April 17, 2024

 

 

 

In May of 2017, the Rotary Club of Bedford donated to Bedford High School a ceremonial mace - a symbol of academic excellence at Bedford High School.

 

For the third year - as the BHS Band played Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance"- the mace was carried by the school Principal leading the procession of graduating seniors. Having 2 granddaughters graduating, I enjoyed the occasion on Saturday, June 8.

 

Here are some pics.

 

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bedford, N.H., was held on Tuesday, July 17th, 2018 at the New Hope Christian Fellowship at 292 Route 101

 

In attendance: Bob MacPherson, Mike Constance, Leo Dionne, Ed Bordeleau, Melinde Byrne, Bob Kruger, Bill Gere, Dave Kuhns, Guy Chapdelaine and Doug Horrocks.  

 

Secretary   We ended June with 43 members, having lost Allard, Fleming & Lavoie and gained Boyarsky and Jones.  Attendance was reported as 74.3% for May and 70.0% for June but subsequent make-up submissions raise the numbers to 74.8% and 71.2%. 

 

Treasurer   The operations account P&L was $2,381 positive for FY 2017-18 and the donations account was positive by $1,317.   Both numbers unaudited.

 

Race   We have approval for parking for 300 cars and plan a shuttle from Memorial School.  We will have 2 police officers.

 

Idol   Will be January 19^th.  Ed has a contract with the same terms as last year—a donation of $2,000.

 

Senior lunch     Will be December 12^th.

 

Scholarship   Bob MacPherson asked that someone else be added to the committee to eventually replace him.

 

The meeting adjourned at 6:12!!!

 

 

Members in attendance:  Leo Dionne, Charlie Fairman, Chris Ware, Bob McPherson, Ed Bordeleau, Alan Heacock, Mike Constance, Melinde Byrne, Guy Chapdelaine  

An expenditure of $600 for the purchase of reusable "sandwich type" signs to be used at Rotary Club of Bedford events was unanimously approved. Motion made by Charles Fairman and seconded by Alan Heacock.

 

 

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bedford, N.H., was held on Tuesday, April 17th, 2018 at the New Hope Christian Fellowship at 292 Route 101

 

In attendance: Bob MacPherson, Ron Pingel, Walter Gallo, Jerry Hanauer, Chris Ware, Bob Kruger, Mike Constance, Bill Gere, Leo Dionne, Alan Heacock, Ed Bordeleau and Doug Horrocks.  

 

Secretary   March attendance was reported at 58.6% (later revised to 59.4% with a Carl Jackson make-up).  With the addition of Jen Pinard we have 44 members.

 

Treasurer   Both accounts are in good shape since we are getting some race sponsor money in.  The donations account has $20K.  From it we still need to pay $1,500 Idol scholarships, $2,000 St A’s, $7,000 West & BHS scholarships, $2,400 Camp Allen—total $12,900.

 

Transition night   Planned for June 24 at Maple Ridge.  Food will be our own Pasta Night.

 

Member-of-the-month   Alla will profile Leo on our Facebook page.  We agreed that the board will choose subsequent members to feature.  Hopefully we can also get it on our web site and/or as an email to members.

 

Social   The spring Mama Mia social is April 20^th with 59 attendees.  Transition night will also be a social and then we will plan a fall event after the race and Taste of Italy.

 

Community   Walter nominated and we agreed on a business person of the year.  Alan suggested a service day at the Palace Theater.

 

Donations   We discussed being a scholarship sponsor for the Palace Theater’s summer drama camp.  Alan will get more details.  We decided NOT to contribute to Pure Water for the World (reversal of a February vote) since we have already supported two other clean water projects.

 

Misc.   April 24^th will be a club assembly on Taste of Italy.  Bill will also present his member questionnaire.  May 16^th we will recognize the Interact seniors and have a hot breakfast.  We discussed storage and agreed to keep some things at Bank of New Hampshire, move others from Milford to Camp Allen. 

 

The meeting adjourned at about 7:00

 

Note: There are no March meeting minutes since there wasn’t a quorum

 

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bedford, N.H., was held on Wednesday, December 20th, 2017 at the Manchester Country Club

 

In attendance: Bob MacPherson, Charlie Fairman, Ron Pingel, Alan Heacock, Bill Gere, Walter Gallo, Leo Dionne, Melinde Byrne, Ed Bordeleau and Doug Horrocks.  

 

The board approved a $1,000 contribution to the Kenya Safe Water Project, $1,000 for Veterans Count and $250 for Prostate Cancer Research. 

 

A contribution to New Horizons was tabled until we see how much we make in the Idol contest and Shelter Box was tabled until Ron can clear up whether a contribution has been made this fiscal year.

 

A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Rotary Club of Bedford, N.H., was held on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017 at the New Hope Christian Fellowship at 292 Route 101

 

In attendance: Bob MacPherson, Charlie Fairman, Leo Dionne,  Ed Bordeleau, Mike Constance, Ron Pingel, Guy Chapdelaine, Jerry Hanauer, Walter Gallo and Doug Horrocks.

 

Secretary 

The minutes from the August meeting were approved.  Membership was 40 with Aaron joining in August.  Michael Swinford has resigned in September due to a conflict with his teaching schedule.  Attendance for the month of July was 70.0%.

 

Both accounts are OK, though not flush

 

 

Ed has the tickets and 50 DVD’s about the evening. A committee to work on program ads met this morning and is moving forward.

 

Old Towne Day—volunteers are needed and will be solicited at tomorrow’s club assembly

 

Donations—Are on hold given the low account balance

 

There was some discussion on trying to make John Wood and Honorary member.  Bob will investigate.

 

There was discussion on having an evening meeting in November with mixed support.  Will be discussed tomorrow.

 

The Fall Social Is October 27^th.  Doug will send a general announcement

 

Alan will do proofs of business cards as when he gets back.

 

The meeting adjourned at 7:15

 

 

 

 

A brief board meeting was held after the Club Assembly. 

 

In attendance: Bob MacPherson, Charlie Fairman, Leo Dionne, Mike Constance, Ron Pingel, Jerry Hanauer, Walter Gallo and Doug Horrocks.

 

We approved a $1500 donation to the NH Food Bank and $500 for the McKelvie Move-A-Thon

 

 

 

 

 

MANCHESTER — Business and civic leaders gathered Monday to launch this year’s drive for the Union Leader Santa Fund for the Salvation Army.

Some 350 people — including Gov. Maggie Hassan, Mayor Ted Gatsas and the new leaders of the Manchester Salvation Army — participated in the annual kickoff luncheon.

“We’ve all heard it takes a village to raise a child; I’ve never seen a village like Manchester,” said Armida Harper, a Salvation Army major who took over leadership of the Manchester corps earlier this year with her husband. “We feel so supported and loved.”

Manchester Salvation Army programs include the Kids Cafe meal-and-after-school program, summer camps, food baskets, winter clothing and — of course — a Toy Shop that provided a Christmas gift and Christmas meals for more than 3,000 children last year.

“I am grateful to the Salvation Army and the Union Leader for bringing us together at the onset of the holiday season,” Hassan said at the luncheon at the Radisson Hotel.

“It truly exemplifies our tradition in the Granite State, that all-hands-on-deck support,” she said.

Auctions on Monday generated $5,700 for the Santa Fund.

In a silent auction, luncheon guests bid on 38 gift baskets, which were donated by area merchants.

“It’s great to give back to the community we live in,” said Jim Martin of AmeriGas, who bid $50 for a coffee gift basket he will share with his wife.

And in a not-so-silent auction, Gatsas auctioned off two sets of four Red Sox tickets for $400 apiece.

Gatsas said he wants to push the cumulative donations for the Santa Fund, which is in its 57th year, past $8 million.

To do so, the Santa Fund will have to raise some $300,000 this season.

“It’s a challenge,” Gatsas said.

The Santa Fund raises most of its funds through donations from readers of the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. The newspapers run articles about families who receive help from the Santa Fund. Donors are listed in the newspaper.

“I read every name, whether it’s anonymous, whether it’s in memory of someone, whether you just want to pay it forward,” said WZID radio personality Marga Bessette, who was the master of ceremonies.

Earlier in the day in Concord, Hassan recognized the red kettle drive, which started last week across the state.

At the Manchester event, Harper singled out two organizations for their dedication to the red kettle effort.

Merchants Automotive Group works a kettle on Fridays and Saturdays all season.

Last year, its efforts raised $22,948. Bedford Rotary, which is in its 47th year of bell-ringing, staffs the Harvest Market kettle all season; last year it raised $9,182.
 

 

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/5pBkHyxquXk

 

 

 

Time magazine science and technology editor Jeffery Kluger (left) talks with James Alexander, senior medical epidemiologist for the CDC as part of World Polio Day Friday night.

Photo Credit: Alyce Henson

 

After a year of shrinking polio cases worldwide, the crippling disease is now on the cusp of being eradicated, said top health officials at Rotary's second annual World Polio Day event on 24 October.

At a special Livestream program -- World Polio Day: Make History Today -- Rotary leaders joined global health experts and celebrity singers to hail the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. After nearly 30 years, the GPEI, which includes Rotary, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is on the brink of ending polio by 2018, making it the second infectious disease to be eradicated.

"A world without polio is within our grasp more than at any point in the past," said Tom Frieden, director of the CDC, during a video message to the audience. "The poliovirus continues to lose ground. Next month we will mark two years since the last case of wild poliovirus type 3, giving every appearance of eradication, and leaving only type 1 in the world."

The total number of global cases to date is 247, compared with 298 for the same period last year. Outside Pakistan, which saw its polio cases spike this year, the number of cases has been 35, a dramatic decrease from 187 a year ago. Pakistan accounts for 85 percent of global cases of polio this year, Frieden noted. Pakistan, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, are three remaining polio endemic countries.

The GPEI is on the verge of a major polio achievement in Nigeria. The country has registered only six cases to date this year. "Nigeria is in excellent position to stop circulation of polio this year," said Frieden. "It has gotten 'this close' to eradicating polio by a remarkable turnaround of the program, implementing an emergency operations center, developing a proactive approach to eradication, finding innovative ways to reach children in insecure areas."

Frieden talked about how Nigeria's Polio Emergency Operations Center aided in the quick and effective response to the country's Ebola outbreak. Senior officials from the center were sent to Lagos to lead the effort. They opened an Ebola treatment unit and conducted contact tracing with up to 500 people per day.

"In spite of these efforts, polio activities did not suffer," said Frieden. "This is the legacy of polio eradication in action, and it saved lives by successfully stopping the outbreak."

Most of the polio cases in Afghanistan in 2014 are the result of reintroduction from Pakistan, said James Alexander, senior medical epidemiologist for the CDC. But the country has made significant progress the last two years because of the implementation of its emergency action plan, he said.

"To ensure progress in 2015, there needs to be engagement with new national leadership, intensified focus on 'missed' children, and continued dialogue with other countries," Alexander told attendees.

In March a key milestone was met when the World Health Organization certified its 11-country Southeast Asia region had eradicated polio. Now, 80 percent of the world's population live in areas that are certified polio-free.

Co-sponsored by Rotary and Sanofi Pasteur, the program took place before a live audience in Chicago and streamed online for viewers worldwide. Time magazine science and technology editor Jeffery Kluger moderated the event.

Olivier Charmeil, president and CEO of Sanofi Pasteur, the largest manufacturer of polio vaccine, said in a video address that this year's World Polio Day is significant "because we are beginning the last chapter on polio."

Led by Nepal, a group of 120 countries will introduce the inactivated polio vaccine in the next few months. Charmeil said IPV, an injectable polio vaccine, will be part of all routine immunization programs in every country around the world.

"I look forward to the day we can stand together, alongside Rotary and the other international partners, the day we declare the world polio free," Charmeil told the audience.

Rotary General Secretary John Hewko praised the work of the GPEI, calling the organization "perhaps the most ambitious and effective public-private partnership ever assembled." More than 2.5 billion children have been vaccinated since its launch.

The annual number of polio cases has fallen from 350,000 in 1988 to 416 in 2013, and 222 so far this year, a remarkable decrease of more than 99 percent. UNICEF estimates that 10 million people would have otherwise been infected, while 1.5 million lives have been saved.

Rotary has contributed more than $1.2 billion to polio eradication since taking on the disease in 1979. That amount got a significant boost earlier this week after Rotary announced it will provide an additional $44.7 million toward the polio fight.

"Once we wipe polio from the face of the planet, we will not only have ensured no child will ever again be paralyzed by this terrible disease, we will have set the stage for the next major global health initiative, whatever it may be," said Hewko.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BCTV is running their show that Dave Danielson hosted on Community Corner on BCTV.  The show is currently running on the station (channel 16 in Bedford) and can be seen tonight at 8:00pm.  Bill Jennings did an excellent job putting this show together and Dave is a great interviewer.  The band is also featured, as is Doug and Paul.
 
For those outside of Bedford the show is available as streaming video from the BCTV website at http://72.71.246.74/Cablecast/Public/Show.aspx?ChannelID=1&ShowID=6918
 
The show will be broadcast on air on:
4/23/2015 at 8:00 PM
4/24/2015 at 7:30 AM
4/24/2015 at 5:00 PM
4/25/2015 at 11:00 AM
4/25/2015 at 9:00 PM
4/26/2015 at 7:30 AM
4/26/2015 at 5:00 PM
4/27/2015 at 11:00 AM
4/27/2015 at 9:00 PM
4/28/2015 at 7:30 AM
4/28/2015 at 5:00 PM
4/29/2015 at 11:00 AM
4/29/2015 at 9:00 PM
4/30/2015 at 7:30 AM
4/30/2015 at 5:00 PM 
 

 

Polio Eradication in Nigeria, Afganistan and Pakistan from Rotary International on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/108912427

 

 

 

Hi Everyone

I had to create a new Facebook page for the Road Race.  Please disregard the old one.  It will be extremely helpful if you could all share the page so we can get more likes.

 

 

 

Thank you so much!

 

 

 

 

In the event the above embedded video does not show in the eBulletin click on the following link http://vimeo.com/17540224