March 18, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Our guests today were Mike Bellerose, and Ariana Rose from MVSB, as well as Deb Kirschner from the church Mike recently purchased a home in Wentworth and is the past president of his previous Rotary club in Delaware.
Bill has the chance to draw for the ace of spades but was unsuccessful. The game continues.
Mike Carrier won the 50/50 and donated it to Tom.
Omer was hospitalized for a bit and is now convalescing with a cousin. He sends his greetings.
Rotary weekly highlights: The District assembly will be held on April 18 at the University in Lyndonville. Car pooling available with Denise. The assembly will include training exercises. The District Foundation brunch will be held on April 26. Marti Homan, who is our incoming Rotary director and foundation director will be the speaker.
Election of officers for 2026-2027: Ballots were passed out and will be given to Russ to tabulate. Election results were as follows: Ben will be president, Dan is president elect, VP is Russ, club treasurer Ken Evans, foundation treasurer Steve, and for secretary, Lora. Board members will be Phil, Denise, Alicia, and Sharon, plus Tony as immediate past president. These members serve as the board for both the club AND the foundation.The record should reflect that for the foundation, Ken is a board member and not the treasurer.
Citizen of the Year nominations: Ken Evans will chair the committee. Next week we will ask members to list people that they think would be a good Citizen of the Year and submit it to the committee. The nominee’s job cannot mandate being nice to people, so nurses, clergy, etc are not automatically eligible. We are looking for “above and beyond” efforts.
Bill Clark spoke about First Star Tonight. This is our local program analogous to Make-a-Wish. It has been in existence for 40 years, and has a board of 8 directors. They raise money each year and distribute it to children who are chronically ill; they are notified of children in need by school nurses and other contacts. They may give gas cards, or arrange for hotels in Boston so families can stay. Families of all financial levels are eligible. Sometimes the gift is as simple as a pair of glasses. They have sent families down to Florida. They even sent a person to Cincinnati to see his favorite team, the Atlanta Falcons. He sat on the 50 yard line! He had a limo escort to the airport. They are having their annual dinner fundraiser on April 10, at the Bridge at the Pemi. There are 5 or 10 tickets left; see Bill if interested.
Cari addresses the club
Our speaker today is our own Cari LaMontagne of Edward Jones. She is speaking about charitable giving and tax laws.
Charitable giving is important for your financial strategy, as well as helpful to your community. There have been a few changes to tax law recently. This year your standard deduction is $16,000 or $32,000 for couples and you can deduct $1000 above and beyond that for charitable donations ($2000 for couples). Donations must be made to a 501(c)3 in order to qualify; check the IRS website to be sure the charity qualifies. (For example, the Lincoln Woodstock truck raffle is for charity but it does not qualify.)
Charitable donations can be made in cash; if you donate over $2000 you must make your donations “below the line”. For example, if you donate appreciated securities, you can donate all or part of it to a charity. You can do this by making a direct transfer between your brokerage and the charity’s brokerage. If the donation is over $250 be sure to get the charitable receipt.
If you are donating goods, be sure it applies to the charity you are donating to. For example, you can donate a picture to an art museum, but not to the Humane Society.
Qualified charitable distributions: at age 70 1/2 you must take a minimum amount from retirement. The age for the minimum required distribution is increasing for younger people to 72 or 73. You can take up to $111,000 and send it directly to a qualified charity. (The money can’t go through your own account, it must come from a broker). You can donate cash up to 60% of your adjusted gross income. For long-term securities, you can donate up to 30% of AGI. Property donations are limited to the cost basis of the property.
This year your estate is taxable above $15 million ($30 million for married couples).
Donor advised funds: these are not eligible for charity. You take money from your investments and donate it to a donor advised fund. The money sits in their account; you get a tax deduction initially and the money sits in that fund over your lifetime until you decide where the money is going to go. This can also allow you to spread the donation out over several years.
Phil spoke about a planned gathering on April 29 at Yamas. He is still checking to be sure that they have the capacity to accommodate us. There will not be a breakfast meeting that day.
Rabies clinic will be on the 28th.
Happy dollars were shared by Lora, Denise, guest Mike, Tony, Denise and Alex.
The Common Man for Ukraine has now raised over $5 million!
Susan Cherry has a student from Ukraine who will be looking for a host family this fall; if you know someone who is interested, see Denise who will put you in touch with Susan.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
