March 24, 2009
Cincinnati's Rubber Duck Regatta
82,000 Ducks Sold Last Year!
A colleague floated an idea past Bob Edwards 14 years ago for a fund-raiser to benefit the FreestoreFoodbank. She had seen a race run with rubber ducks in Champaign, Il. Edwards saw the possibilities and decided to organize a local event.
Edwards, who lives in Kenwood with his wife, used his skills as an insurance salesman at AXA Equitable to grow business for the nonprofit. His efforts have paid off. Today, Cincinnati's Rubber Duck Regatta has grown to the biggest of its kind in the country, raising $3 million over a dozen years. In its first year, 1995, more than 18,000 ducks were sold, raising $69,000. Last year, 82,000 were sold, bringing in more than $400,000 for the FreestoreFoodbank, headquartered in Bond Hill.
"It's a fun way to raise money because everybody can smile, if not laugh, when they see little rubber ducks with sunglasses on,' Edwards said of the Labor Day weekend race.
The numbered ducks, which cost donors $5 each, are launched from the Purple People Bridge and swim several hundred yards. The fun comes annually, after a year of hard work that includes development of a steering committee to find corporate sponsors and individual donors for ducks, operations and logistics of the race. Edwards finds that challenge, which included 500 people putting in 1,800 hours of work last year, to be worthwhile.
We are very fortunate this week to have Bob Edward as our guest speaker. He will offer his insight on how we can make our duck race a success.
Greetings from South Africa!
I made it back from South Africa, returning Sunday afternoon. I'm a little the worse for wear. I contracted tick bite fever about a week or two from the end of the trip (exact onset uncertain). I'm still struggling with recovery, but would not trade the experience for anything! Please don't let this event reinforce any stereotypes you may have about Africa. The real culprit is me. I should have more appropriately protected myself before waltzing across the bush observing the amazing wildlife, but I didn't.
Our group met and made presentations to some ten or so Rotary Clubs in and around the Gauteng province where District 9300 and Johannesburg are located. We saw many amazing service projects, bathed in the hospitality and witnessed the passion of many club members for Rotary and for helping others less fortunate than themselves. I also had the opportunity to see my vocation as practiced by committed professionals half the globe away from Massachusetts and the USA. Rotary is truly an international organization! In the weeks and months to come, I look forward to sharing this wonderful experience with you.
Meanwhile, I know much has happened in the club and in the area. I'm so grateful for Ira's and others' help in running the meetings, activities, and leading the Board.
See you Thursday for an exciting meeting about the Duck Regatta!
John
Hello Haverhill Rotarians!
Thank you for helping to make my 2 weeks as "Acting President" go by nearly flawlessly! We really have a great club!
Thank you for letting me get away with a "small" fine when my cell phone rang during the meeting on March 19th. I purposely did not turn it off as I knew that my son, Doron, would be calling from Tel Aviv at 1:00 pm when all graduating medical students would hear about their residencies for the coming year - it is called "Match Day" among the medical students. Everyone present at Rotary that day were the first to learn that Doron would be a Resident in Emergency Medicine at UMass Medical School in Worcester! He's come a long way since he spoke to our club four years about his work at the only bank without either a drive-up window or an ATM, the New England Organ Bank, and you can bet that Gail and I are very proud.
Speaking of pride, we look forward to welcoming John back to Haverhill this Thursday, likely in a jet-lag state, but nevertheless with gavel in his hand! I know he'll have a lot to share with us about the Rotary GSE Team that he led to South Africa.
Please remember that on Monday, May 11th, the Rotary GSE Team from South Africa will be in Haverhill. We need Rotarians to step up to the plate and volunteer to "entertain" our guests. They will be interested in seeing some of our work places and some of our recreational places. A walk through some of the many trails in Haverhill is one possibility as well. If you would like to share an hour or two with the 5 members of the GSE Team from South Africa, please let me know. There is no doubt that you will be enriched by the opportunity.
Bob Edwards, the chairman of the Cincinnati Duck Race, will be with us to share how to make our Duck Race in September a great success. Attendance is really important as he will help us to not have to re-invent the wheel. The Duck Regatta will be our major fundraiser this year and, although it will not happen until September, it will account for the major piece of our funds that we grant each year. We don't want to let down any of the fine non-profit organizations that we support. A successful Duck Regatta begins with everyone's participation and with everyone's attendance this Thursday.
A couple of weeks ago, Jim Vanderpol informed us that Dave Hindle had been in a winter accident - slipping on the snow and needing to be hospitalized up in Burlington, Vermont, where he now lives. I know he would love to hear from you by mail or by phone. Here is his address and phone number:
160 Fairway Dr
South Burlington, VT 05403
Tel.: (802) 497-0198
We all wish Dave a speedy recovery!
Lastly, since at the time of writing this message, I am still the "Acting President," I'll take the opportunity to wish everyone in the club a Happy Passover and a Happy Easter. Whichever holiday you may celebrate, may it be a time of joy and good health for you and yours!
Ira Korinow
P.S. I have not given up on my search for the culprt who took my badge on March 19th and put it back on the badge board when leaving. Beware! John and I will remain relentless until the truth is told!
District News
Check out the March district newsletter.
A Sunday School Teacher
Before coming to Atkinson, New Hampshire at age 10, I lived in Boston, Massachusetts. While there I went to Sunday School at the United Presbyterian Church. My teacher was a young man in his early twenties. His name was Earl A. Umlah. He had wonderful enthusiasm. He was a contractor and one day told us that he badly needed a small truck but wasn't sure if he could figure out how he would be able to do that. He said that although he believed in prayer he wasnąt sure if asking for a truck was something that he should be praying for.
Some months later while walking to the church I saw a 1938 Plymouth truck parked on the street. The name on the door: Earl A. Umlah. In 1939 our family moved to Atkinson and I lost all track of my Sunday School Teacher. I thought of him many times throughout my life.
My parents were Canadian born. My mother was born on Cape Breton Island, Canada. Although her family's farm had been sold she still had family living in a nearby village. One Fall we asked my mother if she would like to make a trip to see her people on Cape Breton. We found a summer cottage on nearby Lake Ainslee that was still available and so we made arrangements to stay there while visiting family where they now lived not far from this cottage.
One morning after having breakfast I went for a walk on the road that overlooked the lake. Along the way I saw an old cemetery and walked down to it. Reading the names on the monuments I saw the name Umlah. Closer to it I saw that the full name was: Earl A. Umlah. Could this be my Sunday School Teacher? Why would he be here if he lived near Boston? The dates on the monument were 1914 - 1968.
Inquiring at a nearby house I was told that although he was from the Boston area he had met his wife there and she was Canadian. They would visit Lake Ainslee each summer with their children and Mr. Umlah came to love the place. He told his family that whenever he should die that he wanted to be buried there. The man also told me that she was now at her brother's nearby house on a visit from the States. I went there and met her and told her of my great admiration for her husband.
A wonderful man who was taken at age 53. It doesn't seem right does it? Finding him in such a way was a minor miracle wasn't it?
Proposed for Membership
Adam Manchester, Benchmark Assisted Living - Proposed by Julian Rich
Welcome Our Newest Members
Paul Berthold, Century Copier Specialists
Carol Verny, Haverhill Public Library Director
Richard Sundell, Angel Flight
Make sure you sign their books!
Speakers
Dr. Anthony Laramie, professor at Merrimack College, spoke to us last week about the economy. He gave an overview of how mortgages were issued, bought and sold without the assumed value. When holders of some of these non performing mortgages tried to collect on insurance for this potential problem, the insurance companies didn't have the money to pay. What a mess! He also provided us with some statistics on Haverhill. It seems as the nation goes, so goes Haverhill.
April 2 - Bob Edwards, Chairman of the Cincinnati Duck Race
April 9 - Detective Rick Labell, Labell Presentations
April 16 - Marge Squire, Bradford Christian Academy
April 23 - John Grillo, National Energy Services Corporation,Ozone Laundry Systems
April 30 - Mary Gale, Rotary Youth Exchange
Contact Ira Korinow if you have a suggestion for an interesting speaker.
Attendance
An attendance record of 50 percent is required to remain an active Rotarian. Any missed meeting must be made up within 14 days before or after the regular meeting. To accommodate busy schedules, there are various opportunities to make up missed meetings:
Monday 12:15PM Danversport Yacht Club
Monday 12:15PM Exeter Country Club
Tuesday 12:15PM Glenn's Galley
Tuesday 12:15PM Caffe Paradiso in Lowell
Wednesday 12:15PM Angelica's Restaurant in Middleton
Thursday 7:30AM Cochichewick Lodge in North Andover
Thursday 12:15PM Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth
Friday 7:30AM Rockingham Park, Belmont Room in Salem NH
Friday 12:15PM Sweetheart Inn in Methuen
|
