Maine Won’t Wait – Maine’s Four-Year Climate Action Plan
by Rusty Atwood
Hannah Pingree was appointed by Governor Janet Mills to lead the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in January, 2019. Pingree previously served as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives from 2008 to 2010. She also served as the Maine House Majority Leader, Chair of the Committee on Health and Human Services, and as a member of the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs during her terms in Maine Legislature from 2002 - 2010. Pingree spearheaded successful legislation on energy, broadband, housing, environmental health, and health care during her time in office. She has worked for a technology start-up in New York City; managed several family small businesses; led the development of rural housing, energy efficiency, and eldercare projects for a coalition of community non-profits; chaired her local school board; and served on numerous state and community non-profit boards.
Hannah Pingree grew up on North Haven, attended North Haven Community School and is a graduate of Brown University.
International Service Expands Impact
John Curran reported on international service committee projects in India and the Dominican Republic. He noted design enhancements accomplished by University of Southern Maine engineering students led by Portland Rotarian and faculty member Asheesh Lanba, who spent a semester working on design improvements for both the elbow-driven prosthetic hand, and a new motorized prosthetic arm. These new devices are being tested with volunteers in the U.S. and in the Dominican Republic. USM students and Dr. Lanba were interviewed by local media on their work on this project. Story link here.
John said collaborations are essential to the success of the prosthetics programs. Beyond local efforts with USM and Hanger Clinic, we’ve established key new relationships to advance into prosthetic legs. This includes a company in Texas called Limbs International who will provide prosthetic legs (both below and above knee devices) at discounted prices. Other partners include prosthetic professionals in Georgia, Nebraska and Ohio who make custom fit sockets with technology that allows scanning residual limbs versus the need to make molds, a process enhancement that will dramatically improve turnaround time in making these sockets. These partners are also helping to conduct online training with our Centro de Prótesis team in the Dominican Republic to ensure they have the skills needed for scanning residual limbs and fitting the prosthetic legs.
The goal this year is to fit 34 patients with prosthetic legs, at a cost of roughly $900 per leg. A contribution of $25,000 from outside benefactors will fund this effort, though $6,000 remains to be raised to meet the goal. This contribution builds on the $33,000 raised last year.
John reviewed the projects in Coimbatore, India, noting that with the COVID situation improving, the EyeServe project is back up and running. EyeServe provides cataract surgeries, as well as treatment for glaucoma and other retinal diseases to those who cannot afford treatment. The Texcity Rotary Club of Coimbatore is working jointly with Portland Rotary to expand this project to provide more surgeries and medications. A second global grant application is in the works to support EyeServe, with Texcity as the host club, and Portland Rotary as the lead international partner. John said that the International Service Committee committed $2,000 toward this effort, with a match expected from the District to increase the funds to $4,000. Another global grant with Texcity intends to support hip and knee replacements for the underserved. Portland Rotary committed $1K towards that project, and in exchange Texcity made a financial contribution to support our 3H (Hearing, Hands and H2O) work in the Dominican Republic.
Finally, Asheesh Lanba has created a partnership with an engineering school in Chennai, India for their help in structural testing of the 3D printed prosthetics.
John also reported that he has been volunteering at Preble Street to help prepare meals for Portland’s immigrant population. He feels COVID safe when volunteering.
Bits and Pieces | by Juliana L'Heureux
As people signed on for the meeting, President Ellen Niewoehner and Dave Ertz talked about their sore muscles after the Rotary Ski day at Sunday River in Newry, ME. Neither did any bumps but they were still sore. Tom Talbott told the story of cutting down a tree, which caused a power outage near his home. He credits Central Maine Power and the Gorham Fire Department with getting power back on in 90 minutes. John Marr observed that insurance was created to cover the lack of complete planning.
President Ellen opened the Zoom meeting with 37 in attendance.
Juliana L’Heureux provided the invocation with a reflection on the spirit of St Patrick:
“May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks. May your heart be as light as a song. May each day bring you bright, happy hours. That stay with you, all the year long." - Irish blessing. Éirinn go Brách!
President Ellen encouraged Rotarians to make appointments to receive the COVID vaccine. Many have already been vaccinated. Meeting together again can only resume when it is determined to be safe to do so.
President Ellen announced that Milestone Recovery on India Street in Portland will temporarily close its detoxification program on March 20 because of staffing shortages. This is particularly sad because the club has been supporting recovery programs and many clients who need the services will temporarily be without the support of Milestone. Its detoxification program, the only such independent, nonprofit service in southern Maine, serves more than 1,500 people a year.
President Ellen and Paul Gore are collaborating to create signage at Rotary Grove, where purple crocuses were planted last Fall by Portland Rotarians to raise awareness about international efforts to end polio. Rotary clubs plant millions of purple crocuses every year to raise awareness in the Purple4PolioEnd Polio campaign.
Preble Street needs volunteers to prepare meals in the kitchen. This is a COVID safe place to volunteer because meals are prepared to be picked up and no food service experience is required.
Tom Ranello is organizing a birthday parade to bring good cheer to Mark Stimson on the occasion of his 95th birthday. The event is scheduled for 1pm, on Saturday, April 3. Participants will congregate at the end of Pilgrim Street in South Portland. An escort will be led by the South Portland Police Department and musical accompaniment provided by the Salvation Army. The parade will proceed to Mark’s house on Pilgrim Street in South Portland. Note that this is to be a surprise. Tom said he hopes for a really good turnout. Contact Tom (tomranello@gmail.com) for more information.
Amy Chipman thanked the 40 members who each give $200 annually over five years as participants in the Circles of Five to the Rotary Foundation. Every year, as each circle contributes $1,000 to the Foundation when each person in the group contributes $200. Over five years, a Paul Harris Fellow Award is given to one of the five until all in the circle are recognized. During the March 26 meeting, a name will be drawn from Circle Number One to award a PHF.
Diversifying the Maine Workplace
Stephanie Trice Gill is an expert in the skills gap, that persistent reality of 21st-Century hiring in which workforce needs are not met by the pool of existing applicants. It’s a phenomenon that is worse than ever in Maine, where our workforce is aging quickly. Ms. Gill has devoted her recent career to figuring out how to fill that gap by deepening the pool -- matching businesses with the talents of work-ready immigrant candidates and people of color. Increasing diversity among employees has been shown to be a powerful tool for improving business performance and improving workplace culture.
Her company, Intwork, was launched to help Black, indigenous and people of color, as well as foreign professionals, “unleash the power of diversity,” especially by overcoming issues around licensure. New Mainers, as a group, have more education and experience than traditional Maine workers, but it’s often difficult for a foreign-issued credential or license to transfer to the United States. She noted that Maine has one worker for every three openings in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) sector. Top job categories that she recruits for are accounting, software, engineering and computer-based work.
According to Ms. Gill, “when HR directors think of an ideal candidate for a position, they tend to think of themselves.” Employers need to be helped through the process to make these hires. Her company is 100% employer funded – it takes no fees from candidates. Most immigrants to Maine are asylum seekers – they are here legally, and they need jobs. While Maine immigrants speak many languages, the key to success has been knowledge of English at an “advanced middle” or higher level. She told the story of a geophysicist who was working at Maine Medical Center holding a broom. She helped him move from “cleaning hospital floors to cleaning the ocean floor,” in the process helping the Federal Government locate a hard-to-find specialist, and giving the employee a fourfold increase in compensation.
Ms. Gill noted that this type of hiring has been shown not to take jobs away from traditional American workers. In hiring an advanced-degree immigrant, an employer is likely to create jobs, not reduce them. For employers new to this type of hiring, her company will lead them through the process, from working to improve licensure transferability, to hosting “mingles” of businesses and potential employees, to no-risk no fee internships where businesses and applicants can try each other out before a hire is made.
As Ms. Gill notes, “diversity does not need to be tough. I want to make it easy.” We were happy that she took time to share her Friday with us.
Moment of Reflection
Today
By Billy Collins
If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.
Speaker Schedule
March 26 | Hannah Pingree, Maine Climate Plan
April 2 | Brit Vitalius, Southern Maine Landlord Association
April 9 | Mark Burnett, Cannabis Industry / Higher Grounds
April 16 | Bill Benson, Boots 2 Roots
April 23 | Chris Busby, The Mainer (formerly The Bollard)
April 30 | Peter Vigue, Cianbro
May 7 | Eliah Thanhauser, North Spore Mushrooms
May 14 | TBD
May 21 | Ian Dorsey, Mast Landing Brewery
May 28 | NO MEETING
June 4 | TBD
June 11 | Wade Merritt, Maine International Trade Center
June 18 | Glen Cummings, President, University of Southern Maine
Representatives
