Dawn Zimmer speaks on community resiliency March 18 at rotary club

LACONIA — The featured speaker of the Laconia Rotary Club on March 18 at 12 p.m. will be Dawn Zimmer, speaking on Community Resiliency. She is a 1986 graduate of Laconia High School and a 1990 graduate of the University of New Hampshire as a history major and women’s studies, minor. As two term Mayor of 50,000 residents in Hoboken, NJ, she responded when Hurricane Sandy hit on October 29, 2013 causing 1,700 homes and hundreds of businesses to be flooded, as were all three electric substations, and three of the city’s four fire stations. The hospital had to be evacuated, as did some residents of Elderly Housing. She toured the flooded train terminal with then Vice President Biden. The storm left Hoboken without train service for almost three months. It was the Hoboken Ferry that transported people across the Hudson to their jobs. Clustered in building lobbies around a power strip, people talked about how they could help. “Through incredible teamwork , said Dawn,” we were able to keep our community safe” though 40 other people died elsewhere in NJ. When two big trucks full of military MRE’S (meals ready to eat) arrived at City Hall, staff quickly posted to facebook and Twitter: Urgent call for volunteers at the High school, a couple hundred people showed up within thirty minutes passing boxes off the trucks and handing them down the line. It was a community working together, bringing hope.

Anyone interested in hearing Dawn’s talk, and would like to consider Rotary membership, please contact Hazel Zimmer and she will have Laconia Rotary President, John Moriarity send the link to you.