1988:
Fred la Fontaine and Marshall Barrett met at the Webb Way Pool
Club House to discuss the organization of the NH Club. It was agreed
to meet on the 3* Saturday of the month at 7 pm at the Webb Way Pool
Club House from October to May. The name of the club would be 'The
Granite Staters'. Each household would bring finger food, cards would
be played, with various speakers. Dues were $1.00/person.
In March, Flo Sanborn submitted an 'Old Man of the Mountain' emblem draft for the club logo.
In November, the first breakfast meeting was held at Silver Lake Country Club.
1990:
The Granite Staters topped 125 members. Featured speakers were: Sr. vs Crime, SHINE,
CERT, Travel with Evie, POA. Anne Lambrecht/Garden Club, Angel Flight,
Wellness Center, Ruth Dyer/Columnist for Daily Sun Interior Decorating,
Dog Races, Janet Tutt/Mgr. of Villages Districts, Paul McDowellAife & Habits of
Buffalo/Bisson, Amanda Ober/TV Personality formerly of NH, Operation Shoe Box,
Monica Andcrson/Deputy District Admin for VCDD, Capt. Crowell/of the Capt.
Doolittle docked in Mt. Dora, Financial Advisors, Medicare,
Metro Crime Prevention of Fla, Children's Chorus/Villages Charter School.
Fun events were Special Olympics State Games Competition, NH Day at Safety
Harbor (Tampa), Theater events in Orlando, Mt Dora Canal Boat Trip,
Baseball Games (Haines City), ME/NH Golf Scramble and Shuffleboard/Bocce Day,
Bowling team, St Patrick's Day dinners, Valentine's Day dinner, Clam Bakes,
Poker Run, Sno-Bird Reunions planned for the Summer in NH, Paquette
Ranch on Route 44 in Leesburg.
1991:
Don Salem designed the NH dub Shirt using the
'Old Man' logo designed by Flo Sanborn.
1994:
Voted to hold future meetings on Monday instead of Tuesday.
1997:
Club discussion to merge with Maine and Vermont - vote
did not pass.
2000:
The Massachusetts Club wanted to form a New England
Club; the vote did not pass. We stopped having breakfast meetings and went
to coffee & donuts
2001:
Fred La Fontaine introduced 'Getting to Know You' which
remained popular for years. (Introduced new members and asked a little about
their NH History).
2002/2004:
Votes for a.m. vs p.m. (a.m. still won) and moved
meetings to La Hacienda Recreation Center.
2005:
The new By-laws "voted in".
2007:
The name of the Club was changed to 'NH Club', another
vote for a.m. vs p.m. meetings; a.m. still wins.
2010:
Formation of the 'Red Sox Nation'; NH Club members encouraged
to join.
2013:
The 25th Anniversary Party.
2014:
The Club voted to begin evening meetings held at Lake Miona
Recreation Center at 6:00 p.m. (it was moved to 6:30 p.m. very shortly after
the first meeting); dues are now $7.00/person.
The membership is changing - we started moving from speakers to entertainment.
2016:
The Club changed to Fiscal year - not calendar year - for
scheduling purposes and new style of entertainment began with the 2016/2017 season.
Some of the entertainers were: Frank Dudinski,
Trivia, Mistletoe to Go, Homer Noodleman, George/Comedian/Singer, Pianist/The LeViers,
Horse Race/Tom & Joyce Snyder, Just the 2 of Us/Brandon & Martin,
Wild Bingo/Banks Swan, Name that Tune/Ric Mitchell, Magician/David Beradi,
Barbership Quarted/Harmonix, Howard & Rose/Comcdy, Broadway & Beyond.
We also enjoyed outside entertainment: Sr. Adventures/Cocoa Beach, Red Sox
vs Tampa Bay and Mini Golf.