Lexington Spoke - March 12, 2012
On
a very warm and sunny day in mid-March, 29 Lexington Rotarians, 1 visiting
Rotarian, and 3 guests enjoyed a delicious lunch of chicken, vegetables, salad,
lunch meats and cookies at Waxy O’Connor’s Pub.
The
Pledge was led by PP Bob S, the patriotic song, America, was led by Past Sergeant-At-
Arms Charlie V and the Invocation was led by PDG Jack Maloney.
Our
guests were Asst. DG Ray Graber from the Burlington Breakfast Rotary Club; Mark
Cieplinski from Stryker – a medical devices company in Bedford; Ed Danielson, a
former Lexington Club Rotarian; and our Speaker – Lt Col Douglas Sims.
Raffle
Gifts were donated by:
·
Golf
Balls –Walpole Cooperative Bank – Won by Steve Kirkland
·
Calendar-Patriot
Bank-Won by Julianne Donato
·
Memo
Pad-TD Bank-Won by Mark- Cieplinski
·
Lexington
History Book-Ace Hardware-Won by Mark Cieplinski
·
Pocket
Knife-Arlex Oil-Won by Donald Sherman
Pres.-Elect
David S donated $20 Happy Dollars for attending the Rotary Training Meeting in
Framingham. Past Rotarian, Ed Danielson,
gave $5 as he was glad to stop in and visit the Rotary Club. PP Dan B tendered $20 as his daughter Haley
started her first JOB – good news there.
Bob C, very proud of his alma mater Florida State, offered $10 as
Florida State had beat Duke at the start of March Madness. PDG Jack M
graciously paid the $5 fine assessed to PP Dan Busa.
Announcements:
Pres.
Murry read heartfelt Thank you notes to the Club from some of the organizations
that we have donated to – Wounded Warriors and St. Jude’s Research to name a
few.
·
March
29 – The Club Social at the Depot Square.
Be sure to register.
·
April
9 – Joint Meeting with the Concord Rotary Club.
·
April
16 – Patriot’s Day. Committee Chair
Steve Kirkland will have the committee assignments ready for next week’s
meeting.
·
April
28- Rotary Leadership Institute at the Peabody Holiday Inn.
·
May
18 – Comedy Night at Montvale Plaza.
Only 2 tables left to sell.
·
June
1-3 - The Rotary District Conference at Mystic Seaport - $199/per person.
Shout
out to all our Bracketologists – email 2nd VP/Sec Dave Siekman to join in on
the March Madness fun.
Today’s
Speaker was Lt Col Douglas Sims, US Army.
Lt Col Sims is currently serving as a National Defense Fellow at
MIT. He returned from Afghanistan last
spring where he commanded an infantry battalion for a year. Following his redeployment, he changed
command of his Unit and reported here to the Boston area. Lt Col Sims discussed the role of the US
Army: prevent conflict, shape policy by
working with partners around the globe, and win our Nation’s battles
decisively. The Army is in the midst of
troop reductions. The active Army force
will continue its drawdown of surge forces from the current force of 564K
personnel to 490K personnel over the next five years. The National Guard and Reserve Units will
also see reductions in force of about 160K.
Lt Col Sims discussed that US global commitments will see a shift in
priority from the Central Command – Iraq and Afghanistan – to the Pacific
Command. The environment in Northeast
Asia is a major focus. Notwithstanding this shift in focus, the Army remains
trained and ready to serve our Nation with distinction. In keeping with “smart” technology, the Army
is utilizing this technology for squadron leaders in the field to have a better
understanding of what is happening around them and for personnel to keep in
communication with each other and family.
Lt
Col Sims enjoys running on Battle Road and is pleased to live in the Greater
Boston area where our history here is America’s history. Finally, he noted that he does enjoy Kansas City‘s
Boulevard Beer and that Boulevard Beer can be found for sale at….wait for
it…..Busa Liquors. And yes, PP Dan B
quickly paid a fine for this publicity.
The
50/50 raffle went to PDG Jack M and he gave the money to the Club.
With
regards, MPA