Rotary Log for May 3, 2018
Al Lantinen guided us in song and Ramona Dow led the Four-Way Test. There was a moment of silence for the late Mickey Allen, who passed suddenly on April 29th. Mickey would have been celebrating 28 years of service to rotary at Thursday’s meeting. John Rice then gave an invocation
Guest were introduced and among them was visiting Rotarian Roger Fuitz brought by Wayne Semprini. Dennis Dillon visited us from the Seacoast Rotary club. Alex Kellogg, Val Dyer, and Will Nee were also guests.
Several people were celebrating rotary anniversaries for a combined total of 136 years of service. Wayne Semprini, Madeline Warren and Kim Crisp each had one year. Robert Lewis and Jamie Thompson have put in six years. Di Lavigne owns nine years of service, while Moe Sullivan, Marie Brownell and Everett Eaton each claim 10 years. Rounding out the group are Bob Smith, 11 years, Patricia Cummings, 12 years, Nicholas Aeschliman, 29 years and Walter Liff, 30 years.
Announcements.
Lexi Leddy says Vocational Awards nominations are due May 25th. Peter Grace seeks sponsors for the golf tournament being held at Pease on June 22. By the way, business card-sized adds run $150-- which you can give to Matt Randall. Yvonne Harvey is collecting prizes for the gold tournament goodie bags.
James Petersen and Nancy Clayburgh reminded us to bring our gently used clothes to this week’s meeting. The annual clothing drive benefits the Echo Thrift shop in Durham which outfits college students in need.
Bill Hurley reminded us where we can find Crutches for Africa drop-off sites. In the spirit of baseball, Joanie Dickenson thanked Donna Harvey for collecting can tabs at the Sox game.
Fines, etc.
Greeted by a chorus of “boos,” Neil Ouellett served out fines. If you have ever coached your kid’s baseball team, that’s a fine! If you have ever screamed at an umpire, that’s a fine! If you saw Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski play—fine! Attended a Spring Training game, etc., etc.
The 50/50 raffle was drawn for $55 with a $175 bonus. Rick Wallis had the lucky ticket but it was not a match.
The program.
Finally, it was time to play ball! Leo Gagnon introduced our speaker Erik Lesniak from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Erik is Fisher Cats executive director of sales. He graciously donated as a golf raffle prize, a game suite with 20 tickets and two parking passes. In addition, he offered a VIP package tour with four tickets and the chance to throw the first-pitch.
Erik sold the first Fisher Cat ticket back in 2003. His goal is to make coming to games an affordable family experience.
In support of that initiative, the Fisher Cats donate a lot of time and money to local philanthropies. The Cats have given more than $232,000 to CASA charities. In addition, the team presents 12 scholarships to high-school students every year. Some $332,000 has been donated to the scholarship program since 2007.
A unique idea that helps strengthen families by encouraging kids to read is the “Book mark” program. Each child that reads five books or more receives a book-mark with two tickets to a game. Also, the Cats’ “book-mark” program is a way of saying thanks to parents for educating their kids.
Giving back doesn’t end there. July 21st, will be Star Wars night at the stadium. The players are getting specially made uniforms with Han Solo on the front. At the conclusion, those uniforms will be auctioned to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Fisher Cats have graduated 101 players to the major-league teams. Currently, their top players are Vladimir Guerrero, Bo Bichette, and Cavan Biggio.
If Erik’s talk makes you want to see a Fisher Cats game, now is your chance! Join Rotarians for the Fisher Cats game on June 24th @ 1:35PM.
Respectfully submitted, Maddie Warren
Photos by Chad Chadwick
