President Dick Hall welcomed Rotarians and guests. Amy Chipman led the Pledge of Allegiance and Cyrus Hagge led the moment of reflection by reading quotes from Mark Twain who is one of his favorite authors.

 

Lunch table conversation with Niki Curtis who recently returned from a Rotary International visit to the Rotary Club in Krakow, Poland with District 7780 Rotarians. They were warmly welcomed by the Poland Rotary and their hosts. The group flew to Warsaw out of Boston on Scandinavian Air. We look forward to learning more about her experiences.

 

CARDS: Roger Fagan had a chance to draw the Queen of Hearts to win the 50/50 raffle but missed his chance. The fund returned to the baseline of $50 because of last week’s lucky winner. For his next trick, he'll put the card back together.

 

GUESTS: Rotary guests included Past District Governor Marty Helman from the Booth Bay Harbor Rotary Club. A warm welcome recognized Portland Mayor Mark Dion. Celeste Herbert, a major gifts officer, from The Rotary Foundation was a guest of Dick Hall and Patty Byers.

 

GLOBAL GRANT: President Dick Hall announced Club’s board voted to support the application of a global grant for the audiology project in the Dominican Republic. The application is not yet complete but will be soon. 

 

MILESTONE RIBBON CUT: A ribbon cutting was held on May 2nd, at the new Portland Milestone Recovery facility. Dick Hall and Patty Byers attended and were greeted by Governor Janet Mills. Portland Rotary donated $25,000 for the purchase of 14 modern hospital quality beds to provide shelter for residents in search of recovery. This ceremony was reported with television coverage. Photo Front: Doreen Rockstrom, Patty Byers. Back: Ron Springel, with Rotarians Tom Ranello, Jan Chapman, DGE Bob MacKenzie, Dick Hall, Sam Heck. Justin Lamontagne is not in the photo, but as Milestone's realtor, he was instrumental in finding this great space for their expanded detox program.  

 

SHRED IT! Larry Gross reported about the club fund raiser’s “Shred Day”, on June 15th from 9 AM- 1 PM at the TD Bank Branch 362 Allen Avenue in Portland. Recommended donation is $10 per banker sized box. Personal documents only. Email  Larry, for more information or to volunteer.

 

PATHS RECOGNITION:  Portland Arts and Technology High School vocational service awards: PATHS director Kevin Stilphen introduced three students Riley Beaupre, William Cuttler, and Michael Isgro. Brian Nickerson and President Dick Hall congratulated them and presented our with Rotary’s youth vocational services awards. Students, Kevin -back center, and parents gather for a pic!

 

MAJOR GIFTS: Celeste Herbert, Major gifts Officer for The Rotary Foundation, spoke about the ShareForever 7780 Million Dollar Challenge.  https://rotary7780.org/page/the-shareforever-7780-endowment-challenge/ An anonymous donor from our district has committed to match up to $1 million to the Rotary Foundation Endowment if the district can secure that amount. The district is close but not there yet.  President Dick announced that Bill Blount is the first member of our club to join Dick in supporting the challenge. Celeste can be contacted via email, by clicking here! 

 

DISTRICT ASSEMBLY: With 12 members from the Portland and Portland Satellite Clubs in attendance, we were well represented at the District Assembly training session last Saturday, April 20th.

We welcomed Cara Valentino, President/ CEO, The Dempsey Center- Cancer Care and Support to our meeting and listened to a joyous talk of an organization that creates a community that wraps around patients and their loved ones, helping to navigate the journey together. Their integrated health care helps with the emotional, physical, and mental state of individuals moving through cancer

diagnosis, be that survivorship or bereavement.

 

Model of care is based on 4 premises:

 

Wellbeing support programs include Clayton’s House Hospitality Home, in Portland’s East End, where overnight stays are offered to patients who travel 30+ miles, from an island, or headed to Boston for chemo treatments, surgery, or other related appointments. Another important program is free wig and hair care styling. Many patients, particularly women, want a wig to feel more like themselves, for their identity, and not just be known for their illness. Cara also spoke with great excitement about the Dempsey Dogs who never fail to provide comfort to a patient or a care partner. The program struggled during covid; virtual dogs were just not the same, so everyone is thrilled to have them back!

 

Counseling, whether in-person or virtual is the backbone, be it for youth or adult, individual or family. Due to its popularity and need, they have the largest and longest wait-lists. The virtual campus has seen people from 32 states and 4 counties utilize services. This includes 1 on 1 consulting for nutrition, movement and fitness such as chair yoga or Pilates, or the very popular holistic exercise, Tai Chi. Educational workshops on a full range of topics, some public, some client specific.

 

Lewiston, birthplace of acclaimed actor Patrick Dempsey, is the flagship location. It began in response to his mother’s battle with cancer, diagnosed in 1997. It was 2009 when the first Dempsey Challenge was held, raising $1million for the Center, with 3500 runners, walkers, and cyclists participating. A Center in South Portland was added, half the size of Lewiston, but sees double the patients. Next year, the SoPo location will move to Rock Row in Westbrook, a newer and larger facility.

 

Children’s programs, whether it is the child in treatment, or a child in support, aim to include the entire family, parent, siblings, grandparents. There is a summer camp, called “Space To Breathe”, where kids can get out and do adventures, as well as talk things out with guided facilitation.

 

As Cara talked about the various programs, she then noted that all of these have evidence to support the efficacy, as both stand-alone interventions, as well as the cumulative effect. As an example, someone comes in with a problem swallowing, so the Center will work with them on nutrition, movement and fitness, lymphatic drainage massage, and extend services such as the acupuncture program. The Client Journey Navigators helps the patient understand the choices available, and that they have a shepherd throughout the process. (Inside joke on Patrick’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy” character, Dr. Derek Shepherd. He’s ok with it!)

 

Cara spoke about one of their consulting support group partners, Trevor Maxwell, who founded a non-profit named “Man Up To Cancer”, specifically for male patients and families. The Center found that women were coming for the integrated health services, but men were reluctant. When Trevor was diagnosed with cancer, a young husband and father of two, he came into Dempsey with a distress level rated at a full on 10, ready to take his life. Cara played a video of Trevor, who in his own words described how the counseling, after 85 visits, saved his life. It was a moving and emotional video. Today, the support group that he runs has more than 1600 members from around the country and world.

 

The Dempsey Center is most often recognized for “The Challenge”, but Cara emphasized that it is the work that is done that is most important. Knowing about Dempsey before the need is necessary, is the key to changing the quality of life. Thank you Cara for educating us on the scope of services, how to be involved, and what makes this such a valued Maine resource. Pictured: Cara Valentino and our Program Chair, Doreen Rockstrom.

May 17 - Norman O'Reilly  UMaine Graduate School of Business

May 24th - Club Social TBD during week. No Friday Meeting

May 31 - Jared Cash, President and CEO George Mitchell Institute

June 6 - Thursday Night Rotary Social

June 7 - No Meeting

June 14- Carolyn Nishon. Executive Director Portland Symphony Orchestra

June 21 - Mike Roughton, Exec. Dir.  Association of Maine Manufacturers

June 28, Dick Hall, Year in Review, Office Changeover