Rotary Log for February 14, 2019
President Cleo opened the meeting with the Pledge. Al Lantinen led us in the first of many songs we would hear today. Jay Gibson greeted and tested us. Invocator John Rice recalled the sage advice of two early Rock n’ Roll evangelists, John (Lennon) and Paul (McCartney), and intoned “All You Need is Love.” Still checking, but we believe this was the briefest invocation on record.
Guests and Announcements.
Guests (and Rotarian hosts) included Ellen Fineberg (Judy Loto) and Lynn Katlen (Peg Millar).
Joanie Dickinson thanked Susan Gold and Basil Richardson for their pop-top contributions to Interact.
Twelve Rotarians have their birthdays this month. Tony Delyani’s celebration on February 11 was the closest one to our meeting date. Tony’s age shall remain undisclosed.
Another 12 Rotarians celebrated their Club Membership Anniversary in February. The longest serving anniversarian is Dick Yeaton (44 years.) The briefest anniversary, one year, is that of Ann Richter Arnold.
President Cleo thanked the dedicated volunteers who participated in our most recent hands-on project. A dozen or so Rotarians banded together to help renovate the interior of the John Paul Jones House. Several pictures documented the fruit of their efforts.
The $58 Raffle was snagged by Susan Gold. No match ensued.
Program: Seacoast Repertory Theatre
Susan Gold prepped us for today’s program. The Seacoast Repertory Theatre (“SRT”) is now in its 30thseason. More than 50,000 people attend its programs annually. More than 250 performances are given each year.
Susan then introduced Jamie Bradley, SRT Interim Artistic Director. Jamie elaborated on SRT’s activities. As a non-profit, SRT enjoys a sound financial position. This may be the first year in which more than $1 million dollars of tickets are sold. Most of the legacy debt has been paid off. The remainder is scheduled to be retired by 2020.
As a repertory theatre, the SRT is thriving. At least eight musicals are scheduled to open during 2019. As a special treat seven SRT actors/actresses attended our meeting and provided musical samples from these plays. Included were well-known songs such as “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” from “Evita” and “Maria” from “West Side Story”.
The quality of the singers was top-notch. All were “in character” as they made each song one of their own. The ensuing Rotarian applause kept growing after each rendition. The performers certainly created a powerful enticement to attend the upcoming SRT plays.
It was a wonderful program for St. Valentine’s Day. Thanks for the chocolates, Cleo!
Respectfully submitted, Richard Greulich
Photos by Tube Loch
