banner
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
ClubRunner
Speakers
Feb 09, 2018
Feb 16, 2018
Feb 23, 2018
Mar 02, 2018
Rotary Foundation
Mar 09, 2018
Mar 16, 2018
Mar 23, 2018
Mar 30, 2018
Apr 06, 2018
View entire list
Executives & Directors
President
 
First Vice President
 
Second Vice President
 
Treasurer
 
Secretary
 
Immediate Past President
 
Sergeant-at-Arms
 
Director Term End 2018
 
Director Term End 2018
 
Director Term End 2019
 
Director Term End 2019
 
Community Service Chair
 
International Service Chair
 
Vocational Service Chair
 
Rotary Foundation Chair
 
Club Protection Officer
 
Vision Champion
 
Communications-WJ Bulletin Ed
 
Communications-PR External
 
Constitution/ByLaws Chair
 
Fund Raising Chair
 
Good Cheer Chair
 
Invocation Chair
 
Meeting Day Chair
 
Music Committee Chair
 
Program Chair
 
Membership Chair
 
Web Administrator
 
Administrative Coordinator
 
Welcome to the Rotary Club of Portland, Maine!
Portland Rotary
Service Above Self
We meet Fridays at 12:15 PM
Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
88 Spring Street
Portland, ME  04101
United States
DistrictSiteIcon District Site
VenueMap Venue Map
Rotary This Week

Portland Rotary Club
will meet this Friday,
February 09, 2018
at the 
Clarion Hotel
1230 Congress Street

 
*02/09/18 Susan Axelrod, Editor, Old Port Magazine

Susan Axelrod is the Managing Editor of Old Port and Ageless Maine magazines and a writer for both Maine Magazine and Maine Home + Design, all imprints of the Maine Media Collective. She also blogs with her husband Ted, a photographer, at Spoon & Shutter.

Susan’s background includes editor positions at the Portland Press Herald, and the North Jersey Media Group where she was Food Editor of the Bergen Herald. She is also the founding editor of the blog Eater Maine, which has been absorbed by Vox Media. Susan describes her work as telling the “stories that highlight the astonishing diversity of this city and state.”

A frequent traveler around the state, she enjoys meeting fascinating people and learning about everything from sustainable seafood to design thinking. Before becoming a writer and editor she was a chef and owner of a busy restaurant and catering business. 

Susan lives in an 1840 farmhouse at Rainbow Farm in Yarmouth where she and her husband write about food, living in Maine, and travel.
 

02/02/18 Melissa Sweet, Illustrator of Children's Books

Melissa Sweet is a well-known children’s book illustrator, and now she is also an author of books for children. Ms. Sweet spoke at the Rotary Meeting on Friday, and she let us peek into her career life by cataloging the process of both writing and illustrating a biography on E.B. White.   

In the beginning of her writing process, she described how the ideas for her books come to her often while walking her dogs, reading the daily newspaper, listening to the radio, or while talking with random people. The day she decided to write a biography on E.B. White, she was visiting with a neighbor and friend from Rockport, Maine. She must like a challenge, because she told us her opinions of biographies are that they are often dry and not too memorable. So up for a challenge, Ms. Sweet began a several-year research project digesting everything she could about E.B. White. There was no magical formula to it. She researched everything from his birth to his death, interviewed family and friends, and she noted any clues on his life that interested her.

Ms. Sweet feels that to be successful as an illustrator or author, one must go to work every day, so she follows that mantra, and we can find her in a separate work space at her home from 8 am to 4 pm. While at work, she spends time writing, illustrating, or looking at picture books. While sometimes it can be rough, Ms. Sweet finds that if she plows through the tough times, something good eventually comes out of the process.

Many of the illustrations in her E.B. White biography are actually photographs of 3-D collages that she built by hand. She explained how much of the art that she creates for books may not even be used in the final product, and that there are new museums and galleries (e.g., such as the University of Minnesota collection) for works like hers. Rather than sell her work, she has more recently started donating some of her unused or old art to these entities. She noted that storing art can be problematic and rather costly. This statement was likely another surprise she taught our club members.  

Ultimately, while teaching us about her creative work ethic and processes, we really learned quite a bit about another interesting author: E.B. White. 

 
(Photo L-R: Bob Martin, President Don Zillman and Melissa Sweet.)
02/02/18 Bits & Pieces

Our meeting may have taken place on the day that the Punxsutawney Phil brought us news of 6 more weeks of winter and Bill Murray may be a tad loopy, but we have President Don to keep us on track and not hiding out in a hole. We may not have had the usual audio equipment but that doesn’t affect Don, who got us going on time and doing fine and welcomed 43 members and 1 guest at the Clarion Hotel. Despite it being Ground Hog Day, it seemed like Patriots Day with all the New England Patriots swag being worn. Of course we had our own Tom Brady, number 12 (Matt Wolcott and Terri St Angelo at right), in the house bringing good vibes and a terrific game prediction from the tamer of Thailand, Ben Lowry, who predicted the Pats to win 27-17. Getting us used to change we started with a moment of inspiration in deference to the invocation with Kathy Grammer (at left) offering a meditation penned by “the other” Thomas Moore. That was followed by a masterful a cappella rendition of “America,” led by Past President Russ Burleigh.


Once again out Dynamic Duo of Charlie Frair (at right) and Paul Tully, are orchestrating a reprise of our annual event honoring of those in the military who preserve and protect our great nation’s freedoms. Every year the Rotary team takes advantage of experience and brings us to new heights. We have hardly started and already we are taking $3000 from last years success and donating $1000 to VAST and will give two similar sums to veteran organizations identified by the club members. If you have a suggestion, please make it known to Charlie or Paul utilizing the form they are preparing. Stay tuned and get your list of vets you want to invite and recognize for their service.


Drs. Roger (at left) and Liz Fagan just got back from another successful trip to the Dominican Republic (DR) to help the indentured servants of the cane fields who live in squalor in the horrid work camps. As is the custom, Roger and Liz tended to the hearing and speech needs of the poverty stricken of the batae. At the same time 1st Vice President John Curran was fitting injured workers with prosthetic arms and Dick Giles was tending to water needs and solar lights. John and Dick remained in La Romana providing additional assistance. The work this group has done for close to a couple of decades is the epitome of the “Service Above Self” creed of Rotary.


Consistent with our tradition, we recognized our members who celebrate another year in February. The particularly noteworthy accomplishment is that Past President Paul T. Gore is marking off year number 32 as a member of our club. Thanks for your service and generosity, Paul!


David Clough sold a bunch of raffle tickets to a rather thin group of Rotarians who made it to the meeting. However, that brought some luck to Linda Verrill, who had a chance to find the Queen and take home her treasure of $1,836. Linda decided to let the Queen rest and reinvest so the pot will be close to $2,000 when we pluck next week. (Photo: expressions priceless?) So, make sure you make the meeting and bring a few extra bucks to improve your luck and the club’s treasury.


The indomitable Past President Loretta Rowe remains an in patient at Maine Medical Center, as the doctors work to find the best medicine to get this special lady back to the club and friends she loves. She is not up for visitors but would enjoy getting emails and cards to help keep her spirits high. She may not be able to make the meetings but she remains involved and had her PC brought in so she could keep up with Rotary. (Update: Loretta is home from the hospital, but quarantined due to her sensitive condition. Heal quickly and well.)


Hopefully you have seen the report from Don and the committee dealing with some modifications to our customs, e.g. song and invocation. The group has provided Don with some ways to maintain the essence of our past practice and change is afoot. However, we are a proud democracy and President Don wants to hear what you think before we institute the changes. 
 

Volunteer Opportunities
Following is a list of our Club's volunteer projects. If you know of other opportunities, please contact Loretta: lrowe@maine.rr.com
 

                          When
Project              Who to Contact


Preble Street        4th Wednesday ea month
Resource Ctr        4-6:30 pm
Soup Kitchen        Gracie Johnston
                           gracie.johnston@wcsh6.com


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

 

This Week's Duty Assignments

Invocation:  Charlie Frair
Program Reporter:  Ben Lowry
Bits & Pieces Reporter:  Bob Martin
Registration/Greeter:   Jerry Angier
Sell Meal Tickets:  Patty Erickson
Raffle:  Matt Wolcott
Badge Box:  None
Collect Meal Tickets: None
Keyboard Player:  None
Sgt-at-Arms (Setup):  Russell Voss
Sgt-at-Arms (Take Down): Charlie Frair

Rotary Meeting Locations

If you would like to mark your calendars,
we are scheduled at the following locations
through March 2018:

2018 
Feb 09 - Clarion Hotel
Feb 16 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Feb 23 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay

Mar 02 - Clarion Hotel
Mar 09 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Mar 16 - Long Creek Youth Center
Mar 23 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Mar 30 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay


Blue BOLD dates are scheduled Board meeting days.

Any questions, please contact Loretta at: lrowe@maine.rr.com
 

Item Donations Needed
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.
 
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.
 
Prospective Rotarians

As we receive applications for prospective members to join our Portland Rotary Club, the names of the applicants will be included in our Windjammer. Any information and/or comments you would like to share will be handled confidentially. Please contact Loretta Rowe: lrowe@maine.rr.com. Your input will be appreciated.

PROSPECT                 BUSINESS
(Sponsor)                                                                           

Xavier Botana              Portland Public Schools
(Don Zillman)

Kim D'Amaro               The Salvation Army
(Jim Willey)

Alex Kappelman           Locations Real Estate Group
(Ben Millick)


Thank you.