2008 Conference

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2008

October 22-23-24, 2008

Training: Provided by Local Government Center

Topic: Health and Wellness

BANQUET NIGHT

President Gylene Salmon introduces our Guest Speaker

Guest Speaker: Granny D

Doris "Granny D" Haddock, 98, lives in the woods between Dublin and Peterborough, She was born January 24, 1910 in Laconia, New Hampshire and graduated from Laconia High School in 1927.

DEC 31, 1929 - Doris marries James Haddock at Trinity Church in Boston.

MAY 1930 – Doris is kicked out of Emerson College. (At the time, College students in America aren’t allowed to marry.) Doris and James move to Manchester, NH to raise their two children, Betty and Jim.

1952 - Doris begins working at the Bee Bee Shoe company, eventually becoming the assistant to the general manager.

1960–1983 - With her husband, Jim, Doris helped stop the planned use of hydrogen bombs in Alaska in 1960, saving an Inuit fishing village at Point Hope. The couple retired in 1972, during which time Doris served on the Planning Board of her town and was active in community affairs. She nursed Jim through 10 years of Alzheimer’s disease. In 1993 James Haddock passed away.

1997 - Doris begins studying campaign finance reform and organizes a petition in support of the McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Bill. She gathers over 100,000 signatures, but the petition is virtually ignored by her representatives.

1998 -- Doris begins training for one year to be able to walk across country in an attempt to gain attention toward the issue of campaign finance reform and the rampant corruption in the electoral system..

1999 - On January 1, 1999–at the age of 89–she began a 3,200–mile walk across the country to demonstrate her concern for the issue the importance of campaign finance reform, walking ten miles each day for fourteen months

2000 - After 14 months and four pairs of sneakers, Doris arrives in Washington D.C.. She is greeted by thousands of supporters, including over a dozen members of Congress.

2000 - Doris is arrested at the Capitol for reading the Declaration of Independence.

2001 - Random House publishes Doris’ memoir, Granny D: Walking Across America in My 90th Year. Also entitled, Granny D: Never Too Old To Raise A Little Hell.

2002 - Doris is hailed in the Senate at the passage of the McCain/Feingold Bill.

2003 - Doris begins a voter registration drive targeting working women and minority voters in swing states.

2004 - Doris becomes the Democratic nominee to U.S. Senate in New Hampshire four months before Election Day, and manages to capture 34% of the vote.

JAN 21, 2007 - Doris is feted at the NH State house on her 97th birthday.

Politicians and pundits alike have lauded the work of this indefatigable great–grandmother of sixteen:

"I believe she represents all that is good in America. She has taken up this struggle to clean up American politics… Granny D, you exceed any small, modest contributions those of us who have labored in the vineyards of reform have made to this Earth. We are grateful for you." Sen. John McCain

"Doris Haddock is a true patriot, and our nation has been blessed by her remarkable life." Jimmy Carter

"The problem with Granny D…is that she makes the rest of us look like such schlumps." Molly Ivins

*********************************************************************************************

Community Spirit Award

The secretaries of the Henniker Police Department wish to nominate Patrol Officer Michael Martin to be the recipient of this year’s Community Spirit award. There are many reasons we feel he is deserving of this award, but will narrow it down to a few:

Officer Martin has a passion for his profession. We have seen him interact with the public in many different situations. His approach and manner is the same to all: Treat all with respect no matter their age, their economic status or their reason for coming to him for help. Not all people that come to Officer Martin for help walk away with resolution to their issues, but all walk away feeling that they’ve been listened to, what they have said has been respected and they are more informed about their situation and their options.

Officer Martin is Henniker’s DARE officer. We have watched his interaction with both the kids involved in DARE and their parents; also his interaction with school administrative officials. Michael is in a position in these kids’ lives to make a difference as a mentor. He realizes that and he takes that responsibility and opportunity very seriously. He brings to his DARE classes the right mix of authority, knowledge and most importantly, a sense of humor when dealing with young kids. He is admired by these kids and has the thank-you cards to prove it. Officer Martin recently attended a fund-raiser for DARE in a local town. The event happened to be a Father’s Day breakfast. Michael felt his presence at this event was so important that he was at this event bright and early to show his support … then spent the rest of the day with his youngest son Holden.

Officer Martin has overcome hurdles in his personal life that we will leave to him to share should he choose to do so. We will only say that what has been handed to him would bring the best man down. Despite what he has going on outside of work, Michael always brings a smile to the station and is quick to ask how your days are going. He asks because he is truly interested and is not looking for the opportunity to launch into what is happening in his personal life. Michael neither brags nor looks for sympathy from anyone who will lend an ear.

Officer Martin wasn’t always a police officer. In his former life, he was [and remains] a Master plumber. More than once he has lent his knowledge and skills to help the Henniker Police Department run much smoother and efficiently [especially during our most recent renovations]. At those times he changed from Officer Martin to Plumber Martin at the end of working a full shift.

The reasons behind our nomination of Officer Martin can be summed up like this. He is a man worthy of accolades but is not one to boast. Case in point, our submission of an article in the Concord Monitor regarding his heroics while stopped at a traffic light one ordinary Friday night. Interestingly enough, the first we heard about it was when a reporter called asking to speak to Michael to verify facts for an upcoming article. The next day the article was published and appeared in the Concord Monitor. As we said, he is not one to shine the spotlight on himself so no wonder the first we learned of his heroics were from the newspaper, not from him.

If you want to watch Officer Martin’s face light up and see an ear to ear grin, ask him about his boys. Michael has a son Keagan and a younger son, Holden, who are with us tonight. As well as Kathy, Hunter and Olivia. When given the chance, Michael will become animated and entertain us with stories of his boys. He would rather accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative ~ he is the epitome of the eternal optimist.