President John Curran opened the meeting by welcoming 43 members, 2 visiting Rotarians and one guest, then introduced Past President Russ Burleigh for the invocation. Russ said the word “Triskaidekaphobia” very slowly. Then told us the meaning – from the Greek 'triskaideka,' meaning “thirteen,” and 'phobos,' meaning “fear.” It is the fear or avoidance of the number 13. Which the day is Friday the 13th of July. He continued to tell us what July means to him.
The visiting non-Rotarian, Jo Courney, was from Cabot Cheese, giving us cheese samples and told us about a Reward Volunteers program. Record the time you spend volunteering in your local community. When you log your time, you can win prizes like New England Vacations, cash for the nonprofit you volunteer with, and so many more. A fun cheese box auction brought in $50 and the winner was….Paul Gore!
Past President Loretta Rowe was making a first appearance from her medical leave. She handed out the new roster books, asked us to review our personal information for accuracy, and to contact her if anything needed correcting. She smiled (tearfully) as everyone stood and applauded her return to the club. We are so happy to see her smiling face again.
President John Curran gave recognition to the rest of the new board members, then to 'Rotarians in the News': Jesse Harvey for his work on recovery homes that was published in the Bangor News and for his interview on a local radio station and Bob Fowler for his work for Milestone Recovery.
Jesse Harvey, Co-chair of the newly-formed Opioid Task Force for Recovery, was about to announce the progress of the committee, when Gracie Johnston, his Co-chair, suddenly appeared on queue to support his announcement. Together they described how the whole Opioid Task Force committee worked on a grant to District and received the $5000 award for their "Train the Trainer" program for Portland Recovery. This program will provide training, 30 hrs. of recovery coach courses and development of a curriculum for recovery coaches and Rotarians for training more trainers in the area. The goal is to offer classes and workshops for schools and organizations to help recognize the needs and support the recovery efforts.
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Jan Chapman gave an update on the Summer Reading program. The first week was a very hot day with a handful of participants, but the second week doubled with excitement building for the summer. For more information, contact Jan: janchapman1966@gmail.com.
Mike Fortunato told us that the Long Creek BBQ is Tuesday July 17th. He will give us an update after the event.
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Past President Kris Rosado announced that the "Maine Outdoor Challenge" raised $27,805 for Portland Rotary. The next fundraiser, the "Cornhole Championship," has had some changes as the Maine Girls' Academy is closing and will not be our partner. We will now partner with the Boys and Girls Club/NYA Scholarship. Cornhole boards will be made and a date will be announced on when help for those is needed. (see separate article)