Dick Hall, member and past-president of the Rotary Club of Portland, is the Governor of District 7780, an area that encompasses the 44 clubs in northern New England. Dick was the third generation to join the Worcester, MA Rotary in 1984, following his grandfather Preston Hall and was sponsored by his father Ed Hall. Dick moved to the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary in 1990, and then Portland Rotary Club in 1997, where he served as president 2006—2007.
Seeing Dick comfortably astride a forklift loading mobility devices into a shipping container for overseas delivery best captures his deep commitment to Rotary. In Worcester, he organized Worcester’s World’s Largest Yard Sale. In Auburn-Lewiston, he co-chaired the Rodeo, and when in the Portland Club, he co-chaired Portland’s third Winterfest event. With his wife, he traveled to Haiti for a solar powered irrigation project, and then to Honduras for a clean drinking water project. With daughter Katharine, who is now president of the Portland Sunrise Club, he went to the Dominican Republic for a clean water, hearing aid, and prosthetic hand project. As Portland President, 2006-07, the club sponsored Brian Sandberg as a Rotary Peace Scholar and initiated a four- year clean water project in Honduras. Dick's involvement with Rotary began at a young age - his father is a past district governor in Massachusetts.
Dick has become very familiar with many of the clubs in the District through his work as a Visioning facilitator since the inception of the program in 2010, including leading the committee. He advocated for the district to develop a vision and helped draft the district's strategic plan. Dick has been named a Paul Harris Fellow many times and he is a member of The Rotary Foundation's Bequest Society. He has extensive experience as a project manager with SGC Engineering, where he focuses on alternative energy and power projects. In other areas of activity, Dick has served as Boy Scout Commissioner, coached Little League and girls' high school hockey, served on the environmental subcommittee of the Maine State Chamber, and been active with the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club and the Centerboard Yacht Club. A professional engineer licensed in multiple states, his work includes solar & wind farms, utility substations, electric transmission lines and environmental cleanup projects.
Dick holds an MBA from Boston University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maine. Dick and his wife Andy split their time between their home in Portland and their camp, Little Loon, on Rangeley Lake. They have two children and two grandchildren.
Thanks to the generosity of Eli Small, owner of the Brookside Food & Drink (and son of Portland Rotarian, Dave Small), $1 of every pint sold on October 14, 2021 will be donated to Rotary's fight to end Polio. Come out and support this good cause!
Brookside is right over the Portland border in Westbrook, next to Corsetti's. The venue has plenty of outdoor seating in the back patio with a TV set up to watch sports. They have a side deck with a roof in case of inclement weather. And they also serve food for those who might want to stay for dinner and the game!
Bits & Pieces
Congratulations to Ben Millick and his new wife Trinh Nguyen who married in Falmouth recently. Thanks to Peter Goffin for sharing the news.
Patty Byers reports that as part of the End Polio Now campaign, The Rotary Club of Portland will plant 400 purple crocus bulbs at Post Office Park on Saturday, October 23.
The purple crocus bulbs were chosen for this project to 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 saving millions across the world from this crippling and deadly disease.
Polio has now been eradicated from most parts of the world, with cases now occurring only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"Hopefully in years to come the slogan ‘End Polio Now’ won’t be needed," Patty said. "But the crocus will remain as the symbol of Rotary’s greatest achievement – the eradication of polio."
Don't Forget to order Rotarian at Work Tee Shirts
Thanks to Paul Gore and Dick Hall, we now have official Rotarian at Work tee shirts for members to wear while performing service projects—like planting crocus bulbs in Post Office Park. The shirts are $15 each for men’s and women’s sizes small to X-large; and $19 each for larger sizes. Order at this link, then connect with Alice Alexander to pay.
Wearing these shirts on our service projects lets the world know what we do. In this picture, Dick Hall sports one of these shirts while he helps with the ocean cleanup.
The back of the shirt carries the "Rotarian at Work" imprint, and the front of the shirt is embroidered with the Club's name and the Rotary logo.
Order now to have your shirt in time for the crocus planting event on October 23.
Classical Music Served With Mac and Cheese
By Tom Talbott
After Bob Martin warmed up the audience with a sterling introduction, Emily Isaacson took the baton and gave us a new interpretation of what one can expect from a music conductor.
At an early age, Emily attended classical music concert with her parents. She found the music, exciting, energetic and dramatic, and naturally wanted to jump, clap, and dance. Well, that simply was taboo, indeed, it was a serious breach of social and classical etiquette. How she wondered, is this any fun if you only cheer politely at designated times?
At 15, Emily set her sights on being a professional conductor. That alone is impressive, but she also saw herself as a mother, and wanted to raise a family in Maine. A broad range, with challenges. To start with, there are very few women conductors in the U.S., 8% of all conductors in fact. Even fewer of that 8% were mothers. Finally, there are three professional conductor roles in Maine, all positions filled.
Attending Williams College, she decided to widen her scope by majoring in English, with additional studies in political theory and art history. Music studies would heighten while attending grad school in Scotland, with a St. Andrews Society Fellowship.
At 22, she took on the task of starting the music department at an inner-city public charter school in Washington D.C. With a budget of $400 to teach 800 kids, the experience would force her to answer her own question: “Why is music important to people’s lives? How can we break the norms and give permission to feel the music, to be moved by the art?” In other words, how can classical music become just as much of an outlet of expression as any other form of music? The lessons learned in this role would become the most valuable tools of her career.
Focused, Emily pursued degrees at the University of Oregon and University of Illinois, and it was thru these institutions she would learn the invaluable lessons of how to run a musical organization. It was not how to read music, it was how to handle intense competition, backstabbing, toxic power dynamics, sexual harassment, loneliness. “This is not an easy field.” Aspiring conductors were expected to uproot their personal life, be able to migrate, and watch hundreds of rehearsals without getting the chance to conduct. All of this was at odds with what Emily wanted – a life, a home, a community
Approaching her 30’s, she was dejected, questioning her decisions. She married, settled in Boston, and started a family. She applied to the Oratorio Chorale in Brunswick, a small community chorus. At eight and a half-months pregnant, she got the job. Two months later she was commuting by train with her new daughter every Sunday to Brunswick, returning home every Monday. Today, 9 years later, their budget has doubled, the size of the ensemble has doubled, and the performing season has tripled. A high school program was initiated, and a continuing-education program got underway. All of these things confirmed her belief that music can bring all different kinds of people together.
Emily shared a negative episode, that while unpleasant, made her grateful for the experience. An elderly, 80-year old music professional that she had known for many years, asked if she wanted to start a music festival. He came with lots of money, acumen, and connections to many great musicians and programs. Year one went well, but the second-year things took a turn. While she attributes part of this to early dementia, he became verbally abusive, and began sabotaging events by undermining her reputation and credibility. Ultimately the organization fell apart. Emily felt betrayed by her mentor and it fed her fears and insecurities. But rather than give in to the situation, she decided to double down and work harder to reach her goals.
Without that experience, she says she would not have had the nerve to start new organizations. She had gained the confidence to see that the way things had been done, wasn’t necessarily the way things should be done. She would focus on bringing her vision of classical music to life. She created the Portland Bach Experience, and guided by her lessons from Washington D.C, said: “If you create permission for people to feel the music, without carrying the baggage of elitist art, by upending their expectations, they will feel it.”
At Portland Bach Experience, music is put at unexpected places. Physically. We’re talking bowling alleys. farmer’s markets, street fairs. It is then paired with unusual art forms, like puppets, yoga, dancing, and…a lot of beer. Emily noted than in her studies and research, that classical music in the early days, during the times of Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart, were often listened to by a crowd tilting back a few pints, with a lot of chatter, shouting, and dancing.
In 2018, Emily was encouraged to dream bigger, to reach more people. What would it look like for Oratorio Chorale and Portland Bach to join together? That would come about in the spring of 2020 when “Portland Uprising” was introduced, a platform to try new strategies. Rise up and challenge the current norms! By doing so, the goal is to enliven more people’s lives and strengthen our community. Despite COVID setbacks, 18 months in, the Uprising is on pace for 50 concerts this year.
Emily made the analogy that sharing classical music is akin to hiding vegetables in mac and cheese for a child to eat. Create moments to give people the music their souls need, and give it to them in a way that they can digest more easily. Clever!
Surrounded by amazing musicians, Emily still considers herself the “Imposter Musician,” but feels it has made her a better artist. Each hurdle will be approached with fresh eyes and new tools, that perhaps, only a “non-musician” can see.
Emily closed with the offer to take questions, but instead received a string of compliments from Bob Martin, David Small, Katie Brown, John Marr, and Peter Goffin, each sharing their praise for her story and her work, adding their own anecdotal stories and comments.
Moment of Reflection
Neighbors in October
By David Baker
All afternoon his tractor pulls a flat wagon
with bales to the barn, then back to the waiting
chopped field. It trails a feather of smoke.
Down the block we bend with the season:
shoes to polish for a big game,
storm windows to batten or patch.
And how like a field is the whole sky now
that the maples have shed their leaves, too.
It makes us believers—stationed in groups,
leaning on rakes, looking into space. We rub blisters
over billows of leaf smoke. Or stand alone,
bagging gold for the cold days to come.
David Baker's "Neighbors in October" is reprinted from The Truth about Small Towns, University of Arkansas Press, 1998.
Speaker Schedule
October 8 |Dick Hall, District Governor
October 15 | Henry Beck, Maine Treasurer
October 22 |Dan Brennan, Director Maine Housing
October 29 | Dana Eidsness, Director, North Atlantic Development Organization
November 5 | Leigh Saufley, Dean, Maine Law
November 12 | Sarah Riggott, New Satellite Club & Literacy Project in Guatemala
November 19 | Sue Inches, author of Advocating for the Environment
November 26 | No Meeting
December 3 | Charles Norchi, Center for Oceans & Coastal Law, Maine Law School
December 10 | Paul Mayewski, Climate Change Institute, University of Maine
that encompasses the 44 clubs in northern New England. Dick was the third generation to join the Worcester, MA Rotary in 1984, following his grandfather Preston Hall and was sponsored by his father Ed Hall. Dick moved to the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary in 1990, and then Portland Rotary Club in 1997, where he served as president 2006—2007.
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