SPECIAL MOTORCYCLE WEEK EDITION

Date of Meeting: June 8, 2021

Venue: Rotary Park - Downtown Laconia

Attendance: 12 in attendance: 7 members, 4 guests and 1 special guest

Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin with assistance from Phil Bonafide

MEMBERS AND GUESTS:

Kiwanis Members:
President Meredith Michaud
Betty Ballantyne
Phil Bonafide
Bill Gile
Steve Loughlin
Don Nelson
Brian Winslow

Guests:
Zach Dea - guest of Meredith Michaud (installed as member during meeting)
Sue Nelson – Honorary Member and spouse of Don Nelson
Tara Shore – guest of Bill Gile (installed as member during meeting)
Bob Willey – guest of Betty Ballantyne (installed as member during meeting)

Special Guest:
Lulu Michaud – guest of Meredith

A woman's best friend
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

WELCOME BACK!

Sue and Don Nelson		Brian Winslow
Photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and Patriotic Songs:
Invocation: performed by Phil Bonafide
Pledge of Allegiance: led by President Meredith
Songs: America (My Country 'Tis of Thee) and God Bless America: led by Don Nelson

Don Nelson lead the group in song.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

MEMORABLE MEETING!

This month’s meeting was very memorable for two reasons.  It was the first time since 1/21/20, that we met together in person AND we were happy to welcome three new members into the Laconia Kiwanis Club: ZACH DEA, TARA SHORE, and BOB WILLEY.

ZACH DEA is a graduate of Laconia High School (class of 2001) and a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (class of 2004) with a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Shortly after graduating college, Zach moved to New Jersey where he was employed for several years as a computer software developer and a software architect. Zach is presently employed as a Product Director for Shadow Financial Systems (A Broadridge Company). In the summer of 2019, he moved back to Laconia where he resides with his wife, Sara, and two children.

President Meredith introduces Zach Dea to the club.

Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

TARA SHORE is a from Vernon, Vermont and is a graduate of Brattleboro Union High School (class of 1988) and Quinnipiac College (class of 1992) where she majored in Business. From 2007 to 2015, Tara served as a Paraprofessional at Laconia’s Woodland Heights Elementary School. Since September 2015, she has been employed as the Program & Operations Manager at the Belknap Mill. Tara resides in Laconia with her husband, Michael, and her two children.

Tara Shore with her sponsor, Bill Gile

Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

BOB WILLEY was born and raised in Scotia, New York and graduated from Scotia-Glenville High School (1972). He subsequently received an Associates Degree in Accounting from the State University of New York at Cobleskill. In 1977, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from the State University of New York at Plattsburg. It was also at SUNY Plattsburg that he met his future wife, Sue. Bob worked for over thirty years in the Food Industry. He spent 18 years with a local meat manufacturer (Jac Pac Foods) as the Marketing and Sales Director. He also worked 12 years with a Food Broker and served as the Director of Marketing and Customer Service. He retired in 2017.

Bob joined the Hooksett Kiwanis Club in 2015 and assumed the role of Vice President for the 2016-2017 term. He served as President Elect in 2017-2018 and then as President of the club in 2018-2019. During that three-year period, the Hooksett Kiwanis Club brought in 45 new members. He presently serves as the Lt. Governor Division 6 in the Kiwanis New England & Bermuda District. Next year, he will be taking on the role of Lt. Governor for Division #5. Bob resides in Hooksett with his wife, Sue. He has two adult children and three grandchildren.

Bob Willey with his sponsor, Betty Ballantyne

Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

L to R: Bob Willey, Tara Shore, and Zach Dea

Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

Meeting was adjourned at 7:26 pm.

OTHER KIWANIS NEWS:

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

Emily Giambastini, Pleasant Street School Library Media Specialist, reported, on June 9th, PSS hosted the last Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S. of the semester. Children were able to take home two new books to start off their summer reading.

The Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S. program, which was started by the Laconia Kiwanis Club in 2002, has been motivating local children by making reading a fun and beneficial part of everyday life.

Photo by Ms. Emily Giambastini

LACONIA KIWANIS CLUB AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS:

The Laconia Kiwanis Club, through the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation, has been awarding scholarships for college bound seniors annually for 65 years. When Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation was founded in 1956, the Laconia Kiwanis Club was one of the original eight donors!  At that time, the Club donated a total of $200 to two recipients. In most cases, scholarships from the Laconia Kiwanis Club are awarded to active LHS Key Club members and Kiwanis related students. This year, the Laconia Kiwanis Club awarded 12 scholarships totaling $7,500.  A portion of this award was funded through the generosity of Priscilla Breton wife of the late Dick Breton, a long time Kiwanian. Recipients of this year's scholarships included current graduates Brendan Allen, Katie Allen, Aidan Eldridge, Lydia Tucker, Brian Winslow as well as seven recent graduates.  

Since the inception of the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation in 1956, the Laconia Kiwanis Club has awarded scholarships totaling $129,475.

Student:	Brendan Allen	Katie Allen	Aidan Eldridge	Lydia Tucker
High School:	Laconia High School	Laconia High School	Laconia High School	Laconia High School
Graduated HS:	2021	2021	2021	2021
College:	NH Technical Institute	NH Technical Institute	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)	Dartmouth College
Status:	Freshman	Freshman	Freshman	Freshman
Major:	Manufacturing Technology	Dental Hygeine	Industrial & Management Engineer	International Relations
	$500	$500	$1,000	$1,500
Student:	Brian Winslow	Randi Byars	Nicole Turpin	Maeghan Ash
High School:	Belmont High School	Gilford High School	Laconia High School	Laconia High School
Graduated HS:	2021	2020	2020	2019
College:	University of New Hampshire	Virginia Tech	Union College	Plymouth State University
Status:	Freshman	Sophomore	Sophomore	Junior
Major:	Computer Engineering	Aerospace Engineering	Biomedical Engineering	Nursing
	$500	$500	$250	$250
Student:	Jennifer Bateman	Gabi Djuric	Alexyah Dethvongsa	Ashley Burgos
High School:	Laconia High School	Laconia High School	Laconia High School	Laconia High School
Graduated HS:	2019	2019	2018	2017
College:	Clarkson University	University of Vermont	St. Michael's	Plymouth State University
Status:	Junior	Junior	Senior	Senior
Major:	Communications and Entrepreneur	Psychological Science	Int'l. Relations & Public Health	Public Health/Business
	$500	$500	$1,000	$5$500

The Laconia Kiwanis Club handles the administration of the Smith Memorial Scholarship, which was established in honor of Charlie Smith. Charlie Smith was a Laconia Kiwanis Club member during the 1970’s into the early 1990’s.

Because of his active participation and hard work, Charlie Smith was recognized as Kiwanian of the Year in 1982 and again in 1988. Charlie was renowned and respected as an agriculturist and specialist in soils, grasses and hays. While still a student at UNH, he opened Smith’s Apple Orchard in Belmont, which later became one of the area’s first “pick your own” orchards. (The orchard was sold to Rob and Wende Richter in 1985.)

As a Laconia City Councilman during the 1980’s, Charlie was a major proponent for upgrading the outdated cinder track at Opechee Park. The new track was named Smith Track for Charlie Smith and Erwin Smith (former Laconia track coach) “in honor of their years of service and dedication to youth.”

Since its inception in 1997, the Charles M. Smith – Kiwanis Club of Laconia Award has awarded scholarships totaling $17,000 which includes scholarships to this year’s recipients - Nick Arenstam and Noah Mousseau.

Student:	Nick Arenstam	Noah Mousseau
High School:	Gilford High School	Laconia High School
Graduated HS:	2021	2020
College:	Plymouth State University	Keene State College
Status:	Freshman	Sophomore
Major:	Exercise Science	Communications
	$500500	$50000

KEY CLUB NEWS:

The Laconia Kiwanis Club is proud to applaud former LHS Key Club President Aidan Eldridge for his outstanding service in designing adaptive features of a kiddie car to assist a special needs student at Laconia’s Elm Street School. Details of Aidan’s service were highlighted on the front page of the 6/24/21 edition of The Laconia Daily Sun. To read that story, “click” here.

C

"CLICK" ON ANY OF THE PICTURES BELOW TO VIEW A LARGER PICTURE
Kathy Clavin with Hooksett Kiwanis Club members: David Dickson (Secretary) and Judy Barrett (incoming District Secretary)		President Meredith Michaud with Phil Bonafide
Kathy Calvin and Vice President Bill Gile		Betty Ballantyne, Ray Chambers and Steve Loughlin
		Above photo by Phil Bonafide
HAPPY CUSTOMERS!
Happy customer with Meredith Michaud and her daughter, Emma		Ray Chambers made this woman smile
Betty Ballantyne with a happy customer		Betty Ballantyne with two happy customers
Betty Ballantyne with three happy customers
NICE SHADES!
Above photo by Phil Bonafide
MOTHER DAUGHTER TEAMS
Meredith Michaud and Emma		Kara Stanley and Caity
		Above photo by Kara Stanley
MEMORABLE MOMENTS
A biker with Moe the Dog and Monty the Python		Steve Loughlin with Monty the Python
		Above photo by Betty Ballantyne
SHARING A SMILE WITH MOTORCYCLE WEEK ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS
Charlie St. Clair (Motorcycle Week Association Executive Director) and Betty Ballantyne		Steve Loughlin with Jennifer Anderson (Motorcycle Week Association Deputy Director))
		Above photo by Kathy Calvin
SUPER HEROES
COMMUNITY HEROES
Patrol Officers: Evan Shaheen, Tyler Rouse, B Hinton, Kira Goodheart and Karlyn Brown
LPD Sergeants Robert Sedgley and Michelle Cardinal with Betty Ballantyne		UNH (and part-time LPD) Police office Don Kimtis enjoys a moment with Betty Ballantyne and Ray Chambers
BIKES AND BIKERS
Biker Babe
The End
All Bike Week photos by W. Stephen Loughlin except where noted

THANK YOU:
Many thanks to Betty Ballantyne, Phil Bonafide, Zach Dea, Bill Gile, Emily Giambastini, Meredith Michaud,Tara Shore and Bob Willey for their assistance with this bulletin.

Tuesday - July 13th Venue: Fratello's Restaurant in Lakeport
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting

THERE WILL BE NO REGULAR MEETING IN JULY

WANT MAIL?
If you are not on the Kiwanis Bulletin e-mail list (and would like to be) please give Steve Loughlin your e-mail address. Also, if you are reading this bulletin and are not presently on the mailing list (and would like to be), “click” here.

"Click" here to get back to the top of the page.

"CLICK" ON ANY GRAPHIC BELOW TO VISIT THE HOME PAGE OUR FINE PATRONS.