Date of Meeting: November 21, 2023

Venue: Laconia Police Department – Community Room

Attendance: 23 in attendance: 11 members and 12 guests

MEMBERS AND GUESTS:

Kiwanis Members:
Betty Ballantyne
Ray Chambers
Zach Dea
Bill Gile
John Intorcio
Steve Loughlin
Don Nelson
Tara Shore
Kara Stanley
Keith Styles
Abby Teichert

Guests:
Kathy Calvin - Honorary Member and former Kiwanian
Chris Gile – son of Bill Gile
Shawn Intorcio- wife of John Intorcio
Sue Nelson – Honorary Member and wife of Don Nelson

Roger Landry – former Kiwanian
Pam Landry - wife of Roger Landry
Ashley Nesmith – Member of the Manchester Kiwanis Club
Judee Teichert - mother of Abby Teichert

Guests from the Laconia High School Key Club:
Jilli Paul – Key Club Advisor
Shelby Luther – Co-President
Layla Sanchez
Jennah Valovanie - Secretary

Kathy Calvin		Chris Gile		Shawn Intorcio		Sue Nelson
Roger Landry		Pam Landry		Ashley Nesmith		Judee Teichert
Jilli Paul		Shelby Luther		Layla Sanchez		Jennah Valovanie
Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

SX MX IX LX EX S
SAME HAIRDOS		THE LACONIA KIWANIS CLUB BRAIN TRUST
L to R: Chris Gile and Bill Gile		L to R: Shawn Intorcio and John Intorcio
Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

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

Food Bank: $165 was collected

Happy Dollars: $27 was collected

GUEST SPEAKER:

Betty introduced our guest speaker, our newest member, Abby Teichert.

Abby Teichert is a graduate of Laconia High School and former Vice President of the Laconia High School Key Club.

After graduating from Laconia High School in 2012, Abby attended Bryant University where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Applied Math and Statistics with double minors in Business Administration and Finance. Upon graduation from college, Abby worked in the insurance industry in the Boston area. After Covid, she decided to leave the insurance industry to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.

After hiking the Appalachian Trail, Abby decided to come back to New Hampshire to settle down. She is currently working for the University System of New Hampshire as a Senior Business Intelligence Analyst in the Center for DATA.

Abby gave a detailed presentation on her experience in hiking the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian Trail runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

In preparation for her hike, Abby did considerable research which included reading books and guides as well as researching the best gear in terms of weight and budget. She started the approach trail on March 7, 2022 and officially ended her venture on November 18, 2022.

During her trek, Abby experienced severe burns on both of her legs in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park and was forced to suspend her trek for almost a month. When she returned, she skipped ahead about 500 hundred miles to northern Maine so she could summit Mount Kathadin before mid-October when Baxter State Park shuts down access to the summit. Abby noted, Katahdin is “a beast of a mountain and is after the 100-mile wilderness” (another challenging part of the trail). After summiting Katahdin, Abby concluded her hike in the Shenandoah Park in Virginia.

Abby reported that “according to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the official trail mileage in 2022 was 2,194.3 miles." She estimates, in addition to those miles, side trips for water, camping, and road crossings that she hiked at least another 200 miles. On average, she estimates hiking 15 miles a day.

Abby Teichert addresses the group.

ON TOP OF THE WORLD: Abby Teichert successfully conquers the Summit of Mt. Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park.

ALL SMILES: Abby Teichert celebrates officially finishing her hike in Shenandoah Park, Virginia.

Betty Ballantye enjoys a moment with Abby Teichert at the conclusion of her presentation.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:06 pm.

Betty Ballantye rings the bell concluding the meeting.
Photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

LACONIA KIWANIS CLUB $1,000 HOME HEATING FUEL RAFFLE:

As of October 31st, all 250 tickets had been sold.

On November 1st, the wining ticket of the $1,000 Home Heating Fuel Raffle was drawn at the Lakeport Freight House Museum.

Participating in the drawing were: Zach Dea (Treasurer of the Laconia Kiwanis Club), Warren Huse (Treasurer of the Laconia Historical & Museum Society), Abby Teichert (member of the Laconia Kiwanis Club), and Tara Shore (member of the Laconia Kiwanis Club & President of the Laconia Historical & Museum Society).

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxL to R: Zach Dea, Warren Huse, Abby Teichert, and Tara Shore

nnnnnnnvvnnnnnnnL to R: Zach Dea and Abby Teichert look on as Warren Huse draws the winning ticket.

To view a brief video of the drawing with the name of the winning ticket, "click" here.

Please note: the video will take about 30 seconds to fully download.

The winner drawn was Rosemary Murphy. Rosemary was elated and very surprised to receive the phone call from the Kiwanis Club.

On November 8th, Rosemary Murphy collected her winning check at Stafford Oil & Propane. On hand were Zach Dea, Laconia Kiwanis Club Treasurer; Curtis Stafford, President of Stafford Oil & Propane; and Steve Laramie, General Manager of Stafford Oil & Propane.

;xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxL to R: Curtis Stafford, Zach Dea, Rosemary Murphy, and Steve Laramie

Above photos by W. Stephen Loughlin

FALL CLEANUP:

On November 11th, members and friends of the Laconia Kiwanis Club, along with the Laconia High School Key Club and their advisor, Jilli Paul, participated in an outdoor fall yard cleanup at the Belknap House. Despite the cold weather, many hands enabled the group to complete the task in one hour.

L to R: John Intorcio (Kiwanis Club), John Calvin (friend of Kiwanis), Kathy Calvin (Kiwanis Club Honorary Member),

Cali Andriski (Key Club), Kathryn Beane (Key Club Co-President), Samantha Wylie (Key Club), Abigail Hayward (Key Club),

Jilli Paul (Key Club Advisor) and Bill Gile (Kiwanis Club Immediate Past President)

Above photo by Emma Fife from the Belknap House

RING THE BELL FOR THE SALVATION ARMY:

The Laconia Kiwanis Club will ring the bell for the Salvation Army on Friday, December 22nd in downtown Laconia during the hours of 9 am to 5 pm. Bill Gile has arranged a Sign-Up Genius for Kiwanis members and friends who would like to participate. Please "click" here to sign up if you would like to ring the bell.

CHRISTMAS PARTY:

Our Christmas Party with a Yankee Swap is set for Tuesday, December 19th at 6:00 PM at the home of Bill Gile. Bill lives in Lakeport at 134 Natures View Drive. If you need directions to Bill's house, please e-mail him by "clicking" here or give him a call at 603-556-9487.

Note: This will be a potluck dinner (please bring an appetizer, entree OR dessert to share). Bill will have water and seltzer but you may want to bring your own beverage (alcohol permitted).

Those who plan to participate in the Yankee Swap are requested to bring a gift to swap with a target value of $20. Please invite a friend, partner or spouse. If your guest would like to participate in the Yankee Swap, they should bring a gift as well. Anyone planning to attend the Christmas Party should RSVP via e-mail to Bill Gile or by using the Sign-Up Genius by "clicking" here.

Daytime View of Bill's house		Nighttime View of Bill's house

Kiwanian Ray Chambers was recently spotted in Shaw’s Supermarket with two large Kiwanis shopping bags in his cart. Thanks Ray for promoting Kiwanis!

Ray Chambers proudly displays his Kiwanis shopping bags.

Above photo by W. Stephen Loughlin

KIWANIS HISTORY:
45 years ago...

KEITH STYLES IS AVAILABLE TO ASSIST YOUR BUSINESS:

Keith Styles, one of our newest and hardest working Kiwanis members, is available for hire.

Keith had been an excellent employee at Bank of New Hampshire in the residential mortgage department. However, the bank recently decided to discontinue residential mortgage financing which resulted in 19 jobs being eliminated at Bank of New Hampshire. Keith is one of those employees. At this time, Keith is looking forward to continue his career in banking or other financial venture.

If you know of a business that could use a man with Keith’s financial background please contact him. You can view his resume by “clicking” here.

THANK YOU
Many thanks to Joe Adrignola, Betty Ballantyne, Zach Dea, Phil Bonafide, Bill Gile, Keith Styles, and Abby Teichert for their assistance with this bulletin.

Tuesday - December 5th - Venue: ZOOM MEETING
6:00 pm - Board of Directors Meeting

Tuesday - December 19th : Venue: Bill Gile's House -134 Natures View Drive, Laconia
6:00 pm - Annual Christmas Party and Yankee Swap

Friday - December 22nd Venue: Downtown Laconia - Intersection of Main Street and Pleasant Street
9:00 am - 5:00 pm - Ring the Bell for the Salvation Army - To participate use the Sign-Up Genius by "clicking" here.

WANT MAIL?
If you are reading this bulletin and are not presently on the mailing list (and would like to be), please give Steve Loughlin your e-mail address by “clicking ” here.

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