As the founder of Vitalius Real Estate Group and Designated Broker, Brit Vitalius has been representing buyers and sellers of multi-unit investments since 2004. He established the firm in 2011 to provide a full complement of residential, multi-family and commercial brokerage services to clients.

An active member of the community, Brit is a yearly presenter at the Maine Real Estate and Development Association’s Annual Forecast Conference for the multi-unit sector, and he is a leader and advocate in the landlord community. Brit is in his fourth term as President of the Southern Maine Landlord Association, a group which seeks to keep landlords up-to-date on important issues, trends and regulations. In the wake of the 2015 Noyes Street Fire, Brit became an active participant in multi-unit fire safety issues, and he was asked to serve on Portland’s Fire Safety Task Force. He is also a member of the Board of Maine Listings and personally owns and manages multi-unit investments in Portland and Yarmouth.

District Governor John LoBosco joined us on Friday, October 19 at the italian Heritage Center to bring us up to date on happenings in our sprawling District 7780, which extends from greater Portland through the New Hampshire Seacoast region, and into northeastern Massachusetts. Three months into his year of service, DG John has been focusing on refining the district’s strategic plan and promoting the many good works being conducted by clubs.

The plan, which was developed following input at “visioning sessions” held across the district, focuses on four areas: public image, membership, collaboration, and leadership.  

John noted that in the past year, our district membership has increased, which is good news. Currently the membership stands at about 1600. He is hoping to see that number ramp up to and pass 2000 and is urging clubs to shoot for 10% growth per year. This is a figure which has to be higher in fact, to offset the fact that Rotarians age and move. And while he did admit that the average Rotarian age is on the older side, he hastened to note that Rotarians tend to live longer. No joke. 

The challenges facing Rotary membership development are not unique in a world that is apparently moving faster than in the past. Lions Clubs and Kiwanis for example, are experiencing similar challenges. He spoke of some inter-club cooperative projects that have been successful and urged members to think broadly about how best to serve, even if it requires consorting with Lions. 

The District is promoting “Little Free Libraries,” those small “leave-one-take-one” book kiosks that have sprouted up in recent years. He believes that every club should consider installing and maintaining one of them. He is considering an interclub construction project, whereby clubs could join forces on a weekend and build a bunch of them together. 

He had good things to say about many of the club projects being undertaken in Portland and elsewhere, noting “Crutches4Africa,” “Hearts and Hands” and the new work that started in our club around finding ways to address the opioid use disorder crisis, among others. He also spoke about the rise of RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). Watch for a new interactive map of international projects from the district on the Rotary7780.org website, with the goal of sharing expertise, best practices, and collaboration.

Finally, he announced a special district conference to occur next spring, a family picnic in June at Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth. There will be kite flying, kids’ events, and a glimpse of the new Children’s Garden at the park, which the South Portland – Cape Elizabeth Rotary club has been involved in developing. Stay tuned for more information on that event.
 

(Photo L-R:  District Governor John LoBosco, President John Curran and Assistant Governor Bill Anderson.)

President John Curran brought the meeting to order by welcoming 50 members and 4 visiting Rotarians to the Italian Heritage Center. David Small (photo at right) gave a baseball Invocation as his and the club's prayer to help the Red Sox in their quest to win the World Series. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ben Millick, followed by "My Country Tis of Thee" started from the audience.

Visiting Rotarians included District Governor John LoBosco, Tom Roberts and Assistant Governor Bill Anderson. Guests included Sheriff William King and first lady of the District, Sue LoBosco.

Sheriff William King (photo at left - on left with President John Curran) gave a presentation on his recent training at the Recovery Academy. He started by telling us he began using the term Substance Abuse Disorder, but through the training realized the term 'Substance Use Disorder' was more appropriate and the correct term to use.  He told us of the wide range of attendees, many of whom had struggled with past drug use themselves. He said attendees included social workers, spiritual people, public employees, and people who wanted to help a loved one and the community. William told us what occurred on each of the seven days of training, including some of the surprises for him along the way. He was totally in support of the training, and put his to work shortly after when trying to help a nephew who was struggling. William provided support, then connected to another support person, who was better able to connect with his nephew.

PP Dick Hall, with the help of DG LoBosco, awarded three Paul Harris Fellows (PHF). The first two were to PP Kris Rosado, PHF #5 (PHF +4) as he was the winner picked from the #4 Circle of Five. He was awarded PHF +5 for a personal contribution, awarding a PHF to a Rotarian in Germany who hosted Kris’s family. PP Bill Blount was awarded PHF +8, which is a striking pin with three rubies. Bill has made regular contributions himself, and also has had matching support from his previous employer.

(Photo above L-R: PP Kris Rosado, PP Dick Hall, PP Bill Blount and DG John LoBosco.)

David Ertz conducted the weekly raffle and DG LoBosco pulled Bruce Moore’s ticket. Alas, Bruce pulled a black jack, so no win.

(Photo above L-R: Bruce Moore, President John Curran and David Erzt.)

Paul Tully (photo at right) told us that 170 have already preregistered for the Veteran’s lunch for Nov. 9th at the HIBTB. He encouraged all Rotarians to preregister and we are expecting 400 and need a count. He told us we will have an excellent program, and Rotarians can feel free to donate to support the effort.

Joe Reagen (photo at left) asked us all to think about what it feels to give to others. Then he told us that the Long Creek Youth Center teens got that feeling when they prepared a dinner for the Rotarian volunteers. The teens decorated their space and prepared dinner. The teens got the good feeling of giving and the Rotarians felt appreciated.

President John announced a teaser. The New Mainer Task Force committee met today, before the meeting. They are looking at several opportunities to serve and plan to come forward to the club soon.

PP Bill Blount was surprised to be asked to lead us in song.  In keeping with David Small, he led us in a rousing rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
 

Sessions start October 27 and will be held at USM. We are hoping to get a few Rotarians to do this training and become recovery coaches.

This training is free and open to anyone who wants to participate and help those dealing with substance use disorder. We encourage Rotarians to please share this opportunity with others you know who might be good candidates.

Invitation from District Governor John LoBosco to join a Special District Assembly to discuss Foundation, Membership, and International Service Opportunities and Strategies!

WHO: All Rotarians are welcome! We are hoping, in particular, for a good turnout from Club Foundation, Membership, and International Service chairs.

WHEN: Saturday morning, November 3, 2018 from 8 a.m. until 12 noon.

WHERE: Husson University, 340 County Road, Westbrook, Maine.

COST: FREE

REGISTRATION: We need you to register so we know how many to expect. The venue can seat up to 135 people, so we will have a waiting list after we reach that number. Please register ASAP by either going to the District 7780 home page (under Events and Registration) or by going directing to https://rotary7780.org/event/joint-foundation---membership-seminar.

SPECIAL GUESTS: Julia Phelps, former Rotary International Director and current Foundation Trustee will share insights into current happenings in Evanston regarding the Foundation. Assistant Regional Rotary Foundation Coordinator, Greg Roche, also will join us to connect with you and explain how he can be a valuable resource for us.

AGENDA:
8:00 - 8:30 Social (coffee and muffins)
8:30 - 9:00 Julia Phelps, "A Week in the Life of a Foundation Trustee"
9:00 - 10:30 Joint Session
10:30 - 10:45 Break
10:45 - 12:00 Breakouts

The first half of the morning will be a joint session with presentations on the Foundation and Membership. After a break, we will have three concurrent breakouts: Foundation, Membership, and International Service. The International Service breakout will focus on opportunities for Rotarians to travel abroad to engage in hands-on service. On the Foundation side, we will be talking about District Grants, Global Grants, Polio Plus, the Peace Scholars Program, the Annual Fund, and Major Gifts. As for Membership, we’ll be discussing strategies to achieve our Governor’s challenge to increase membership throughout the district by at least 5% this year. We will have plenty of time for questions and dialogue among the participants.

This is a great opportunity to roll-up your sleeves and connect with your colleagues from around our district to learn and share. WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information, contact the event chair, Lawrence Furbish at 207-490-6840, lkfurbish@mac.com.
 

Game Night             3rd Tuesday ea month
Long Creek              Mike Fortunato
Youth Center           michael.k.fortunato@gmail.com
                              or Jim Willey
                              jimandbarbarawilley@gmail.com