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Volume 13 |
Date: January 12, 2021 Issue 27 |
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Our Next Week's Meeting: Club Assembly
Last Week's News:
Guests and Happenings:
~Rotarians - Crystal Brown, DGE Dick Hall,Josh Holt
~ Guests: - Loren Goodridge
Club News:
Last Thursday, President Maryna, Andy, Pam, and Dave G attended the KRAH meeting where Jeremy Paul, Director of the Kittery Community Center was guest speaker. Jeremy talked about the new skating rink they have just installed, the rink and benches have been paid for by local donations and they are hoping local organizations will hold events there to get people outside and exercising. Rinks are already inplace in Eliot and York.
We also talked about the next phase mask project, Pam and Andy offered to do the pickups for both clubs and KRAH President Nancy reported on discussions she and Maryna have had on coordinating efforts and activities.
Meeting:
Our special guest today joined us at 8 am, prior to that President Maryna briefed the club on two District events coming up. Besides our speaker today we were delighted to have Crystal Brown a member fo a couple of Rotary Clubs and co-worker of Maryna's, Josh Holt of the KRAH Club and past member of our olub, and very glad to see Club Member Rob Varney. We can also pass on that things are getting better for Larry Goff and his family but keep them in your prayers.

International Cafe meeting this coming Saturday 9-10:30

This will be the District's "Mid-Term Dinner' w/o the dinner part check on the link on the District website

We welcomed Maryna's boss, the CEO of Aroma Joe's, as our guest. Loren talked about how they navigated business in the pandemic


Loren told us about the immediate challenges as the pandemic grew and some of the very difficult decisions that had to be made, They shut down headquarters in Portland and immediately established daily internet meetings to faciltate communications and track actions. As the effect of shutdowns continued they had to work around supply problems as regular distribution routes failed. They moved quickly to acquire masks and shields to protect their employees

Aroma Joe's developed based upon a California approach to coffee sales and founded on "positive vibes" within both the employees and the customer base. They took immediate action to insure their employees would be safe and that the public knew what they were doing to keep the operations safe.

The business approach has been to require franchisees to be deeply connected to their communities, and they built on this approach through the very difficult year, first by setting the standard of supporting first responders and healthcare workers, an effort that continues, but also to students and teachers with continuing Appreciation events. Through 2020 they went from an initial 25% business drop to a 37% business increase, adding stores while other businesses were closing their doors

Loren stressed the positive impact of strong leadership, solid communication within the company and between the franchises and the communities around them. Building employee morale is very important to them. They recognized the impact of the continued controls, they made a video for their people to show them how they were making a difference and how much it was appreciated by the community. A thread that ran through this story, and in Maryna's discussion on their movement on applyin for and getting government support when needed , is the quickness of decison making and action taking, their ability to respond quickly and keep communication flowing rapidly has been a significant strength, as is their commitment to the community.

We are very appreciative of Loren's time with us this morning and
a book will be donated in his name to the school's library
Upcoming Programs and Events:
Jan 16 ~ International Cafe
Jan 19 ~ Club Assembly
Jan 25 ~ Leadership Forum
Jan 26 ~ Students of the Month
Feb 2 ~ Vitaliy Bezonrodney, Rotary Chidren's Fund
Feb 9~ Update on Eben Ezer School, Haiti
Feb 18~ Club Sponsored Red Cross Blood Drive
Birthdays: Jan 18 ~ Eric
Club Reminders:
Happy/Sad Dollars on Student of the Month meetings goes to fund
our Third Grade Book Project
Happy/Sad dollars during January and February fund Student Recognition
Do not forget to regularly check the calendar of our Web Site for long term schedules and the photo Album for updates on our Program pictures and Activity pictures.
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