Rotary eBulletin for October 11, 2017 (Oct 11, 2017)

Top of the Week October 11, 2017

Top of the Week!

Committee Opportunities with the Richie McFarland Children's Center

The RMCC is looking for people interested in serving on their committees. Below are the committees and times.

1. Board meetings are held at RMCC every other month @6:30pm: 1/22/18, 3/26/18, 5/21/18 and their annual meeting is 6/25/18
2. Events Committee - 2nd Wednesday of the month - 8:45am @ RMCC
3. Marketing Committee - 3rd Monday 8:45 am @RMCC
4. Audit & Finance Committee - 3rd Wednesday 8:30 am @RMCC
5. Governance Committee - 4th Wednesday 8:00am @RMCC
6. Executive Committee - 3rd Wednesday 7:30am @RMCC

Please contact Peggy Small-Porter at RMCC and advise them that you are calling regarding committee work.

Portsmouth Rotary Social at Atlantic Grill

We’ve grown to expect Leo Gagnon at our Rotary Social events. . . . but he went missing. Instead, we were delighted to see Colleen Wescott, having just joined us in August, totally in charge. She was right there to greet Rotarians and guests as they arrived. A total of 19 in all enjoyed Rotary fellowship on Tuesday, October 3rd. As usual, the event began at 5:30 p.m. and was supposed to end at 7:00. . . but you could see many of us still hanging in beyond 7:00.

According to Colleen and many other newcomers, “having just joined the Club, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet new people”.

Our own, Caitlyn Hassett, banquet manager of the Atlantic Grill was on hand to supervise the food service. Several hi-top tables were available to us with an ample assortment of Chicken Fingers, Fried Calamari, Fried Edamame, & Tuna Lettuce Wraps. Of course, a cash bar was very convenient.

According to Caitlyn, “ to my knowledge, this is the 4th time Rotary has selected Atlantic Grill for this event. We’re happy to continually host this for Rotary.”

Great job Colleen and Caitlyn!

If you haven’t attended one of these Rotary Socials, you’re really missing out . . . .

In Case You Missed It...

A very nice opinion piece about Rotary's Polio Plus initiative in the Portsmouth Herald.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/20171010/global-campaign-against-polio

Ride Needed

Fellow Rotarian Peg Millar needs a ride to get to our Rotary meetings. For anyone willing to help, she lives at Spinnaker Point in Portsmouth. If you can help it would be very appreciated. Peg's phone number is 501-0910. Peg appreciates your efforts.

Rotary Connections is back!!!

Rotary Connections let’s our members know that their Rotary club is thinking of them. Members facing a health issue, death in the family or a life celebration, we are here!

If you know of any of our members who may need a Rotary Connections, please reach out to the Cathy Nickerson or President Ben.

Let us Know What is Happening!

If you have an event or news that you would like to share with your fellow Rotarians, please forward the information to Dennis Moulton for inclusion in the weekly eBulletin. My contact information is d-moulton@comcast.net. And please send photos!

Rotary Log for September 28, 2017

Rotary Log for September 28, 2017

by Richard Greulich

Past President Dave Underhill made his first official visit as our District Governor. President Ben remarked that it was our largest crowd to greet a District Governor since Mort Schmidt served. That was back in 1992. Dave did not disappoint the multitudes!

Preliminaries were brief. President Ben led the pledge. No knees were bent. Apparently the NFL will need to look elsewhere for new recruits. Greeter Stan Cross tested us. Al Lantinen led in song. Dave Holden gave a nice invocation.

Tony Delyani donated four UNH football tickets. Walter Liff auctioned them off to a resident of his casino table.

Several guests were in attendance. No names were recorded. Your scribe was too busy attending to his honey-mustard chicken and marinated steak tips. Did we mention how delicious the lunch meal was?

Eleven Rotarian birthdays were noted. Their years of service ranged from one (Kevin Schultz) to 57 years (Art Cole).

Further announcements ensued. Joanie Dickinson is still looking for two volunteers to assist her with the Interact program. Cathy Nickerson thanked those Rotarians who helped at the recent Richie McFarland Touch-A-Truck event. Colleen Westcott heralded the next Rotary Fellowship gathering. Meet at the Atlantic Grill on Tuesday, October 3 at 5:30! Please RSVP to Colleen.

How do you introduce a guest speaker whom everyone already knows? Well, if you are as resourceful as President Ben, you quickly state the obvious. Then you focus on illuminating the unknown.

The obvious: Past President Dave Underhill served office in the 2013-2014 term. He has been a member of our club for 10 years. Before that, he belonged to a Vermont Rotary Club. His service is well known and appreciated.

The unknown: A new District Governor visits all the local clubs in the territory. On July 21, 2017, Dave and his wife, Linda, began their whirlwind tour. They visited 40 clubs in 57 days! The club meetings varied, but most were accompanied by a breakfast, lunch or dinner. According to President Ben’s calculations, the Underhill’s ingested a total of 54,380 Rotarian calories on their tour!

The crowd having been prepped, District Governor Dave Underhill stepped up to the microphone amid a standing ovation. He looked resplendent. Later he explained that he was wearing his official Governor’s jacket with all his various service pins.

For the next 20 minutes Dave was the Dave we have known, appreciated, admired and loved. His talk was knowledgeable about current Rotary activities. It embraced future opportunities, full of hope and infectious with enthusiasm. Dave focused on four topics.

1. Pyramid of Peace.

There are five elements of Rotary’s service activities. In broad terms they involve improvements in disease, clean water, maternal/child health, literacy and community development. Hopefully these build a pyramid culminating in the accomplishment of peace among peoples.

Every Rotary Club is engaged in a myriad of activities. Most of our members concentrate their energy and attention on these projects. Dave detailed how each of our own club’s activities fit into and support Rotary’s over-arching goals.

2. The Challenging Aspect of Maintaining Membership

With self-deprecatory humor, Dave remarked that in the three years since his presidency membership has exploded. Some 39 new folks have joined. But the constant ebb and flow of attrition has resulted in a net gain of 18. The point being that to maintain membership levels requires each of us to become Rotary ambassadors. Dave further notes that the best way to introduce people to Rotary is through our service projects.

3. Rotary Foundation Bequests

Dave advocates that a Rotary Foundation bequest be included in each member’s will. He also added that he hopes the Foundation wouldn’t be cashing in those bequests anytime soon!

4. Hurricane Relief

Rotary’s hurricane relief efforts are still in the early stages. Rotary concentrates on medium-term recovery projects. Reliance is placed on the local clubs identifying the real needs.

Dave concluded his talk by showcasing a new scroll hanging on the wall behind the podium. It was emblazoned with the title “Home Club Banner for the District Governor.” Our club will proudly display this scroll for the duration of Dave’s term.

As thanks, President Ben presented Dave with a bucket of cheese followed up by the promise of a year’s supply! And, of course, Dave received a treasured Portsmouth Rotary Club pen.

Respectfully submitted, Richard Greulich

Rotary Log for October 5, 2017

Portsmouth Rotary Log for October 5, 2017

By Mark Lorusso

Photos by Tube Loch

Today, we ventured back in time. Back to when there were only four TV channels and everyone knew every show that was broadcast. Apparently, our speaker was an avid TV viewer in that distant era. He used his considerable TV knowledge to good effect.

But, as always, we began with our customary opening remarks, President Ben presiding. Ben’s first act was to ask for a moment of silence to remember the Las Vegas massacre victims. Following our Pledge of Allegiance, we invoked the Four-Way Test and John Rice gave the blessing.

Gracing us with his presence after a bit of an absence was Butch Ricci. That occasion merited special recognition. Welcome back, Butch!

Guests included Caitlin Bunce, Judy Loto, Cliff Lazenbe and Ravi Kynnedy. Announcements were short and sweet. We were told how the children’s book drive, spearheaded by Marie Brownwell, already has paid dividends. President Ben saw firsthand the books being put to good use at the Seacoast Community School. A child picked one up and read with her mother at the beginning of school. Keep sending in the books!

This was followed by a raucous reminder of the upcoming Poetry Hoot scheduled for our October 26 meeting. Past-President James gave us a preview with a series of poetic tweets. All had been derived from a national figure that shall remain anonymous. President Ben pleaded for relief!

President Ben next informed us about a recent Board of Directors meeting in which funds were approved for two matters. Some $1000 was awarded to Butch Ricci for the Pan Am Mass Challenge. An additional $4,687.20 will go to the Jeremy Alex fund to pay for 350 chess sets and 30 chess books.

Tom Decker told us about Police Chief Steve DuBois’ pink tie initiative. It all started with eight local law enforcement agencies. Apparently, Governor Sununu learned about the program and wants to outfit 1000 state troopers with pink ties. Tom is going to the State House to deliver the ties and has asked for our support.

Tony Delyani won the $63.00 50/50. There was no match.

Turning to the presentation, Aileen Duggan introduced our guest speaker, Attorney Daniel Schwartz. Schwartz talked about harassment in the workplace and sexual harassment in particular. With perfect comedic timing, he presented ten fact patterns that helped define improper conduct in the workplace. Each case blended historical TV characters with real-world situations. Needless to say, many were cringe worthy. Here is a sampling:

Situation 1 – Male supervisor says to female employee, “I like it when you wear that outfit.” Or, “I wish my arguments were as tight as your dress.” Dan then posed an alternative fact pattern where the two were at the same level, e.g., supervisors. Dan’s advice—never say either as either will surely lead to potentially significant damages if a lawsuit were filed. It’s always best to refrain from commenting on appearances unless, for example, to point out dress code violations. But if you must, Dan recommends something along the lines of “you look very professional.”

Situation 2 – Supervisor dates subordinate. Dan’s position—bad, don’t do it. Individuals with co-equal power, e.g., two supervisors dating—okay. Best practice—do not allow employees to even friend each other on Facebook, especially supervisors friending subordinates.

Situation 3 – Male employee applies for different job in company. Employee told did not get the job because it is a woman’s job. Dan’s position—hello big payday! This scenario is another classic case of harassment in the workplace.

Dan finished up his presentation with a series of best practices.

Alcohol in the workplace – moderation versus temptation. Best practice—keep it out of the workplace as Dram Shop laws may apply.
Cupid’s arrow in the workplace. If you ask someone out and that person says no, stop there.
Compliments in the workplace—don’t include body parts.
Joking in the workplace—if you know you aren’t good at it, don’t even try.
“I was joking” is never a good excuse.
Stop hitting “reply all.”
Listen and pay attention when a worker files a complaint.
A co-worker is a co-worker and should always be treated as such.
Confidentiality is not the same as secrecy. Be very careful with confidential employee information.
Avoid office romances.

But wait, Dan was not finished. He further suggested thinking the following thoughts before making statements in the workplace. First, how would the statement sound in Federal court? What would your mother say? You see that guy in the 12 or less item lane with 14 items? That is your jury. The person not intelligent enough to get off jury duty--that is your jury. Until next time . . . .

Respectfully submitted, Mark Lorusso