Date of Meeting: January 15, 2025

Venue: WORK Lakes Region - 51 Elm Street Suite 107, Laconia

Attendance: 12 in attendance: 10 members and 2 guests

MEMBERS AND GUESTS:

Kiwanis Members:
Betty Ballantyne
Phil Bonafide
Zach Dea
Bill Gile
John Intorcio
Shawn Intorcio
Steve Loughlin
Don Nelson
Tara Shore
Keith Styles

Guests:
Jodie Gallant – owner of JMG Marketing
Sue Nelson – Honorary Member and wife of Don Nelson

Jodie Gallant		Sue Nelson
Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

President Betty Ballantyne opened the meeting at 6:03 pm by thanking all in attendance and introducing our guests. This was followed by:
- The Pledge of Allegiance - participated by all
- My Country Tis of Thee and God Bless America led by Don Nelson
- Invocation: by Keith Styles

SONGS by Don Nelson		INVOCATION by Keith Styles
Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

The Kiwanians - all in their places with bright smiling faces
Photo by Jodie Gallant

GUEST SPEAKER: Betty Ballantyne introduced our guest speaker, Jodie Gallant.

Jodie Gallant is a dedicated brand strategist and business consultant who helps small businesses achieve their goals with ease. She founded JMG Business & Marketing Strategy in 2012 and later expanded into business coaching, drawing from her own experiences. Since opening, she has worked with over 350 NH/Lakes Region businesses and brands. JMG Marketing is a marketing and business strategy agency. The agency specializes in supporting small businesses by providing tailored marketing solutions, branding, websites, digital marketing, media and strategies to help them grow and thrive. Jodie designed, developed and opened WORK Lakes Region in 2023, an on demand, flex use, coworking/event studio for the Lakes Region community.

Jodie addresses the group.

As part of her presentation, Jodie Gallant gave the Kiwanians a tour of the WORK Lakes Region facility.

Betty Ballantye (left) and Keith Styles (right) enjoy a photo op with Jodie Gallant (center) at the conclusion of her presentation. For information on WORK Lakes Region. "click" here.

Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

YOUTH PROTECTION TRAINING:
Bill Gile made a Power Point presentation detailing Kiwanis Youth Protection Policies & Procedures. For a summary of those policies, “click” here.

WORK MEETING:
Betty conducted a brief working meeting to discuss projected fund-raising events and projected community events and then adjourned the meeting at 7:48 pm.

KIWANIS K.A.R.E.S. (Kids And Reading Equals Success)
A Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S. was held on Tuesday, January 14th at Pleasant Street School. Participating in the event were: Kiwanian Betty Ballantyne, Honorary Kiwanian - Kathy Calvin, Friends of Kiwanis- Jackie Bonafide & Martha Clement plus Media Specialist Kathleen Grenier and dedicated 3rd-grade educators. During the program, students listened to stories read by the Kiwanis volunteers. Additionally, the students enjoyed craft & snack time and all were given the opportunity to choose a book to keep as their own. Below are a few highlights of the event.
Friends of Kiwanis, Jackie Bonafide (left) and Martha Clement (right) enjoy reading to the students.
Honorary Kiwanian, Kathy Calvin, helps the students choose their book to take home.
K.A.R.E.S. Kids
Third graders smiling with their books
Above photos by Betty Ballantyne
The Kiwanis K.A.R.E.S participants
Group photo by Pleasant Street School employee, Eric Cardinal

RING THE BELL FOR THE SALVATION ARMY:

Kathy Calvin, Laconia Kiwanis Club Honorary Member and member of the local Salvation Army was kind enough to provide us with the following 2024 results:

This past December, a total of approximately $44,000 was raised by those who rang the bell for the Salvation Army in downtown Laconia. Excluding Salvation Army related personnel, there were 13 groups and businesses who participated in ringing the bell. Of those 13, the following were the top finishers:

1. The Laconia Rotary Club - $1,854
2. The Belknap County Sheriff’s Department - $1,347
3. The Laconia Kiwanis Club - $1,165
4. The Blacktop Saints - $1,007.61

The Laconia High School Key Club raised $669.09 and was not one of the top finishers this year. (In 2023 they finished first collecting over $2,000.) Kathy Calvin noted that the day the Key Club rang the bell, it was extremely cold out and many motorists preferred not to roll down their windows.

Kathy sent the Laconia Kiwanis Club a note expressing her appreciation for our efforts. To read Kathy’s note, “click” here.

THANK YOU:
Many thanks to Joe Adrignola, Betty Ballantyne, Phil Bonafide, Kathy Calvin, Zach Dea, Bill Gile, and Tara Shore for their assistance with this bulletin.

Wednesday - February 5th : Venue: ZOOM MEETING
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting

Wednesday - February 19th : Venue: Laconia Fire Department Community Room
6:00 pm - Laconia Mayor Andrew Hosmer will be our guest speaker

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