News of The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine
June 8, 2021
International Trade Center CEO to Speak
 
 
Wade Merritt was appointed President of the Maine International Trade Center in 2017, and is responsible for directing the trade and investment policy for the state, including providing international trade services to Maine’s business and academic communities.
 
Merritt is a 22-year veteran at MITC, progressing up the organization from frontline staff to regional office director, followed by 11 years as Vice President. He has developed several major programs including the Canada Desk and Invest in Maine, MITC’s investment attraction initiative. He also was the creator of MITC’s StudyMaine consortium, which promotes Maine’s secondary and post-secondary educational institutions to a global audience. During his time with MITC, he has organized multiple trade missions to 15 different markets on four continents.
 
Merritt is a past president of the State International Development Organization and currently serves on its board of directors where he has advocated for greater cooperation between state trade offices, the federal government, and small- and medium-sized businesses nationwide. For this work, Mr. Merritt was given the Distinguished Service to the States Award from the Council of State Governments in 2014.
 
A native of Bangor and graduate of the University of Maine, Wade recently completed a program on Nonprofit Leadership at Stanford University. He resides in South Portland, Maine with his wife and daughter.
Loretta Rowe Memorial Installed
 
 
A granite bench commemorating the life and service of Loretta Rowe has been installed in Rotary Grove at Fish Point on the eastern side of Portland harbor. Mike Fortunato led this effort and worked with the City of Portland. Mike is working with the City to upgrade signage along the path to give public notice of Rotary Grove. 
 
New Members Join
Laura Young introduced Sara Yeransian as a new member. Sara and her husband Seth came to Portland three years ago. They both grew up visiting grandmothers in Maine.  They live in Deering Heights neighborhood with their young dog Tillie. Sara works as the Director of Development for the Morris Animal Foundation in Denver, Colorado, demonstrating the attractiveness of Maine for virtual work.
 
 
 
Bruce Jones introduced Wayne Morphew as a new member. Wayne transferred from the Kennebunk Rotary Club. Wayne is a songwriter, musician and performer with four albums. He joined the banking industry 12 years ago and is now a Senior Business Consultant at NBT Bank. 
 
Bits and Pieces | by Dick Hall
 
In the pre-meeting discussion, Michelle DiSotto confided that she would need to leave early for a 50-year celebration for a Goodwill employee. Wow!
 
Mike Fortunato said that the signs are no longer on Eastern Prom at Rotary Grove. He thinks that Charlie Frair may have picked them up when the crocus bloom finished.
 
Longtime visiting Rotarian Kirk Duffy said he has been attending remotely from his home in Savannah, GA, but is now in Maine and will definitely be coming to the picnic to see everyone.
 
Rusty Atwood told us about the JERRY JEFF WALKER LIVESTREAM MEMORIAL TRIBUTE, Luckenbach, Texas streaming June 4.
 
President Ellen Niewoehner called the meeting of 35 Rotarians and guests to order.  Julie L'Heureux provided the invocation with the poem Today. She thanked Ellen for her year as president. 
 
President Ellen reminded everyone of the June 18 picnic at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth. We have the picnic area all morning until 1:00 PM. Plan to gather early. The meeting starts at 11:30, then an opportunity for a service project after the meeting. Please sign up on the website.
 
Ellen shared the sad news that Liz and Roger Fagan’s son Nathan passed away suddenly. He was 35 years old.
 
Ellen reminded us all that committee signups are out. Please fill them out and return them to Bob Martin, incoming President, by June 15.
 
Amy Chipman said she has been blown away by the club’s Foundation donations. This year, club members donated $18,000 to the Rotary Foundation Annual Fund and $2,000 to Polio Plus. Amy announced the list of Paul Harris FellowsDavid Putnam PHF +2, Erik Jorgensen PHF +3, Matt Tassey PHF +3, Ron Bennett PHF +6, Don Lowry PHF +9, Matt Wolcott PHF,  and Tom Ranello PHF +2. She will bring the pins and award them at the picnic. Amy also said that the giving average for Portland Rotary was $158 per member compared to the District club average of $120.
 
Ellen thanked Amy for all her work. 
 
Bob Martin reported that we received several applications for the administrative coordinator role, replacing Elise. The search team has met with one candidate, and we expect the search to end soon.
 
John Curran thanked everyone who contributed to the oxygen generator project in India. Many gave very generously, and we collected $7,000  from club members. A global Grant has been submitted to Rotary International, put together in the record time of two weeks, and the club’s contribution will form part of the match. The whole project is $140,000.
Tourism on The Rebound
 
Justin Lamontagne introduced Tony Cameron, the CEO of the Maine Tourism Association.
 
Tony is a former Rotarian with the Bar Harbor and Ellsworth clubs, but with work and travel commitments, he’s had to forego those activities. He’s well versed in the good work of Rotary and our club, and was eager to share updates on Maine’s tourism and hospitality world. 
 
The MTA represents all segments of the tourism industry, retail, attractions, hotel, restaurants, festivals and fairs, cultural affairs – about 1500 different organizations. Founded in 1922 as the Maine Publicity Bureau, they’re readying to celebrate their 100th year of supporting Maine tourism. They were renamed the MTA in 1999.
 
With a full-time lobbyist working with the State legislature, the MTA has been working hard this past year to fully understand the travel restrictions, and how decisions were being made, particularly towards lifting restrictions in a safe manner at the earliest possible time. 
 
The association’s marketing fund comes from five percent of the meals and lodging tax levied in the state, but with last year being down, Tony knew the fund was going to take a big hit this year. Coming out of this mess, the MTA knew it was vital to put the best foot forward, and has been pushing to not just maintain past marketing budgets, but reasonably expand. Other states are pushing for tourists, so Maine has to stay competitive. 
 
Overall, visitation was down 27% in 2020. Expenditures at restaurants, down $365 million, or 24%. Accommodations, down over $500 million, down 35%. Similar percentages for shopping, transportation, groceries, and attractions. The total drop of 27% equates to $1.73 billion dollars. 
 
Cameron quoted Roger Dow, President & CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, “Travel is the front door of economic development.” He was quick to note that the MTA has records dating back to the 1930’s, showing that tourism in Maine has always been resilient. As restrictions lift, he sees tremendous potential ahead.
 
Early indications back up that intuition. Two key dates earlier this year have made the difference. On March 5th, the governor announced the timeline for loosening travel restrictions. Once that occurred, reservations and bookings immediately jumped, and have not eased. The second announcement on May 13th affecting capacity restrictions and social distancing requirements propelled events like sports, concerts, fairs, festivals – all the major attractions –back in the game. Some things that required more time to plan had already been cancelled, but overall, these actions signaled that Maine was back in business.
 
Cameron reported that the Memorial Day weekend was genuinely very good, but the weather did have an impact on some opportunities, but not the pandemic. 
 
Maine has always been a “drive destination.” Surveys indicate visitors are choosing Maine because they feel safe, and because we are a strong outdoor recreation paradise. Inland areas maintained a good level of business last year, and now the coastal areas are returning to high levels. Cameron said.
 
He said surveys are showing that many tourists are first time visitors to the state, coming from new areas – California, Washington, Arizona, Wisconsin, New Mexico – not our typical visitors. “We have a great track record of having “first-timers” return to our state again,” he said. 
 
Tony pointed out not only are people coming, but are being welcomed by Maine communities that did have concern about visitors last year. Maine residents are also utilizing the amenities of the state, taking advantage of all our state has to offer. 
 
Cameron expressed cautious optimism. The winter was not particularly strong – due to lack of snow and travel restrictions still in place. Second, tourism competition is very intense. The Canadian border has been an issue, and questions remain about its reopening. Some festivals have been cancelled. Above all though, the biggest problem is the shortage of workers. He is concerned that a lot of business dollars will be left on the table, because facilities may have to cut back on services, hours, or extra amenities. Tony hopes that customer service will not suffer, and said the MTA stresses patience on the part of customers. 
 
Audience questions began with Bowen Depke, who noted a Portland Press Herald article reporting that the state’s tourism GDP was 6%, with Maine 6th out of 50 states in spending per capita, but only 21st per capita in tourism receipts. Are we getting sufficient bang for our buck? Cameron had not seen that study and was surprised by that information, because the return on investment has been 24:1, even in the down year of 2020, Maine still generated $8.9 billion. 
 
Bob Martin, noting that Maine is a “drive destination” asked what the MTA is doing to support the installation of electric vehicle charging stations, particularly in remote areas. Tony responded that the MTA has not been involved in the idea, but is supportive. 
 
Kirk Duffy, who splits living time between Maine and Georgia, asked if Maine is going to follow suit with Georgia and stop paying people supplemental unemployment at the end of June. Cameron responded that MTA has not advocated for the change, believing it would not be approved by the current administration, so instead looks for incentives to attract workers. 
 
Moment of Reflection
 
In the Sun
 
by Jhumpa Lahiri
 
           Today there are protests downtown, and the helicopters have been circling the city all morning. But it’s the sun that wakes me up, and it beckons me to my desk, where I write, wrapped in my robe, and then it draws me down to the piazza where I’m greeted by the contained mayhem of my neighborhood.
 
            It’s a splendid Saturday, the first warm day. Only a few people are still wearing boots. I see jackets unzipped and the blistered heels of girls in flip-flops who can’t stand their punishing leather ballerina flats anymore. Even though it’s Saturday there’s still a dash of elegance to how people are dressed: the bold shade of a jacket, a bright scarf, the tight lines of a dress. It feels like a party effortlessly organized at the last minute. The piazza becomes a beach on days like this, and a sense of well-being, of euphoria, permeates the air. All the stores are full of people, long lines at the bank machine, the butcher, the bakery, but no one’s complaining. If anything they enjoy the wait. While I’m in line for a sandwich a woman says, “What a spectacular day.” And the man behind her says, “This neighborhood is always spectacular.”
 
            It’s my turn for the sandwich.
 
            “Just wait and see how delicious this one’s going to be,” the man behind the counter says. He’s known me forever and makes me the same sandwich at least three times a week. “Today it’s going to be the best ever.”
 
            He dips a ladle into a bucket on the counter. He weighs two slices of fresh cheese on the scale, arranges them on a roll, wraps the sandwich in paper, and gives me the bill. “Here you go, my dear.”
 
            It hardly costs anything. I look for a place to sit and find a spot in the playground where they deal drugs at night, but at this time of day it’s bursting with kids, parents, dogs, also a few people on their own like me. But today I don’t feel even slightly alone. I hear the babble of people as they chatter, on and on. I’m amazed at our impulse to express ourselves, explain ourselves, tell stories to one another. The simple sandwich I always get amazes me, too. As I eat it, as my body bakes in the sun that pours down on my neighborhood, each bite, felling sacred, reminds me that I’m not forsaken.
 
From Whereabouts, A Novel, by Jhumpa Lahiri, Alfred A. Knopf, © 2021
 
Speaker Schedule
 
June 11 | Wade Merritt, Maine International Trade Center
June 18 | Picnic, Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth
June 25 | Dory Waxman, Portland Charter
July 2 | NO MEETING
The Windjammer
is published online every week by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
 
Contributing Editors
Jake Bourdeau
Dick Hall
Erik Jorgensen
Julie L’Heureux
Ben Lowry
John Marr
Tom Talbott
 
Managing Editor
Bob Martin
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