June 5, 2009 Meeting

Pledge, Song & Invocation

After President David Lindsay led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, the talented team of Alan Michel and Joan Johnson raised their voices for the group to join in an all-time favorite, "You are my Sunshine." "Rev" Ray Cannon gave a short but appropriate invocation.

Guests & Visitors

Family members of Rotarians visiting today included, David, Jennifer, and Robert Evans and Perrin Troiano.

Club Activities

Members of the club have been and continue to be active in the community at large as well as in our own club. Yesterday Jim Sutton was honored by the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce as one of two recipients of their annual Community Service Award. This was especially appropriate this year as Jim retires after 16 years as the Director of Memorial Hall Library. Retirement will mean that Jim has even more time to devote to his family, the community, and especially Rotary as our incoming Secretary.

In honor of DDay 65th anniversary tomorrow, Bill Buck read a moving messsage on the "Meaning of Bloody Omaha." He recommended that all read it to appreciate the sacrifices made all those years ago in the name of freedom.

The next upcoming main event to occur is the Citizens Who Care and Educator of the Year presentation to be held at the Memorial Hall in the library on Wednesday, June 10 at 5:30 p.m. Plan to get there early to get a good seat, as a large crowd is anticipated.

The following evening at Temple Emanuel, our own Mark Spencer will be honored by the Andover Historical Society with their Heritage Award in recognition of his years of contributions to the community, not the least of which is our own Citizens Who Care.

President David encouraged anyone interested in an interesting few weeks to apply to be a Group Study Exchange leader to lead a group to England in October. The deadline is June 8, so move fast if you're interested!

Member Ed Bride welcomes anyone interested to participate in a safety awareness program about drug and alcohol abuse called Regional Suspicion Training Session. Contact David for details.

This year's installation of officers will take place right here at the Lanam Club in the downstairs dining room on Friday morning June 19. Please let David know if you plan to bring guests to make sure there's enough food! Also, plan to arrive by 7:00 a.m. so the meeting can start promptly by 7:15. The festivities will end at the usual time by 8:30.

In honor of Boston Rotary Club's 100th anniversary, there will be a Centennial meeting to which all the districts in the state will be invited. This is intended to kick off a year of public relations for all clubs. The President of Rotary International will be present, and it's a great opportunity to meet other Rotarians from around the state. More details will follow.

The President and Treasurer remind everyone to get your dues and Foundation payments in before the end of June in order to keep our club solvent and get Foundation credit for the fiscal year.

Special Award

Past President Jim Greeley was proud to present this year's Cal Mutti Special Service Award to one of our most outstanding members, Paula Evans. In addition to being a Past President, Paula has initiated and coordinated the annual Thanksgiving food and Holiday toy drives for the community, served regularly at the Lazarus House soup kitchen, been a long-time volunteer for Trauma Intervention Program, and is about to embark on her fifth Rotaplast mission to Egypt tomorrow. Paula's cheerful presence and kind heart have made her a favorite club member and this is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Paula!

Raffle

The bowl of tickets to be drawn was presented to Paula's grandson for the first pick, and Paula said, "Pick Mimi's, Robbie." Lo and behold, Robbie picked Mimi's, which was the 10 of clubs. Perrin picked a ticket that had Len Wilson's number on it, but alas, Len drew only a three, so Mimi won the $10 consolation prize, which was promptly turned over to the clairvoyant Robbie! The pot rides for the big one, with only 28 cards left.

Sergeant-at-Arms

Howard Perkins reprised his old role with the feedbag today, and there were many dollars of congratulation donated in honor of Jim, Mark and Paula, including Matt Haymer, Jim Greeley, Alan and Helene Michel, Mark, Jim Sutton (for the others), Paul Mercandetti, David Lindsay and Helen Nicolopoulos.

Bill Buck gave thanks to Jim Sutton for placing an order for new name badges. Jim thanked Len for working at the soup kitchen, Paula congratulated Jim and was sorry to miss Citizens Who Care, but she was glad to have her family present for her award.

Helene will be away for the installation, Len spoke of the need at and put in a plea for extra financial support for the soup kitchen. Mark bragged that his company was able to secure a state delegation to lobby for a $100M award; Rick Stern had a birthday, Helen wished Paula a safe journey; David Lindsay is happy that his daughter is coming for a visit (even if she is bringing her boyfriend).

Wine Auction

The bottles lined up on the piano were significant of the need to raise money for the various missions we support, including Lazarus House, STOP bullying program, Beverly School of Kenya, Challenger baseball, and camperships, in addition to high school scholarships and a multitude of other worthy causes for children and families.

The ever-generous Jim Greeley purchased, for $100 each, two bottles for our two award winners, Jim and Mark, and announced that President Lindsay will match up to $1,000 for any wine purchases made by other members. So remember to bring your checkbook next week and do some good for so many causes. A very special bottle of wine, for which Matt Haymer was on the waiting list for 15 years, should bring a healthy price from someone who appreciates a dark, jammy zinfandel!

That brought to a close a fun and interesting meeting.