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THIS WEEK’S PROGRAM
 
David Allen introduces Miriam Conrad, head of the New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island federal public defenders office. Among the cases that Ms. Conrad served as the lead defense attorney were the Boston Marathon Bomber, the Shoe Bomber, and several alleged organized crime bosses and white-collar crime bosses. 
 
THE ZOOM LINK FOR THE MEETING
 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88229582283?pwd=aS9Hd3o1cS9ZK0hQL0ZhUHZXSEdxQT09
 
Meeting ID: 882 2958 2283
Password: 254494
 
The Zoom Room opens at 11:45 AM.  After the Pledge of Allegiance and opening inspirational quotes at noon, Dave Allen will introduce our speaker
 
NOTE THAT OUR SPEAKERS ARE RECORDED FOR REBROADCAST ON CATV.
They are recorded in “speaker view” which means if you do ask questions during the Q and A session you will appear on screen unless you disable the camera. 
 
LAST WEEK’S ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
FIRST AND FOREMOST, Todd Allen reminded club members that we return to live meetings at Jesse’s in June. Wayne Gersen urged club members to complete a survey to help the club determine whether and how to proceed with hybrid Zoom meetings and to give Jesse’s a head count. Want to know the survey results? Here’s the link to find out: 
 
Tom Csatari reported that our club’s nominee for a Rotary scholarship, Korin Benedict, won a $2,000 grant to attend Upper Valley Educators Institute where she will study leadership. 
 
Todd Allen also announced that Ginia Allison qualified as a Paul Harris Fellow +1 based on her donations to Rotary Foundation. 
 
The Raffle Management Team offered ten dollars in the name of Denise Dahlberg who successfully teamed with Kathy Geraghty in determining that the acronym RYLA does NOT stand for “Really Yummy Lasagna Alfredo”… though there IS a chance that will be on the menu at Jesse’s when we return on June 2.  
 
DONATIONS IN LIEU OF MEALS
 
REMINDER: Here’s the link to make your donation in lieu of paying for meals at Jesse’s AND the place to donate your Happy Dollars! As Todd announced at the meeting last week, the funds will be earmarked for Willing Hands. https://hanovernhrotary.ejoinme.org/COVID-19.
 
LAST WEEK’S PROGRAM
 
Todd Allen introduced Gabe Zoerheide of Willing Hands, who has been the beneficiary of our donations in lieu of meals. A Cornish native, Gabe became Executive Director of Willing Hands nearly a decade ago after volunteering for Vital Communities and working as an administrator in smaller non-profits in the Upper Valley. He reviewed the three broad goals of Willing Hands: to reduce food waste; support healthy eating; and reduce hunger. He reported that Willing Hands has delivered over 1,000,000 pounds of food over the past several years, working with 80 organizations who help with the distribution. Willing Hands relies extensively on volunteers, who help plant and harvest at garden sites at Cedar Circle Farm, DHMC, and three places in Norwich. Gabe described how Willing Hands gets waste food from retail stores and wholesale providers as well as through gleaning—picking fruits and vegetables that are not suitable for resale but are acceptable for food-to-table initiatives. He reported that the Haven, Praise Chapel, and the Lebanon Housing Authority are the primary non-profit beneficiaries of Willing Hands’ donations. 
 
During the Q and A session Gabe noted that the current budget is $750,000/year, up substantially since the pandemic but, in his estimate, reflects a clear need for the community. Bill Bittenger introduced his guest, Jack Lyons, a retired DHMC surgeon and co-founder of Willing Hands who congratulated Gabe for his work and his pride for what the organization has become. 
 
If you haven’t made your donations to Willing Hands in lieu of paying for lunch at Jesse's, please do so. It is easy! Just click: https://hanovernhrotary.ejoinme.org/COVID-19
 
Todd Allen introduced new member Rob Williams who introduced himself to our group. He indicated that he first learned of Hanover Rotary on a hike with Bruce Atwood and Todd Allen on New Years Day and both urged him to visit a Zoom session and see if he was interested in joining. Rob’s connections to Dartmouth go back to the 1970s when he attended as an undergraduate and were updated when his children attended. Upon his retirement from a NYC law firm where he worked “on the business side”, he decided to relocate here and sees Rotary as a way for him to get a deeper understanding of Hanover. We look forward to welcoming Rob in person starting next week! 
 
Coming Attractions
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REMINDER: WE RETURN TO LIVE MEETINGS AT JESSE’S NEXT WEEK! 
GET OUT OF THE BOX AND INTO THE REAL WORLD
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June 2 – Len Cadwallader will introduce a Board member from ACTS Honduras, who will give us an update on their work
 
June 9 – Wayne Gersen will introduce physician Don Kollish who will make the business case for a National Health Program
 
June 16 – Todd Allen introduces the founders of the Junction Fiber Mill, Peggy Allen and Amanda Kievet
 
June 23 – Todd Allen will introduce Sarah Jackson from Vital Communities to brief us on their recent initiatives
 
June 30 - In his final day in office, outgoing President and all-time records holder for identifying outstanding guest speakers, Todd Allen, will introduce Polar Latitudes’ John McKeon.
 
We’re now booked through all of July and August and have some dates covered in September! But as often noted in this newsletter we can never sign-up speakers too early! Your ideas are welcome!
 
Wayne Gersen
Russell Hampton
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