March 25, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Tony opened the meeting by informing us of the death of our friend and fellow Rotarian, Omer Ahern. Omer had been a dedicated Rotarian for 50 years, serving in several other clubs before he made his final home in Wentworth and joining us here in Plymouth. Final arrangements have not yet been announced. Ben noted that Mike Carrier deserves a thank you for his excellent audiovisual work using the Owl, which allowed Omer to continue to participate in club meetings even after he was unable to attend in person.
Our guest today was Brian Niles. Brian has lived in the Plymouth area for 20 years, currently in Ashland. He is an IT business analyst and a friend of Phil’s through their shared love of curling.
Russ won the 50/50.
At long last we have a winner in the card game! Congratulations to Denise.
The following corrections to last week’s notes should be noted: First, the charitable contribution of $1000 per person or $2000 per couple should be made above the line. Second, donor advised funds may be made for charitable contributions but NOT for qualified charitable distributions or QCDs. The secretary regrets the error.
Rotary weekly highlights: We had our election last week and we have new officers. All candidates were elected: Ben will serve as president, Dan as president-elect, Russ as vice president, Steve as Foundation treasurer, Ken Evans as club treasurer and Lora as secretary. At-large board members include Tony as past president, as well as Phil, Alicia, Sharon, and Denise. Please note that Steve is on the board of the club but is not club treasurer, while Ken serves on the board of the foundation but is not foundation treasurer.
The rabies clinic will be held this weekend from 1-2 pm at the Plymouth Police Department. We have about a dozen people signed up to volunteer; they should plan to arrive at 12:30. Dr. Cote has been contacted and they are all set. Mike will post the event on Facebook today; please like and share to get the word out.
Changing of the Guard will be held at the Last Chair on Wednesday June 17 starting at 6 pm for drinks, with dinner to follow at 7. We will be having a bartender and a pizza bar. The price will be roughly the same as last year. Ben is still working on the agenda.
Citizen of the year: Each member at this morning’s meeting was given a blank index card. Please list someone that you would nominate for citizen of the year, with two or three sentences about why you think the person is deserving of the honor. Turn these cards in to Ken Evans, who will chair the committee, by the end of April.
Ben also proposed an alternative to Citizen of the Year, as it is getting harder in our current political climate to find a single person who is doing good work and whose work does not veer into topics considered political. In addition, a lot of the best potential Citizens of the Year are doing their work in obscurity and don’t want to be given an award or be recognized. This makes it hard for us to identify them. Ben suggested that instead we select a nonprofit of the year. We could give the winner a grant, do some service work for them, and put out some publicity for the organization. This wold help promote their good works and also create new partnerships for our club.
Centennial Service Projects: We are still considering a number of possibilities. On the topic of a dog park, Bill reports that his new son-in-law develops skate board parks AND dog parks., so he may be able to give us some great ideas. Bill has been scouting out potential locations. One idea was to put a park near the skate park, his son-in-law noted that some dogs don’t like skate boards so that location could be a problem. He is looking at other areas and talking to the town. Phil had a discussion with Rob Cormia about Fox Park, or alternatively behind the solar array on Airport Road. Phil felt that central location would be better. Denise also suggested looking at existing dog parks in the area to see how they deal with waste disposal and water supply. Phil suggested asking the people at the rabies clinic what their thoughts are on a dog park. He will create a survey and QR code to post at the clinic.
Denise has reached out to people at the New England Mountain Bike Association about what their trail plans are. The organizers were not able to give her any feedback immediately but hope to do so by the end of this month.
Ken Evans reported on the potential bus line with Transport Central. He has spoken to Bill Bolton about their project to purchase a bus from Tri County bus line to start a route here in Plymouth as soon as July 1. Transport Central has $100,000 in the bank, which will not go far if they have to hire two drivers, get them commercial licenses, and pay for operation and maintenance of a bus. We could support this project by writing a check, by helping them to increase awareness of the operation and by raising operating funds. We could also help reach other to businesses on Tenney Mountain Highway to see if they would help support the bus lien.
Russ walked the potential trail site behind the amphitheater. He will continue to gather information, along with Phil, as to the feasibility of putting a trail th
Scott Weden will be leaving Plymouth and taking over as town manager in Holderness. This means that we no longer have our direct contact in Plymouth Town Hall. A search for a replacement is under way.
Rotary swag: Mike passed around an order form for new items. Please fill out the order forms, return to Mike, and he will order the items.
Membership: nothing to report.
Denise spoke about the district assembly. We want to recognize our outgoing and incoming presidents and district governors in an ad in the assembly’s program, She is trying to find out who designed the ad in the program last year, as well as finding out who the money is going to. Margaret LaBarge may be able to handle the ad. The district training meeting is coming up in April and the assembly in June. These are fun events and it’s a great time. Things will be raffled off. The new DG will be visiting our club in September and she will be doing something unusual (going out to play in the dirt!) So plan on being at our meetings in September
Companion Club: Alicia and Marybeth are working on a club that will meet in the evenings once a month.
Financials: Ken Evans reports that our bills are paid and we have $3000 in the bank. The card game is over $600 and the winner will get half of that. Ken will do a deposit today for $500 for the Last Chair.
Foundation Financials: The checking account stands at $11, 353 with two checks that will need to be voided which will return an additional $2000 to the club. The Vanguard account is in good standing with about $60,000. The Common Man for Ukraine has about $338,000 and will have a lot of revenue coming in.
Tony then presented the Plymouth Rotary Trivia, Fly me to the Moon edition.
Announcements: Bill reminded us that First Star Tonight will be having its annual fundraiser on April 10 at the Barn on the Pemi.
Mike brought in some leftover snacks from PELS. Help yourself!
Ken Evans brought maple syrup for everyone.
Denise noted that our club is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. On April 9 at 5 pm they will sponsor a ribbon cutting for the Plymouth Area Community closet in front of their new building, with refreshments served afterwards in the senior center.
Happy dollars were shared by Phil, Tony, Denise, Mike, and Walter,
Raisa has declined large commissions for now but she will be doing a special painting for Denise’s house.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
