05/18/18 Bits & Pieces

Meeting at the Clarion Hotel began with a welcome from President Don Zillman. Gracie Johnson led the invocation by reading a series of quotes from a famous person. She asked the Rotarians to guess, who said all of the following?:

  • Peace begins with a smile.

  • Spread love wherever you go. 

  • Let no one ever come to you without leaving happy.

  • If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten we belong to each other. 

  • Kind words can be short and easy, but their echoes are truly endless.

  • We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that  missing drop.

Answer to the question is: Mother Teresa.

(Photo L-R: Mike Fortunato, Patty Erickson and 2nd VP Amy Chipman.)

Preparations for the upcoming 6th Annual Outdoor Challenge scheduled for June 4, 5 and 6, included a letter from Past President Kris Rosado, to present to donors and prospective team members. The Challenge is taking place at the L.L.Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School with five competing outdoor sports: Fly casting, GPS geocaching, Archery, Firearm familiarity and Clay Target shooting. Mike Fortunato signed up volunteers to assist with the event for each day, mornings and afternoons. Patty Erickson and Jennifer Frederick spoke about seeking items for the live and silent auctions and expressed gratitude for the donations thus far, that have been collected. 2nd VP Amy Chipman reported on the raffle ticket sales - cost 3/$20. This year’s winning raffle will be a $500 gift certificate to L.L. Bean. Tickets are on sale for the June 6, awards program and lobster bake to be held at the AmVets in Yarmouth, that starts at 5:00 p.m. with a social hour, the meal to be served around 6:00 p.m. and the "LIVE" auction will follow after the meal. Lobster is $32, Steak is $28 and Chicken is $26 per person. Katie Brown volunteered to manage the slide presentation for viewing at the awards and lobster bake. Proceeds from the Maine Outdoor Challenge are donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. 

Mark Millar received a standing ovation when Past President Dick Hall presented him with his Paul Harris Fellow pin “plus three,” adorned with 3 blue sapphires, a tribute for being a contributor four times. In the Portland Rotary, Dick reported that about half the members contribute $100 a year to the Paul Harris Foundation, many also contribute at the $200 a year level and three members donate $1,000 a year. A request was made to those who can, to please contribute $25 as an annual donation to the Paul Harris Foundation. Thank you to our club members for this generosity! Check with Dick Hall for more information: dickhall@maine.rr.com.

Joseph Reagan reported about the volunteer mentoring provided by Rotarians at the Long Creek Youth Development Center. 

The weekly raffle conducted by Matt Tassey had the eligible participant of Liz Fagan, who attempted to draw the winning card on behalf of the Hearing, Hands and H2O project, but the $537 prize will grow again next week as the Queen of  Hearts remained in the deck.

Rusty Atwood announced the dates of the September walks to support the work to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Walk dates are August 25 in Bangor and September 8 in Portland. Link to register for the Portland walk at: www.alsa.org. Thanks Rusty for bringing this important worthy cause to our Rotarians attention!