Stories

Hosted by the Souhegan Valley “Happy Hour” Rotary Club

(Nashua, NH) The Souhegan Valley Happy Hour Rotary Club (www.souheganvalleyrotary.com) is excited to announce their 2^nd Annual Monday Night Football Fundraiser featuring the New England Patriots vs. the Kansas City Chiefs at the Old Amsterdam Bar and Lounge on 8 Temple St, Nashua NH (www.oldamsterdambarandlounge.com)

On Monday, November 21^st, join us at the Amsterdam to cheer on the Patriots while raising funds to support the United Way of Greater Nashua (www.unitedwaynashua.org).  A portion of the monies raised from this event will assist the United Way in continuing their mission of helping area residents meet basic health and human service needs while addressing the most pressing community problems.

For just a $20 entry fee (sold in advance and at the door), guests will be able to access this private event, enjoy a variety of buffet style appetizers, and enter into a raffle which includes prizes such as a Nintendo Wii, local gift certificates, and autographed New England Patriots memorabilia.  Additionally, there will be $1 drink specials courtesy of the Amsterdam, trivia and games prior to kickoff, and other special promotions from local vendors including Bellavance Beverage.

Doors open at 6:30pm and kickoff is 8:30pm.  For advance purchase, guests may buy hard tickets directly from a Souhegan Valley Rotary club member or via this page.  Guests can also buy tickets at the door the night of the event. 

For more information regarding the event including sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Souhegan Valley Rotary PR Chair, Tim McMahon at tmcmahon@mcmsocialmedia.com or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SVRotaryNashua

Monday August 29th the Souhegan Valley Rotary Club will hold a fellowship event at Mel's Funway Park in Litchfield New Hampshire. The group will golf, use the batting cages, and drive the Go-Karts. 

Kalyan Banerjee

Vapi, Gujarat, India
President, Rotary International, 2011-12
Trustee, The Rotary Foundation, 2001-05
Chair, Rotarian Action Groups Committee, 2008-09
Director, Rotary International, 1995-97
District Governor, 1980-81

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Kalyan Banerjee is chair of United Phosphorus, Bangladesh, and a director of United Phosphorus Ltd., one of the largest manufacturers of agrochemicals in India, and Uniphos Agro Industries Ltd. Born in Kolkata in 1942, he earned a degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, in 1964. He is a resident of Vapi, Gujarat, where he has contributed significantly to its development as one of the largest industrial estates in India, helping to provide infrastructure for health care and education.

Banerjee has been a member of the Rotary Club of Vapi since 1972. He served as club president in 1975-76 and district governor in 1980-81. He began his international service to Rotary in 1995, with his appointment to the RI Board of Directors. He has gone on to serve as general coordinator of the Poverty and Hunger Alleviation Task Force (1997-98), trustee of The Rotary Foundation (2001-05), and chair of the Southeast Asia PolioPlus Committee (2009-10). He has served on numerous other committees, including the International PolioPlus Committee (2008-09), Reach Out to Africa Ad-Hoc Executive Committee (2009-10), Leadership Development and Training Committee (2009-10), Permanent Fund Committee for India (2008-09), and the Child Mortality Emphasis Coordinating Team (2008-09).

Banerjee is also active in many other organizations, including the American Chemical Society, Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the Senate of the Vishva-Bharati University. He has served twice as president of Vapi Industries Association and is a past chair of the Gujarat Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry. In addition, he is a trustee for the Jai Research Foundation.

This week we had a Team from Pakistan visit the Nashua Clubs to share some of their culture with us. The group were our honored guests at a meeting at the Crown Plaza Hotel and later that same night at Amy and Franks house for a BBQ. The visitors were judges, peace leaders, energy proffesional s and education directors.  Their message was simple "all rotarians share the goal of world peace". They spoke of starting Rotaract groups, groups of younger proffessionals training to become rotarians focusing on the service end of rotary and guided by the local rotary groups current members. Rotaract members are ages 18-30 and are sponsored by an existing rotary group. They also talked about the kindness they had recieved while visitng our groups and encouraged us to come visit them in their country.

If you’ve yet to attend an event hosted by the Souhegan Valley “Happy Hour” Rotary Club, then you’re missing out on the best party in town.  This past Saturday, the club hosted their first annual Kentucky Derby Party in true Derby fashion at the Old Amsterdam Bar and Lounge on Temple St. in Nashua.  Club members and visitors alike dressed in traditional (and in some cases too traditional) attire and partied the day and night away – and all to support a local therapeutic horseback riding center, The Carriage Barn, in South Hampton, NH.

The party began at 1pm and was accessorized with an assortment of Derby appetizer favorites, all-day drink specials including the ever-popular, Mint Julep, and even a Nintendo Wii set up on the big screen to add an extra dose of fun.  But perhaps the biggest hit of the day was the incredible selection of raffle prizes provided by our very generous sponsors.  Upon entering the bar, attendees had the opportunity to purchase $1 raffle tickets and spread them out among whichever prizes they desired.  The biggest draws were a pair of Red Sox tickets donated by the Tulley family, a pair of tickets on Southwest Airlines and a timeshare vacation donated by BuyATimeShare.com, a FisherCats suite donated by Devine Millimet, and a host of other great prizes.

After all was said and done, the Souhegan Valley Rotary Club was able to raise over $1,400 of which 50% will go directly to The Carriage Barn.  The other 50% will be put to good use to help run future Rotary events as well as helping to meet traditional Rotary objectives including providing clean water and greater access to the Polio vaccine in 3^rd world countries.   

Despite a 2nd to last place finish due to poor bowling performaces by Tim McMahon and Jeremy Twomey, the Souhegan Valley Rotary Group was able to help raise over 7000 dollars for the Nashua Chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The 5th Annual Rotary Challenge held last night at the Merrimack Bowling Center was also supported by 6 other local Rotary clubs.

The Souhegan Valley Happy Hour Rotary Club held a successful event at the Sky Lounge with many local Rotarians and political figures including Gubernatorial Candidate John Stephen in attendance. The event was able to raise almost $2500 to be benefit the club and the United Way.

Special thanks go out to the local businesses that supported the event including College Bound Movers, Sky Meadow Country Club, Tulley BMW, The Hampton Inn, Bellavance Distributors and Untied Way.