Date of Meeting: February 15, 2022

Venue: The Belknap Mill, downtown Laconia

Attendance: 15 in attendance: 8 members, 7 guests

MEMBERS AND GUESTS:

Kiwanis Members:
President Bill Gile
Betty Ballantyne
Ray Chambers
Zach Dea
Steve Loughlin
Tara Shore
Bob Willey
Brian Winslow

Guests:
Kirk Beattie, Laconia Fire Chief – guest speaker
Priscilla Breton – Honorary member
Roger Dargy – guest of Betty Ballantyne

Kirk Beattie		Priscilla Breton		Roger Dargy
Photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

Key Club Guests:
Ella Muller – President
Camden Harriman
Katie Westcott
Cam Whitty

Ella Muller		Camden Harriman		Katie Westcott		Cam Whitty
Photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

Bill Gile called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm

Invocation & Pledge:
Invocation: performed by Brian Winslow
Pledge of allegiance: led by Bill Gile

The Pledge
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

KIWANIS K.A.R.E.S (Kids And Reading Equals Success)

President Bill called on Betty Ballantyne to bring the club up to date on the Kiwanis KARES program.

Betty reported our next KARES Program would be held at Elm Street School February 17th.

NOTE: Bill Gile, Brian Winslow and Betty Ballantyne attended the KARES program on February 17th. Betty Ballantyne submitted the following comments on the success of the program at Elm Street School: “The children thoroughly enjoyed being read to with their two favorite stories while enjoying their drinks and snacks. Thank you, Brian and Bill! The dragonfly craft was so fun and engaging for the students. Each of the students chose two books of their liking which are stamped as theirs to own. The event was a wonderful ending for the Elm Street School third graders participating with Laconia Kiwanis KARES.”

Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S. at Elm Street School
Elm Street School photos by Betty Ballantyne

FROM THE PRESIDENT:

Bill Gile reported he had been in contact with Amy Lovisek, the Director of Parks & Recreation in Laconia. In conjunction with the city employees, the Club will participate in Clean Up Day in April, at Bartlett Beach. Details will follow.

FROM THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:

Bob Willey reported the following:
• The Mid-Winter Conferences will be held on March 11-13 at Mansfield Conference Center, 31 Hampshire Street, Mansfield, MA 02048. The deadline for the sign up is on March 3rd There will be multiple 30-minute block sessions including but not limited to: International, Leadership, Technology, Club Operations, Marketing, Diversity, Fundraising, Service, and more.

• April 24th, there will be a “Clean Up Day” at Hampton Beach in addition to our division (Division 5), there will be two other divisions participating: Division 6 (southern NH) and Division 9 (north shore of Boston area).

• We are invited to attend the Division Caucus to elect a Lt. Governor. It will be held on April 7th at Strafford Farms, located at 58 New Rochester Road. The meal is $25 and is at 6:15 pm – 7:45 pm. RSVP should be sent with the number of members attending should be submitted no later than March 18, 2022. Anyone interested in running for Lt. Governor should contact Bob Willey by March 5th. It was encouraged that each club should be represented with at least one person. The guest speaker will be Lindsay Rowley Geddes, a former Builders Club and Key Club Member. Currently, she is an elementary school teacher who orchestrated a fundraiser with her first graders to earn monies to provide clean water in a third world country. You may contact Bob at 603-485-3821 to sign up.

THANK YOU, PRISCILLA:

Bill Gile thanked Priscilla Breton for her kind contribution to the Laconia HS Key Club which may be used for Key Club activities. On behalf of Priscilla Breton, a check was then presented to Laconia High School Key Club, President Ella Muller.

L to R: Ella Muller and Bill Gile
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

Ella Muller presents flowers to Priscilla Breton as a “thank you” for her kind donation.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

KEY CLUB UPDATE:

President Ella Muller reported:

• Just prior to our meeting, the Key Club delivered meals to the Belknap House.
• The Key Club is presently involved in a sneaker drive to collect used sneakers to sell to a recycling organization. Monies will then be donated to Camp Sunshine located in Casco, Maine for families who have children who suffer from life-threatening illnesses.
• During the month of February, the Key Club sold candy grams during Valentine’s Day with their remaining candy from this Fall’s concession stand. The Key Clubbers raised an additional $100 which was donated to Camp Sunshine.

Food Pantry: $55 was collected

Happy Dollars: $36 was collected

GUEST SPEAKER:

Steve Loughlin introduced our guest speaker, Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie.

Below are a few highlights of Kirk’s presentation:

• The Laconia Fire Department employs 36 Fire Fighters – 4 Chief Officers – 1 Administrative Assistant
• In 2021 4,851 calls – Eighth busiest Station in the NH excluding Manchester & Nashua.
• Seventy-four percent of the calls are for the Ambulance Service.
• Kirk spoke of private vs public ambulance services and the past relationship with LRGH
• Every employee is a trained firefighter and each has an Advanced EMS training
• During COVID, the staff worked 1,800 hours for vaccinations for the educators, jail, home to home along with the efforts needed to decontaminate and clean ambulances after each call.
• Funding Sources: Currently his fire chiefs apply for grants to support their department which in turns saves thousands of dollars to our taxpayers.
• Recruitment Strategies
• Kirk is thankful for the backup of mutual aid as thirty communities in the Lakes Region provide support for each fire department.

Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie addresses the group.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

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Steve Loughlin thanks Laconia Fire Chief Kirk Beattie for his fine presentation.
Photo by Tara Shore

President Bill adjourned the meeting at 7:34 pm.

THANK YOU:
Many thanks to Betty Ballantyne, Phil Bonafide, and Brian Winslow for their assistance with this bulletin.

Tuesday - March 1st - Venue: ZOOM MEETING
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting

Tuesday - March 15th: Venue: 3rd floor of The Belknap Mill - Downtown Laconia
6:00 pm - General Meeting - Guest Speaker from The Boys & Girls Club

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