Rotary Club of Concord
September 8, 2016
President: Steve Kirk
Song: My Country Tis of Thee led by Suzanne Greenough
Pledge of Allegiance: Steve Levitsky
Prayer: Rev. Dr. John Lombard
Sergeant at Arms: Josh LoPresti
Bulletin Writer: Judy Carlough
Visiting Rotarians & Guests: Dr. Lauren Brown, guest of Dave Robertson. Dr. Brown is a prospective member and a mental health expert specializing in helping pregnant and post-partum women. She is opening a new practice in W. Concord
Question of the Week: Hillary Taylor asked the corner table to name 3 of New England’s largest lakes and they correctly listed Winnipesaukee, Champlain and Sebago. The fourth is Moosehead Lake.
Happy or Sad Fines:
Steve Levitsky, happy fines for the 2-year anniversary of his Raymond James wealth management business and for closing on his new vacation home near Phoenix.
Andrea Zall: happy fine for 10 days in Stowe, VT and 7 days in Sandwich.
Doug Detweiler, happy fine for the safe return of his daughter from Munich and her role in launching a new wireless headphone product, the Bragi Dash, that is superior to the Apple competitor.
Josh LoPresti: Happy fine for a near-miss car accident while on his way to the Rotary meeting (distracted driver was on a cell phone)
Jean Goldsberry, happy fine thanking Sharon Spaulding for taking 13+ consumers to a paint party.
Therese Oliver, a happy fine for a recent visit to Ocean House in Westerly, RI.
Frank Chen, a $20 fine for his daughter’s safe recuperation from a bike accident that seriously damaged her hand and arm. Frank had to return from a trip to China to help her and thanked the surgeons at MGH for their good work which will allow her to continue with her plan to study in London.
Andy Mahoney paid four fines. First, a happy fine for his son making the Wellesley HS varsity soccer team as a sophomore. Second, his middle daughter, a junior at Connecticut College, has safely settled in Perugia, Italy as part of her study-abroad semester. Third, his oldest daughter, a recent graduate from Bucknell, has started teaching kindergarten and 4th grade in the Needham Public Schools as part of her master’s program at Lesley University. Finally, he paid for the successful and relatively swift and hassle-free sale of his parents’ car with help from Rick Beers.
Hillary Taylor, a happy fine for her nephew’s return from a successful year in Nepal.
Dick Levinson, happy fine for his summer in the Berkshires.
Announcements:
President Steve Kirk talked about the next Rotary Information Meeting (membership), Tuesday, at Therese’s Keller Williams office at 200 Baker Ave. These meetings will take place every month and we will have a membership topic each month at our lunches. Steve’s focus this year is on expanding club membership and bringing in younger members.
Leigh Ann Crimmings reported on Octoberfest (10/22), our newest fundraising event). The event has an active web page and there will be multiple brewers as well as 5 bands. We need volunteers to serve beer and you must be TIP certified. June Grace sent an email on how to get certified. Anyone who can help should contact Leigh Ann ASAP.
Britol Lodge takes place next Tuesday. John Dow is looking for cash donations to help underwrite the food purchases. Make the check (any amount, it all helps) to Rotary Endowment. Cooks needed at 3pm, servers at 5pm.
There’s an event in Bedford featuring Governor Charlie Baker who will talk about initiatives to help problems like homelessness, hunger and opiate addiction. Check the website for more information. Tickets will be $35.
Program:
Helen Halloran presented excellent information on the value of social media and the role it should plan in helping build awareness and membership for our club. Highlights included:
- About 70% of those in the audience use Facebook, about 25% use Twitter.
- Facebook appeals to older uses, Twitter and Instagram skew younger.
- Rotary is currently using FB effectively to post events. As members, we should 1) like all events, 2) like the page, 3) share the post, 4) comment and tag
- FB use will help drive membership
- We can help by taking selfies at events and posting them on our FB page, then “sharing”.
- The Rotary FB page has 250 likes and Helen set a goal to hit 500.
- On Instagram (which is a photo site), you should # (hashtag) photos and circulate them.
- Posts on FB can be boosted to increase viewership
- Rotary may do paid ads on FB for Octoberfest and also boost the event (which is cheaper)
- Helen and Steve Kirk demonstrated examples of tagging, liking, sharing, etc.
Door Prize:
The door prize of $25 CVS certificate went to Boris Nikitin.
Next Week’s Meeting: Tuesday breakfast, Karena Detweiler will talk about the Bragi Dash, and Thursday at Colonial Inn at noon.
