Before President showed a short video of our club’s very first TV auction where Bill Kany and Bob Begin were the auctioneers. Unbeknownst to Bill, two hours of his non-legal services time was donated to the auction. After the very humorous video, President Ken invited Joe Moreshead to take the floor. Joe and Bill have a long history & there are many stories that go along with that history. Joe said that what happens at Mt. Abram, stays at Mt. Abram. He commented on Bill’s choice of having 5 (FIVE) Sergeant-at-Arms and told him not to be so cheap. Bob Begin, a friend (kind of) for over 30 years, took over from Joe. He mentioned some of the roles that Bill has played in our club such as the TACK editor and chairing the Awards committee for over 28 years. He said that’s because no one wants to take his place. In 1992, the club received an official complaint about Bill being “rude and obnoxious” in the TACK. Of course, Bob backed Bill up and saved his butt. Bob went on to say that he and Bill had received the nicknames of “Bob and Weave” at the auction. Guess who was Weave? Apparently Bill had a hard time keeping still and would “weave” back and forth. Did you know that Bill was valedictorian of his class at Thornton Academy? He was also top of his class at Dartmouth. He went on to receive his law degree and worked at Smith & Elliott for 25 years – now he’s a banker. Bob made sure to mention that Bill waited 28 years before agreeing to become President of our club while others took the plunge after only 6 or 7 years. President Ken’s swan song was short and sweet. He thanked everyone in the club for the opportunity of being the President and said it was a great honor. He also thanked everyone for all of the support that he received throughout his term. He ended with a short movie clip from Forrest Gump (run scene). Forrest Gump says, “I’m pretty tired. Think I’ll go home now. And just like that my running days is over.” President Ken presented the “Top Banana” hat to incoming President Bill along with his new gavel. Incoming President Bill presented the “presidential chair” to one of the hardest workers and most knowledgeable presidents, Ken Farley! Congratulations on a phenomenal year, Ken!!
The following Rotarians were presented with awards from President Ken:
This recipient is a member who has done a fantastic job with one of our best events, our essay contest. This individual consistently volunteers for many of our projects and has consistently shown her commitment to Rotary. Her spirit of volunteerism is always evident.
Congratulations to our latest Paul Harris Fellow -- Elaine Palmitessa.
TACK Report: Our weekly newsletter, also known as the TACK, will be done differently this year. President Bill has set up a TACK committee consisting of 12 members. Each committee member (also known as a TACK Coordinator) is responsible to make sure there is a TACK reporter for each week within their designated month. Some committee members may just take the minutes themselves while others will be asking for help. Please don’t hesitate to jump in and help out! You don’t have to be a journalist or even a comedian to take the minutes. Our task is to convey what happened at the meeting to those members who were unable to attend for various reasons. It can be fun and light hearted if you want. I only ask that we keep the comments “family friendly” to the best of our ability. It is also a good reminder for dates for upcoming events and fundraisers. We will also post the roster for the Front Desk duty (once we have it) and the weekly TACK reporter. Two of our newer members are going to jump right in with taking care of TACK business for July and August. CJ Dubois-Cote will handle July and Emily Frechette has agreed to field August. Once the minutes are typed, they can be forwarded to Julie Villemaire at villemaire@maine.rr.com and Brian Dallaire at bdallair@usa.net no later than the following Monday morning before the regular Wednesday meeting. (Don’t use the timing of this week’s minutes as an example.) The earlier we get them out, the better, especially if there are other meetings and/or events that club members need to be made aware of. Brian and Julie will work together to get the minutes onto the club website and distributed to members.
Over the weekend, 5 members of our club (Ken Farley, Bill Kany, Susan Gajewski, Bernice Wood, Lucie Kay) attended the “Changeover Dinner” where Bill Kany was sworn in as our new President. His official term begins on July 1st. Please do your best to attend Bill’s Inaugural address and see what he has planned for his year in the hot seat.
The Second Business After Hours is/was being held on Thursday, June 25th, at the Run of the Mill from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Rotarians were asked to bring a guest, friend and/or potential new member. Each person would receive two tickets at the door which were good for house wine or beer.
Susan Gajewski & Fausto Pifferrer are co-chairs of the Fellowship Committee. Susan announced that July 15th we will welcome our new District Governor to our meeting. There will be a reception for the DG that evening from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Run of the Mill. Light refreshments will be served.
The fun and fellowship doesn’t stop there. Susan also announced that Jim McAllister and his wife Donna will once again open their home to our members and families for a summer BBQ! This event will be held at noon time on Saturday, August 1, 2015, with the rain date of Sunday 08/02. Some members are planning on floating down the river at 10:00 a.m.from Skelton Dam to Jim’s house. This is one fellowship event you don’t want to miss! There will be a meeting immediately following next week’s meeting (7/1).
The club received two Thank You notes which President Ken circulated among the members. One was from Camp Laughing Loon where we’ve sponsored some “camperships” and the other was from one of the scholarship recipients, Hannah Morin, a senior from Biddeford High School.
The CLYNK Program will continue on! Julie Villemaire will provide bags and Rotary tags. All you need to do is DRINK UP and bring your bag full of bottles/cans to your local Hannaford to scan them in. Be careful of the weight limit. You want to make sure your bottles/cans are empty. If you already have a personal CLYNK account or one for the office, you can donate from your own account to the Rotary account. Just be sure to choose the Rotary Club of Biddeford Saco. The proceeds of this program will go towards our Charitable Fund program. We’ve raised just under $1,000.00 since Roland Gagne started the program two years ago.
Brian Dallaire, our Webmaster, was heading to the West Coast earlier today so this week’s TACK is coming to you via Clubrunner E-mail.
President Ken was his usual punctual self and started the meeting off with the Pledge of Allegiance followed by Grand Old Flag. I do have to say that our singing voices didn’t show up to today’s meeting. Heather Gendron was put to the test as she was asked to lead the members in the 4 Way Test without a banner to reference. As expected, she passed with flying colors! Once again, Jim Audiffred provided a very moving invocation.
President-Elect Bill Kany introduced visiting Rotarians and guests. Kerstin Kirchner was visiting from the Saco Bay Rotary Club. She brought a box of books with her and briefly explained a new literacy project that is underway. It will be the club’s responsibility to distribute the books to a location that is truly in need. Terry Hutchins will be replenishing the books as we go forward. Kerstin suggested speaking with the schools as they discard many books on a somewhat regular basis. Other guests included Past President, Bob Begin, Ann Kany (A. William Kany’s wife), Melissa (Bill Kany’s younger sister) and Will Kany (Bill’s oldest son). Bill’s son Andy snuck into the meeting shortly after it began.
The final 50/50 ($30) of this Rotary calendar year was won by Earl “the Pearl” Goodwin. Newer Rotarians should take note that Earl is very lucky. Introduce yourselves to him- shake his hand. You never know if some of that luck will rub off him and onto you!
As Ken’s year comes to a close and my year starts I wanted to circulate my list of committees, committee chairs and members. My goal was to get everyone involved in the club. I attempted to retain continuity in committee leadership and membership while making some changes. If any of your committee assignments give you heartburn please let me know right away. I have talked to most of my committee chairs but not all of them so I apologize for being presumptive relative to some committee chairs.
What I would ask is that all committees meet before the end of July to establish at least one committee goal for the year along with the specific means of achieving that goal or those goals. Our committee structure is the way to make sure that all members are engaged and by each committee setting a goal and developing a plan for meeting that goal I hope to insure a vibrant year driven in large part by all of our members.
Please note that the finance committee and strategic planning committee are not permanent committees but are designed to look at a specific task or two and then they will be finished.
Please let me know when you have scheduled your meeting (auction is exempt since we know its goal) between now and July 31 in case I would like to attend. Please set your goal(s) by the end of July.
I want to thank each and every one of you for your anticipated hard work and dedication to Rotary for the upcoming year.
I also wanted to take the anticipation of the Sergeant at Arms selection. I, like Ken, have decided to go with SAA by committee. Having been the single SAA many times I know how hard it is to do it week in and week out so I have asked a group to do that job with Joe Moreshead being the head Sergeant for scheduling purposes.
PROGRAM IDEA???? PLEASE CONTACT Brian Dallaire, PROGRAM CHAIR or a member of the Program Committee. Remember it is the responsibility of every member to help get Programs for our meetings.
Fill up those green bags. If you need more bags and/or labels, just let Julie Villemaire know and she can hook you up…no charge!
Simple fill with returnables and drop off at any Hannaford.
Alternately, if you already have a CLYNK account of your own, you can designate you funds as a donation. Hit the Donate button and search for Rotary and you'll find our account.
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