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1. How long have you been in Rotary?
I have been a Rotarian for 11 years. I joined Rotary in Utica NY at the urging of my financial advisor, Catherine McEnroe, who is still a member of that club.
2. My favorite Rotary moments:
It was in Utica that I developed a passion for reading to first and second graders once a week in a program that was developed long before I came on the scene. At one time 60 Utica Rotarians participated, but by the time I got involved it was less than a dozen and finally was terminated. We would have continued it forever, but due to a state wide change in education policy, all “extraneous” enrichment offered by non-school personnel was severely cut back or terminated just as I was leaving Utica to head to the NH Seacoast in 2013.
3. Where I currently live and where I grew up:
I live in Dover after 17 years of living in Utica and 17 years before that in Salem MA where I met my late wife, Mary. I was born in Ithaca NY and stayed there for all of 6 months, not too many memories of life high above Cayuga’s waters, I’m afraid. After that my life was a whirlwind of changing residences, Oak Park Illinois, the Bronx, Johnson, Cranston, and Providence, Rhode Island all before I was 7. I did end up in Providence from the 4th grade through graduating from Brown University with a degree in Anthropology. Next it was 5 years in Rochester NY as an anthropology grad student and a staff announcer for WBBF-FM a commercial classical radio station. When it went under on Valentine’s day 1976 with me as the last on air announcer [I played Haydn’s “Farewell” Symphony], the local public radio station WXXI picked us up.
4. My Hobbies:
My hobbies include the two “s”s, singing and sailing. As a tenor I never have a problem finding a spot in a community chorus or small ensemble. During the pandemic I have been exploring the wonders of virtual performance! Until I came to Seacoast NH I’ve always had some sort of a sailboat. Not sure if I’ll venture down that path again, but I’m severely tempted every other week. Pre-pandemically I indulged in my passion by volunteering as crew on the gundalow “Piscataqua” handling lines four times the diameter of what I had been used to on my 21 foot sloop. When I was in my 50s and academic jobs were drying up yet another time, I retooled as a Museum Director thanks to a magnificent program at Framingham State. The thrill of my life was becoming Museum Director/Manager for the Shako:wi Cultural Center of the Oneida Nation of New York. At last I had found a niche that matched my skills and talents and was of use to the public!
5. My Business Profession or Current Working or Non-Working Environment:
I’ve been retired since 2009 and a widower since early 2015 so have had time to devote to one of my first loves – writing. I have been writing poetry since my teen-aged years, but have been more disciplined about it in the past five years writing at least one poem a day. My “The Mary Poems” appeared in 2016 and I have some of my individual poems published in print an online.
6. Something my fellow Rotarians don’t know about me:
Something my fellow Rotarians might not know about me is that when I was a pre-adolescent I was a student at Christopher Wren School in London England. As the sole Yank, I was encouraged to provide entertainment to my mates at Christmas, so I played a mock guitar and sang “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” to the whole school at the Christmas Pageant, successfully to my surprise. More to the point, the education I got in the short time I was in First Form [=7 th grade here] was so intensive I didn’t have to crack a book to get an A in almost any subject after I got back to the States until the 10 th grade although I had been only a fair to middling student in “Merry Olde” [as we jokingly called England]
7. Final words:
My final thought is that the fellowship, sincerity of purpose, and follow through on community service projects that Rotary provides has been a source of comfort to and purpose for me ever since I joined back in Utica in October of 2009. I still can’t think of a better way to stay in touch with the pulse of our community here in Dover and to be afforded the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of all of our citizens. It is an honor to be part of a pragmatic outfit that lives up to its ideals.
