January 21, 2026 Breakfast Meeting Notes
Denise won the 50/50 and donated the money to Tom.
Steve had the chance to draw for the ace but selected the 3 of hearts.
Rotary Highlights: Marybeth reported on Interact. Twenty-three students showed up for the first meeting. They have their 2nd meeting coming up this Monday (the 26th) at 7 am in the Bobcat Cafe at the high school. The kids will be selecting a time after school to have a pizza party and have the Common Man for Ukraine give a presentation on their work. After the present tation, the students will sign thank-you cards for donors to the Common Man for Ukraine. Marybeth asked for a schedule of upcoming service projects so that she can get the students involved.
Susan Cherry has identified identified a student from Ukraine for the Rotary exchange program and is wondering if we would be willing to sponsor the student. The host families do not have to be Rotarians; ideally we would have two host families. The student will be here for a year.
Highlights of the board meeting: The Board approved $1000 for a scholarship to the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. The money will pay for a lower income student to attend their summer camp. Dan Abbe is back from his trip “down under.” Tony thanked Lora for taking the minutes, and Ken and Mike for their work yesterday in cleaning out styrofoam in Thornton.
Tony presented his famous NH Trivia, “Water water everywhere” edition.
Last Friday we had a board meeting at which Mike reported on the Styrofoam project. The truck at Flippin’ Furniture is broken again and was not available this past Saturday. Ken and Mike packed up the styrofoam at Thornton and took it to Gilford on their own. The next pickup will be January 31. We are going every two weeks. The board also discussed options for styrofoam transportation going forward, as the Flippin’ Furniture truck is frequently not in service. The board has considered renting a truck, buying a new or used truck outright, or buying a trailer to be towed by members’ trucks. There are pros and cons for each option and no decision has been reached.
Once the weather has warmed, Phil and Tony will schedule a date to sort through the outdoor decorations from the common, with the goal of discarding anything that is too worn out or not working. Tony will pick a date in May that does not conflict with Circle Cleanup; Interact students should be able to help.
We are looking for officers for next year. Ben has agreed to serve as president. There are 4 at- large positions that will be available, as well as a co-president, president-elect, and VP position. The terms start on July 1. Please see Mike if interested.
Admin committee: Phil reports that we are starting to make progress. We have identified at least 2 potential anniversary projects, one being a dog park and the other a trail improvement along the Pemi starting at the bridge and going down past the waste water treatment facility. Fox Pond park was identified as a potential site for the dog park by the town. (We would need to talk to water and sewer to see if there is a way to get water for the dogs to that site.) The committee also supports having an evening meeting 4 times a year on the 5th Wednesday of the month. April 29 would be the next date. The idea was a rotating location (Yamas, Six Burner, Covered Bridge, Man Ashland).
Public Image: not a lot to report. Mike is trying to keep Facebook page and our website updated with photos. Alicia is working on new T shirts and swag. Sharon also has a box of hats and a few T shirts that members can buy. Russell Hampton is the company (link on our website) for Rotary gear, though it is just for “generic” Rotary gear and not specifically Plymouth Rotary. You can also speak to Ben or Tony about whatever Rotary swag you want and they can get it for you at PELS.
Service projects: We are gearing up for the Rabies clinic, and we will need to choose a town cleanup date and location. She and Dan will get together (along with Omer) and discuss other projects. Interact can also help with the Rabies clinic. Circle cleanup is coming up and we have not done a cleanup at Mayhew in a while. Denise is going back to elementary school again today to discuss the literacy project, She would also like to get our Interact group meeting with the Lincoln /Woodsstock Interact to see what they are up to. It would be nice to think of a trip that the Interact students could attend (Honduras Hope, Belize) to get them excited about service and Rotary.
Membership: Russ has nothing new to report. He did suggest that we could put the logo for the Common Man for Ukraine onto our club T shirts. Mike is having conversations with the church about corporate membership.
Financial statements: We are halfway through the dues collection cycle. Super Bowl squares are trickling in; you can combine payment for the two $140 paid by check or VENMO. We have paid the Rotary International dues and we should get the district dues in the next week. We have $2500 in the bank, though we will owe for the card game and Super Bowl Squares winners.
The Common Man for Ukraine sent $300,000 to Poland last month for the next few months of relief runs and trauma centers. Steve and the other founders will return to Zakopane in May to the retreat and the Rotary International President will be there (all club members are welcome). Zakopane is a beautiful mountain resort town in the Carpathian mountains and this is a great time of year to visit. Krakow is having a meeting of the European Rotary International organizations at the same time.
The club part of the foundation has $65,000 in Vanguard and $13,000 in the checking account. We are going to spend $6-7,000 more this fiscal year if we meet our budget. We have paid out all of our scholarship obligations. We are not getting a lot of requests for funding for some reason.
Super Bowl Squares: there are 72 slots for Rotarians, plus 28 extra. We have sold 25 of those extra squares, with 3 slots yet to be sold. See Ben if you are interested in buying one of the last few shares.
Happy dollars were shared by Tony and Greg.
Respectfully submitted,
Lora Miller, secretary
