The pre-meeting meeting was going so well that President Jeff Kruck waited until about 12:25 pm to call the meeting to order. He then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
John Plate led us in prayer and asked for a blessing for our Rotary Club and The Rotary Foundation. He was thankful that Peter McAllister was back and healthy after his unfortunate incident with the golf ball. John also asked to keep us always mindful of
. Well said John.
Bob Murphy pitched in again today helping with greetings, meal choices and attendance.
Unfortunately Bob didn't have his glasses on and offered scrod as an entrée...
to everyone's surprise when lunch came out scrod was not an option...it was scallops.
It's ok Bob!
Visiting Rotarians and Guests:
There were 16 members in attendance today.
John Plate brought his wife Carol as a guest today.
Jeff Kruck brought Ingrid Miles of the
Club as a guest today.
Oscar Padjen and Wayne Hunt made a later appearance. It was nice to see them. We were getting nervous that Oscar may ruin his record of perfect attendance since 1963. Feww. That was close!!!
Make Ups:
Oscar Padjen made up at
on July 16
If you missed today's meeting, you have until August 5, 2009 to complete a makeup.
If your days are full, consider a make up at eClub One. Log on to www.rotaryeclubone.org/ and follow the instructions for a make up. You should spend 30 minutes on the site.
where our members have made up recently.
Announcements
President Jeff reminded us there is a board meeting Thursday the 23rd at his house. Drinks are free.
Joe Long is offering a free Home Check up to anyone that may be interested.
We are asking that everyone donate to the Jeff Kruck sock fund. Apparently the fund is low and Jeff can't afford socks.
The week of August 12th, we are not holding a meeting at out club. President Jeff is challenging all members to attend a meeting at a different club that week and see how other clubs run and come back to share ideas with TBM.
Harry reminded us that we are "going Camping" next week.
Raffle:
Jen Kocur's number was pulled first this week...
We are still looking for the red joker
Then Carrie Dick's number was pulled by Jen. That's pretty suspicious!
No winners!
Fines and Happy Dollars:
Peter MCAllister is back and better than ever. He jumped right back into his role as SAA.
Standing straight and tall, Peter had a happy dollar that he was alive and that the vertigo was going away.
Peter had a sad dollar after receiving his phone bill. His kids are away at summer camp and there were 5500 text messages last month!
They'll be having a talk.
You're such a dad Peter!
Peter shared a story with us about a former member Carl Hambrecht Peter did a free cleaning for him so in return Carl wrote a check for $100 to the TBM Rotary Club. That was nice of Carl
Bob Luscinski had a happy dollar that we have moved the room we hold our meetings in and he doesn't have to walk all the way to the back of the restaurant anymore.
Jeff Kruck had a happy dollar that Peter didn't get blood on his shirt when he got hit with the gold ball.
Bob Alert:
No Bob alert today Bob was there, although I'm not too sure how "alert" Bob was. There was the mix up with the meals and the fact that he got in the wrong car when he left. He realized something was wrong when his key wouldn't start the car! Oh Bob!
Bob thinks he needs to start hitting the bar before lunch.
Presentation:
After lunch Harry Martin asked Gretchen Marks to come to the front of the room where he presented her with a PHF+4 Recognition Pin. Congratulations Gretchen.
Getting To Know You:
Today we talked about our pets a lot. We learned Jen Kocur has a 120lb French Mastiff, named Bella. Who is apparently afraid of the rain and any loud noises, Jen found her hiding in the bathtub the night before due to the heavy rains.
Brad Swanson has two very healthy cats, 23 lbs healthy! The cats are very good with his son as much as he may taunt them.
Carol Plate asked if there was a hypoallergenic breed of cats. We think there is...
Jen suggested a hairless cat like Mr. Bigglesworth from Austin Powers..I don't think that's quite what Carol had in mind Jen.
Carrie Dick saw Governor Patrick in Amesbury last night. He was walking into a local pet boutique carrying a black lab. Brad told us the govenor recently got a black lab puppy, so maybe they travel together now. Still trying to figure out why he was in Amesbury. Carrie's husband was star struck. He wanted to go home and bring all three of their dogs down to the pet boutique and bond with the governor.
Program:
The Guest Speaker today was Ingrid Miles. She is the past president of the Ipswich club and also a co-worker of Jeff Kruck's at Keller Williams. She came to share some stories with us about her experience in rotary and some of the changes that were made during her year as president.
Ingrid spoke about what rotary is and how important membership is to the rotary club. It is very important to sustain membership as well as grow membership.
During her presidency the club decided to do a breakfast meeting half of the year and a lunch meeting half of the year. They were able to gain 9 new members by doing a breakfast meeting. It is easier for younger professionals to attend a breakfast meeting which resulted in increased membership. It turns out the older members have really enjoyed having a breakfast meeting too.
She is also seeing increased involvement by the members which is great.
Thanks for the input, Ingrid.
Ingrid included Oscar Padjen and Jen Kocur in her presentation. Oscar has been a member of Rotary since 1963 and has had perfect attendance for more than 2300 meetings. Jen, one of our newer members, has been a member of Rotary since January 14, 2009.
Membership Moment:
A strong membership is so important to the overall success of any organization. Growth and retention have to be in the spotlight constantly. As membership chair I have been charged with heading the largest committee in the Club...each and everyone of us. Collectively we can make TBM stronger, more involved in the communities we serve and fun.
When was the last time you asked a friend, a neighbor or business associate to come to a TBM meeting? I admit, it's been a while since I put out an invitation and I have a goal to find one person to join our ranks during this Rotary year.
I ask everyone to please share your thoughts and ideas as to how we can grow the ranks of TBM.
