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.

 

ImageToday’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