The Spoke - Archive  Sep 23, 2008

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And the winner is John Keenan – he generously donated the $773 pot back into the Salem Rotary Scholarship fund.

Recognitions and Fines: 

• Last chance to provide Jim Robinson with edits to your information that will be printed in this year’s roster.

• Jeff Holleran brought Sarah McBurnie as a guest.  Dick Moore brought Sue Iverson as a guest.

• Juli recognized herself for helping with a flue fire in the Tavern on the Green – the good news is that the restaurant is now sparkling!

• Dick Lutts told a funny joke that included a man who could bite his eyeballs with teeth, and who sprayed a desk with something unmentionable in the Spoke.  You’ll have to ask someone who attended this week to share the joke.

• John Fisher celebrated his 40^th  anniversary in Portugal………….he also commented that Dick’s joke established a new “low” for the Salem Rotary.

Program for the September 23rd Meeting:

State Representative John Keenan

State Representative John Keenan was today’s speaker.  He defended the recently completed legislative session as a busy one, despite the inference of newspapers that little gets done at the Statehouse.  In fact, Governor Patrick signed over 440 bills and passed a $28 billion dollar budget.

Although the Statehouse is officially in “informal session” there is a high likelihood that the legislature will be convened to discuss the recent financial tsunami that has decimated Wall Street.  Just in September, the MA state revenues were off for the month by $200 million, which  includes big losses in capital gains revenue for the state.  This will challenge next year’s budget.

Despite the recent bad news, there are some positive accomplishments for the State legislature:  1)  many cities and towns are joining the state’s pension fund to save on administrative costs.  Salem recently signed on for this.

John is also on the Energy Committee at the Statehouse.  He’s proud of Salem Harbor Station and sees it as necessary to provide affordable electricity. 

John commended a bill put forth by Governor Patrick that would grow the Biotech Industry in the State for the next 10 years. He lauded Salem for its pivotal role in the Creative Economy.  Locally and nationally, all of us have to work hard to keep jobs here and not let them go overseas.

Salem is getting its fair share of state funding for capital projects over the next 5 years:  1)  the new courthouse is a $106 million project that has begun construction; 2)  Salem State is getting funds to build a new Library and Science Center;  3) the state has earmarked $2 million for bridge repairs in Salem;  and 4)  the state has also earmarked $15 million to build a new garage near the train station.

Unfortunately, nobody likesto fund maintenance of all these projects and this will be costly going forward.  Representative Keenan expects that the casino proposal will re-emerge as a way to increase state revenue during these tough economic times.

Tourism throughout the state has gotten a boost from a change of regulations for the film industry, which encourages production by providing a 25% tax credit back to production companies.  In addition, Salem is leading the Historic Ports Initiative, which has brought 2 new cruise lines to Salem this year.

With regard to healthcare reform, the state added 200,000 previously uninsured people to the ranks of the insured population – Representative Keenan cautioned that long term questions remain as to the sustainability of the program.

Looking forward, John predicts a challenging year ahead.  He expects more mergers and acquisitions in the business sector and the non-profit sector.  He is concerned about the upcoming ballot question, Question #1, that would repeal the state income tax.  If this question passed, it would mean the loss of 40% of the state’s current revenue, which would be devastating for cities and towns that depend on these funds for schools, police protection, plowing, etc.  Most likely if Question 1 passed,   the legislators would need to submit a new bill to re-instate the income tax.  This would be a tough political situation for lawmakers.

Events to be aware of -- Save the Dates!!

                          Please visit the calendar section of our web site

                                       for additional important dates.  

And now a few announcements....  

• President David Wescott reminded Rotarians to update their email addresses and cell phone numbers for Jim Robinson.

• If anyone is interested in being the District Governor in 2011 or 2012, please see David.  David attended the recent Rotary district meeting, where he really enjoyed Jeff Kataret’s remarks.  In short, his presentation was a play on certain kinds of ads that now flood radio and tv.  Rotary was described as the best medicine to fulfill a person’s “urge to serve.”  If someone suffers from a fellowship deficiency or an unfulfilled urge to give back to the community, doctors now prescribe ROTARY. 

• Sgt. At Arms Viktoria will have the “Pillowcase for Eradicating Polio” at each weekly meeting.  Please drop any change or bills you can in the case to support this effort.

• Bob Conley has a few remaining Rotary Golf Tournament shirts for purchase.  All are green in color with the Rotary emblem on the sleeve, 100% cotton, available for $10.00 each.  Sizes that remain are Large or Medium.  Please call Bob at his office if you are interested in purchasing one – 978.744.1760

·         ROTARY CLUB OF ROCKPORT GOLF TOURNAMENT

@ the Rockport Golf Club on 10/6/08

To support the Rotary Club of Rockport Scholarship & Community Fund

·         $100.00 per golfer

·         Make Check Payable to the Rotary Club of Rockport

·         Contact Bob Krause @ 978-546-9134 or Rob Audano @ 978-546-5230 for a registration form.  Must be registered by 9/27/08.

·         Event begins at 11:30 a.m. w/ Shotgun Start at 12:30 p.m.

They are still looking for Tee or Green Sponsors for $200.00.  There will be raffles, a closest to the pin and longest drive prizes as well.

UPCOMING SPEAKERS

9/30 Dr. Helena Judith Sturnick, President of the Montserrat College of Art

10/7 Ted Warrren, Carbon Kayaks

10/14 Nelson Benton, Salem News

10/21 Tom Driscoll, Essex Cpunty Clerk of Courts

10/28 Dave Gendall, Friends Forever

Stumpers  

This week's stumper:

Where is the Rotary International 2009 Convention being held and what are the dates it is being held?

Last week's stumper:

What country was recently given it’s first Rotary Charter?

Answer to last week's stumper: 

On 11 August, RI General Secretary Ed Futa, on behalf of the RI Board, approved a charter for the Rotary Club of Kiritimati, Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati, adding another nation to the more than 200 countries and geographical areas on the Rotary map.

Happy Birthday to:   Mary Ann Lyons

Please email all announcements to be added to the Spoke  and/or feedback to salem_rotary@yahoo.com by Noon on Wednesday.  Also, feel free to contact any of the committee members listed below.

Committee Chair:  Brenda Smith

Editors:  Brenda Smith

Photos: John Quinn (Jay Cue), Trip Mason and File

Graphics and Photo Editing:  Rich Eisner

Members:  Denise Flynn, Jim Haskell and Sandy Heaphy