Posted by Ben Lowry

Last Friday, the Portland Rotary Club enjoyed our annual outing at Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs. President John Curran welcomed 34 members and 7+ guests. PP Bill Blount (photo at right) once again spearheaded the event, which is always a fun and relaxing meeting, with hot dogs, burgers and the famous Sea Dog biscuits. The membership brought many guests, including a few school-aged children and grandchildren. 

Dave Small (photo at left) provided a wonderful invocation, which mixed many, many baseball teams and terms with words of thanks.

PP Bill Blount led us in the National Anthem (followed by the usual calls to “play ball!”), as well as an energetic Sea Dogs version of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.


Dave Ertz called up PP Paul Gore (PTG) to draw a card in hopes of pulling the Queen of Hearts, which would have won Paul $924 but, alas, Paul did not succeed, allowing our pot to approach the thousand-dollar barrier.


Gracie Johnston asked again for volunteers for the Wednesday afternoon/evening efforts to aid in serving those less fortunate at the Preble Street Resource Center. This monthly opportunity, which runs from 3:30 to 6:30 pm, is a great way to pitch in. Please contact Gracie if you can offer some assistance at: gracie.johnston@newscentermaine.rom  


Our monthly volunteer opportunity at Long Creek Youth Development Center is always on the third Tuesday of the month. Please contact Mike Fortunato (michael.j.fortunato@gmail.com), if you’d like to offer a hand in spending some time with at-risk youths. 


Patty Erickson (photo at right) reminded us that our “Corn Hole Tournament” is fast approaching and the Portland Rotary Club needs our help! The event, which will be on Thursday, the August 23rd at North Yarmouth Academy (rain or shine), will be a fun social, as well as fund-raising effort. The club needs teams of two to participate, volunteers on the day of the event, as well as any large coolers that may be hiding out in your garage or basement. Please contact Patty Erickson (perickson@bathsavings.com) or Terri St. Angelo (tstangelo@andersonwatkinsinsurance.com) to offer up your support.


Jesse Harvey (photo at left) gave us an update on his and our club’s amazing efforts to offer support to the recovery community. Jesse, along with Gracie Johnston, spearhead our Opioid Task Force. Please mark your calendars for August 31 at Deering Oaks, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, as well as upcoming events on September 9th, the 18th and October 26th. Jesse will be keeping us posted. Portland, Maine, as you may know, is one of the country’s foremost “recovery communities,” with hundreds of men and women working very hard to gain control of their lives back after missteps. These opportunities will be eye-opening and heart-warming for club members, so please do try to attend one or all of these events.