Venue: Shang Hai Chinese Restaurant

Attendance: 15 in attendance: 6 members and 9 guests

Invocation: Muff Kruse

The Pledge
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

Guests:

Mayor Ed Engler – guest speaker
Peter Cassell – guest of John Walker and Muff Kruse
Paula Gile – wife of Bill Gile
Ken Meade – guest of Bill Gile
Tara Shore – guest of Bill Gile
Carroll Stafford – former member

Aidan Collette – son of Kara Stanley
Jillian Goyette - Key Club member
Lydia Tucker - Key Club Secretary (incoming Lt. Governor Division 5)

Mayor Ed Engler	Peter Cassell	Paula Gile
Ken Meade	Tara Shore	Carroll Stafford

Aidan Collette	Jillian Goyette	Lydia Tucker
Photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

NEWS FROM THE PRESIDENT:

President Bill reminded members of our next two month's meetings as follows:
• April 23rd our guest speaker will be LPD Captain Matt Canfield along with two officers who participate in our Bike Rodeo/Safety Day
• May 28th our guest speaker will be Tara Shore, Operations Director of the Belknap Mill to discuss "Kids in the Park."

Bill also reminded the Club of two upcoming events:
• May 8th is the Drive 4 Ur Community, at which $20 is donated to Kiwanis by Irwin Ford/Lincoln for every test drive done. It was mentioned that Bill’s wife, Paula, may participate, but she MAY NOT buy a new car.
• May 11th is our annual Bicycle Rodeo & Safety Day with the LPD at the Elm Street School.

NEWS FROM THE KEY CLUB:

Lydia Tucker and Jillian Goyette briefed the Club on Key Club activities, ongoing and planned, and invited Club members to support them:
• April 1st, the Key Club has an upcoming game night with Adult Education participants. This is a collaborative fund-raiser and pizza night with Kennett High School to support KPTI (the Kiwanis Pediatric Trauma Institute) at the floating hospital of Tufts University in Boston
• April 7th is the quarterly Division Conference in Springfield, MA, at which Lydia Tucker will be sworn in as Lt. Governor of this Key Club District, and a new program called Bucks for Backpacks where school supplies and money are being collected in a fund-raiser to support students in Ghana.

Club members are strongly encouraged to support these fund-raising efforts.

FOOD PANTRY: $38 was collected

HAPPY DOLLARS:

$3 from Muff Kruse: $1 for Tara Shore joining us, $1 (unhappy dollar) because Brad Geltz wanted to join us but he had to deal with a flat tire, and $1 as a salute to our Key Club for attending and for all the good things they are doing.

$4 from Steve Loughlin: $1 for all guests in attendance, $1 for Mayor Ed for being our guest speaker, $1 for former Kiwanis member Carroll Stafford joining us, $1 for the news that former Kiwanian and now Honorary member Jim Fortier has purchased a summer home in the Weirs. He is hopeful that Jim and Arlene with join us this summer when they are back in Laconia.

$1 from Carroll Stafford in remembrance of the days Kiwanis used to meet at the Laconia Tavern Hotel. (The property, which is located at the corner of Main Street and Church Street and formerly owned by George C. Stafford & Sons, is now owned by Tavern Inn Housing.)

$5 from Bill Gile: in honor of our guests

$1 from Paula Gile because, since Bill has $5 to give to Happy Dollars, she is still hoping for a new car despite the Presidential edict issued this evening.

$2 from Tara Shore: $1 for being here this evening and so enjoying the welcome, reception and friendship she receives, and $1 for all that the Key Club is doing

$5 from John: in a salute to the presence of Mayor Ed Engler. John noted that with all the attention the Got Lunch! program receives and the credit that he and Paula receive, credit should also include Ed Engler. John thanked Ed for all of the support he provided the program both as mayor and for the publicity Ed has provided with free advertising and news coverage in his paper (The Laconia Daily Sun).

A couple of happy Happy Dollar donors
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

GUEST SPEAKER:

Steve Loughlin introduced Ed Engler. The introduction included citing Ed as a longtime friend of Kiwanis and then citing specific support Ed has given the Club over many years.

Mayor Ed took the floor and first thanked us for the invitation to speak and shared that he had a lot of admiration and respect for the Club and many of its members and past members now gone. He also saluted the Key Club for its involvement in our community, making it a better place.

Ed talked about finishing up his third and final term, the second longest term of any Mayor of Laconia. Despite being a self-acknowledged "lame duck mayor," Ed said his efforts are to get as much of his agenda accomplished as possible before his term ends. Highlights of Ed's presentation follow:

• Long term viability of the City is key to Ed
• As a city, region and state, we have become older and poorer
• No population growth here essentially since WWII
• Not enough school-age families here
• We are competing with our region, four school districts within three miles of the hospital, so families with school-age children can choose the community they want to live in and Laconia does not do well with that
• Laconia schools are down to 1,800 students, a 20% decline since 1985
• Our poverty level is much too high
• Most crime is drug and poverty related
• Our economy cannot support a middle-class lifestyle for most residents
• To have a dynamic economy here we need more folks in the wealth-generation phase of life and not the wealth-preservation phase of life
• Current task force which includes three city councilors and six others are looking to totally rewrite city ordinances, which seem to be restricting residential growth and not encouraging it
• Housing is a huge issue here and state-wide
• Colonial Theater project has been very frustrating, will be resolved in the next three months or it might be abandoned
• If approved, the Colonial Theatre will undergo a one-year renovation project
• Airbnb is a huge issue now, the city needs full time residents, not short-term renters
• Roads are a huge issue, and will remain so, a fact of living in northern New England
• State School property is outside the city's control
• State School property hurt by not being on a major interstate and will limit its chances for success
• Goal is to attract people already working to choose to live here - more housing issue

Ed Engler addresses the group.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

When asked for his personal feelings as a result of leaving an entrepreneurial life and becoming Mayor of a city he loves, Ed shared that he has felt absolutely honored for the opportunity, but has been struck by how slow things move in government, and a bit frustrated by that. Ed is struck by the inertia that is inherent in government.

In closing, Mayor Ed managed to sell two Rotary Motorcycle Raffle tickets. Way to go Steve and Kara!

Ed Engler is congratulated by Steve Loughlin
Photo by Phil Bonafide

If you missed Mayor Ed Engler’s address or would like to hear it again, “click” here.

Meeting adjourned at 7:23 p.m.

LARRY MURPHY:
Please keep Larry Murphy in your thoughts and prayers. Larry is presently being cared for by Hospice. The family requests no visitors. Larry does not own a computer and doesn't do email. As such, the family would appreciate any cards to be mailed to Larry at the following address:

Larry Murphy, PO Box 7433, Laconia, NH 03247

THANK YOU, KIWANIS!

The Club has received a mailbag full of thank you notes for recent Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S. visits.
This month, we feature thank you notes received from students at Holy Trinity School (from our visit on February 12, 2019) and Pleasant Street School (for the books they received in October 2018).

To read the notes, “click” on the name of respective school below.


Note: These thank you notes may take about 60 seconds to download.
Once they open, scroll down after the first thank you note to read the rest.

Holy Trinity Catholic School

Pleasant Street School

DON'T FORGET:
Our next regular meeting is at the Shang Hai Chinese Restaurant on April 23rd.

"See you April 23rd!"
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

Tuesday - April 2nd - Venue: Laconia Fire Department Community Room - 848 North Main Street, Laconia
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting - all members invited to attend

Tuesday - April 23rd Venue: Shang Hai Chinese Restaurant - private room - 331 South Main Street, Laconia
6:00 pm - Speaker: Tara Shore, Operations Director of the Belknap Mill Topic: "Kids in the Park."

Wednesday - May 8th - Venue: Irwin Motors - 59 Bisson Avenue, Laconia
9:00 am to 5:00 pm - Ford Drive 4 UR Community- major fundraiser all hands on deck

Saturday - May 11th Venue: Elm Street School - 478 Elm Street , Laconia
10:00 am - 1:00 pm Annual Bike Rodeo-Safety Day

Tuesday - May 14th - Venue: Laconia Fire Department Community Room - 848 North Main Street, Laconia
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting - all members invited to attend

Tuesday - May 28th Venue: Shang Hai Chinese Restaurant - private room - 331 South Main Street, Laconia
6:00 pm - Speaker: LPD Captain Matt Canfield with other members of the LPD

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