August 12, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Our guest today was Rick Howes, who has applied to become a member!
Lora won the 50/50 and donated it to Tom.
Ken W, had the chance to draw for the ace of spades but selected the 6 of diamonds. The game will continue,
Hey did ya know: There will be an eclipse today! It will start at 1 pm and will peak at 2 pm. It will be about 16% here and is more pronounced the further east you go.
Cuba Libre is open for takeout now and will open for full service tomorrow.
The Plymouth town transfer station has been seeing increased volume, to the point that they have to stash trash sometimes. The problem is related to accepting construction debris (the permit for the dump technically allows only household waste). As a result the town will no longer be accepting construction trash.
Denise suggested putting a sign up at the recycling center telling people that they can recycle styrofoam at the ReStore. Cari noted that you can take your recyclables in Meredith for a $2 fee if you are not a resident and there are people there to help you sort it into the proper bin.
After this morning’s meeting we will meet at Speare by 8:30. There is an atrium by the front entrance and we will take a picture and present the check to Sydney Whitehouse for her comfort kits. We can send a press release to the Record Enterprise.
Ken reports that we have dues from most members, though there are a few holdouts. Steve recounted that that it used to be that if a member missed a meeting, they had to take a piglet for a week. One member’s wife was so incensed about having to care for the pig that she greased it up and brought it to the following week’s meeting and let it run around!
The week after next we will have a visit from District Governor Arielle. There will probably be a nice dinner with her the night before our meeting, as she will be staying in town. For our Wednesday meeting, we will have a field trip to the milkweed planting site, over near the Oxbow. We have partnered with the Squam Lakes Conservation Society to plant on the land (they hold the easement.) Be prepared for poison ivy and ticks! More details to follow. It will probably be held rain or shine. Arielle will also be bringing extra packets of seed. Phil noted that you can check out trails in that area on the New England Mountain Bike Association web site, and they hold insurance in case anyone gets injured.
Ben will be out of town for a few weeks and is looking for someone to run the meeting on September 2. (Ben and Ken E have volunteered to cover a couple of other days.) The board meeting that would normally happen next Friday will be pushed back to the 28th.
Mike C is going to be ordering new name badges, so if you need one, please let him know. Note that Mike Son will be taking a break from the club and will not need a badge.
Steve noted that the Common Man for Ukraine is a d/b/a in the state of NH as an arm of the Plymouth Rotary Foundation. For the long range future of the enterprise, he and the other founders of that group want to establish a new nonprofit that will not be under the purview of Rotary, and have asked an attorney to do this (he will do this for free as a donation to the Common Man for Ukraine). They have established a new organization in Zamosch, Poland to handle the Common Man funds in Poland. In the process of researching this, they discovered that we have some deficiencies in our foundation constitution, and these will need to be fixed Steve proposes hiring a lawyer to review our foundation’s governing documents so that we are in full compliance. This will cost about $3000, and any changes will need to be approved by a 2/3 majority of the entire club. Ben suggested sending around a list of bullet points, so members can see what the problems are and how we propose fixing them.
Mike showed us our club website. On the club website page is a list of speakers, so you can see what is happening and who is hosting for each week. If you have a speaker for your assigned date, let Sharon know. If you have a speaker but do not have an assigned date, let the club know in case someone else needs a speaker. Politicians are welcome to be part of Rotary but they are not allowed to give stump speeches or platforms at presentations to the club; they are encouraged to give updates on what is going on in Washington or the state house.
Cruise night will he on August 26th. We will start out visiting with Arielle that morning and that night Ken will go the the Congregational church to pick up chairs, tables and the popcorn machines. There will be a 50/50 raffle and we will sell popcorn and pizza by the slice from the Grotto.
Alex noted that the Common Man founders are going back to Ukraine on the 17th for 12 days. The mothers’ retreats are going well.
The Penny Sale is coming up. It will be on November 7. Sharon will be passing out a list of businesses for each member to solicit for donations. If you know of new businesses in town, let Sharon know so that she can get them on the list.
Bristol is having their penny sale tomorrow at the Bristol high school.
Happy dollars were shared by Mike B, Denise, and Phil.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
