October 21, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
The 50/50 was won by our guest Steve.
Rick drew the 2 of hearts for the card game.
Hey did ya know: Phil reports that DOT is going to be working on the 175 railroad crossing again today. Traffic will be detoured to Green Street.
Sally reports that the time capsule burial in Concord has been postponed until November 6. Ben suggested a laminated Penny Sale poster and Denise mentioned an item from the Common Man for Ukraine as good items to put in it. A small Rotary flag would also be appropriate. Dan suggested putting in a real penny, since they are no longer being made. And in 50 yeas it would be a real novelty.
Bill notes that next week is the Penny Sale setup, so bring your items for setup.
Meredith Village got voted best bank in the valley this year.
Be sure to vote on November 3!
Welcome back to Ken E, who was away in Italy.
Thanks to all who helped putting up the signs advertising the Penny Sale.
Penny Sale updates: Setup will be next week, the 28th. If a vendor asks you for some documentation you don’t have, ask for help. Denise noted that Bristol does an online thank-you to vendors (“Thank you to Handyman Hardware for their generous donation of a paint bucket and two cans of paint”). We could do this too; each of us could take pictures of the items we’ve collected and send them to Mike or Denise.
Please remember to update your information from the vendors you are soliciting, including their emails.
Stubs of tickets sold can be turned in on the night of the sale, along with the money. Cari also asked if we could email folks to remind them that they have a shift to work. Ben will try to send out a reminder on Thursdays to people who are selling that weekend.
Tony has lined up the DJ. Cost will be $500.
Marybeth is working on getting high school kids to work as runners and to sell hot dogs. Steve has the tickets to be used that night.
The Common Man for Ukraine will take over 2000 hats and Beanie Babies to Ukraine on their next trip.
Parade planning is going well. Staging is contracted, the town is handling permitting, the Senior Center permitting is done, college students have been recruited, and the hot chocolate supply is set up. Food sales were discussed at last week’s board meeting. We are hoping to serve prepackaged chili and pretzels that could be kept warm in the cambros; Denise has emailed the Common Man to ask if they will supply these items for us. We will have teams of three people staffing the cambros, two to sell and one to be a runner.
If you would be interested in baking for the Senior Center’s cookie walk for the Bridge House, let Denise know.
Deb said that the church wants to help with the parade; they can volunteer their kitchens, their bathrooms, or their front porch for people. Let her know how they can help!
Phil unrolled all of the Christmas lights and removed dead strings. He has purchased new lights and will leave them in boxes and unbox them the day of the setup. He is still looking into replacement garland.
Tony will be looking for Rotary items from years past for exhibit at the Historical Society. Steve will speak next June about the town’s (and Rotary’s) history.
Halloween is coming up; the main street trick or treat will be starting at 4 pm.
After this morning’s meeting we will meet at the Amphitheater and reinstall the sign. Please attend if you can so we can get a good photo for publicity. Many thanks to Steve for writing an outstanding press release.
Rotary Leadership Institute will be held on November 7 at St Johnsbury Academy. This is a chance to meet with Rotarians from around the region and exchange ideas. There are also other Leadership Institutes in the area that you can attend if you are concerned about conflicts with the Penny Sale that night.
Denise told us that the district changeover will be May 21-23 at the District Conference. It will be at Lake Morey; Friday night will be the Foundation dinner, and the speech contest finals etc. will be held that weekend. It’s a lovely resort, and there should be Air BnBs in the area as well.
June 26th of 2027 will be the beginning of RI Conference in Barcelona, Spain. Steve and Susan will be attending, working with the Poles and Ukrainians in a breakout room to discuss the Common Man for Ukraine. If you are planning on going, let Steve know and he can arrange rooms in the same hotel. Denise noted that she, Luc, and Ariel will be going to the conference as well.
Deb announced that this past Friday she was at the Senior Center for their information booth day. Deb is listed as the contact for Rotary and the church for this event in the future. She sold a lot of tickets. In addition, several people there were eager to speak to our club and she collected their business cards. She will turn these over to Denise who will keep them in reserve.
Happy dollars were shared by Mike, Deb, and Cari.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary