Cogitator Sept 11, 2013

Posted by George Cooper 
on Sep 11, 2013
 

Mike Stenhouse, CEO, RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity

 

VISITING ROTARIANS

None.

GUESTS

Jennifer Bentley, President Jodi Gladstone’s sister and resident of Los Angeles, joined us for lunch.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Happy birthday wishes from the club go out this week to three Rotarians:  Ron Winde (September 14th); Mike Neville (September 15th); and Bonnie Sauer (September 16th). 

Happy wedding anniversary this week to yours truly (and my better half Lisa), celebrating 15 years today, September 11th. 

ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES

This week, Past President Bob Greene celebrates his Rotary Induction day 46 years ago on September 11th, 1967.  Also celebrating a Rotary ‘birthday’ this week is Matt Bussey, who joined the club one year ago on September 12th. 

PAST PRESIDENT’S MINUTE

Bob Greene took a moment to tell us about his year as club president from 1976-1977.  He said there were many celebrations of a historical nature, given the US Bicentennial (1976) and East Greenwich’s Tercentenary (1977) observances.  Bob also recalled bringing in for a speaker a local writer who had penned a book about the sloop Providence (originally the Katy) and her prominence in the fledgling Continental Navy.  Also, the club proudly had a nice float on display for the big Main Street parade. 

In those days, Bob noted that the president and president-elect both attended the Rotary International convention, and that year they happily traveled to New Orleans.  Bob’s presidency followed that of Dean Hunter.  Dean later went on to become our club’s first governor of District 7950.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

*September is Rotary New Generations Month.

*Don’t forget your invitation cards, and bring 2 guests to lunch!

*The Lindsay Ann Burke Memorial Fund’s Imagine Dinner will be held on Thursday, October 17th, at the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown.

*Don’t forget to make your calls, and get those Rotary Phonebook renewals sold.  We only have two more weeks to go—time is running out to meet this year’s revenue and profit goals.

*Friday, October 18th will be Rotary Night at the Dunkin Donuts Center.  Tickets for the P-Bruins game will cost only $12, of which $5 will be allocated to Rotary’s Polio Eradication efforts.

*President Jodi announced September’s Board Meeting scheduled for Friday the 13th and a Literacy Committee meeting on Thursday, September 12th. 

MUMS FUNDRAISER

Sue Dorne thanked Daphne TenEyck, Bill’s wife and sister of mums wholesaler Alex Lyons, for bringing the remaining mums for those interested in last minute purchases.  Sue also thanked Bill TenEyck, Gill Thorpe, and (past president) Kevin Inkley for ‘trucking mums around all weekend!’  The new mums drive should net at least $1,000 toward this year’s Charity Fund coffers.  Great work, Sue!    

ROTARY FOUNDATION MOMENT

Treasurer Ed Neff gave more detail about how Paul Harris Fellowship funds work for Rotary International and District 7950. 

Our frequent Paul Harris donations go to the Rotary International’s Annual Fund, where they’re invested for three years.  After three years, 50% of the funds come back to our district and are used for ‘global’ and ‘local’ grants.  ‘Local’ grants up to $3,000 may be requested by district member clubs, while the ‘global’ grants involve project-partnering with other clubs and oftentimes the tripling of initial investments (e.g, $10,000 becoming $30,000 after grant-matching).   

HAPPY BUCKS

-Ron Winde gave up the last buck in his wallet after a ‘phenomenal wedding weekend’ for his daughter and new son-in-law. 

-Lou Lepry joked that he should be called a ‘visiting Rotarian’ this week, after missing a few meetings over the past month or so. 

-Jennifer Bentley was happy to be in town to see her sister (President Jodi).

-Mike Neville was glad to hand over a birthday buck.

-Vin Meola worried aloud about our club’s Yankee fans’ absences of late, wondering where they might be hunkering down and asking us all to be very nice to them upon their return to Rotary. 

 

SPEAKER/PROGRAM

Mike Stenhouse, CEO of RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Mike Stenhouse was a Rhode Island all-state high school baseball player who became an all-American at Harvard, where he received a degree in economics.  Mike went on to play professional baseball for eight years, including stints with the Minnesota Twins and the Boston Red Sox.  After his baseball career, he worked for the Special Olympics and ran a successful ‘I.T.’ company.  Upon selling his business, Mike founded and is now CEO of Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity, a public policy think-tank.

First, Mike gave us some baseball trivia.  His dad, Dave Stenhouse, was the first rookie to ever start in a Major League All-Star game.  Mike also said he was mentioned infamously in a book reviewing baseball players…with career batting averages below .200!     

‘Public policy in this state is tearing families apart,’ Mike exclaimed.  ‘People are being forced out of this state’ due to its lackluster economy and rising costs, and Mike’s think tank wants to end that trend.

Recalling the horrible events of September 11th, 2001, Mike said that he experienced a mixture of anger and patriotism, which continue to inspire him today in making Rhode Island a better place to live and one which supports the strengthening of family life. 

‘The bottom line—our population is stable…the tax base is going down…and Rhode Island’s spending is still increasing into wildly unsustainable levels,’ he offered.  ‘When does Rhode stop this death spiral?  When will Rhode Island start winning?’ 

Mike noted that, despite the continuing negative economic news, our state’s politicians, business leaders, and citizens at large remain ambivalent.  And we continue re-electing the same people who bury their heads in the sand or offer ‘window dressing’ solutions at best.  Meanwhile, Rhode Island ranks last in the U.S. for business climate, and, maintains the worst jobs outlook in the nation.

One idea proposed by the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity is eliminating the state sales tax.  Mike said that studies show that a 0% sales tax would create 25,000 new jobs, raise the standard of living for all Rhode Islanders, and greatly lessen the burden of tax-reporting for local businesses of all kinds, especially retailers.  While some legislators are intrigued, the ‘silence is deafening’ from state leaders.  Mike is proud that his think tank at least was able to get the proposal into committee meetings on Smith Hill. 

Mike also discussed ‘the tragedy of kids being condemned to horrible inner city schools.’  He said it’s terribly sad each year to witness the contrasting joy and disappointment during lottery time for inner city families who hope that their children will be randomly selected for leading schools such as Providence’s Classical High School, or, other successful new charter schools.

So what can we do?  Well, we can run for local office during election years and join the effort to ‘rock the boat.’  We could also join organizations like the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity, which is actually part of a national think tank network.  Lastly, we could make a donation to Mike’s RICFP, or similar organizations, in the hope of a brighter future for Rhode Island.

http://www.rifreedom.org/about-us/

 

Mike Stenhouse and Ron Winde

 

Sisters, Jennifer Bentley and President Jodi