At its October 22 meeting, the Club’s Board of Directors approved resuming meeting-in-person on January 7, 2022. Zoom streaming will be provided for those unable to attend in person. This date assumes that COVID infections do not worsen. Two venues are under consideration and the location will be announced when the choice is finalized.
The Board agreed that proof of COVID vaccination will be required for attendance at in-person gatherings. This conforms to District 7780 direction and the requirements of potential venues, as well as Portland Public Schools and other organizations where we do volunteer work. The process for achieving this will be announced shortly.
The Board also adopted a statement of support for COVID vaccinations in light of Rotary’s long tradition of working to eradicate polio. We believe that the eradication of COVID is in line with our humanitarian mission. This statement has been released to the media and is included below.
--Bob Martin, President
Club Statement on COVID
For decades, over 1.2 million Rotarians have been the leading force behind the eradication of polio through the use of safe and effective vaccines. Our efforts have not only included vaccinating children, but also overcoming the spread of misinformation about the vaccine. Today, wild polio exists only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Rotary continues its efforts to completely eliminate this devastating disease.
Because of our deep commitment to service to others, The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine seeks to curb the spread of COVID-19 by supporting access to safe and effective vaccines, combating misinformation, and providing safe spaces to gather without the risk of infection. We support vaccine mandates, and will require proof of vaccination for our in-person meetings and participation in community service projects. We believe this is a humanitarian effort, just like polio eradication, and not a political one.
Since 1915, members of Portland Rotary have been dedicated to improving the lives of others. We are ordinary people who have used our passion, energy, and talent to take action on sustainable projects. From literacy and peace, to water and health, we are committed to improve the world. We know we are not alone in this effort, and we call upon all other service organizations to join us in helping to eradicate COVID, just as we have with the equally devastating disease of polio.
Board of Directors
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine
Bob Martin, President
Way Up North
Dana Eidsness is the Director of the Maine North Atlantic Development Office (MENDADO). She joined the Maine International Trade Center as a partner in January 2014 to open and run MENADO. In her role, Dana works to develop trade, investment, and collaboration opportunities for Maine businesses and academic partners in North Atlantic markets, including Northern Europe, Atlantic Canada, and the Nordics. Additionally, she interfaces with the Arctic Council, Arctic Economic Council, the North Atlantic Ocean Cluster Alliance and other Arctic and North Atlantic-related organizations, to represent Maine’s interests and to ensure that the state is included in important discussions regarding North Atlantic resources and sustainable development.
In prior positions, Dana served Director of International Business for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, managing their international program and Shanghai Office, she was Executive Director of the Forum on Democracy & Trade from 2009-2011, Vermont Director of International Trade and Director of the Vermont Global Trade Partnership from 2005-2009; and she worked as a regional director for the Maine International Trade Center and as an International Project Manager for the Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce and National Institute of Standards and Technology. Earlier in her career, Dana worked in the private sector in a variety of international positions and as an international business development consultant
Eidsness holds a BA in International Studies, with a minor in International Business and emphasis on Chinese language and culture from Dominican University in San Rafael, CA. She completed 2 years of study at World College West (now Presidio World College in San Francisco) in the International Service and Development Program. Dana lives on Orr’s Island with her husband and two daughters.
Bits & Pieces | by Jake Bourdeau
President Bob Martin called the October 22 meeting of 35 attendees to order. David Small provided some food for thought by reading a bumper sticker that he came across:
“We will live in a much better place when the power of love outshines the love of power.”
ROTARY GUEST
Emily Crowley attended the meeting as a guest of Mike Fortunato. Emily is new to Portland and has legacy Rotary connections through her mother, a long time Rotarian in Belfast Maine. Dick Hall (District Governor) let us know that Belfast is part of the northern Maine and Quebec District.
NEW MEMBER - NICK GAGNON
Laura Young introduced Nick Gagnon as Portland Rotary’s newest member. Welcome Nick! Nick has been visiting with us recently by attending the meetings. He is from Pittsfield, Massachusetts and now lives in Windham, ME. Nick works at Harvey Performance, and he was formerly a ship building supervisor. Nick is energized for community service work such as trail maintenance and helping with the literacy programs.
BACKPACK PROJECT PREPARATION
Jan Chapman provided us a save-the-date announcement requesting help for the Backpack Project. The volunteer event will be held on Saturday November 6th at 10 am at the Portland Recovery Community Center at 102 Bishop Street in Portland. The backpacks will be filled with the numerous donations, and will be provided to people beginning their journey to recovery. Everyone is welcome to attend the event, rain or shine. If it rains, the work will move inside where one can also learn more about the Community Center. With the delivery of the backpacks, the project is coming to an end, and Jan thanked everyone who donated to the cause.
HEARTS FOR HEARING
Roger Fagan reported about the progress of the Hearts for Hearing project and about how he and Liz Fagan have conducted six (6) new hearing clinics in the Dominican Republic since May. Roger shared that more people are able to be helped with this method when compared to the in-person visits that were completed pre-pandemic. Roger and Liz supervise the visitations through Zoom, where they can review patient audiograms and then follow-up by shipping the configured hearing aids and battery chargers to the clinics for use. With this model, Roger and Liz have been serving twice as many people. While this is a large improvement in service capacity, approximately 20% of those people in need of hearing assistance will require the on-site visit for a more detailed evaluation and fitting.
WORLD POLIO DAY
Patty Byers let us know that World Polio Day was on Sunday, and we learned about Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio in two remaining countries: Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban in Afghanistan is allowing the WHO and UNICEF to go door-to-door to vaccinate people, and Pakistan will follow in December. This is a breakthrough in country for a place called polio capital of the world, which has a lack of access and deadly violence.
Visitors to Portland's Old Port will delight next Spring in the blooming of 400 purple crocuses planted last Saturday by 15 members of Portland Rotary, including family and friends. The purple flowers are being planted all over the world to bring awareness to Rotary's End Polio Now campaign. Eric Newton, Horticulture Supervisor for Portland’s Parks, thanked the group for adding beauty to the city.
The purple crocus bulbs represent the purple dye that is used to mark the little finger of children who have been vaccinated in endemic countries, which has resulted in millions of children across the world vaccinated against this crippling and deadly disease.
Anyone wishing to donate to the campaign can go to endpolio.org, or send a check, payable to the Rotary Foundation to Alice Alexander, P.O. Box 1755, Portland, ME 04104-1755 (and write PolioPlus on the memo line.)
Helping Families Find A Home
by Jake Bourdeau
Erik Jorgensen introduced Daniel Brennan, Director of MaineHousing, to the meeting. Brennan acknowledged this was his first time speaking with a Rotary Club, and he was thrilled to have the opportunity.
Brennan shared that MaineHousing is an independent quasi state agency which assists the people of Maine in obtaining and maintaining affordable housing suitable with their needs. MaineHousing is similar to a bank in some regards, and maintains approximately 2 billion dollars in assets which would make it the 4th to 5th largest banking institution in the state. MaineHousing acts as the program administrator for a variety of Federal Government programs including rental assistance, heat assistance, weatherization, homelessness, as well as the arsenic and lead paint abatement programs. MaineHousing also acts as the public housing authority if a town does not have one.
So what is considered affordable? Dan said “affordable” is defined as housing costs which are at or less than 30% of a person’s or a family’s income. So a $40,000 annual income distributed across 12 months and multiplied by 30% is $1,000 per month. If you know anything about the hot rental market in Portland and Southern Maine these days, he said, one can understand the challenges MaineHousing faces trying to help Maine’s residents find homes they can afford.
He walked through the key agency programs:
Homebuyer Mortgage Programs
Rental Programs
Energy Assistance Programs
Home Repair Programs
Homelessness Assistance Programs
Multifamily Development
MaineHousing’s first home loan program is now their flagship program, doing approximately 1,000 loans per year, and $150 million in lending. About 40 local banks originate the home loans, and then sell the loans to MaineHousing. The agency purchases tax-exempt bonds on Wall Street, and uses them to buy the mortgages. The advantage of the program to the homebuyer is the help with the down payment and closing costs, which can be as much as $3,500 per home, and this also assists with covering a portion of the Maine real estate tax. Interestingly, MaineHousing also supports first homebuyers of 2 and 3 multi-unit buildings and MaineHousing assists with some of the down payment and closing costs. Currently, their fixed rate 30-year loan is at 2.875% which is the lowest rate they have ever offered.
For multi-family commercial developments, their housing credits and tax credits incentivize developers to move ahead with affordable housing. They also have a mobile home improvement and replacement program.
With the expensive multi-unit values being seen in the current real estate market, it has been difficult for MaineHousing to bring affordable multi-unit developments to fruition, Brennan said. Among their current projects are a 55-unit building in Lisbon Falls, Southgate in Scarborough, and a block in east Bayside where they are trying to bring back residential to the Bayside area.
The agency administers the program known as as Section 8, a rental assistance program, on behalf of HUD. To help provide affordable housing, 30% of a resident’s income goes towards rent, and the HUD vouchers pays the rest. Over 60% of the vouchers provided are for the homeless, and the average rental assistance is $640. Most of the people that enter the program leave the program successfully when they are able.
More than 70% of Mainers own a home, and the Home Assistance Repair Program helps people stay in the homes and keeps aging Mainers safe. The home assistance program helps outfit homes with low-cost modifications and safety features such as ramps, rails, and knob switches, which become useful as people age.
With a nor’easter upon us, one can tell that it is the heating season. The Energy Assistance Program helps people pay for heating oil, weatherization, and in some cases heat pump installation assistance to reduce energy costs. The program helps 30,000 Mainers a year with an average benefit of $800 per household.
MaineHousing’s homeless initiatives identify a need where approximately 1,200 homeless people a night are sheltered, and the number of people is not seen as going down. MaineHousing helps run 36 emergency shelters around the state, and each person who contacts MaineHousing ends up working with a housing navigator who helps that person find housing. As part of the Pandemic relief fund, local and national hotels stepped up to house some of the homeless.
Water and utility assistance programs help those in need with water and sewer utilities, and also with internet connections which are needed for the people to access job sites and to interact with agencies. As part of the question and answers, Daniel let us know that MaineHousing has 25 projects in pipeline to build 1,000 affordable units for Maine seniors. This market was flat recently and is now growing.
More detailed information about MaineHousing and their programs is available at MaineHousing.org.
annual income distributed across 12 months and multiplied by 30% is $1,000 per month. If you know anything about the hot rental market in Portland and Southern Maine these days, he said, one can understand the challenges MaineHousing faces trying to help Maine’s residents find homes they can afford.
