December 3, 2025 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Our guest today was Phil’s wife Andrea LaMoreaux, who is with New Hampshire Lakes.
Mike Son won the 50/50. The prize today was a Common Man gift certificate.
Ken Williamson won the opportunity to try for the ace of spades but selected the 8 of hearts.
Rotary Highlights: This past Saturday we gathered on the common to decorate for the holidays. Marybeth brought food for the workers. Thanks to all! Bill put all the garland and bows at the base of the poles, which made things easier. We will make every effort this year to get the decorations organized when they come down so it will be easier to put them up next year.
Tony presented Rotary heritage trivia. Erica will be doing the trivia next week.
Hometown Holiday Celebration update: We are all ready to go. The float will be decorated this Saturday from 10-12 at Jenny Bentwood’s house. They need large boxes to wrap, as the theme is “a gift of service,” so if you have any large boxes please bring them to the event. Alicia will bring the float around 9:30-9:45 and then stay to help decorate. Bill has the signup sheet set for everything except the visit with Santa (we need a couple more people to help set up and break down there).
Andrea LaMoreaux of NH Lakes
Phil introduced our speaker today, his wife Andrea Lamoreaux. She is a limnologist (aquatic biologist) and will talk about here work at NH Lakes. Local lake associations such as the Squam Lakes Association are members of NH Lakes.
Lakes matter to everyone. Many people come here year-round to enjoy our lakes; they support drinking water, a variety of recreational activities, tourism, and the economy. They are vital to our quality of life, our community, and state identity. Russ won the prize for the closest guess to the correct number of lakes and ponds in the state; there are 954.
The difference between a lake and a pond is that it’s whatever the first person who named or mapped it decides it is! Biologists’ have a more precise definition: If the basin of water is shallow enough that sun can get to the bottom of it, it’s a pond; deeper than that, it’s a lake.
Lakes generate jobs, tax revenue, and year round commerce. Dartmouth did a study a few years ago that showed Sunapee is worth $4.3 billion; Winnipesaukee was estimated to be $17.1 billion. Andrea uses these numbers to get the attention of legislators, who respond to economic arguments. The benefits come in the form of property values, tax revenue, tourism dollars and more.
New Hampshire’s lakes are relatively clean compared to those in the rest of the country, but there are threats to their health. Milfoil, an invasive plant, is in about 100 off our lakes, The spiny water flea was just found in Newfound Lake; fish eat them but they are sharp and cause internal injuries. Invasive plants come in from boats that have been used in other areas and not cleaned well, so little fragments of plant will seed in one of our lakes. Invasive animals tend to come in on droplets of water. In recent years invasive plant species seem to be in retreat, but invasion of new animal species is on the rise. Andrea runs Lake Hosts, a program in which people work seasonally at boat launches to talk to boaters about what they can do to help prevent spread of invasive.
Runoff water is also a threat to lakes. We are getting bigger rainstorms that cause more soil erosion and more nutrient pollution of runoff water. This fosters the growth of algae. Land development practices can contribute to runoff. Aging and faulty septic systems are also contributors to nutrient pollution.
Cyanobacteria blooms are increasing and worsening. These occur in response to more food and warmer water, and some forms are toxic. Part of the problem is legacy phosphorus, from rotting wood products from logging and soil that came in a hundred years ago. People and pets cannot use the lakes when these blooms occur; recovery is complicated, slow and costly. Lake Kanasauka had blooms a few years ago that caused people to sell their homes. Blooms can also discourage tourists. NH Lakes runs a lake-friendly living program in which they meet with homeowners to reduce nutrient runoff from their properties. Then they can treat with aluminum sulfate compound that helps inhibit cyanobacteria.
Lack of awareness is also a threat to our lakes. Many people don’t know the simple things they can do to foster lake health. NH Lakes was founded in 1992 to restore and preserve the health of all NH Lakes; they are a 501(c)3 charity. There are about 9 employees and 300 volunteers each summer. They envision a future in which all of our lakes are clean and healthy and caring for them is a way of living, doing business, and governing. They accomplish this through education, outreach, and partnerships. They even have a program called Vote like your Lakes depend on it.
Rotary is well positioned to be a partner in protecting and restoring NH Lakes. We can help volunteer with local or state programs, and help spread the word about the threats to our lakes. Lake protection benefits us all!
Denise spoke about the speech contest. Deadline date for round 1 is March I, round 2 March 29, round 3 April 18 and final round June 13th. Kids who are interested in entering must have a passport by June (the final round will be in Canada) and they would need to start the application process now. Susan Cherry has also reached out to the district to help students finance the cost of passports. Lincoln Woodstock will do their round 1 on Feb 4; we can reach out to the school to see if February 11 or 18 will work for them for your round 1. We will have a joint round 2 here in Plymouth., perhaps February 25?
Pemi Youth Center confirms that the date of their holiday party will be December 17 at 4 pm at the Youth center. Come decorated for Christmas!
Lora requested a brief minute for a board meeting. She moved that the Board of the Plymouth Rotary Foundation authorize the following individuals to act or sign on behalf of the organization for the purposes of a new Vanguard Brokerage Account with funds transferred from an existing Mutual Fund Account Number 88027520116: Kenneth H Evans Our, Robert Steven Rand, Philip Warner LaMoreaux. The motion was seconded. Board members present (Mike Carrier, Steve, Alicia, Tony, Phil, Denise, and Lora) voted to approve the motion.
Reminder: Dec 31st we will host the high school scholarship recipients. The students will come and tell us about their semester.
Happy dollars were shared by Tony, Alex, Mike, Phil and Denise.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary