We are now meeting at our new home base, the Elks Lodge,
1945 Congress Street, Portland.
This Week: Rotary Club Social Event - Portland Sea Dogs
This Wednesday night, Portland Rotarians head over to Hadlock Field to watch the Sea Dogs take on the Altoona Curve. Game Time, 6pm. If your are interested in going, reach out quickly to Zach Newell. Tickets are $10, but there's only a few left. For those going, have a great time!
With that base covered, note that we do not have a meeting this Friday.
Bits and Pieces | by Laura Young
NEW HOME: President Patty Byers started the meeting and welcomed Portland Rotarians and friends to our new Rotary Home at the Portland Elks Lodge.Bowen Depke led the Pledge of Allegiance. Patty shared the following message for the day: I have a housewarming wish for our new Rotary home…
May our new home be blessed with warmth, love, laughter and fun.
GRANTS GRANTED: President Patty began the business portion of the meeting with some announcements. First some good news: Thanks to the efforts of Jan Chapman and the Recovery Task Force, we received a District Grant for the full available amount of $4,000! We will be hearing more about the grant and our partnership with Sea Change Yoga to help and support those in recovery. Next was a Global Grant update. Roger Fagan and Patty went to the Bath Rotary Club this week and we got a $1,000 commitment from each of the Bath and the Bath Sunrise Clubs. We’ve now raised $33,550 with $5,000 in the pipeline.
OUR CONDOLENCES: President Patty reported some sad news as well. We learned that Gervin Kah’s little sister passed away this week in Gabon. Our hearts our full of love and willed with sorrow for Gervin.
Wednesday is Jerry Angier’s Memorial Service at 11 AM at St. Alban’s, Cape Elizabeth.
GUESTS: Introduction of Guests, Bill Milliken introduced guests Laura Callaghan, Elizabeth Samuel, Anurag Daga, Joe Milard. Patty introduced Elks room manager, Josh. (Photo: Bill Milliken)
RIGHT DECK, WRONG CARD: Jim Vicenzi led the raffle with a $220 pot. Bill Ross’s ticket was selected to pull the card but he was unsuccessful finding the Queen of Hearts.
HAPPY DOLLARS: Many, including celebrations to be here in our new Rotary Club House, life events, travel home, whale pod sighting, daughter’s wedding, recovery task force grant!
FLAGS FLYING: Charlie Frair provided a Flags For Heroes update and thank you to all volunteers, in particular Paul Tully, Tom Talbott, Roxane Cole, Cort Hepler, Paul Gore, Cyrus Hagge, Dick Hall, Patty Byers, Bill Milliken, and Bruce Jones. He added thanks for all the Rotarians who put flags up, taking them down and bought flags to honor their heroes.
MEMBERSHIP: August is Rotary Membership Development Month, Membership Co-chairs Nanette Ranger-Duncanson and Niki Curtis kick-off the month by announcing a Swag Sale! T-shirts can be ordered through August, and they will be on display each meeting. At the August 16th meeting they will lead an exercise with a tool inviting new members. They encouraged Rotarians to bring guests to meetings including the Sea Dogs game next Wednesday. Niki and Nannette hang out in front of our designer t-shirts!
JOIN THE CLUB: Bill Blount introduced our first new member of the year, Scott Gorneau, as a perfect way to kick off Membership Development Month. Scott is VP of Conversion Water Technologies. He loves boating and fishing in Casco Bay. His wife calls him an elite athlete and he lives in Portland. Pictured here, Bill and Scott!
GREEN UP: Christine Force reported on Environmental Stewardship Committee. There will be an August 16 meeting after our lunch meeting. Everyone is invited to join Art Howe and Satellite Club for a Casco Bay Clean-up Day on August 21, 9-12.
RYLA SPEAKS UP: Bill Ross introduced his two RYLA guests - Elizabeth and Laura – who are from Deering High School and attended Camp Hines in Raymond thanks to a RYLA award from the Portland Rotary Club. Elizabeth and Laura spoke about their experiences. Their comments included the following: “inspiring; felt like I was a different person; it changed how I view the world after the 3 days; I want to spend my life to benefit others now; everyone was nice; good experience.” Pictured here, Laura, Bill, and Elizabeth.
LONG CREEK VISIT: Dave Putnam reported on a recent Long Creek BBQ last Wednesday which was their first visit in a year. He thanked Mike Fortunato and Jim and Barbara Willey for their leadership. Looking for more volunteers willing to spend 2-2.5 hours with the Long Creek kids. Let Mike or Dave know if you are interested.
Last Week's Meeting: Niki Curtis, A Rotarian Exploratory Trip To Poland | By Erik Jorgensen
Doreen Rockstrom introduced Friday’s speaker, one of our own: Portland Rotarian Niki Curtis. Doreen was particularly proud because she was the one who sponsored Niki for membership! Niki has been a transformative force in our club – jumping into our work with gusto. She’s been working in several areas: new membership, our work around recovery, as well as serving on the planning committee for the district conference in September. She recently went on a Rotary trip to Poland.
District 7780 deployed this “exploratory team” back in April. The trip came about as our district’s clubs have been interested in considering ways to best respond to the war in Ukraine and the refugee crisis that has ensued. Poland has been a leader in accommodating people displaced due to the war.
The goal of the trip was to see what local Rotarians in Poland are doing to support refugees’ mental health. The team visited nine cities and towns, with local Rotarian hosts and YMCA Europe. Team members met with multiple clubs. They visited schools, museums, and other sites relating to Rotary projects. Throughout this itinerary, the team looked at specific projects aimed at refugees.
These projects showed lots of effort to honor Ukrainian culture, while also helping the new residents integrate into Polish society.
Niki noted an interesting connection to New England, as new Hampshire’s Common Man Restaurants have raised millions of dollars for Ukraine aid. Their effort has resulted in a retreat center in the mountains of Zakopane, for children experiencing the war. This facility combines a restful break with therapy. “Coping Cards” are one tool that is used there – they are a deck that provides a different coping strategy on each card.
The team also visited “Project ARK”, which is a recovery center for 14–19-year-old kids – focusing on helping them get through substance use disorder. The team visited a youth hospice, as well as The Paul Harris School of Music, where a young person played Metallica music on the piano.
Rotary travel always provides an opportunity to discover connections between our clubs and between cultures. This trip might best be called “Pierogi Diplomacy”, as the team enjoyed a full menu of Polish delicacies, as they learned about how Poland and Ukraine are managing the current crisis. It was clearly an experience that had a significant impact on the team, and it will be exciting to see how the clubs of District 7780 lean into the challenges of supporting folks displaced by this war. (Photo: Doreen and Niki)
NEW MEMBER: First Notice: Anyah White has applied for membership. She is the Administrative Coordinator for Career Services and Field Placement Programs at the University of Maine School of Law and lives in Portland. She was a member of her high school Interact Club and Rotaract at Temple University. She enjoys knitting, hiking, running, reading, and attending local theater. Katherine Hall is her sponsor. Her name will be published a second time and then her application will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
AUGUST HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Julie Chase 3rd, Mike Fortunato and Bowen Depke 5th, Zach Newell 8th, Bruce Moore 9th, Roger Fagan 10th, Christine Force 13th, Jim Vicenzi 16th, Dick Hall 17th, Bruce Jones and David Ertz 19th, Tricia Toms 21st, Jan Chapman 29th, Scott Blakeslee 30th! Congrats!
AUGUST ANNIVERSARIES, in years! Matt Tassey 38, Ben Lowry 29, Mark Dion 24 (rejoined our club in June), Eric Lusk 17, Olivier Ndayirukiye and Debra Boxer 5, Corey Masson 1. Cheers!
Speaker Schedule
August 16- Cary Tyson, Portland Downtown District
August 23 - Dr. Linda Durst, Suicide as a Public Health Issue
August 30 - No Meeting - Happy Labor Day!
September 6 - Bob Mackenzie, District Governor
Club Executives
President Patty Byers President Elect John Thompson Vice President Justin Lamontagne TreasurerDick Hall Secretary Tom Nickerson Board of Directors Dick Hall, Quinn Slayton, Zachary Newell, David Ertz,
This Wednesday night, Portland Rotarians head over to Hadlock Field to watch the Sea Dogs take on the Altoona Curve. Game Time, 6pm. If your are interested in going, reach out quickly to 
GRANTS GRANTED: President Patty began the business portion of the meeting with some announcements. First some good news: Thanks to the efforts of Jan Chapman and the Recovery Task Force, we received a District Grant for the full available amount of $4,000! We will be hearing more about the grant and our partnership with Sea Change Yoga to help and support those in recovery. Next was a Global Grant update. Roger Fagan and Patty went to the Bath Rotary Club this week and we got a $1,000 commitment from each of the Bath and the Bath Sunrise Clubs. We’ve now raised $33,550 with $5,000 in the pipeline.
FLAGS FLYING: Charlie Frair provided a Flags For Heroes update and thank you to all volunteers, in particular Paul Tully, Tom Talbott, Roxane Cole, Cort Hepler, Paul Gore, Cyrus Hagge, Dick Hall, Patty Byers, Bill Milliken, and Bruce Jones. He added thanks for all the Rotarians who put flags up, taking them down and bought flags to honor their heroes.
LONG CREEK VISIT: Dave Putnam reported on a recent Long Creek BBQ last Wednesday which was their first visit in a year. He thanked Mike Fortunato and Jim and Barbara Willey for their leadership. Looking for more volunteers willing to spend 2-2.5 hours with the Long Creek kids. Let Mike or Dave know if you are interested.
NEW MEMBER: First Notice: Anyah White has applied for membership. She is the Administrative Coordinator for Career Services and Field Placement Programs at the University of Maine School of Law and lives in Portland. She was a member of her high school Interact Club and Rotaract at Temple University. She enjoys knitting, hiking, running, reading, and attending local theater. Katherine Hall is her sponsor. Her name will be published a second time and then her application will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
AUGUST HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: Julie Chase 3rd, Mike Fortunato and Bowen Depke 5th, Zach Newell 8th, Bruce Moore 9th, Roger Fagan 10th, Christine Force 13th, Jim Vicenzi 16th, Dick Hall 17th, Bruce Jones and David Ertz 19th, Tricia Toms 21st, Jan Chapman 29th, Scott Blakeslee 30th! Congrats!.png)
