Abraham Lincoln came of age during a time of great economic transformation which emphasized initiative, risk, and ambition rather than family, tradition, or stability. Lincoln clearly embraced the possibilities this new economic order brought with it. He left his family home to find his own way, eventually becoming what historians call a “self-made man.” His early life shaped the political philosophy which later guided his actions in the White House. In this presentation, engaging Lincoln family letters provide a unique look into the complexities of antebellum America and Lincoln's basic Whig philosophy, simply by exploring one timeless question: What does Honest Abe do when his step-brother hits him up for a loan?
Erin I. Bishop, PhD is a Museum Consultant with nearly 20 year’s experience in Museum Education, Exhibits and Interpretive Programming and specializing in interpretative development, educational programming, historic research, and commemorative event planning. From 2005-2009 she served as the Director of Education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. In this position, she established the Education Division for the new museum, facilitated school tours (approximately 97,000 students per year), led teacher education workshops, organized special events and public programs, developed exhibits, and created teaching materials for classroom educators. More recently she served as the Director of Maine Archives and Museums, a state-wide professional association for Maine’s collecting institutions. Her current projects include coordinating the Town of Falmouth’s Tercentennial Commemoration taking place in 2018. She obtained her MA in history as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at University College Dublin, Ireland, where she went on to receive her PhD. Dr. Bishop is the author of two books and numerous articles.
Justin Lamontagne introduced our speaker, Ben Waxman of American Roots (AR) to Portland Rotary on Friday.
Ben Waxman is an owner and co-founder of the Portland, Maine-based company. AR was founded in 2015 and produces 100% American-made textile and apparel, and they specialize primarily in business-to-business sales and to a lesser extent, commercial sales. Ben is a Portland native, third-generation textile worker, and he started AR with his fiance, Whitney Reynolds, after a 16-year career with organized labor at the national AFL-CIO.
His dream was to launch a company that would make clothing with 100% American-made materials and create good paying jobs in his home town. After discussing the business plans with family, suppliers, and others prior to digging in, Ben and Whitney were determined to bring this incredible industry, which essentially disappeared in the United States, back to life. With a focus on sales, workforce development, and a significant public relations background, Ben and Whitney, along with their other team members, have worked tirelessly to expand the American Roots name in its first year.
AR worked with Coastal Enterprises, The Salvation Army, and some grant money to start a paid-employee training program to prepare applicants for work at their company. Ben and Whitney then encouraged their employees to organize and join a union. The employees selected the steel workers union, which is the same union that is represented in many of the local paper mills.
Their business plan seems to be working since American Roots, and their 12 organized employees, manufactured and sold over 10,000 individual units in their first year. Their production for 2017 is expanding to an estimated sales of 25,000 units which will sell largely to AR’s national business customers.
In addition to growing sales, AR is expanding their apparel line from fleece vests, zip pullovers, hats, scarves,and blankets to include cotton polos and pullovers. Expect more growth and products from AR in the years to come.
President Laura Young welcomed 53 members, 2 visiting Rotarians and 3 guests to the meeting on Friday.
Dave Small gave a thought-provoking invocation that requested everyone to pray for Donald Trump – regardless of how you voted. (See separate article for full invocation contents - "Words of Wisdom.")
Mike Reed led us in our Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and Kathy Grammer led us in singing "America" (My Country Tis of Thee).
President Laura then introduced us to visiting Rotarians and guests, plus thanked all those that assisted with today’s meeting. She also thanked those members who participated in the Lyseth Reading Project to 3rd graders (photo). Russ Burleigh and Kathy Grammer led us in singing 'Vive La Rotary' – all three stanzas. We sounded great!
Michael Greer then shared a 'Rotary Moment' and thanked Don Zillman for introducing him to Portland Rotary. Michael confessed that he initially joined to increase his networking and to get out of the office (and his home). Now he believes that Rotary represents what communities can be and how we help them. Every Friday he looks forward to discussing our shared experiences and working to try to solve some of the local and world’s most pressing problems. He looks forward to hearing 'Rotary Moments' from members who have been in the club for 20-30 years and predicts that he’ll still be in the club that many years from now, so he can share his thoughts again.
Jake Bourdeau conducted the raffle for $1,275.00, but Russ Burleigh (whose name was drawn) picked the wrong card – much to the delight of all those Rotarians still hoping for their chance at the Rotary jackpot winnings! (Sorry Russ.)
Amy Chipman discussed the Rotary Foundation and made Matt Tassey a surprise Paul Harris Fellow for the second time. He received a well-deserved standing ovation for the award. Congratulations, Matt!
A flyer on the tables reminded everyone that they were invited to the celebration of life, love and friendship for Charlie Frair’s 70th birthday party. It’s going to be held on February 12 at 2:00 p.m. at the Italian Heritage Center. (Yes, to cards; no, to presents.) Charlie is asking those attending to make a donation of at least $10 to the Portland Rotary Club. Please RSVP Charlie at cfrair47@yahoo.com.
Past President Bowen Depke thanked all those who volunteered at the Preble Street Soup Kitchen, where our club has an opportunity to volunteer to help on the 4th Wednesday of each month. He noted that there was a good turnout recently that even included 4 students from the Portland High School Interact Club. The volunteers helped feed a couple hundred meals to those in need.
Ellen Niewoehner reminded us of the Rotary Ski social on February 8th at Sunday River Resort. She says that Rotarians should plan to meet at the South Ridge Lodge at 9:00 a.m. Grab your boots and skis and get ready for a good time with fellow Rotarians.
As Donald Trump takes office as the 45th president of the United States, we should pray that his presidency is a great and good one. That prayer applies to all, whether someone voted for the current president or not.
Those who like the new president should pray that he governs so successfully that their hopes are realized. Those who don’t like the new president should pray that, at the end of his term if not before, they are surprised that they were wrong.
This means we should pray for many things, specifically. We should pray for physical safety. Leading a nation is a perilous thing, as we have seen throughout our country’s history. We should pray also for wisdom and discernment.
A president — or any elected official — will have many expert advisers giving counsel, and many of these experts will see things differently. We should pray that Trump would at every turn have the foresight to differentiate between all the competing options in a way that benefits the country and the rest of the world.
We should also pray that the president is able to bring about peace. This means we pray that he would lead the world toward peaceful resolutions of conduct.
We also should pray that God uses him, through the bully pulpit of the presidency, to model what it means for an often-divided nation to live in peace and civility with one another, even when we disagree. A president cannot do that alone, but we should pray that, as in other times in our history, the president is able to make a start.
Member Birthdays 5th - Gracie Johnston
9th - Michael Greer 14th - Charlie Frair
19th - Erik Greven
21st - Greg Hansel
23rd - Rich Campbell 24th - Eric Lusk
Date-Joined-Rotary Anniversaries
Feb 1, 1993 - David Clough (24 years) Feb 1, 1988 - Paul Tully (29 years)
Feb 2, 2001 - Ron Bennett (16 years)
Feb 6, 2015 - Nan Heald (2 years)
Feb 6, 2015 - Leonard Scott (2 years)
Feb 21, 1986 - Paul Gore (31 years)
Feb 26, 2016 - George Carr (1 year)
Feb 26, 2016 - Qunicy Hentzel (1 year)
Invocation: Paul Tully Program Reporter: Dick Hall Bits & Pieces Reporter: Bill Blount Registration/Greeter: Katie Brown Sell Meal Tickets: Matt Wolcott Raffle: Matt Tassey Badge Box: Larry Gross Collect Meal Tickets: Jerry Angier* Song Leader: Alan Nye Pianist: Russ Burleigh Sgt-at-Arms (Early): Bill Ross Sgt-at-Arms (Late): Bruce Moore
Erin I. Bishop, PhD is a Museum Consultant with nearly 20 year’s experience in Museum Education, Exhibits and Interpretive Programming and specializing in interpretative development, educational programming, historic research, and commemorative event planning. From 2005-2009 she served as the Director of Education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. In this position, she established the Education Division for the new museum, facilitated school tours (approximately 97,000 students per year), led teacher education workshops, organized special events and public programs, developed exhibits, and created teaching materials for classroom educators. More recently she served as the Director of Maine Archives and Museums, a state-wide professional association for Maine’s collecting institutions. Her current projects include coordinating the Town of Falmouth’s Tercentennial Commemoration taking place in 2018. She obtained her MA in history as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at University College Dublin, Ireland, where she went on to receive her PhD. Dr. Bishop is the author of two books and numerous articles. 
Ben Waxman is an owner and co-founder of the Portland, Maine-based company. AR was founded in 2015 and produces 100% American-made textile and apparel, and they specialize primarily in business-to-business sales and to a lesser extent, commercial sales. Ben is a Portland native, third-generation textile worker, and he started AR with his fiance, Whitney Reynolds, after a 16-year career with organized labor at the national AFL-CIO.
Dave Small gave a thought-provoking invocation that requested everyone to pray for Donald Trump – regardless of how you voted. (See separate article for full invocation contents - "Words of Wisdom.")
Michael Greer then shared a 'Rotary Moment' and thanked Don Zillman for introducing him to Portland Rotary. Michael confessed that he initially joined to increase his networking and to get out of the office (and his home). Now he believes that Rotary represents what communities can be and how we help them. Every Friday he looks forward to discussing our shared experiences and working to try to solve some of the local and world’s most pressing problems. He looks forward to hearing 'Rotary Moments' from members who have been in the club for 20-30 years and predicts that he’ll still be in the club that many years from now, so he can share his thoughts again.
