02/20/17 Bits & Pieces
Posted by Bob Martin
President Laura Young opened the meeting at the Clarion Hotel by welcoming 50 Club members, 5 visiting Rotarians and 5 guests.
Russ Burleigh and Alan Nye led us in invocation with prayer and the club “swearing in” to uphold the Four-Way Test. Would that it be a cornerstone of an incoming administration. We Pledged our Allegiance to the Flag and we sang the National Anthem.
(Photo: District Governor Marge Barker.)Visiting Rotarians included our District Governor Marge Barker, Past District Governor Sheila Rollins, Jim Schmidt from the Casco Bay Sunrise Club, Kitty Chadbourne, and Dennis Robillard both from the Saco Bay Sunset Club. Guests included Andy Stone, brought by Bill Blount; Aimee Petrin, guest of Rusty Atwood; Susy Sonenberg, mother of our guest speaker. Ogy Nikolic, who was received into the club today, brought as his guests, his wife Sanja, and daughter Anastasija.
President Laura delivered appreciation for members with assigned tasks for this week’s luncheon meeting, and to Lili Brown for her efforts with the Lyseth School reading program.
Glenn Nerbak shared a Rotary Moment, which focused on his appreciation for the Club’s dedication to service that appealed to him, and the examples set by Jack Carr, John Marr, and Kris Rosado. Glenn provided a few slides showing Interact Club members engaged in a variety of service projects focused on hunger and Crutches4Africa. President Laura thanked Glenn for his critical role in establishing an Interact Club at Portland High School.
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John Lock tried to help Loretta Rowe win the $1,240 raffle pot, but her drawing the Seven of Clubs did not help.
Gracie Johnston led us a cappella, as we sang “We Shall Overcome.”
(Photo: Prez. Laura Young, Russell Voss, Steve Mortimer, Ogy Nikolic, Jill Chase, Terri St. Angelo and Linda Varrell.)Four new Rotarians were introduced: Linda Varrell presented Terri St. Angelo, a principal in Anderson-Watkins Insurance Agency; President Laura presented Julie Chase, the Dean of Business and Community Partnerships at Southern Maine Community College, and Steve Mortimer, CEO of Maine Management Consulting; and Russell Voss presented Ogy Nikolic, founder of OGO Sense, a digital marketing agency.
Ogy took a moment to share that his initial involvement with Rotary resulted from a question he asked a group of U.S. soldiers in Bosnia, "How could he come to America as an exchange student." One of the soldiers told him his mom was in Rotary, and she could help. That mom turned out to be Kitty Chadbourne of the Saco Bay Sunset Club, who not only arranged for Ogy to become an exchange student, but was present at Friday’s lunch as Ogy became a member of our Rotary Club. We were all touched by Ogy’s telling of his story, and the reach that Rotary has.
PDG Sheila Rollins took a moment to thank Past President Bowen Depke with an award for the club for the most new members in District 7880, and an award for the Club’s top rate of contributions for the Rotary Foundation, all during Bowen’s presidency during 2015-16.
Jim Schmidt of the Casco Bay Sunrise Club invited members to their fundraiser – Party With A Purpose – a buffet and charitable auction at Dimillo’s, on February 1st from 5:30 to 8:30 pm., all to benefit the Maine Children's Cancer Program. For more information, call: 207-662-6274. Buy tickets at: mmc.org/mccpbenefit