President Ken once again promptly started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.  Don Lauzier chose My Country Tis of Thee for today’s patriotic song.  Sarah Neault led the group in the 4 Way Test and Jim Audiffred followed up with the invocation.

 

This month’s luncheon choices are:  Fish Sandwich, Chicken Caesar Salad, Chicken Salad Wrap and Meatloaf

 

PE Bill Kany announced visiting Rotarians & guests.  We welcomed Rae Smith and Kerstin Kerchner both from the Saco Bay club.  Brian Dallaire brought his lovely wife Debbie to join in the fun.

 

 

District Assembly is Saturday, March 28, 2015, at York County Community College in Wells, from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.  This is also the set-up day for our auction.  This assembly is open to all Rotarians.  They offer some very informative seminars.  The expense for the assembly will be picked up by the club.  If you have any interest in attending please let either President Ken or Secretary Bernice Wood know & will take care of registration.

 

VP Lucie Kay apologized for seeming to complain a lot these days but as of today’s meeting (03/04) we are still 123 items short.  Friday March 6^th is the absolute last day to get your items in.  There will be an auction meeting on 03/06 at the Saco & Biddeford Savings Community room in Saco to discuss if we will need to shorten the auction for potential lack of items.

PE Bill Kany implored members to reach out to get 2 more items each.  If we do this, then we will make our quota needed.  We have NEVER had to shorten the auction since its inception 25 years ago so PLEASE make every effort to get those items in to Joe Moreshead ASAP.

 

******As of today (03/09) we have an abundance of items!*****

Bid Numbers:

Julie Villemaire will be sending out a mass e-mail by the end of the week to over 400 bidders from last year’s auction.  Once the “failed” e-mails come back, phone calls to those bidders, and also bidders who did not have an e-mail address, will need to be completed.  By being proactive and calling these people ahead, we reduce the number of calls that come in on Julie’s cell phone not only the week before the auction but especially the day of the event.  There is a sign-up sheet going around for volunteers to help with those calls.  Julie will provide a list and direction as to the procedures.  Last year we had over 200 calls to make.

 

Press Release:

Don Lauzier mentioned that there will be a press release going out state wide so it would be helpful to have a listing of the items.

 

 

 

 

Phone Bank: 

Laurie Jo mentioned that she was working her way through some issues with the phone bank and will be shifting the “normal” Interact shifts to later in the day due to Mary’s Walk being moved to the day of our auction.  Many of the students help out with the Walk so they won’t be available for the early shifts.  Laurie Jo is looking for Rotarians to step up and fill the slots for the 11:30 a.m. -2:00 p.m. shift.  Rotarians will still need to help fill the final shift from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

 

Set Up:

This takes place the morning of Saturday 03/28, and is spearheaded by Denis Elie.  A sign-up sheet will be going around next week.  The inventory from Joe Moreshead’s business will also need to be transported to the Martin Center.  We typically meet around 8:00 a.m. to start loading vehicles.  Once the items get situated at the auction site, they need to be “re-inventoried” to make sure everything made it over and didn’t get lost in the shuffle.  This is a very lengthy process & we will need a few volunteers to help out. 

 

TVs Needed:

We currently have 6 TVs and are in need of a few more.  If you have one/some available, please get in touch with Lucie Kay.

 

Always Thinking:

While listening to all of the auction updates, Joe Moreshead had a brainstorm.  He suggested that a group of Rotarians get together and put on a “Lobster Bake” as one of the Big Board Items.  Brian Dallaire offered up his lobster cooker that he had specially made from Haley’s Metal Shop.  The members in attendance were in approval of Joe’s idea.

Today’s SAA was Keith Jacques.  He collected Happy Dollars first thing.  Craig Pendleton was happy to return his brother to Florida (this may not be the truth because I’m having a hard time reading my version of shorthandL). Carl Goodwin was happy to have finally won the 50/50 pot.  President Ken was happy for his wife being able to attend our Exchange Student Annie’s graduation in Ecuador.  Julie was happy to have won the 50/50 at the Saco Bay club last week & didn’t get fined.  Keith was unable to determine who the last one in was so the “last one in buck” was on the honor system.  Craig was charged a Happy Belated Birthday fine.  Anyone who did not bring in an auction item had to throw a dollar into the pot for giving PE Lucie heartburn.  PP Don Lauzier was fined for setting off alarms with the staples that were used to keep his head together when he fell off the roof.  Josh Fearon was fined for a “knee injury” while Joe Moreshead was hit up for wearing his dark glasses inside.  Jeremy Ray was fined for disappointing the kids and not cancelling school & Julie was fined for spelling Brad’s last name incorrectly.  I’m counting myself lucky if that’s all SAA Keith found in the minutes!

Today’s speaker was Renee O’Neil from St. Andre’s Health Care.  Renee has been with St. Andre’s for 3 years.  Renee mentioned that she often receives calls from family members that are in the middle of a crisis.  Many people are under the impression that it is a simple process to have someone move into a nursing home.  They don’t understand that you can’t just sign someone up for a spot in the nursing home.  There is a very lengthy process.  Renee spoke about Nursing Home Care, Assisted Living and Rehabilitation.  She told the club a personal story about the process she and her family went through when both of her parent’s health failed at the same time.  She really learned to appreciate the VA system.  With Skilled Rehab Care, the goal is to get home.  There are usually several options to choose from.  Private rooms are not always the best option especially when it comes to lack of socialization when the family member leaves for the day/evening.  People tend to “blossom” with others around.  Medicare limits the number of days in Skilled Care – you can stay for the allotted time only if you are making progress.  If you reach a plateau, then the Home Health Group comes into play.  This includes home visits for therapy.  The agency can also send people over to help with light housekeeping/cooking.  The trend is to send people home.  The problem is that there aren’t enough people trained & willing to make home visits.  Cognition issues can be challenging.  If progress isn’t being made but it isn’t safe to go home then they take a look at the ADL – Activities of Daily Living.  A GOULD assessment is completed to look at the ADL.  This is of no cost to the family.  The results of this assessment will determine if Assisted Living is sufficient or if Nursing Care level is warranted.  People should consider Long Term Care Life Insurance.  This will give you a choice.  Maine Care doesn’t provide much of a choice.  Beauty isn’t what you should be looking at.  You should be looking at the level of care provided.  Renee highly recommends talking about these issues and planning early.  Don’t wait for a crisis to act.  Directives and POA’s can be useful but remember the person has to be of sound mind in order to execute them.  She mentioned that it was okay to have Trusts set up to plan for the future but cautioned that it was not a good idea to try to “hide” funds.  By hiding the money, financial hardships can be created for others and choices for our loved ones can also be limited.  Hospice services are needed for all ages, not just the elderly.  Renee mentioned that there are no right or wrong answers but all decisions come with consequences.  St. Andre’s Health Care is a non-profit organization and is big on fostering a family environment – the nurturing piece is huge.  Thank you Renee for a very informative presentation!

 

 

 

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

 

President Ken was extremely happy with the recent number of new members inducted into the club.  This was a great advancement for us & he asked that we keep the momentum going.  Keep spreading the word about the work that Rotarians do & invite potential new members as your guest.  The club will pick up the meal expense for your guests first visit.