Special prayer by Dan Whitney: “Dear Lord, as we gather today, we express our gratitude for those whose daily work offers second chances. Restoring safety, dignity and hope to animals who have been lost, abandoned, or left without a home. Bless the hands that provide shelter, the hearts that seek responsible and caring homes and the advocates who faithfully speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Please, Lord, guide us toward a world where every living being is met with compassion and dignity. In God’s name we pray, amen.”
Guests
Whitney Vachon (visiting speaker)
Lissa Goodby (Rick's wife)
Announcements
Trivia night/membership trivia night next week
Members need to submit personal information to Jack
Jack will make uninteresting information interesting
Letter received from Inter-Lakes Scholarship Foundation
Thanking club for $2,500 donation to scholarship banquet
Helps cover banquet costs, allowing more money for student scholarships
Presentations
D7870 Rotary Youth Conference
Gary Dehnel presented
Attended by Interact club members and youth exchange students
This year’s theme: World hunger
Hayden attended RYLA last year and brought back the idea of making the youth conference theme about hunger.
Morning sessions included:
Panel on N68 Hours (organization addressing 68-hour period from Friday afternoon to Monday morning when kids don’t get school meals)
Presentations from various Interact clubs
Lincoln Rotary Interact Club presented their biennial Belize building projects
Inter-Lakes Interact member)presented on Congressional Gold Medal Award she earned
Afternoon activity: Rise Against Hunger meal packaging
Packaged over 10,000 meals in under 2 hours
Meals will feed 47 students for a year
Cost over $4,000, initiated by Hayden (junior who will be interact president next year)
Required 50-70 volunteers, had over 70 participants
Reichlen family provided 7 members at one table
Organization praised for efficiency and setup process
New Hampshire Humane Society
Rick Goodby introduced the speaker
Whitney Vachon is the Director of Community Engagement, NH Humane Society (located on Meredith Center Road)
Executive Director Charles Stan joined in 2019
Eliminated $1.2 million in debt
Rebuilt organization from ground up
Key statistics since 2019:
Saved over 6,000 animals through rescue, transport, and adoption
98% live release rate (2% cannot be rehomed for medical/behavioral reasons only)
Services offered:
My Best Friend Pet Clinic (routine care, low-cost spay/neuter, vaccines)
Over 1,000 spay/neuter surgeries completed since March 2023
Distributed 250,000+ pounds of pet food to 6,000-8,000 food-insecure families
Partners with 19 municipalities, including Meredith, Laconia, Belmont
Sister organization: Animal Rights Foundation
Focuses on legislative/policy work
Charles Stan is currently in Concord addressing state-level animal welfare issues
Future projects:
Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) - taken over state program cut from budget
23 acres purchased adjacent to the facility for wildlife habitat and future barn
Equestrian and livestock rescue facility planned
Own transport van
Current operations:
4 transports per month (up from zero when the current team started)
Animals primarily from Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Florida
160 active volunteers
500 transport animals in the previous year, 700 total adoptions (200 local rescues rehomed)
Legislative concerns in Concord:
House Bill 1766: Would prevent animal removal until cruelty charges filed
Health certificate requirements for all shelter animals (would cost $40,000 annually)
Foster care restrictions limiting placements
Home breeder limits increased from 25 to 50 puppies/kittens per year
Happy Dollars
Bonnie Ireland: Dog (rescue) chewed her watch but didn’t swallow it (already had two emergency vet visits)
Bob Kennelly: Trip to Brooklyn for wedding, enjoyed pizza, bagels, lox, walked Brooklyn Bridge, delivered grandson’s birthday present
John Moulton: Company social with great food, best hiring season in recent years with 75 new hires
Fred Strader: Headed to Michigan for fifth grandchild (grandson)
Chuck Thorndike: Red buds on trees and still skiing!
Gary Dehnel: Thanks for all who helped Interact and Rise Against Hunger
Dean Gulezian: New exchange student from Brazil approved by school board for August arrival (special meeting held to expedite approval)
Rick Goodby: Thank you to Gary Gehnel for video assistance and NH Humane Society’s good work
Ellen Dearborn: For the Humane Society
Kevin Kelly: $50 donation to NH Humane Society (both cats adopted from there)
Winner: Kevin Kelly gave winnings to NH Humane Society
