Meeting Date: September 6, 2024
Presiding: President Gerry Carrier
Greeter: Mike Gula
President Gerry opened the meeting at 7:30 a.m., and Mike shared some words of inspiration.
Attendance:
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34
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Live
|
|
4
|
Zoom
|
|
2
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Visiting Rotarians
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0
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Guests
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0
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Guest Speakers
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40
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Total
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Visiting Rotarian’s Names: DG Bill Stevens (Bellows Falls), and ADG Robbie Grady (Goffstown)
Announcements:
- Gerry Carrier - read a thank you note from one of our scholarship recipients.
- Gerry Carrier - noted with sadness that Jon Ruggles’ wife, Jackie, recently passed away. A celebration of her life will be held on 9/13 from 12:00-4:00 at the Red Blazer Restaurant.
- Ken Moulton-has assigned members to 3(!) Bow teams for District Golf Tournament. Great showing from the Club this year!
- Judy Goodnow and Mike Gula- Auction- Items and donations lists on tables. Two months to go. Get out there and start soliciting. Use form letter to solicit gifts.
- Matt Gatzke- Membership committee- Chuckster’s social event will be on Fri. 9/20 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Each participant will get tickets for two activities (golf, go karts or batting cage) paid for by Club. All are anticipating cheering on their favorites in the Gerry Carrier vs. Matt Dodge go kart challenge race! The Membership Committee is also putting together an on-line survey to gauge Club member interest in other possible social activities and to collect suggestions. Please fill it out when you receive it.
- New Members Group - Will staff Rotary table at BACtoberfest on 9/28 from 4:00-10:00(?). They will likely give out Chili courtesy of Tanya’s husband. Participation not limited to New Member Group. Volunteer if you can.
- Gerry Carrier - New Bylaws that address the addition of our Satellite Club will be circulated shortly, and then voted on at our regular meeting in a few weeks.
- Gerry Carrier -Urged members to take new “join us for breakfast” cards and pass them out.
- Gerry Carrier - Please report all make-ups to Bill. Large # of concert volunteers did not submit their work as make-ups, but when they were given credit for attendance, our attendance % increased significantly. Let’s aim to have the best attendance in the District!
- Jerry Kingwill - Roadside pick-up to be scheduled in early Oct. Keep tuned for date.
Sergeant at Arms: Tanya Frost
Birthdays:
Karen Wadsworth - Interesting year. Can’t do as much as used to do, but carrying on. Rotary is where she sees her Peeps, and she thanked all for our support and friendship. She presented a check for the Rotary Foundation.
Fines:
Mike Gula - logo fine
Happy Bucks:
Bryant Stevener - 25 yrs. in business and 25th anniversary of first Rotary meeting.
Mike Gula- got hole in one at Beaver Meadow!
Linda Bliss - Recently attended Nursing school 60th reunion. 8 of 19 in class were there.
Mike Griffin’s - Daughter turned 30, and he feels older.
Tamar Roberts - 27 happy days in Newfoundland & Labrador!
Ryan Anastasi - New Toyota hybrid. car!
Robby Grady- Good as always to visit friends in Bow.
Matt Gatzke – Celebrated their 42nd wedding anniversary!
Jon Ruggles- Finally found his missing badge in a box at home! Sad that his wife Jackie recently passed. He noted that she received the last Paul Harris Fellow award that Jon earned.
Program: District Gov. Bill Stevens
Presented Gerry Carrier with official RI Annual Theme banner.
Bill’s remarks focused on a two-part message:
1. Gratitude - Thank you for what we do as Rotary, and for what we do as members of community even if not under the Rotary umbrella. Special thank you to our Club for the help our members have provided to District over years. When the District asks for help, we always come through.
2. Decline in membership - Median club size in District is now only 24. 1700 total Rotarians in District now, down from over 2700 not that many years ago. His goal is to get back to 2000. We need new and innovative strategies and Club types to keep Rotary sustainable. We need to be bold and innovative in our approach to what Rotary will look like in the future. Thank you to Bow for taking on Hooksett Satellite Club. RI sees Satellites as way to grow in future. We need to have healthy clubs, such as Bow, help those who are not. Please continue to do what we do.
Questions and Comments for Bill:
Q- Is it possible for there to be more interaction among Rotary clubs? A-Absolutely, however, there is not as much now as there used to be. He understands that several of the Lakes Region clubs are jointly doing something this Fall. Bill encouraged us all to visit other clubs to see what they do and learn from one another.
Comment-It was a mistake for RI to take away or diminish the attendance requirements. Lack of make-ups results in loss of interactions and connections. Reply- You did not lose ability to make-up, you just lost the pressure to make-up. You can still do so. Clubs love to have visitors.
Comment- All new members should attend Rotary Leadership Institute sessions. Very helpful and valuable. Reply- Also check out the Learning Center on RI web site. Excellent resource for new and existing members.
Comment - Two years ago Bill pitched the idea of New Members group to the Bow Club. We heard him, we created one, and it is fantastic! Thank you, Bill! Great idea.
Bill closed his remarks with another thank you to the Bow Club for all that it does.
President Gerry had Bill sign the book that we will donate to a library, and closed the meeting at 8:30 with a toast to Rotary the world over.
Respectfully Submitted,
Peter Imse
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