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Rock’n Ribfest in Merrimack draws huge crowds hungry for barbecue every year, but for the first time, this year’s festivalgoers also saw a couple say, “I do.”

For regular Ribfest-goers, the food, drink and entertainment are the main draw.

“Love it,” said Nashua resident Donna Marshall, who was among the thousands at the event at the Anheuser-Busch brewery. “Gets better every year.”

“The weather's always good,” said Brittany Bellew, of Londonderry. “The band's great. It's really fun.”

“We had a great time and we're just enjoying the food and the beer here,” said Rebecca Howard, of Manchester. “It's a good time.”

People said the wait in line was worth it to eat some of the best barbecue in New Hampshire.

“Ribs, chicken, potato salad – I like trying all the different rib shacks every time I come, and they've all been good so far,” Laurie Bachelder, of Nashua.

Frank and Christine Cantwell have been attending Ribfest together for eight years, and love it so much, they decided to get married at the event.

“We don't want to do a traditional wedding,” Frank said. “We don't want all the thrills. We want to do something interesting and different. She said, ‘What about Ribfest?’ That's great. They've got everything here – ribs, music.”

A small wedding with family, friends and their favorite food is all they needed.

“I don't feel 1 ounce of stress,” Frank said. “I feel great.”

For others at Ribfest Sunday, it was the perfect way to spend Father’s Day.

“Food and beer – what more can you ask for?” said Merrimack resident Scott Saucier.

30 Years of Women in Rotary

One of the highlights of this year’s District Conference in Burlington on June 1, 2 and 3 was the chance to meet Dr.
Sylvia Whitlock and hear her story about how women became eligible to join Rotary. She was on the front lines of the battle
with Rotary International back in the 1980's. She went on to become the President of her Rotary Club and then became the first woman District Governor in Rotary. Without Dr.
Whitlock and her colleagues’ willingness to take on RI there is absolutely no question that Rotary would not be the dynamic worldwide organization that it is today. Come to
Burlington to hear her story first hand.

Greetings from the district governor

Well, we are off and running for the new year. I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season. I am sure that the bitter cold weather has been a challenge for many of us, even for us old timers who have been through many northern New England winters. Since my last newsletter Mary and I have had the honor of visiting several of the clubs in our area for special events. Because of the driving conditions we have not ventured too far from home. We did manage to get over the hill to Ludlow to join them at their holiday celebration dinner. I also made to White River Rotary Christmas luncheon and we made it to the Charlestown Rotary dinner. We had a great time, as always, and really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with our fellow Rotarians. Over the course of the next month I am scheduled to do a “Rotary Cares” television spot in Brattleboro, visit the Brattleboro Rotary Club; we will be joining the Bellows Falls club for a special meeting and going to Manchester NH for a fund raising event with the Queen City Rotary Club. Those are just the ones I know about right now, but I am sure that more will come up. I have been working hard with my District Conference Committee and coordinating with the District 7980 Committee pulling together the Joint District Conference scheduled for Burlington on June 1, 2 and 3. We have two
dynamic speakers lined up. More about them in later newsletters. By the time you read this the registration will have gone live and I hope that you go on our District website and get signed up
for the conference.

On January 22nd, our District Visioning team is scheduled to do a visioning exercise with the Windsor Rotary Club. I have personally been involved with Visioning exercises with four clubs
in the District as a member of the Visioning team. I am looking forward to participating in this next one as a member of my own club. If your club has not done a Visioning you should

really consider doing one. It is a great way for a club to focus on what is important to the club and its members to make their communities a better place to live. Please be well and be safe out there.

Jon Springer
District Governor 2017-2018
District 7870

Book Fair at Barnes and Noble Nashua

District 7870 Expo Nov 14th 2017

Spaghetti City 2017

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Rotary helps disaster victims

Severe storms, an earthquake, and hurricanes are wreaking havoc across the globe from the United States and Mexico to South Asia and Africa. The Rotary Foundation and Rotary clubs in affected areas are helping bring emergency aid to battered communities.

The Rotary Foundation is collecting emergency relief funds to help victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

Severe rainfall caused historic flooding along the Texas coast, including in Houston, the fourth largest city by population in the United States. About 6.8 million people have been affected by the hurricane.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma is in the Caribbean and headed for Florida and the Atlantic coast of the United States. Already, the storm has directly affected 1.2 million people and millions more are in its path.

“The power of Rotary is in the Foundation's ability to pull help from around the world while local clubs provide immediate relief in their own communities,” says Don Mebus of the Rotary Club of Arlington, Texas.

Rotary districts along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana are collecting emergency relief funds and providing immediate aid to flood victims.

The most powerful earthquake in a century hit the southern coast of Mexico on 7 September. At least 61 people were killed in the 8.1-magnitude quake. Rescue and relief efforts are expected to be hampered by floods and a dangerous storm surge off the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Katia moves into the area.

How to contribute

Two Rotary Foundation donor advised funds have been set up to accept donations for disaster relief and recovery in response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma:

Hurricane Harvey
Account name: Gulf Coast Disaster Relief Fund
Account number: 608

Hurricane Irma
Account name: Hurricane Emergency Relief Fund
Account number: 296

You can contribute by check or wire transfer or online with a credit card. You'll need to provide the DAF account name and number listed above. If you would like a credit card receipt, please check the address box to share your address with Rotary.

Learn how you can contribute.

In Sierra Leone, torrential rains and a mudslide in August has killed more than 500 people and destroyed nearly 2,000 homes. On the outskirts of Freetown, Sierra Leone’s capital, an orphanage, where more than 60 children slept, was swept away in the slide. More than 600 people are still missing.

An estimated 40 million people across Bangladesh, India, and Nepal have been affected after massive floods hit the area last month. UNICEF estimates 31 million people in India have lost their homes, and 8 million people in Bangladesh and 1.7 million in Nepal have been affected.

Rotary's partner, ShelterBox, is providing support to families displaced by the storms.

ShelterBox teams are working with Rotarians to assess the damage and provide emergency supplies and temporary housing in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone.

In Texas, hundreds of light privacy tents were deployed to evacuation centers for families to use temporarily.

If you have questions about how you can help, contact relief@rotary.org.

Rotary International

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

In more than 160 countries worldwide, approximately 1.2 million Rotarians belong to more than 30,000 Rotary clubs.

Rotary club membership represents a cross-section of the community's business and professional men and women. The world's Rotary clubs meet weekly and are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds.

The main objective of Rotary is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world. Rotarians develop community service projects that address many of today's most critical issues, such as children at risk, poverty and hunger, the environment, illiteracy, and violence. They also support programs for youth, educational opportunities and international exchanges for students, teachers, and other professionals, and vocational and career development. The Rotary motto is Service Above Self.

Although Rotary clubs develop autonomous service programs, all Rotarians worldwide are united in a campaign for the global eradication of polio. In the 1980s, Rotarians raised US$240 million to immunize the children of the world; by 2005, Rotary's centenary year and the target date for the certification of a polio-free world, the PolioPlus program will have contributed US$500 million to this cause. In addition, Rotary has provided an army of volunteers to promote and assist at national immunization days in polio-endemic countries around the world.

Please use the links on the right side of this window to learn more about Rotary International.

Rotary Club of Nashua West

The Rotary Club of Nashua West is a group of like-minded professionals dedicated to serving others less fortunate than ourselves. We aspire to the ideals of Rotary, including Service Above Self and the 4-way test.

Our membership includes over 90 business owners, executives and professionals from the Nashua area.

Our major fundraising activity is our Rock'n Ribfest. This 3-day event attracts people from all over Southern NH and Northern MA for a weekend of lip smacking rib tasting and general outdoor entertainment. During the 3 days, we entertain over 35,000 people.

The funds we raise from our fundraising activities directly support over 40 local non-profit service organization, over 10 Post-High School educational scholarships, various regional projects, and international efforts for Pure Water and Polio Plus.

Some of our other Fellowship and Service activities include:

Spaghetti City

Hats & Mittens for school children

Christmas Gifts for local children

Books for local children & adults

Books for Women Prison inmates to read and record for their children

Christmas Dinner Baskets for local residents

While working hard to support those in need, we also have fun in fellowship. Our weekly meetings are full of fun and information. Many of our fundraising events are also fellowship events and there's even an occasional party for our members to congregate.