As we entered the meeting, Brian was at the entrance to the dining room handing out $2.00 bills. More to follow on this story.
President Ken led us in the pledge of allegiance.
Paul Deschambeault was called in from Front Desk duty to lead us in “My Country Tis of Thee.”
Laurie Joe Ready led us in the 4 way test. Yes, she was still smiling after flawlessly running the phone banks at the auction.
Bill Kany gave the Invocation, with appropriate quotations from Mark Twain bestowing the merits of humor. Bill still exhibits humor after standing all day Sunday.
President Ken called the meeting to order. (I think this is when he rang the bell).
P. E. Bill Kany introduced Visiting Rotarian David Moravick, and Visiting Guest Taryn Wentworth.
Somewhere amidst the opening ceremonies, Julie Villemaire crossed the room with pad in hand headed for our table. It took some convincing that I was supposed to be the Tack reporter. I thought it was a horrible April fool’s joke. No joke. So here we go.
Lucy Kay also had a visiting guest.
The 50/50 winnings went to Jackson Brown. The winning ticket was drawn by his guest. Hmmmmmm. Congratulations Jackson.
Lucy gave us an Auction Update: There are some left over items that she is trying to get to their proper destinations. We had plenty of food, and all Auction Volunteers were well fed. She thanked everyone for their hard work.
Big Applause.
Announcements:
Charitable Giving Committee: Jim McAllister announced a Charitable Committee meeting right after the meeting.
President Ken made an appeal that if we know of somebody who is in need of assistance; it is our common duty to be ambassadors of the Charitable Giving process and try to assist others who could benefit from the Charitable Giving Process. For example, he noted that we still have funds for oil that are available.
Scholarships: Alan Nelson announced that scholarship applications are in, and if you know of a student, who would benefit from a scholarship, please contact Alan. The deadline is April 30th. The student will need to have financial aid forms filled out. Alan is looking for people who would like to serve on the committee. We give $21,000.00 in scholarships every year.
The 50/50 winnings went to Jackson Brown. The winning ticket was drawn by his guest. Hmmmmmm. Congratulations Jackson.
Bingo: Bingo is coming Saturday, May 16th. Joe M. and Earl G. will be our now veteran callers. The reporting should stop here as the conversation went sideways a bit. The always organized Julie Villemaire still needs 5 volunteers. It’s a fun event. Bingo isn’t just for old people any more. We should all try to make it to this event.
Elaine Palmitessa is getting ready for the Essay Contest in 2 weeks. We will have the readings at the Run of the Mill.
Happy Dollars: Karen for shedding 10 lbs. at the Y, Jeremy Ray was happy, but I didn’t hear why, as we were still laughing about Karen’s weight and her joy over being able to wear her favorite pants again. Dennis Elie gave $100.00 happy dollars ear marked for the Past Presidents Fund, because he sold his business yesterday. David Moravick our visiting Rotarian guest was happy to give up a buck to celebrate the 90th anniversary of his Kennebunk Club. A club sponsored by the Biddeford Saco club. Julie V. was happy for the pick and pay help that made her day at the auction easier. Lori Joe was happy for all of the phone bank help she got at the Auction. President Ken was happy with the Auction turn out. Bill Kany was happy that his daughter Aaron placed in the top ten of a national pharmaceutical consultation competition. Steve M. was happy that his daughter Marina graduated from nursing school and is being fought over by several departments at Maine Med, Jackie is happy to be retiring tomorrow. Matt Simmons was happy to have attended his first auction and had a good time. Peg Levasseur was happy that Steve’s daughter Marina got her educational start in her program. Fausto was happy; by I couldn’t hear the reason. There were a few others, sorry to have missed them.
Fines: Jackson had to give up 10% of his winnings, Brian for handing out the two dollar bills, and one other, but we were still laughing about the first, Earl was fined for artful parking in a handicapped striped spot, not the actual spot, Joe M. for not following the auctioneers script Sunday, George W. for not getting the final Auction tally out sooner, it wasn’t Georges fault, but he gracefully took the hit. Carl Goodwin was fined for not telling Keith something that I didn’t hear, Karen for calling Keith. A fine was levied for all of those who were going to listen to Governor LaPage at Thornton academy.
Auction Picture Fines: Me, for being a peeping Rob thru the curtain. Heather for texting, Randy and Jackson for allegedly texting back, Dennis Elie, Alan Nelson for staying awake. Steve Morin for not looking like he was awake. He raised concerns about the brownies in the kitchen labeled “Gluten Free” suggesting another ingredient may have been substituted and Bill Kany for looking disgusted.
Now we find out why Brian gave us a $2.00 bill at the door. There are two Elements of our Foundation goals are 100% participation, and $100.00 per person. By returning the $2.00 you are starting our club toward our 100% participation goal. Last year we sent over $8,000.00 with 100% participation to the Foundation. The Biddeford Saco Rotary Club participation per person was $123.00 per member while the District average was $110.00 per member. Paul discussed how we can donate to the Foundation. Our Club has 2 PHS Eligible Donors of $10,000.00, 17 Sustaining Members at $100.00 or more, many at $2,000.00 or more, and 11 near $2,000. Another way to donate to the Foundation is by being a Benefactor by leaving a donation upon your passing. In our Club we have 49 Paul Harris Fellows, and some multiple Paul Harris Fellows. A distinction bestowed upon donors of $1,000.00 or more. The funds get distributed to 40 Clubs. It is held for 3 years, and then ½ of it goes out in district grants. This Year $90,000 is going out in District Grants. In 2014 The Biddeford Saco Club gave the Foundation $8,757.00. Paul requests that we return the $2.00 to begin our goal of 100% participation. If you wish to donate to the Foundation, please bring a check in made out to the Foundation. The Foundation year runs from July to July. If you give to the Foundation there are matching funds available up to $2,500.00. You can look at your account on the Rotary International Site.
President Ken Discussed the Past Presidents fund. We have about $180,000.00 in our investment account, the proceeds of which are used to fund scholarships. Right now, the fund is not producing enough to fully fund the scholarships. Other sources of revenue from fund raisers like the wine tasting and Rotary Houses make up the difference. The discussion was toward additional fund raising to make the Scholarship Fund self-sustaining. This requires a principal of $300,000.00. Scholarships are $1,000.00 for 4 years. George Wandell asked about replacing the fruit sale. Carl Goodwin said we just couldn’t squeeze any more out of it. Ken is investigating a microbrew tasting event. Bill Kany suggested Ken sell a kidney, but room consensus was that Ken’s major organs may be on the “used” side. The discussion to be continued.
I know I made a quick thank you announcement at Rotary on Wednesday but I would like to extend upon it in this email. The Rotary Auction is a massive undertaking and has many moving parts. This year presented some unique challenges that we have not had in previous years and certainly brought to light the need to cross-train multiple people in each role. It was a memorable experience which allowed me to witness first-hand how we all come together as a club when needed. Yet, I am sure my employer is thankful I can now focus on my real job!!
I’d like to personally thank each Rotarian that brought their items in on time with completed slips. There is a lot that goes on between the deadline and the auction relating to data entry, inventory, ad proofing, auctioneer scripts, Director script, Time Warner set-up of boards, etc. that simply makes Rotarians’ lives A LOT easier if done on time. I’d also like to give a special shout out to the below Rotarians who were invaluable to me through this process. Without them, I would not have been as successful as Chair and, for that, I am grateful.
Joe Moreshead and his assistant, David, for accepting all the items, photocopying the slips and sending them along for inventory day, and allowing us to crash at his office all day to do inventory.
Laurie Jo Ready for working diligently with Fairpoint Communications during their strike to ensure we had a contract in place. Imagine an auction with no phone bank?!?!
Sue Gajewski for attending the auction meetings and helping us with hundreds of dollars of free equipment to ensure we looked professional on screen.
Denis Elie for handling set-up and tear down which was flawless as usual and we appreciate you providing the truck to load it all up from Joe’s place.
Bill Kany for securing additional sponsorships, stepping up as Floor Director for the whole day and providing a wealth of knowledge, including comic relief timed perfectly, around the auction.
Karen Chasse for dealing with Time Warner, handling the ad placement and dropping everything when Julie got sick to help me with inventory (an entire day away from work).
Ken Farley for handling the video edits, coordinating numerous edits for the Rotary Auction website, writing the script for the whole event and fielding hundreds of emails as we went through the process.
Julie Villemaire for making us all realize just how invaluable this women truly is to our Rotary Club. She makes the inventory and board set-up look easy when it is not and then spends the entire day doing Pic n Pay (and then the next day too!!). We learned really fast how unprepared we were with Julie out sick – it was AWFUL. If you get a chance, take a minute to say thank you to her personally and next year we will be training more people on this role!
Lastly I want to thank everyone that brought food for our volunteers it was really phenomenal how many people cooked for us on Sunday!
If I left anyone off, please know it was not intentional. I simply wanted say thank you to some key players who made my life a little easier during this process. I am proud to be part of this club and I hope all future Chairs have the support I did.
Thank you Jim McAllister for your becoming a sponsor for the 7th Annual Bingo Fundraiser!
My offer still stands, if you would like me (Julie) to take your turn as the TACK reporter this Rotary year, it will only cost you a $100 BINGO sponsorship J We are up to $400 so far J
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.
