Greetings Monadnock Rotarians!
It was a pleasure to welcome Wendy back to the club this morning. She introduced our guest and speaker for the meeting, Michelle Bishop. Michelle is Manager of Carr’s Store located at the intersection of Routes 101 & 202 in Dublin. Jim Guy began the meeting with a quote from Albert Camus about truth and liberty.
A club discussion was held regarding possible community service opportunities. Suggestions included an energy saving project for local families, working with a neighboring club and other good ideas. Pegg spoke about the possibility of identifying a project that positively affects a wide range of age groups. A few minutes will be set aside on June 5 to continue the discussion.
Announcements included the following:
  • On June 5, we need a volunteer for Opening Words. Jerry Branch has “The Hat”. Our speaker will be Merissa Osborne. John Goodhue will give us an update on Rotary Foundation.
  • Our June 12 meeting will be held in the evening at the Dublin Community Center. This will be an opportunity for socializing and highlighting our club projects. Bob Meissner suggested that each member commit to bringing a friend to learn more about Rotary. The evening will begin at 6:00. Members are asked to bring appetizers and BYOB. For more information, see Jim Guy or Jerry Branch.
  • The “Pass the Gavel” party is scheduled for 5:30 on June 26 at the MacDowell Dam.
  • The Club will not meet on May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
  • Bob Vecchiotti will offer some ideas for new meeting songs with Rotary themes.
Wendy White introduced our speaker, Michelle Branch. Michelle has been Manager of Carr’s Store which is a part of Cheshire Oil for 12 years. Michelle’s family members have been residents of Dublin for six generations. Her great-grandfather built the home she lives in today and she recalled spending summers in the community as a young child.
Michelle’s grandfather was the Dublin Postmaster and also worked at Worcester’s Garage in the village. Michelle recalled working summers with her grandmother catering dinners in Dublin and housekeeping for large homes. The experiences led her to a career which includes hospice care, catering, house caretaking and retail management.  
Michelle moved permanently to Dublin in 2000 and began working at Carr’s Store with Yummy, Diddy and Cles. In 2007, Cles and Diddy retired and Michelle became the bookkeeper and helped manage the store. Upon Yummy’s retirement, she became the store manager.
Michelle enjoys her work which offers ample opportunity to interact with family and friends. They still pump gas for shoppers unable to do so themselves and staff work hard to offer customers a place to meet friends and keep informed about local activities. She does her best to hire local folks to staff the store and offers local businesses an opportunity to advertise on their business card board.
See you on June 5!!
Bill