Our annual visit to Hadlock Field, home of the Portland Sea Dogs, will take place this Friday. Since this ball team came to town 26 years ago, we have had a summer meeting almost every year at Hadlock. We are always warmly welcomed and have a wonderful outing in the picnic area of the ball park (past the first-base side of the park).
We are sure to have a couple of the players share their experiences of what it's like to work and play for a minor league baseball team.
Bring a friend…prospective member…your children...your parents/grandparents...or extended family…smell the fresh-cut grass...enjoy the sunshine...and some time away from the daily grind. Go Sea Dogs!
The food is ball-park fare, so leave your diets at home for one day.
(Directions to meeting site at the ballpark: Go to the main gate and signs or ushers will direct you to the meeting site....the picnic area is on the right side of the field down the first-base line.)
PARKING IS AVAILABLE AT THE FITZPATRICK STADIUM LOT.
Long-time Freeport Rotarians Kathy and Tom Wilbur opened a candy store in 1983, called Wilbur's of Maine, and in 2016 sold the business to their son, Andy and his wife. They are still involved in the business, which is celebrating its 36th year. At our Club on Friday they were speaking less about chocolate and more about a project overseas, which has been the focus of their efforts in recent years.
Kakamega is in the Eastern part of Kenya, and the Kakamega child care center was established informally in 2001 to care for AIDS orphans. Soon they were feeding 500 kids per week and as the program became developed, Rotarians teamed up with local residents with the goal of building an orphanage. Today that orphanage is complete, and houses just 48 kids, as the AIDS epidemic has waned. The program, however, has evolved and is now more vital than ever, serving more than 500 children in other ways, mostly through home-based services and different programming.
The Friends of Kakamega (photo at right: Erik Greven viewing exhibit of the featured strong Kenya women) is a group spearheaded by Rotarians from Freeport and Bethel Maine. They have collaborated with the orphanage for several years, developing programs that serve early childhood through high school and young adults, all with the aim of helping the youth of Kakamega develop resiliency, education and skills. Their current program focus is an initiative to sponsor the training of farmers, especially young women, who are provided with micro-grants, materials and training to establish small agricultural businesses, which might start with chickens and evolve into larger scale farming, such as having a cow.
Women are ideally suited for this work – men need to travel to find any chance of employment, so women are often in their home communities with time on their hands. The opportunity for meaningful entrepreneurial work has been warmly received and many of the trainees have gone on to show success.
The Wilburs are hoping that other Rotary Clubs might become involved. Clubs and individuals can participate financially as donors with one-time contributions or as on-going sponsors of students, helping see kids through the costs of high school and college. More information is available at: http://www.friendsofkakamega.org/
Last Friday at the Clarion, President Amy Chipman (photo at left) opened the meeting by welcoming 47 members, 3 visiting Rotarians and 4 guests. Paul Tully read an invocation prepared by Charlie Frair, who could not make our meeting. It was a poem by Woody Guthrie, entitled “My Peace,” which was very eye-opening. John Thompson led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and everyone sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.”Because is was the first Friday of the month, President Amy read the anniversaries (with Matt Tassey’s 33 years topping the list) and the August birthdays, followed by a fine a cappella version of “Happy Birthday.”Terri St. Angelo(photo at right) took to the podium to give us a quick overview of the Cornhole Tournament that took place just the evening prior at North Yarmouth Academy. We hosted 30 two-person teams, with 7 “pro” teams, seeking a cash prize of at least $500 and 23 “recreational” teams playing for fun and glory. We also hosted about 20 guests, who showed up for the cookout and to cheer on the players. The pro winners were a team called “Lunch Money” and the recreational winners were our own Justin Lamontagne and his wife Marycelina, who took home some fun prizes. There were also three raffles to help with the fundraising efforts for the event, which looks to have taken in about $4000. The “beach fun bag” raffle was won by Gracie Johnston.
Dick Giles(photo at left) discussed an idea set forth by his “home away from home” club in Palm Beach, Florida, wherein the club hosts one of their weekly meetings every few months in the evening, rather than lunchtime, offering a great opportunity to bring spouses or prospective members to a meeting to get a feel for what Rotary is all about. By a show of hands, the idea seemed to obtain strong support within our membership.
Two Rotary banners were exchanged, first a banner from the Palm Beach Club, from the immediate past-president Richard Zaretsky (right in photo at right), and then one from an in-law of PP Larry Gross(right in photo at left) from the Yeugil, England Club.
We are excited to be working with Jennifer Cook from Portland High School, who will be a mentoring coordinator and has offered to begin a “Rotaract Club” within the local high school.The weekly raffle was handled by Bob Fowler, with Mark Millar’s name being dawn to find the Queen of Hearts, which would have paid out $739 if he had been able to find it, but he drew a black card instead.
We heard again from Paul Tully on our upcoming fundraiser “Flags for Heroes.” With 100 flags expected to grace the rotunda at the Maine Mall for one week, beginning on 9/11, we have a unique opportunity to pay tribute to the heroes in our lives. Be they first responders, teachers, veterans or someone we merely admire, for a donation of just $100, a plaque bearing his or her name will be placed at the base of the flag, where it will stay for the week and then given to the named individual. For just $35, one can purchase a flag that can be used over and over again, so there are optional ways to help out. When Paul asked for 20 hands to be raised by those willing to kick in $50 to purchase the flags, seemingly the entire room offered, once again showing the spirit of our Club and its generous members. For more information, contact Paul at:ptully@maine.rr.com or Charlie Frair at:cfrair47@yahoo.com.
Though the Maine Outdoor Challenge is over, one of the items donated to the live auction was a boat cruise on Casco Bay followed by dinner at the Portland Yacht Club....donated by Erik Greven and his wife, Susan. Here in pictures, it looked like a wonderful summer day, with everyone enjoying the cruise and dinner.
John was so used to being at the "helm" of our Rotary club, he tried it on the boat, too. His wife, Alison, was encouraging him, as Bruce Moore looked on.
The food and the company for dinner at the Portland Yacht Club made for a great way to end the day. From left to right around the table: Susan Vayda-Greven, PP John Curran, Bruce Moore, Alison Curran, Erik Greven, Jan Chapman, Roger Fagan and Liz Fagan.
Everyone’s Phone Number at Your Fingertips . . . and Much More!
Have you done the easy ClubRunner download yet?
How would you like to have not only your own Rotary Club members contact information, but also the entire District at your fingertips? You can and so much more by downloading the new and improved ClubRunner Mobile App. You can also access club and district leadership, stories and events all with just a few clicks. Connecting to them is as easy as clicking on the phone number or email address.
You can download it on the AppStore or GooglePlay and be on your way in minutes. Now would alsobe a good time to make sure that your profile is current, and consider updating your information now!
Reach out and collaborate with other like minded Rotarians from around our district and be the People of Action that your are!
Watch the short videoHERE if you want to check it out before downloading.
Invocation: Don Zillman Program Reporter: John Marr
Bits & Pieces Reporter: Tom Talbott Photographer: Laura Young Registration/Greeter: Larry Gross Sell Meal Tickets: Loretta Rowe Raffle: Dick Giles Collect Meal Tickets:tbd Sgt-at-Arms: Dave Putnam
The following items are needed on an on-going basis. Please feel free to bring them to a meeting where we will collect and distribute them to the appropriate projects.
Crutches4Africa - Crutches, canes, folding walkers and wheelchairs to be shipped to Africa. Contact: Erik Greven at: egrev95@gmail.com
Toiletries for the Shelters - Collect those tiny bottles of toiletries you are paying for during your next hotel visit and bring them home for members of our society who find themselves staying at a shelter and in need of personal hygiene products.