President Dick opened the meeting at 07:30 and Mike shared some inspiration.
Attendance:
26
Live
7
Zoom
0
Visiting Rotarians
3
Guests
1
Guest Speakers
37
Total
Guest Names: Sorry, I did not capture their names
Visiting Rotarian’s:
Announcements:
Press Dick: We received a letter, a request for funding. Dr. Anshoo Chandra is an optometrist in upstate NY. She wants to be a guest speaker to talk to our club about the life-saving work she has been doing in Haiti for many years. They have provided more than 12,000 free eye exams to date. It is entirely run by volunteers with no administrative overhead. They need a new building, their current one is shutting down. They have secured land, and now they are seeking funding for a new building.
Eric Anderson fell this week, he is recovering at the hospital and does not request any visitors.
Our club has been working with DG Donna to try to find a place for an international student. Phillipe from Argentina will be arriving on Thursday 8/14, he has a temporary place to start, looking for a host in either Bow or Concord.
There was a little bit of weeding done outside the OTH, Dick and Mike Gula worked together.
Tanya Frost gave a concert update: last night, the Freese Brothers member who tows their equipment got rear ended on the way to Bow.
Hooksett Club has added 2 members to their club in July. That brings them to 16 members, so they will be able to establish their own club since the threshold is now 15 or more members to become an official club. They need to create their own bylaws first. Our club is helping them.
Next Board Meeting is on 8/18
Matt Gatzke and the Sunshine committee will send a Get Well card to Eric.
Carol Niegisch gave an update on the auction. They are ready to start approaching donors to gather items for the auctions.
Tanya Frost said she wanted BAC-tober fest to be on our radar for this year.
Eric Anderson has the program next week, so we will need a new speaker. Bill said someone from Bow PD would like to come speak to the club.
Sergeant at Arms: Dave Farr
Birthdays: None
Fines: None
Happy Bucks:
Ryan Anastasi - Had a great time visiting family in Moultonborough at the lake. Also thank you to Joya for covering for him next week to take notes. He will be in Montreal Thursday - Sunday next week.
Matt Gatzke - had a great time on vacation in Alaska, saw a lot of salmon, many people fishing, saw many moose as well, a bear eating salmon, and other wildlife. Weather was pretty good too, admired Mount Denali. Now he is off to Indiana tomorrow, just as his wife’s guest
Brad (?) - took the day off as his son is heading to Notre Dame soon.
Linda Bliss - her grandaughter has been accepted into a masters of electrical engineering program.
Dick Bean - A bear got into his suet feeder!
Judy Goodnow - attended the league of NH Craftsmen fair that runs through this Sunday.
Peter Imse - great concert, thank you to Rotarians who helped gather chairs, music stands, and sound equipment to let the show go on. Thank you.
Tanya Frost - raised over $200,000 at the annual gala. And had a great time at the concert last night. The weather was beautiful and the band was fantastic!
Mike Gula - happy to have his neighbor here today, he wasn’t happy weeding at first, he doesn’t like it, but wanted to help, so he changed his mindset and wanted to be the best weeder, and had fun. On Sunday morning, he was in Block Island with his wife, they rented a moped and cruised around the island, his wife was nervous at first but enjoyed it as time went on, they had a lovely time. He highly recommends visiting Block Island! A couple in 2020 started hiding glass globes around the island, a fun activity to search for them, this was covered in a story on the TV program “Sunday Morning.”
Bill Ames - he thanked everyone who was there at the concert last night
Dave Farr - he gave a scooter buck.
Ken’s wife Jackie was here, she gave a happy buck because he is finally out of his boot. Yay!
Steve DeStefano is the greeter next week.
Program: Vanessa Palange introduced Patrick Cavanaugh, Public Information Officer at NH 911.
This is Patrick’s first Rotary meeting he has ever attended, he’s enjoying it.
His role at NH 911 ranges from community outreach to public relations and social media interaction.
In 2024, NH 911 processed 422,315 calls
Average daily call volume of 1100 - 1300 calls.
81% of calls are received from cell phones (compared to landlines).
99% of all 911 calls are answered within 10 seconds.
NH 911 calls are routed to the next available person, whether they are in the Concord call center or the Laconia call center. Good to have 2 call centers in case one were to become inoperable in an emergency.
Training: 4 months in total, 2 months in a classroom, 2 months working directly with a tenured associate.
Calls go from the 911 caller to the 911 dispatcher and then to the local dispatch center. All call takers are graded on their adherence to the protocol, they are trained to ask a series of questions to gather as much info as possible.
Staff: they have 45 call takers, there is mandatory overtime. 10 hour shifts, 4 days on, 3 days off. 3 shifts to cover 24/7.
Be mindful when calling 911, give as much location info as you can, they do not gather as much info as you would think, they do have mapping software they use to help.
If you accidentally call 911, please stay on the line to tell them it is an accident. If they do not hear from you, they will call or text you back.
He showed a quick video where John Letson, a 911 operator, talked about how important it is to answer all questions as fully as possible so the 911 operator can pass that info along to the local dispatcher. They are there to help you every step of the way so they can help you quickly. Help is just a phone call away.
Call 911 if you can, text 911 if you cannot. Type your exact location, a brief description of the help you need, and do not use abbreviations.
President Dick closed the meeting with a toast to Rotary the world over.
