Rotary Log 11/6/14
The November 6th meeting began with an invocation by Reverend Gordon Allen. And we were honored with District Area Governor Midge Nelson's presence today.
Paper ballots were distributed to members to elect four past presidents to the Nominating Committee. Elected were Janice Wood, Ted Alex and Tony Delyani.
David "Lou" Ferland announced that "Behind the Business" would be held at Portsmouth Music and Arts Center (PMAC) on the 19th.
Priscilla MacInnis urged anyone interested to sign up for cooking turkeys, delivering turkeys, and helping to serve the turkey on Thanksgiving at the Jarvis Center.
James Petersen announced that "Christmas tree sign-ups were wrapping up and that the next phase of sign-ups was the 'enforcement phase'. James claimed that he had full authorization from President Tricia to use whatever resources are necessary to carry out the enforcement phase. Enforcement will begin with home visits to Rotarians who have neglected to sign up for the mandatory three shifts. Unbeknownst to Basil Richardson, James said that Basil and he would be carrying out the home visits." oooooohhhh.....editor's note
Nancy Notis who, acting as Finemaster, had fun issuing fines to the unexpecting:
Nancy thanked Tony Delyani for his good work with the candidates, but wondered why there were no democrats! She asked about Ben Wheeler's wearing Size 14 red stilettos, and charged him $5; Bob Davis was congratulated for his recent promotion and Nancy recognized Portsmouth Police Chief Steve DuBois for his appearing on NH Chronicle~charging both $5 apiece.
Shari Donnermeyer introduced our guest, Greg Kretschmar, of "Greg and The Morning Buzz" on WHEB-FM 100.3 and WGIR-FM 101.1. As part of her introduction, Shari shared that Greg was the third person she met when she came to Portsmouth, after Nancy Clayburgh and Nancy Notis, two other notable rotarians.
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Greg was named the 2011 Broadcaster of the Year by the New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. Kretschmar has been in broadcasting for more than 27 years. He holds a degree in communications from the University of New Hampshire. UNH is also where his radio career began at The Free Waves 91.3 WUNH.
Kretschmar began his professional broadcast career at WHEB. He started as a board operator and then was a production director for three years. Ultimately, he became full-time host on the station's morning show. In 1997, the morning show was syndicated on Manchester's Rock 101 WGIR-FM. Now the program is broadcast on four stations throughout the state
“I am just a normal guy with an abnormal job,” Kretchmar said. “I’ve got a great wife, two great kids and a job that lets me play for a living”.
However, Greg’s biggest life lesson gives him a daily perspective. It was the day his teenage daughter became extremely ill. Doctors didn’t know if she would be able to talk or walk ever again. Miraculously she recovered 100%. Amazingly, for almost a year Greg stayed funny and focused while working through the crisis.
Gregarious and entertaining both on the airwaves and in person at Rotary, Greg began by telling stories. He said telling stories allows people to paint mental pictures, which is what his profession is all about. He gets up and starts his day every morning at 3:00. Surprisingly, so do some Rotarians!
A pro at story-telling and presenting to interested groups, Greg began by answering the most popular questions he gets: “What was your favorite practical joke”? Many Rotarians remembered two of his beloved pranks. One was sending a man up to UNH to impregnate a cow…and his arm got caught. No worries, the cow was fine and there was supervision by the UNH team. The second was the “Topless Carwash.” People (we assume mostly men) showed up to get their cars washed. But, indeed, only the bottoms of the cars got washed!
Since those days, Kretschmar has been honored with the 2007 Radio and Records Station of the Year Award. In 2009, he was presented with the Patriot Award by the Department of Defense. That recognition came for his continued commitment to the Armed Services and his involvement with Operation Thank You.
Submitted by Joanie Dickinson
Photos by Jim Rini http://www.clubrunner.ca/portal/Journals/JournalDetails.aspx?accountid=6644&jid=61517
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