Austin Williams is the director of partnership development at the Roux Institute. Williams has spent over a decade building and leading business development efforts across a range of professional settings including startup, corporate, municipal, and now academic. He most recently served the City of Boston as a member of the Mayor's Economic Development Cabinet, where he was responsible for strengthening the City's high-technology and life sciences sectors through attraction, engagement, and workforce development strategies. Williams also oversaw the City's Small Business Financing Program, deploying capital to support entrepreneurship, job creation, and the revitalization of Boston’s neighborhoods.
In his current role, he brings a deep familiarity with value creation and economic development to create compelling relationships with industry, community, and governmental stakeholders to advance the mission of the Roux Institute. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science from Syracuse University with a dual major in Finance and Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises.
Bits & Pieces | by Ben Lowry
President Ellen Niewoehner lamented that the thousands of crocuses we planted in Rotary Grove on the Eastern Trail have not yet blossomed as fully as we had expected. Comments from the club included the notion that it takes a perennial several years to become established, or we planted some of the bulbs upside down, or that we should use some bone meal on the planting site to help with growth. Only time will tell.
Ellen reminded us that we will FINALLY be having an in-person meeting on June 19th, when we will meet at the picnic area at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth at noon. So please mark your calendars and let’s hope for nice weather as we celebrate our first such meeting in well over a year! Also, we will be performing some cleanup in the park immediately following the lunch meeting.
Our invocation was presented by Tom Talbott, who is working his way through his first season as the USM lacrosse coach. With his young team stating off at 1-5, Tom read a quote from the book, The Power of Positive Leadership by John Gordon, the longtime lacrosse coach at Cornell. The quote focused on hard work, perseverance and maintaining a winning attitude, even in the face of adversity. Tom also added a quote in honor of Earth Day, which was on Friday: “Time spent among trees is never wasted…unless you are playing golf.”
Katie Brown welcomed Dory Waxman as a visitor to our Zoom meeting, citing Dory’s work with Common Threads of Maine and as a member of the new Portland Charter Commission.
Our 50/50 raffle is reaching an apex with just a few days left to enter to win some big money. The fundraising effort, which will benefit our club’s International Service Committee, will close on Tuesday if you’d like to pay with a check or Wednesday, if you’d like to use a credit card. The drawing will be handled by President Ellen next week. With over $3000 in the pot, it’s worth the $20 per ticket to help out the club and give yourself a chance to have a nice payday.
Bob Traill Celebrates 99
Thanks to the efforts of Tom Ranello, Rotarians turned out to help celebrate Bob Traill’s 99th birthday on Saturday, April 24, 2021. Escorted by the Cape Elizabeth Police and Fire Departments, Rotarians and friends extended happy wishes along with music by the Salvation Army. Bob was delighted that his family traveled from San Diego, CA, Roanoke, VA, and greater Portland to help him mark the day with a dinner that evening.
Michel Kanyambo reports that $545, the remaining money in the Rwandan Food Insecurity Fund, was sent to the Root Foundation in Kigali last week. We have received a video from them showing the distribution of food and expressions of gratitude. The funds raised by the Club supported 94 families in villages around Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. The Root Foundation distributed to families in Batsinda, Giheka, Kinyinya, Murama, and Kanserege.
The Cooperative Newspaper Company
by Jake Bourdeau
Chris Busby has been a journalist for over 20 years, and is currently the Editor and Publisher of Mainer. He presented to Portland Rotary via Zoom on Friday April 23, 2021.
In May of 2019, Busby launched Mainer in collaboration with writer, filmmaker, and podcaster Crash Barry, a longtime Bollard contributor and fellow Casco Bay Weekly alum. Together, they founded the Mainer News Cooperative, a worker-owned solidarity (multi-stakeholder) cooperative that includes Mainer staff and regular contributors.
Busby talked to Rotary about his initial years writing for the Casco Bay Weekly until it “imploded” in 1998 as readers began to turn to the internet for news, printing costs kept increasing, and the dot.com bust came along. The editorial and investigative budgets were being cut, and the Weekly was using ready-made articles from the Associated Press or Reuters. Several of these compromises led him to start the Bollard in 2005 with the intent of providing an alternative voice in Portland. The publication ran quarterly for a while until the 2008 recession played havoc with his business plan. Too stubborn to quit, Busby converted to a lean operation, and was the paper’s only employee for a time. Freelance writers worked on a contract basis and helped put together advertising sales. He said that local small businesses saved the paper with their advertising support for the free publication.
Busby said the Bollard offered an alternative to the mainstream news, including challenging mainstream politics and power, and writing historically strong articles on gay rights and pot reform. “Like The Bollard, Mainer specializes in investigative reporting and news analysis that challenges mainstream media narratives, exposes injustice, and explores paths to a more equitable, sustainable and peaceful future.” Mainer covers arts and cultural happenings statewide, and publishes work by and about Maine artists, musicians and makers. “We also publish satire, produce local podcasts, stream local music and movies, and more,” he said. “The free monthly print edition of Mainer is available at over 400 locations in Maine.”
Chris said moving off the Portland Peninsula to Woolwich, a more affordable location, opened his eyes to other parts of Maine. Mainer is currently distributed up and down the coast from York to Rockland, including Lewiston/Auburn, and Bridgeton. Pre-Covid, the paper printed 18,000 to 18,500 copies, but unfortunately, as businesses closed, he decreased the number of copies printed because he had no way to distribute them. As bars, restaurants, music venues, and local libraries open back up, Busby expects the circulation will increase as well.
Busby is interested in coop business models. During the presentation, he discussed how Mainer is organized with over a dozen various owners and content contributors. He welcomes people that are also interested in the coop business model topic to contact him.
Mainer currently offers online subscription membership with additional online content which includes on-line books and editorials.
Moment of Reflection
April Is a Dog's Dream
By Marilyn Singer
april is a dog's dream
the soft grass is growing
the sweet breeze is blowing
the air all full of singing feels just right
so no excuses now
we're going to the park
to chase and charge and chew
and I will make you see
what spring is all about
Speaker Schedule
April 30 | Austin Williams, Roux Institute
May 7 | Eliah Thanhauser, North Spore Mushrooms
May 14 | Glenn Cummings, University of Southern Maine
May 21 | Ian Dorsey, Mast Landing Brewery
May 28 | NO MEETING
June 4 | Dory Waxman, City of Portland New Charter
June 11 | Wade Merritt, Maine International Trade Center
June 18 | Picnic, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth
He most recently served the City of Boston as a member of the Mayor's Economic Development Cabinet, where he was responsible for strengthening the City's high-technology and life sciences sectors through attraction, engagement, and workforce development strategies. Williams also oversaw the City's Small Business Financing Program, deploying capital to support entrepreneurship, job creation, and the revitalization of Boston’s neighborhoods.
