1. How long have you been in Rotary?
I became a Rotarian in 1984, so I've been a member for thirty-six years. Apparently, the club accepted children as members at the time.
2. My favorite Rotary moments.
Over the years our hands-on projects were especially fulfilling for me. We cleared brush on Garrison Hill, cut down trees along the river on Central Avenue, painted structures at the Woodman Museum, assembled playground equipment on Park Street, and planted flowers in Rotary Park, in addition to a host of other undertakings. All of these activities combined innumerable opportunities for fellowship along with the satisfaction of seeing the tangible results of our work.
3. Where I currently live and where I grew up.
I grew up in Bristol, Connecticut, before ESPN made the city its home. In 1975 I moved with my family to New Hampshire and have lived in Dover for over thirty years.
4. My Hobbies.
Activities during the pandemic are limited, but my wife, Trish, and I enjoy golf, and we manage to walk our golden retriever for over a mile every day. I also enjoy reading, especially local authors like
Brendan Dubois, Paul Doiron, or Elizabeth Strout.
5. My Business Profession or Current Working or Non-Working Environment.
I moved from Connecticut to become principal of Oyster River High School in Durham. After eight years I became the Superintendent of Schools for Dover, a position I held for sixteen years. After retiring from the superintendency I taught for a few years in the Education Department at UNH and at Antioch New England. At the same time I became involved with the board at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital and with a couple of state legal system boards in Concord as a volunteer. For the past few years I've been pretty much fully retired.
6. Something my fellow Rotarians don’t know about me.
For several years in the sixties I was a hospital chaplain in a relatively large Catholic hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. That experience, dealing with life and death situations on a daily basis, has helped me over the years to keep things in perspective throughout my personal and professional life.
7. Final words.
In 1961 John F. Kennedy famously challenged Americans to ask not what their country could do for them but what they could do for their country. Rotarians challenge themselves to do for their community, their country, their world. It's a rewarding, fulfilling objective. And it's fun. We need more women and men willing to commit to spending a bit of their time in service to others. If you're interested and would like more information check us out on Facebook.
It’s great to get to know our Rotarians!
