Capital City Rotary's Founder - Don Miner

 

If Don were here, this would be a roast, but since it’s he’s not, it’s a reminiscence.

 

My first encounter with Don was in the early seventies when we played in a Thursday night golf league. Over a several-year period, we played at Plasawa, Beaver Meadow and Concord Country Clubs and after golf, had a catered supper at the Wonalancet Club at the corner of North State and Pleasant streets. Don, unfortunately, was always on the other team and frequently I’d get paired up against him in a foursome. Don was a fearsome competitor, but just an average golfer. His advantage was his gamesmanship. He’d talk all the way through his opponent’s shots which was especially maddening and distracting to some. I figured out what he was up to and returned him the favor. This brought me some peace when it was my turn to hit.

 

Don the Rotarian.

 

In 1982, Don, a member of the Concord Rotary Club, thought it was time to start another Rotary club in Concord. An evening club was best, and he reasoned that a Monday club would be good – to take advantage of Monday holidays. Why meet 52 times a year when you can meet around 45 ?

Using the word determined to describe Don in his quests is like calling Mohammed Ali a good sparring partner. Don launched into creating the Capital City Rotary Club with his typical no holds barred, take no prisoners style.       No one was safe.

 

He had a unique style of recruiting new members. “And where does your husband work.” He would inquire when introduced to a woman. When asked if he was looking for a date . . . “No, no, he’d reply, “I’m just trying to find out if the husband would be a good fit for Rotary.” This was obviously in the days before women in Rotary.

 

Bill Wiley was Concord Rotary Club president that year. “I’d arrive at my office on Loudon Road early and Don would have club charter papers ready for me to sign. He would have been there for a while entertaining the receptionist with stories of his sister as ‘Madge’ the Pomolive  salesperson.” John Kennedy, who was that year’s  Rotary District Governor, remembers Don as a great Rotarian, friend and man of action - one who gets it done!

Capital City Rotary club was chartered with 25 members, all of whom were recruited by Don. He was the first president in 1982-83, I transferred to his club that year from Concord Rotary.

 

Don took his role as the godfather of the Capital City Rotary Club very seriously, phoning the presidents who followed him – sometimes very early in the morning (I remember a 6 a.m. call) or very late in the evening - with tidbits of advice – some seemingly important to him but not necessarily to us. At our house, my young daughters would announce his calls by saying “Dad, it’s that man again”.

 

Major Wheelock followed Don as President of Capital City. Unfortunately, he  was not able to be here today and emailed me the following:

Don loved his family, interaction with other people, golf and Rotary, perhaps the latter two more than most people will ever know. He invested untold hours getting the new club started in Concord and did it "his way" (which was the way he did most things - - he always had his agenda planned way in advance) An example of that was when he was scheduled to end his term as the first President of the Capitol City Club. It is customary that the outgoing President be given some gift from the club for his/her service and we were thinking that a Paul Harris fellowship or some such thing might be appropriate. However, Don had something else in mind - - he told me (as the incoming President) that he wanted a set of Ping irons and that he had already reserved the set he wanted at the Beaver Meadow Pro Shop. Once again, Don had anticipated and planned what he wanted to happen, rather than simply hoping that we would have thought of golf clubs as our gift to him.      He was an American original!

 

Don, as you know, was a salesman, but when it came to Rotary, he would definitely ‘kick it up another notch”. It didn’t matter whether it was raffle tickets, sponsorships, or ads for our fund-raising book, Don would outsell all of us. His technique was pretty simple – he’d visit potential targets so many times that eventually they’d buy so he wouldn’t call on them until the next time - -              It worked.

 

As a consumer Don believed is getting the best deal when making a purchase – he’d often ask for the “Clergy discount”. It certainly produced a smile if nothing else.

Don was tireless in raising funds for good causes in his lifetime – whether as President of Hingham Rotary, it was books for India or a new roof for the White Church in Hingham - to his numerous projects for his Rotary Clubs in Concord. Like it or not, we benefited from his zeal.

 

Don recently asked “Do you think I’m an Itch?”. Yes, Don, you were – a good, well-meaning itch.

 

I think all of us would like you back for a good long scratch!

 

Tony Gilmore