On Friday, August 26, 2016, we met at the Holiday Inn By-the-Bay, where Past President Kris Rosado took over for President Laura, who was dropping her eldest daughter off at the University of Maine at Orono. Kris welcomed a full house of Portland Rotarians, as well as three non-Rotarian guests.


A wonderful end of summer invocation was offered by David Small, while Russ Burleigh led us in a rousing rendition of “God Bless America.” Amy Chipman and Bill Blount spearheaded our singing of the classic, “Side By Side.” Bill, by the way, is recovering nicely from double knee replacement and is looking forward to leading the tennis group again this autumn, with the season beginning on September 15th.

 


 

Jake Bordeau tried to give away $650 in the raffle, but Linda Varrell drew the 4 of diamonds, leaving the winning queen to be drawn another time.

 

Forty-five folks shuttled out to Fort Gorges in Casco Bay for an evening tour of the relic on August 25th. The tour was led by Paul Drinan, executive director of the Friends of Fort Gorges. Our group, joined by guests, as well as members of the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth and the Portland Sunrise Rotary Clubs, was given a lectured tour of the ancient monument that stands at the mouth of Portland Harbor.


Gus Karlsen thanked the 17 Rotarians who donated to help support our ongoing efforts in the MS Regatta on Casco Bay. Together, we raised $1300 from our club in the effort to eradicate multiple sclerosis, which affects over 3000 Mainers. Our sailing vessel, crewed by Gus, Erik Greven and Rob Chatfield (and others), finished second in the regatta. 



Jerry Angier provided a “Rotary Moment” and discussed his enjoyment in our club after three years of membership. He commented that, after retirement, he was thankful to be given an opportunity to give back to the Portland community and learn so much about what makes our city thrive.

 


Past President Kris read a nice thank you note from District Governor Marge Barker, who recently visited us.


The International Service Committee is spearheading an effort to obtain mobility devices from club members, Jan Chapman reported from the podium. If you have any unused crutches, canes or other devices, please contact Jan and she will help you get them to our storage facilities where, in turn, they will be sent to Saco where they will eventually end up in a container to Africa. 


Paul Tully and Charlie Frair are spearheading our Veteran’s Luncheon this November 10th (Thursday). Mark your calendars for for this special date and think about who you may know who would be willing to help us underwrite this special event. There will not be a meeting on Friday, November 11th. 


The Forecaster newspaper featured our own John Curran in a recent article about our “3H Project” in the Dominican Republic (DR). John has been working closely with Dean Rock, a Cumberland resident who has been printing prosthetic hands on his 3D printer in an effort to help us with our ongoing efforts to provide hands to those in need in the DR.