August 20, 2025 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Guests: Ravinder, Shelby, Mike, Pauline, and District Governor Luc Pomerlau.
Nancy won the 50/50; she donated the money to the club.
Pauline got the chance to draw in the card game but was unsuccessful.
This week we did Pac-a-Pac at Whole Village, along with the Plymouth Elks club.. It went well and we packed 118 backpacks,
Tony presented us with Rotary Trivia, Unique Rotary Facts edition.
Denise introduced our new District Governor, Lucy Pomerlau. He was born in Magog, QC. His Rotary involvement started in 2002.
Luc wants to emphasize the joy, pride, and sense of belonging when you are a Rotarian. He said that it’s easy to forget the sense of belonging in the whirl of activities. We can get that feeling by participating in district activities, like the fall gathering. Rotary International events are also great ways to meet people. He will give Tony the dates for the fall events. Next district conference will be in Magog on June 13-14. There will be a service project there to make special pillows for women who have had mastectomies.
Luc asked us to speak about when we moved from being a club member to being a Rotarian. Beth volunteered that when she donated a weekend at RYLA, she really felt like she was part of something…it was an experience full of incredible camaraderie. Ben noted that the club held together during the pandemic and even pulled off projects, and this made him realize how special Rotary was. For Luc, it was a lot of traveling, and participating in the book fair in Sherbrooke. They sell 25,000 books each year. One year when he was collecting books, he got a box from an elderly woman who fondly remembered that Rotary had given her a refrigerator when she was a young single mother many, many years earlier.
Luc also shared some wisdom from our new RI President. He has said that peace starts with caring. He also says to go for the handshake before you go for the handbag!
We all need to work on membership. New blood brings new ideas and vigor to our clubs. The creation of new clubs will be the key to invigorating our membership. Not everyone can meet at 7 am! Now Rotary International is talking about companion clubs, with 8-10 people who have a time that they can meet and a particular cause that is near and dear to them. Luc encouraged us to see ourselves as the “mother ship” that supports all of the smaller ships, or groups, around us. Our district has been targeted to be dismantled if we do not grow further, so growth is going to be important. The goal is to get to 1100 members, and right now we are only about 50 members short of this district wide.
Luc asked us to give both to our own Foundation and to the Rotary International foundation. Every dollar you donate is spent on Rotarians. If you donate to Polio Plus, the Gates Foundation matches it two-to-one.
Tony and Alicia gave Luc a small gift bag.
Announcements: Luc will be having dinner tonight at Yamas. If anyone else wants to come, let Denise know. Sharon wanted to be sure that everyone got their Penny Sale list and encouraged us to get started early. She will be out of the country for a little while so get going!
Mike announced that the public image committee will be meeting Monday at 7 PM by Zoom.
Luc thanked the Common Man for hosting him; they will be taking him to Concord for the Common Man for Ukraine concert tomorrow night.
October 18 will be the next district event.
Happy dollars were shared by Tony, Denise, Greg, Sharon, Mike, Beth, Phil, and Luc.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary