Dick Podolec introduces Phil Hanlon, Dartmouth College President, who’s talk scheduled for election day was moved to this date. 

 

 

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The Zoom Room opens at 11:45 AM.  After the Pledge of Allegiance and opening Password Todd will introduce our speaker. 

 

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. 

 

 

Dick Podolec reminded club members that he needs 10 MORE Rotarians to help provide mentoring the 30 new members of the Roterac Club at Dartmouth. David Allen attested to the value of the program from their perspective as mentors.  

 

Dave Bradley offered a Happy Dollar in appreciation for the work Dick Podolec has done bring the Roterac program to life and in honor of his decision to become a mentor. 

 

David Allen shared the good news that despite the challenges posed by Covid our partner club in South Africa graduated several early education teachers from a program we helped co-fund.

 

The Raffle Management Team (RMT) awarded its $10 in-kind donation to Willing Hands to Kevin Wenger for successfully guessing that the raffle is the highlight of the meeting for most club members. Fearful of incurring the RMT’s wrath, no one protested the award.  

 

 

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.

 

 

Len Cadwallader introduced Jim Rubens who shared his work for American Promise, an organization lobbying to take the money out of politics by passing a constitutional amendment to that effect. After determining that 100% of those attending the meeting agreed that repeal of the Citizen’s United decision was necessary, Jim reported that 90% of the public and 70% of the Democrats support that position as well. And yet... despite this overwhelming bipartisan support, only one Republican supports repealing this decision. His organization, therefore, is working to persuade as many GOP legislators as possible that this change is necessary. 

 

Jim offered one compelling data point for GOP legislators to heed: before 2018 their party benefitted from the repeal but since 2018 the Democrats have been raking in more money. Indeed, in 2020 the Biden campaign took in six times as much “dark money” as the GOP. Jim offered an impassioned argument against the impact of money on governing, offering evidence that “crony capitalism” is inferior to “free market capitalism” and asserting that the GOP should be supporting the small businesses that are the engine of free-market capitalism and innovation over the oligarchs who work against those forces. 

 

Jim indicated that GOP voters understand this, but their leaders do not. He also concurred with a questioner who suggested the Federalist Society should be supporting this effort, but he noted that they are on the sidelines at this point. He also thought that Trump’s PAC would result in the same kind of disruption to elections that Mike Bloomberg has brought, overturning the will of local voters through advertising.

 

 

March 24 – Todd Allen introduces Christine Pederson who will tell us about the Easter Seals campaign in New Hampshire

 

March 31 – Todd Allen brings Noel Pauili, a Senior Scientist at Adimab to tell us about his firm’s efforts to “…turn good molecules into best in class molecules”.  

 

April 7 – Adair Mulligan, Executive Director of the Hanover Conservancy, will be introduced by Todd Allen

 

April 14 – David Allen introduces Adnan Sultan who is an attorney with the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to freeing those wrongly convicted of crimes. 

 

April 21 – Todd Allen will introduce Lou’s owner Jarrett Berke

 

April 28 – Heather Drinan introduces Steve Thiel, President of Southern New Hampshire University.

 

We’re now booked through all but two weeks in June! But we can never sign up speakers too early! Your ideas are welcome! And who knows... by July we might be meeting face-to-face! 

 

Wayne Gersen