December 31, 2025 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Guests: Jerry Stringham of Lincoln/Woodstock, Scholarship students and families!
The 50/50 was won by Walter.
Scholarship recipient Haley Demers won the chance to draw for the ace but was unsuccessful.
Tony opened with NH Trivia, special edition with the theme of turtledoves, toys, fruit, and snowmen. Prizes (granola bars) were awarded to the winners.
Sharon introduced our 2025 scholarship recipients. Thanks to all who served on the committee! Each student told us a bit about their first semester experience.
Claire McCauley was the first student, attending UNH. She is getting a BS in environmental conservation in an accelerated program (2 1/2 years, followed by an additional semester after which she will earn her masters degree). Then she will attend law school to practice environmental law. She plays for a women’s rugby team.
Jolene Reed attends Bryn Mawr. She has not declared a major yet but is taking a variety of courses. She is involved in a variety of clubs, as well as the Lame Ducks hockey team for folks who have never played before. She can also take courses at other colleges in the Philadelphia area and will be taking American sign language at one of them next semester. She works at the Common Ground Cafe as a barista.
Mylie Lankford has just finished her first semester at St Anselm. She is looking to go into secondary education. She has done some volunteer work to help underprivileged students in the Manchester area to get the credits they need to graduate from high school. She’s also attending bible studies. She has met a lot of great people!
Julia Secor is attending PSU, pursuing a BA and nursing degree with a minor in psychology. She wants to be a mental health nurse practitioner. She has joined the student nursing association and works as an LNA in Concord.
Haley Demers attends Western U in Springfield MA. She is a wrestler. She tore her ACL in her senior year so she is taking a red shirt year and has been coaching at the local high school. She is majoring in law and psychology. She was elected class president of the largest class in university history! Right now they are working on getting affordable textbooks and materials for students. She works with the Title 9 office and has worked with community organizations as well.
Tyler Madeiros attends Lakes Region Community College in Laconia. He is studying automotive service education. This is a 2 year program, but 12 weeks at a time he is working in the lab with master mechanics who are familiar with many models of GM vehicles, and then he rotates into 12 weeks in an actual job at a dealership. It’s not just an automotive college; he will earn an associate’s degree in business as well, so he will be prepared to start his own business, get into auto parts, or other things. He will be able to pay off his college debt within his first year after graduation.
Kaelyn Lange is a returning student. She is still at UVM, where she is on a pre-vet track and will be applying to vet school after that. She has worked at a kennel about 40 minutes out of Burlington, working with sled dogs and learning about dog racing. She is still a member of the gymnastics team. She may go to Tufts but she will also apply to other schools.
Club business:
Holiday decorations will be removed on Saturday 1/10 (NOTE THIS IS A CHANGE BECAUSE OF EXPECTED FRIGID WEATHER AND ICE THIS COMING WEEKEND). Since the bank doesn’t open until 9, we will start at 9:30. We need someone to go to the bank with a truck and get the boxes; signup sheet is on line. Show up with warm gloves, wire clippers and be prepared for ice. Steve suggested that our garlands are old and much of it needs to be retired, so it may be better to just throw out the old stuff rather than re-boxing and storing it. Lights will also need to be tested to be sure that they still work. He suggested that we discard the white-colored lights as they do not match the yellow ones.
Super Bowl squares are prepared. We have 100 squares. Each Rotarian pays $20 for 3 squares; the rest can be sold to colleagues, friends and neighbors OR you are welcome to buy them yourself. Ben will keep track of the people and the squares; send your money to Ken. Proceeds go to the club, as opposed to the Foundation, and so tickets are NOT tax deductible.
Styrofoam update: Plymouth Furniture has been in business for 102 years now. They are selling their vehicles but unfortunately they have already been spoken for. The town of Plymouth will be shutting down styrofoam collection so the committee will have to decide if we are going to move the Plymouth bin to Campton or to a new site such as Ashland. We can still have pop-up collections in Plymouth int he future.
Steve suggested that buying a truck for styrofoam would be overkill. We could buy a trailer and use it to haul around styrofoam and other products for a lot less money and maintenance.
Bill, Sharon, Ken W and Tony all shared happy dollars.
Steve reports that the Common Man for Ukraine took in over $250,000 this month! This is an amazing response.
A safe and happy New Year to all!
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary