Newsletter 8-20-13

Needham Rotary Club

Rotary Minutes of Meeting   August 13, 2013

Held at the Needham Sheraton

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by our president, Glen Davis, Bob Cocks  led us in “God Bless America”, and Lois led us in the Invocation.

Guests:  Mia Damaso (Ryan’s daughter), Amy Schram, our guest speaker, and, Matt McKewon are today’s visitors: George led us in the welcome song.

Announcements:

-The Music event on Saturday night Oct. 19 is taking form. Members include Dan Tibma, Bob Cox, Rachel Yurik, Greg, and Tom Savinno. So, loosen up your vocal chords and get ready to sing!

-We collected several bags of food for the Food Pantry at the Needham Community Council this week. Bring your food in over the next several weeks and we will deliver it to the NCC the same day.

-We will be participating in the Harvest Fair event on Saturday October 5, with a $4000 fund raiser, where we sell $100 tickets. Stay tuned for details.

-The RI web site (www.rotary.org) web site has been revamped, and includes a ‘Members’ section.

Happy Dollars: 

Greg mentioned that Needham High’s football team for the 2013 season has been ranked number 7 in the state! Go Rockets!! Doug for celebrating the life of Tinker Connolly; Ryan and Lois for having Mia at lunch with Dad! Chuck Buyer for living in ‘the best town in the state”, despite having the highest taxes in the state; Roberta for being able to spend the day with family in NH; George for going to visit his Mom in VA tonight; Scotti for great boat weather, but boat with ‘engine issues’; Lot’s of HTBHs!

Birthdays:

None mentioned

Rotary Birthday:

None mentioned.

50/50:  Well, it may sound like an ‘inside’ job, but Mia pulled her Dad’s number: 50, and he won half of $27. Congrats Ryan (split it with your daughter)!

Humor:  In times like this “Why is the mistletoe hanging over the baggage counter?” asked the airline passenger, amid the holiday rush. The clerk replied, “It’s so you can kiss your luggage good-bye.”

Guest Speaker: Amy Schram, public relations director for the Boston Better Business Bureau was our guest speaker.  This non-profit with 112 offices in the USA is located in Marlborough, although they are responsible for Eastern Mass, NH, VT, Maine and RI. They have changed a lot since they started in 1912, Today they let folks read about businesses, write reviews, and even request quotations for services to be performed. They do have a speaker’s bureau, and offer to review advertising for advertisers, to insure it is proper and legal.

They offer a service to accept complaints from customers and try to get their issues resolved. Further, one can just complain to the BBB if they wish. This is in addition to their alerts and warnings they provide to consumers.

Take a look at their services at www.boston.bbb.org.