[donnamatrix]

I am part of the Rotary. We are all volunteers who work our tails off for a year to make the Derby a success. All revenues from the Derby, or any Rotary function, go right into the communities we serve: Rotary does not financially benefit in any way. That said, Pond Hockey pays a group of people to clean up the detritus from the lake after their event. Nice if you have the money to do that. The ice fishermen leave a mess, it cannot be disputed. It is disgusting and disrespectful to say the least. It is also illegal, just like skimming.
NH Fish&Game Law Enforcement tries, and has had success in the past, to locate and fine those responsible. Our president Ray Moritz, recently posted to this message regarding the trash on the lake:

The Meredith Rotary Club is well aware of the amount of debris left on Meredith Bay following the Fishing Derby. Members of our club, as well as community members, are very concerned about the lake and its ecology.
The Rotary Club has received some inflammatory comments accusing us of "only caring about making money," which is neither fair or accurate.
All proceeds from the Derby go to support charitable needs in the Lakes Region: we do not keep a penny of it. To the contrary, our Rotary volunteers contribute both time and money in this effort to support the communities we serve. To say we only care about the money is both unfair to our Rotary volunteers and inaccurate.
Secondly, we care about the Bay, its cleanliness and ecology, and we, like others, are upset with the mess that was left behind. We post signs, our brochure stresses that littering on the lake is illegal, we provide trash barrels, and a dumpster. We also conduct a Bay cleanup in the spring; once again, all volunteer efforts.
And now, due to the trash that was left behind we have added to our agenda on the “Lessoned Learned” wrap-up meeting soon to be held, the formation of a post derby Ice cleanup committee, once more asking our Rotary volunteers give of themselves in service to the community.
We are also enlisting the help of the NH Fish and Game Law Enforcement officers to help prevent illegal littering.
As the Rotary is an all volunteer effort, and it takes many hours prior to the event to ensure success, we welcome the help of everyone in the community post-Derby to ensure the Bay is left in a pristine condition.
Ray Moritz, President, Meredith Rotary