Rotary Meeting Aug 17, 2021

President Brandon called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon and Ellie Rebert led the Pledge and Prayer.

 

ATTENDANCE: 35 members attended and there were two guests - Mark Albright, a Rotarian in a Club in Brazil ; SueAnn Whitman, guest speaker.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

Paul Berg - called our attention to the tragic events unfolding in Afghanistan.  He composed his impressions based on the time he spent there for some friends and will make it available to anyone via email if they want it.  Just ask him.  Additionally he encouraged us to support any Afghani refugees that may be coming here to the U.S. in any way that we can.  These people provided valuable to our service people in Afghanistan and deserve our help now.

 

PROGRAM: SueAnn Whitman

 

SueAnn's bio reads as follows - She was born and raised in Hanover until the 9th grade when her father received a promotion that took them to Virginia Beach where she attended high school and then onto Virginia Tech. After graduating from VT, she lived in Virginia for 25 years. In 2003 her family returned to Hanover.  She volunteered and was Vice President of the PTO and was involved in her sons’ sports activities. Her youngest son is currently a student at Virginia Tech so that is when she turned her attention to community service. She has been the Mayor of Hanover for a year and a half. She was elected to complete Ben Adams’ term after he moved out of town. In May she won the primary elections for both the Republican and Democrat nominations for Mayor of Hanover Borough.  She will be on the ballot in November for a four year term. 

 

Borough structure - The Borough is composed of five wards and there are 2 council members elected from each ward that make up Borough Council.  The Council basically has the power in that they develop and enact the ordinances.  There are 6 Committees - Economic Development, Finance and Personnel, Governance and Policy, Public Safety, Public Works/Facilities, and Water and Sewer.

 

Mayoral Duties - As Mayor SueAnn has a veto power, but has yet to use it, and has a tie breaking vote in the event of a tie.  

She described her main duty as overseeing the police dept.  They currently have 3 vacancies for officers.  Her other duties include swear-ins, signing ordinances, making proclamations, and dealing with complaints that come in.  The majority of complaints are about drugs in the community and speeding.

 

A brief Q&A session followed.