assembly. Club presidents-elect receive them at Presidents-elect Training Seminars. Members receive them at district seminars and in Rotary’s Learning Center.
Positive Work Environment – Our organization’s Vision Statement starts with the words “Together, we.” Most people want to serve, but they want to serve with like-minded people with the same values. Of course, we have to ensure our members feel that they belong and that their opinions matter to other club members and leadership. Again, surveys would help here. If you implement some of the suggestions your surveys generate, people will feel that they’re being heard.
Rotary International does a good job of recognizing its members and other participants with awards of many types. But recognition also needs to happen at the club level. This recognition should not only be for financial giving, but also for things such as being a new member sponsor.
Growth Opportunities – Our members want to be part of something that allows them to grow. Rotary’s Vision Statement reads: “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change – across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.” These last three words are important. People want to be part of something that fosters self-improvement. Working with others to serve makes this happen, and studies show that the act of serving others makes us happy. Why? Because when we focus on others, we aren’t thinking about ourselves. To quote Louisa Horne: “It’s not about me, it’s about M.E. – the Membership Experience.” Read more about Horne’s Rotary Club of Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia
Trust in Leadership– I’ve spent the last decade getting to know our organization’s leaders from the club level (serving on the Presidents-elect Training Seminar Alliance) up to our International Presidents’ level (through serving as a president’s aide, learning facilitator, and president’s representative). These roles have taught me that our Rotary leaders are purpose-driven and inspiring – not only through their words, but also (and more importantly) through their actions. If we continue to have strong leaders, we will have strong clubs and a strong Rotary.
If we focus on helping our clubs improve these five areas, Rotary will become “simply irresistible!”
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