The old adage “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!” has been invoked repeatedly since last March, when countless Maine businesses, large and small, scrambled to confront the harsh realities of the novel coronavirus.
Even before the arrival of COVID-19, our state was rapidly becoming a breeding ground for creative and determined entrepreneurs, some home-grown, some “from away” and still others who “boomeranged” back to their home state. Karen Nason is a shining example of the latter group. Welcome home!
Karen grew up in Gorham and after becoming a pretty famous singer in the state with a band of her own, a theatre in Portland as well as playing with Rick Pinette (for whom she opened at age 16), Karen always dreamed of moving to New York City to chase her passions. In her early twenties she did just that.
For more than three decades, Karen owned many successful businesses in NYC. First was The King and I, a gorgeous plant and flower shop in Chelsea where she became the “plant lady" to the stars. Clients included Johnny Depp, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Lauren Hutton, and many more. She then converted this space into a jazz bar with a large baby grand where you could shop, have a drink and see live music. She also owned cafes and pizzeria in Hoboken, NJ where she even ran for Mayor. When her Mom fell ill, Karen decided to pack it up and return to Gorham where she opened Grand Central Wine Bar in the new Station Square in November, 2019. Four months later, COVID hit. A week later her mother passed. After many stops and starts, while reading about the "Ghost Kitchen" concept that was sweeping the country, she decided to open just that! Ghost: Karen’s Kitchens was born.
Lemonade served upon request.
Bits and Pieces | by John Marr
As the editor of the day for B&P, there is nothing more disturbing than to be away from home base and having scribe duty only to find that you can’t get the link to your Zoom program to work! As one who accepts his technical limitation, I made sure my alternate PC had Zoom loaded and working. Despite the system working, I could not get into the meeting, so I had to hustle and get the audio by my ever-ready Apple phone, the Swiss Army knife of technology, so please forgive if you find my coverage lacking.
I must have a guardian Angel, perhaps brought by our newest Rotary member and the Salvation Army, because here we were preparing for music from the Symphony and I had my own personal music when President Ellen announced that we had very few special announcements. Thank you, God!
While the agenda items may have been few, we always have an invocation or moment of inspiration offered. This week we had that offered by the erudite Cyrus Hagge. Since we are in the midst of a cold Maine winter with varying degrees of snow, Cyrus recalled his not too distant high dchool days and the reading and recitation of the hallmark work of Robert Frost and went on to remind us why we all love “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” Great job and wonderful memory by Cyrus.
Among the 49 participants in the meeting, we had a few guests, including Kirk Duffy down in Savanah, GA who remarked that the reach of the Portland Club is worldwide and amplified via the technology of Zoom. Kirk was in the sunny south while Ben Lowry was hanging out and zooming in from beautiful San Diego, California. Kathy Grammer joined the meeting to take advantage of the fabulous program, given her love and life of music.
John Thompson introduced his guest, Sonia Spadafora, a first-year student at theUniversity of New England School of Dentistry. Sonya has a firm background in Rotary from her involvement through Rotaract while doing her undergraduate work. Dick Hall invited her to set up a Rotaract program at the school and pointed out that he has set aside substantial funding in the upcoming District budget.
Jim Willey was on a roll. Jim introduced his guest, Mary Ann Pinkham, a visiting Rotarian with the Damariscotta/Newcastle club.
Since the announcements were few, President Ellen decided to open things up with “Happy Dollars” at a new inflated $10 donation. President Ellen kicked it off with an offering to acknowledge her upcoming 2-week ski trip. There was a flurry of $10 donations that followed. Nanette Duncanson noted that her son will be able to play lacrosse at college this year and Tom Talbot followed up by recognizing his involvement as a coach and the fantastic job that President Ellen Niewoehner has done given the imposition of COVID. Tom Ranello was so happy because his daughter Emma was hanging out with him for the day. “She’s 20, but she still likes hanging out with her dad,” Tom added. Charlie Frair threw in 10 because his book had been launched and will be picked up by Amazon next month. The generous donations continued via chats and quick mentions. And then the program came on.
Introducing New Member Michael Harper |by John Marr
Jim Willey introduced the latest member to come into Portland Rotary, Captain Michael Harper of the Salvation Army. Mike is an eighteen-year veteran of the Salvation Army and has served in New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. An ordained minister, Mike is a graduate of the Salvation Army’s officer training program, and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Asbury University. He has been a member of the Cambridge, MA and the Bedford, NH Rotary clubs and looks forward to continuing the Army’s involvement with our Club.
Welcome Mike, we need you and look forward to working with you.
The Oxford Walk
Graham Shelton, President of the Rotary Club of Oxford North, England, wrote to us through Facebook that his club has embarked on an interesting fundraising effort to visit all the places called Oxford in North America. Virtually. In a follow-up note, Alan Godfrey, project chair, adds “Clubs along the route are invited to become involved, not by way of diverting hard-earned funds from their deserving charities but with a token $10 contribution to our cause as we pass by and we would really like to establish a link and get to know more about your members, your club and your town.”
“Our dynamic map showing our progress can be accessed using this link- it takes a long time to process as it is such a big file, but please be patient and you will see full detail of our route and progress. Those interested in contributing can use the GoFundMe pagelink.
PSO’s Pandemic Pivot | by Ben Lowry
Last Friday we were lucky enough to hear from Carolyn Nishon, the executive director of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, a role she has held for five years. With a kind introduction from Nannette Duncanson, Carolyn, who has been with the PSO since 2008, explained how a strategic plan was set in place that may have ultimately saved the orchestra during the past twelve months of the COVID crisis. It was at the time that a financial plan, including an ever-growing endowment, began to build, offering a “rainy day fund” that has allowed the PSO to not only survive but thrive during the pandemic.
When the world changed for us all last March, toward the end of the 2019-2020 PSO schedule, it became immediately clear that there needed to be a new model set forth. With an instantaneous inability to host live events, with the usual 1900 spectators and 90 performers, the leadership team at the PSO had to look at three options, from the possibility of live performances in the near future (didn’t happen), to half live and half digital (didn’t happen) to going to 100% digital, which has been the modus operandi for the past 12 months. Budgets for each option had to be set forth and, once it became clear that the digital format was the choice, significant expenditures for high tech recording and production equipment needed to be addressed. With each performance seeming like a full-scale motion picture production, Carolyn, the board, and the staff created a new way of offering music and education, reaching not only Mainers but for members of an audience watching from 36 states and the District of Columbia.
Nishon outlined the six guiding principles adopted for COVID operations:
Prioritizing health, safety, and well-being of patrons and performers;
Maintaining the ongoing mission of the PSO;
Protecting fiscal sustainability;
Keeping the musicians and staff at work;
Being adaptive and responsive;
Connecting and communicating with the community.
With 60% of orchestra revenues normally attributable to ticket sales, a new model needed to be quickly and seamlessly implemented. The new format had to be as flexible as possible, to correspond to updates from the state, as well as keeping in mind the needs of music lovers and the musicians, who are members of a union. The solution, Nishon said, was the launch of the Passport Program, giving subscribers three levels of purchase options for performances. With full, half and “Netflix-like” levels, the patrons are able to obtain a connection at a level that works best for them. But new hardware and software, as well as a phone “app,” needed to be quickly purchased and brought up to speed. By October, the updates and changes had been addressed and the first concert in the new format was produced on the 20th.
With Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the PSO began a new era, just seven months after the world shut down. With growing confidence and the support of so many lovers of music, the performances have continued, including a guest appearance by Paul Stuckey of Peter, Paul and Mary, and the ever-popular “Magic of Christmas” being among the performances seen by thousands, with almost six thousand households watching “Magic” during the holiday season.
The PSO continues to show their clout in educating Mainers, with the Kinderconcert series of 30-40-minute movies, the Explorer’s Program, in which one musician presents a program on Zoom to elementary school kids, and the Education Everywhere program, in which master classes and small ensembles are presented through the PSO website.
In a normal year, Carolyn said PSO would be looking out 18 months ahead and even beginning to prepare for the PSO’s centennial celebration in 2024. But, as we all know, the past 12 months have been anything but normal. So now, instead of announcing the fall slate and the entire 2021-22 season schedule, Carolyn looks toward the late spring, not knowing where the nation and the state of Maine may stand at that time. It’s been trial by fire for so many, and Carolyn has clearly been up to the task, and for that we humbly and graciously thank her, her staff and all of those involved in the PSO. Music and the arts are part of the fiber of our lives and we should all do whatever we can to make sure that never changes.
Carolyn then introduced Tony Damico, one of the principals with the PSO who settled behind his double bass and magnificently played his rendition of the Prelude from Bach’s Second Cello Suite. It was mesmerizing to see his finger-work as he entranced us with the piece. It was also a salve to hear music played “live,” at least for this writer, who has deeply missed the 50-70 live music events he would have attended in the past twelve months. With Tony’s playing and Carolyn’s energy and commitment, we can all feel just a bit better about the future of the PSO and the arts in Maine. Thanks, Nannette. And thanks, Portland Rotary, for bringing the joy of music to us all.
Moment of Reflection
Believe This
By Richard Levine
All morning, doing the hard, root-wrestling
work of turning a yard from the wild
to a gardener’s will, I heard a bird singing
from a hidden, though not distant, perch;
a song of swift, syncopated syllables sounding
like, Can you believe this, believe this, believe?
University of New England School of Dentistry. Sonya has a firm background in Rotary from her involvement through Rotaract while doing her undergraduate work. Dick Hall invited her to set up a Rotaract program at the school and pointed out that he has set aside substantial funding in the upcoming District budget.
Harper of the Salvation Army. Mike is an eighteen-year veteran of the Salvation Army and has served in New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. An ordained minister, Mike is a graduate of the Salvation Army’s officer training program, and is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree at Asbury University. He has been a member of the Cambridge, MA and the Bedford, NH Rotary clubs and looks forward to continuing the Army’s involvement with our Club. 
his double bass and magnificently played his rendition of the Prelude from Bach’s Second Cello Suite. It was mesmerizing to see his finger-work as he entranced us with the piece. It was also a salve to hear music played “live,” at least for this writer, who has deeply missed the 50-70 live music events he would have attended in the past twelve months. With Tony’s playing and Carolyn’s energy and commitment, we can all feel just a bit better about the future of the PSO and the arts in Maine. Thanks, Nannette. And thanks, Portland Rotary, for bringing the joy of music to us all.
