June 24, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Alex won the 50/50 and got a lollipop and $7.
Ken W got the chance to draw for the ace of spades but selected the 6 of clubs. He did get two maple candies out of the deal so it wasn’t a total loss.
Today’s meeting is a club forum.
Ben suggested that it might be fun to start meetings with a segment called, “Hey, did you know?” This would be a way to provide local news OR pose a question about something. For example, “What are they doing at that vacant lot?” Or “I heard that that a restaurant was sold to so and so.” In that vein, Phil gave an update on the planned rotary at the high school; it will take another 3 years or so to get it done as the town needs to resort to eminent domain.
Mike gave an update on RYLA, which he attended last weekend. The 4 students we sent will be here on July 8 to share their experiences. The students arrived on Friday morning, had breakfast, and went into orientation. Then they transitioned to activities, including an icebreaker. Throughout the event, they hold dance parties…they would just turn on the music and start to dance. Then they did team building activities. They did an outreach program, packing meals for food pantries throughout the area. There is always a talent show on Saturday night. There were 68 kids and 13 leaders. On Sunday morning they had a final meeting.
We had a board meeting last Friday. Last Wednesday we had Sydney Whitehouse speak to us about a project she has developed in a class at PSU to make “courage kits” to distribute to children who are anxious and afraid of doctor’s visits. She requested $500 from Rotary to make these Courage Kits; the board approved this. In addition, Craig Williams (the hospital’s new CEO) spoke to her after the meeting last week and offered to match the $500.
The board also approved $1500 for Polio Plus.
The board discussed the Changing of the Guard. The consensus was that the event has gotten expensive for what it is, so the board will be looking at doing the event next year in a more public location like a library or church basement.
Committee updates were provided. We talked about leadership issues. Denise noted that Dan has been a wonderful addition to the service project committee. In the next week they will be finalizing their lists for what they need for Cruise Night. Mike has had some rack cards made up that we can pass out for the event, and the congregational church has offered to loan us their popcorn machine. The idea is to make popcorn and lemonade.
We also need someone to volunteer to handle the membership committee. We do have a very clear outline for the process. It’s not an overwhelming job, but Denise can’t handle this and be in charge of service projects.
Sharon noted that she will be taking over the admin committee. She needs to figure out who else is on the committee. July 22 will be our next “5th Wednesday” dinner (it is the 4th Wednesday but the following week is cruise night). There will be a regular breakfast meeting on the 29th and cruise night will be that evening.
Our new district governor Arielle has a plan for her visit in August 26. She wants to come and have us plant milkweed seeds with her, so we need to come up with a location. We should come up with a community area, and someplace where we can water the seeds for the first few weeks. Denise suggested the riverbank at the river as well as the community gardens. The Plymouth Beautification Committee may have ideas on where we could plant. Alex also suggested a few locations.
The board also discussed the upcoming Penny Sale. It’s coming…
Mike passed out the list of folks who need new badges. Ken will order them.
Ben would like to see us do 100 acts of service for our club’s 100th year. We do a lot of projects as a club, but we also do a lot of good things that are small. He suggested that if you go through your day and do an act of service, jot it down and put it in a jar at the Wednesday meeting. These could be simple, like holding a door for someone or letting someone cut in front of you, or helping re-direct mis-delivered postal mail. You could also email your item to Ben or Plymouthrotary@gmail.com.
Ben also suggested giving virtual “cookies” for doing good things. He gave the first cookie to Phil, for stepping up to MC at the Changing of the Guard. Denise also gave a cookie to Lora for giving her fresh produce and eggs for the homeless shelter every week.
Lora gave an update on the amphitheater sign. The sign is at Surface Solutions now waiting to be powder coated. Steve has ordered a post from the original manufacturer. We could install the refurbished sign when Arielle is here OR perhaps get Parks and Rec to do a concert and rededicate the sign publicly at that time.
Sharon shared a happy dollar about having her kids come to visit. Ken W asked if anyone in the room was having a birthday today, at which point his wife reluctantly raised her hand. The club then sang her a rousing chorus of “Happy Birthday to You.” Thank you all for the kind wishes.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
