Danny Blanchflower is today’s speaker, and based on his past visits and his grasp on the economic scene he promises to offer an insightful and humorous look at where we our economy is headed. Dick Podolec offered this recent tweet from Danny as an example of his insights:

Just to let all Fed presidents & Governors i have a forecast for US unempt rate in December of 11% - I obtained this estimate by writing numbers from 7% to 20% on bits of paper & picked one?  If you make a forecast of what rate it will be please explain how your method is better?

 

More of Danny’s recent tweets can be found here: https://twitter.com/D_Blanchflower

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82761079697?pwd=Vm0rTERqdlduUk1Qbk5mRm80MWZPUT09

 

We will open the Zoom Room at 11:45 AM.Liam McCarthy begins the official meeting at noon at which point it’s best if all mikes are muted. After our opening Pledge of Allegiance and opening inspiration Liam will hand off the virtual podium to whoever is introducing our speaker.Following the question and answer session at the conclusion of Danny Blanchflower’s talk, Liam will conduct the business portion of our meeting, which will end no later than 1:00 PM. 

 

 

Jim Bonney announced that the Prouty has an opportunity to get a $500,000 grant if they get 500 new registrants for the Virtual Prouty by June 15.  

 

Ginia Allison offered three Happy Dollars in response to an article she read in two different sources about wood stacking done by members of the Hanover High Varsity Soccer team for Whit Mitchell. Whit pledged to donate $250 to Listen, the charity chosen by the young men who did the work… but he was so impressed with their skills that he donated $1000! Ginia’s donations were in honor of the soccer player, their coach, Rob Grabill, and Whit Mitchell.  

 

Darrell Hotchkiss contributed five Happy Dollars in honor of a “dire medical prognosis that turned out well”.  

 

Liam McCarthy recognized incoming club Vice President David Allen who was recently awarded his 6^thPaul Harris Fellowship. In the short time David has been in our club he has made many personal contributions that far exceed the value of the monetary contributions he’s made to Rotary International. The club offered a virtual standing ovation!  

 

Darrell Hotchkiss won the virtual raffle for a $10 discount when Jesse’s reopens sometime in the future. 

 

 

Liam McCarthy reminded club members to consider making donations to the club’s Covid 19 Fund in lieu of paying for lunches at Jesse’s, which is saving members $18/week. Here’s the link to make your donation!  

 

 

 

Tom Hall sent an email last week reminding club members that the annual club dues ($180) must be paid by June 25, 2020 or a late fee of $25.00 will be assessed. If dues are not received within 30 days after the beginning of the fiscal year (i.e.by July 31), the club will assume that you are withdrawing from membership of the Hanover Rotary Club. In the email he suggested that in addition to the check made out to “Rotary Club of Hanover, NH” club members might want to include a $50 donation for the “Rotary International Foundation”. Checks should be sent to: Rotary Club of Hanover, NH; P. O. Box 381; Hanover, NH 03755. 

 

 

Todd Allen introduced Clay Adams, Mascoma Bank CEO who offered a compelling talk on how the bank is faring in the pandemic and offering what I viewed as a relatively upbeat assessment for the Upper Valley. Clay offered four “tsunamis” that swept the banking industry. First, the pre-existing low interest rates made it impossible for the government to lower them any further to stimulate the economy. Second the bank as an employer had to react to the pandemic, which was a logistical challenge in and of itself. Third, the need for the bank to be prepared to deal with the imponderable impact of the loan forgiveness granted by the federal government. And fourth, the banks role in meting out the small business loans as part of the CARES act.

 

Clay reported that the 28 branches of the bank will be opening in phases beginning in early June with services limited based on the square footage of each bank. 

 

In looking at the impact of the pandemic and the governments’ management of it, Clay felt that the Federal Reserve did a good job of calming the stock market and that the CARES act provided a bridge to help people pay loans which, in turn, has helped small banks like Mascoma. Looking ahead, he has a sense that our region’s real estate market should not be adversely impacted and that remote work would likely become the norm for the next few months if not years.  

 

Because his talk was full of meaty information I was asked to record it, which I did. Here’s a link to it, Clay is on the right side of the grid: zoom_0.mp4