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District Governor Newsletter for January 2018
Happy New Year! One of the greatest privileges of Rotary is that we can make this true for people we may never meet. This month we will work to give hope to children in Pakistan, water to families in Guatemala and education to refugees in Jordan, sharing our good fortune from New Hampshire and Maine.
January is Rotary’s Vocational Service month. While recently we have de-emphasized “classification” as part of our culture, Rotarians have always believed in the worthiness of all useful occupations. Our communities and our clubs thrive on the diverse skills of our members. So during this month, let’s take a moment to recognize a volunteer, thank a partner who has helped our service project or fundraiser, and invite a new member to join us from an occupation not represented in our club today.
Does your club have members give vocation talks? It’s a great way to learn more about what they can bring to the table (or the job-site) of your next service project, and it promotes great relationships outside the Rotary world too. Consider “mini” versions of this for a club meeting – a lightening round of three or five minute “what I do, why I do it” chats from folks in your club. Don’t take for granted “everyone knows”, because about 20% of your members have joined so recently they could not possibly be aware of your profession or craft. Share your passion for your work, and you will be sharing Rotary. Our lives center on family, work and Rotary – good things happen when we bring them together!
Mark Your Calendar!
Mid-Year Dinner: Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect and Vice Presidents will gather Monday January 29 for our Mid-Year Dinner at the Fireside Inn, Portland. It’s an evening of fellowship, learning and reviewing our Rotary goals for the winter and spring. Please register here: http://rotary7780.org/event/(hold)-midyear-dinner-2018/
Frugal Feast:All Rotarians in our district, please mark your calendar for the World Understanding and Peace “frugal feast” dinner February 23.
2018 Rotary Mount Washington Summit: registration is going very well, we have over 100 Rotarians from our district along with 200+ others already signed up for this big event May 4-6. Keynote speakers include RI President Ian Riseley, inspirational speaker and former BU hockey player Travis Roy, along with polio researcher Dr. John Modlin of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. We are planning a major service project and some great fellowship events too. Don’t miss this special weekend: info and sign up now at http://rotary7780.org/Stories/2018-rotary-mount-washington-summit
News Notes from around District 7780
We’re still looking for applicants to serve on the Finance committee – a three year term beginning in July, member must be from a club in “area C” of our district (Maine counties of Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc).
NEPETS is coming up fast: every club President-Elect will head to Framingham, MA for inspiration, orientation and training March 8-10. It’s a good time to remind you that if you recently elected a new slate of officers for your club, be sure to get them entered into ClubRunner so they get all Rotary communication. Club Secretaries know how to do this.
The District Strategic Plan draft will be circulated to the club officers attending the mid-year dinner, and shared with the clubs in February. We expect to finalize it by the April 7 District Training Assembly (yet another date for your Rotary Calendar). Speaking of that, did you know the district calendar can be automatically fed to your phone/PDA device? Just go to this link and click “subscribe to calendar”: http://rotary7780.org/Events/Calendar
District Committee reports were updated in December and can be found at the “committees” dropdown link on the top rail of Rotary7780.org. I’d like to take this moment to thank the committees that work all year, often with very little fanfare, to support our clubs – we appreciate you! Learn more about what they’re doing and get them engaged to support your Rotary passion.
Onward! Hop on those skis or that snow machine and go build your Pyramid of Peace, with gratitude that we’re making starting this happy new year by Making a Difference in our local and world communities. Thank you for all you do in Rotary!
Dave
Rotary Year 2018-19
LOBOSCO ANNOUNCES 2018-19 APPOINTMENTS
Dick Hall to Lead Youth Exchange Program
District Governor-Elect John LoBosco has announced that Dick Hall of The Rotary Club of Portland will chair our Youth Exchange Committee beginning July 1, 2018. Dick will take over from Israel Collins (Saco Bay Sunset), who has worked tirelessly over the last couple of years to keep Youth Exchange alive in our district. Thanks Israel! As we shared in last month's newsletter, we need passionate Rotarians to help us continue to build Youth Exchange into a robust program. If you would like to serve on our Youth Exchange committee, please email Dick at dickhall@maine.rr.com. If you would like to learn more about our district's youth services programs generally, please contact our Youth Services chair, Kevin Raymond, at rayquest1@aol.com.
Jeff Slaton to Head District Polio-Plus Efforts
Our district leadership team announced that Jeff Slaton (Saco Bay) will lead our District's PolioPlus effort as of July 1, 2018. As head of its PolioPlus subcommittee, Jeff also will serve on our district's Foundation Committee. As previously announced, the current PolioPlus chair, Lawrence Furbish (Sanford-Springvale), will chair the Foundation Committee as of July 1. Lawrence and Jeff are looking forward to working together to ensure the record setting generosity of our members continues until we fully eradicate polio!
Bob Reed to Serve as Assistant Governor
Our district leadership team is pleased to announce that Bob Reed will become an Assistant Governor as of July 1. Bob currently serves as President of The Rotary Club of Bath Sunrise. Bob will replace Claudia Frost (Brunswick), who is completing her three year term as Assistant Governor in Area 8 (Bath, Bath Sunrise, Boothbay Harbor and Damariscotta-Newcastle). Please join us in thanking Claudia for her service and in welcoming Bob to the AG team.
The Rotary Leadership Institute
MARCH 24, 2018
LAST CALL TO ALL DISTRICT 7780 ROTARIANS!!
Want to learn more about the Basics of Rotary?
Meet other Rotarians from around our District and surrounding Districts!
Learn how other Rotary Clubs are run and what they do?
Attend RLI (Rotary Leadership Institute)
WHEN: Saturday, March 24, 2018 7:30 AM – 3:30 PM
WHERE: York County Community College, Wells, Maine – In our own backyard!
Offering: Parts I, II, III, & Graduate Classes. The parts have to be taken in order.
Registration Fee: $75.00 which includes materials, breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks.
Time is running out! Registration closes Saturday, March 19th! To initiate course registration, please go to www.rlinea.org and click on the highlighted site name that you wish to attend on the left hand side of the page. This will automatically take you to that site’s registration page.
Any questions, please contact me. I hope to see many of you there on March 24th
Click GIVE at top right of screen, and DONATE on the next screen. Then:
1. Select the Rotary fund of your choice (it’s up to you!)
2. Enter amount and frequency (also up to you!)
$___ per month/quarter/year
3. Enter your basic billing info.
4. Review the summary
5. Enter your credit card info.
That’s all there is to it!
And beginning this month, The Rotary Foundation is implementing a streamlined tax receipt process: All your gifts made to The Rotary Foundation via Rotary Direct will be receipted individually at the time of each contribution, rather than via an annual summary. (Your total amount of gifts made to the Rotary Foundation via Rotary Direct during the 2017 calendar year will still be sent as an annual summary at the end of January 2018.
As The Rotary Foundation embarks on its second century of service, your contributions ensure that Rotary will have the resources needed to carry out our mission of advancing world understanding, goodwill, and peace. We would not be where we are today without the consistent and reliable support of advocates like you.
District Literacy
LITTLE FREE LIBRARIES
There is a new literacy trend in our district-- Little Free Libraries are popping up throughout the district!
Some recent examples:
* The Rotary Club of Bath Sunrise raised funds for a Little Free Library in Bath by volunteering at Bath Heritage Day.
* The Rotary Club of Saco Bay Sunset started a Little Free Library program in Old Orchard Beach.
* The Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale collaborated on a Little Free Library program with Goodall Library. In a unique twist, they are using old newspaper dispensers as Little Free Libraries.
Little Free Libraries come in all shapes and forms. Some Little Free Libraries are inexpensive and others can be very elaborate. They can be great art projects for the entire family; for example, children can paint a dresser or armoire and let their creativity run loose.
Most of us think of Little Free Libraries as installed outdoors, but little libraries can be placed indoors in local businesses, schools, or coffee shops (among other places!), and they can be as simple as a book shelf, book box, or plastic tub.
During our District Conference in 2015, Past District Governor Marge Barker began distributing little boxes of books to each club for re-distribution in their communities. Who would have imagined the impact this program would have--thousands of books have been distributed in our district!
Well, well, well, (pun intended) it has been far too long since I have had the chance to update our Partnering Clubs. Here is the status on drilling a CLEAN WATER WELL, in the jungle village of Cuatro Cayos, Guatemala.
Let me give you a brief re-cap of what has been happening and why.
First, we ran into an administrative layer in the Global Grant process that would have inhibited us from drilling a well until late into the 2018 calendar year. This conflicted with our schedule and planned trip to finish off the site work in February of 2018. After consulting with District Governor Dave and A.G. Tony Wagner, a new plan was developed. Because our original request had included so many District clubs, we agreed to simply change the project from a Global Grant to a Club Based Project for this first well. Our goal no was to get the original clubs to retain their financial commitments this revised project.
Second, we determined that if we could raise $14-15k we could get the 1st smaller well drilled now. Tony Wagner then took the point and notified all the clubs who were originally in on the Global Grant via a conference call, and personal invitation, to become partners in a District Club based project. It was very humbling for me to see so many clubs remain loyal to the goal of creating a CLEAN WATER WELL in the village. Thanks to 16 District Clubs, we reached our financial goal, empowering us to complete the project early in 2018!
Recent up date: This coming Sunday and Monday (Dec.10, 11), Geo-Engineers will be on site testing to find a good place to drill for water in Cuatro Cayos. Once they locate water they should be able to tell us the drilling depth. This will help establish our cost, and assist in planning our purchasing of auxiliary items.
Our current plan is to install an electric pump and high quality generator, to fill retaining tanks for distribution to the community.
THANK YOU all for your continued support of this amazing project. It is a pioneering project in the Rio Dulce region of Guatemala. I have no doubt that we will still have some challenges to overcome. But, we are about to be MAKING A DIFFERENCE to the people of Cuatro Cayos.
On behalf of Dave, Tony and myself, thank you all. You are a fantastic team!
Bill Chadwick
Director CLEAN WATER GUATEMALA
Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club
DISTRICT HISTORY
Thank you Ogunquit, Bath and River Valley!!
Last month’s District History request results:
As you know, I have been trying to add the individual Club Presidents from day one of the individual clubs through 2017-2018 Rotary year. It would be great to have all 40 clubs in District 7780 and their past presidents listed before all that information is lost.
We now have THIRTY-TWO (32) Rotary Club pages with their club presidents’ names and dates of service from the start of the club, plus yours truly added any DGs from those clubs, their club charter dates and sponsoring clubs plus the dates of deceased club presidents that I have information on. Out of these 312 clubs, we have clubs that were chartered in 1915, 1919, 1920, 2 in 1923, 1924, 2 in 1925, 1926, 1939, 1959, 2 in 1960, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1982, 1983, 2 in 1986, 1987, 1989, 2 in 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2008, 2015 and 2016. The oldest and the youngest clubs in the District who have responded! I have had two more tell me they are working on their club’s list and hopefully they will come through as well.
Check them out – On the home page of the District Website CLICK on About Us; CLICK on District History; CLICK on Rotary Clubs of District 7780; CLICK on the Rotary Club name that is light blue and it will bring you to that club’s page and you can see the list of their club presidents. THANK YOU to the 32 clubs for providing their information!
This month’s District History request:
Well, when you read this we will be in a new calendar year. I told you I was going to try something new. Well, here goes, tell me about the thing that has made the biggest impression on you or your favorite experience since joining Rotary. It can be about someone you have met, a service project, a community or Rotary event, a fundraiser or anything else that has made an impression on you since joining Rotary. I am hoping that our past, present and future leaders will do this as well.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR ROTARY EXPERIENCE!!
Send me your favorite experience or biggest impression of Rotary to me at mawilliamspdg@comcast.net along with your name and the name of your Rotary Club.
The Hampton Rotary Clubrecently inducted John and Caren Ferris during their evening meeting held at The Old Salt Restaurant on December 19th. Welcome John and Caren!
Pictured left to right: Club President Bill McGowan, Sponsor Jim Sambold, John Ferris, and Caren Ferris
The Rotary Club of Bethel
RAISES MONEY FOR "CHRISTMAS FOR CHILDREN" AND HOSTS SENIOR LUNCHEON
The Bethel Rotary Club had a busy month raising money for Christmas for Children, a program that gives gift cards to over 150 needy kids in SAD 44. We also hosted our annual senior citizen luncheon, and packed turkey dinner boxes for needy families. Happy Holidays to all!
The Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay
ROTARY DELIVERS HOLIDAY CHEER TO LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES
John Belcher (5th from right), Andrew Corrow (4th from right), Bill Drapeau (2d from right), Tom Boisvert (1st on right)
Over the course of nearly 20 years, the Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay has provided thousands of turkeys for local food pantries holiday food baskets. This year is no different.
Bill Drapeau, a club member and Sergeant-At-Arms, states that so far this year the club has raised enough money to purchase nearly 4,700 pounds; over two tons. This equates to about 235 18-20 pound turkeys.
The club donated 25 turkeys to the Church of St. Thomas More for their Thanksgiving food baskets. With the help of the Durham Police Department, all other donations were delivered on December 18th for holiday food baskets.
The annual turkey drive helps 4 community food pantries. The Church of St. Thomas More in Durham, the Lee Congregational Church in Lee, the Cornucopia Food Pantry at the Waysmeet Center in Durham, the Newmarket Community Church in Newmarket. Last year the Durham-Great Bay Rotary provided more than 220 turkeys to families in need.
John Belcher, the Club Treasurer, stated that historically the club donates approximately 220 turkeys per year. Over the past 20 years, the club has donated over 4,400 turkeys worth nearly $70,000.
According to the website Feeding America (http://www.feedingamerica.org/), in New Hampshire 128,910 people are struggling with hunger. Of that, 33,940 are children. That is 1 in 10 adults and 1 in 8 children.
"Charitable programs are unable to fully support those struggling with hunger. The combination of charity and government assistance programs are necessary to help bridge the meal gap."
The Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay, as well as hundreds of Rotary Clubs around the country, takes that mission seriously to help bridge the meal gap for hundreds of families in the seacoast area that are struggling with hunger and food insecurity.
Hampton Rotarians recently gathered for their annual holiday celebration. The price of admission? A request for children’s vitamins. Pictured here is Anne Russell, who chaired this event. More than 50 bottles of the children’s vitamins were collected and were delivered to the Hobbs House on December 14th, for distribution to families struggling to make ends meet.
The Rotary Club of Kennebunk Portside
KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY
Know Your Community has been offered for several years to the 5th Graders at Consolidated School in Kennebunkport with the help of Kennebunk Portside Rotary. It helps the 5th graders understand more about the community we live in. It consists of visits to Kennebunkport Town government departments, businesses and others that are part of the town’s fabric. Being a tourist town, we live in basically two different towns depending on the time of the year. On Tuesday December 19th the students visited Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water Department. The students got to visit the business office on Maine Street in Kennebunk, and then moved on to the plant. It consisted of a presentation by KKW employees and a tour. The interest level was high and there were a lot of questions!
PREPARES AND SERVES BREAKFAST TO THE NEIGHBORS OF COS
On December 15th, the Kennebunk Portside Rotary purchased, prepared and served breakfast for over 60 "neighbors" of the COS food pantry. "This is one of our favorite annual outreach projects," said Kennebunk Portside Rotary President Kirk Butterfield. "The club enjoys giving of ourselves and plans on doing these several times during the year."
ROTARIAN TURNS TRASH INTO TREASURE
Long-time Rotarian Bill Leffler writes:
"My wife and I live close to the ocean at Goose Rocks Beach. The beach is a significant summer tourist destination, with many families enjoying the sand and ocean, either for the day or as renters. Many of the day folks come with their picnic luncheons. When they go home, they dump their remains in the trash barrels which the town puts out for that purpose. And when they do, they frequently include the empty bottles and cans from the drinks they enjoyed. So by the end of the day, there are often a large number of deposit items waiting to be collected by the trash folks. What a waste!
Most afternoons in the summer, I take my wagon and search the barrels for the cans – and I often fill my wagon! I make sure that the deposits from this effort go to the Rotary Foundation.
In addition, recycling at the Beach is collected every Saturday morning. And so the summer renters put out their filled cartons for this. However, these cartons are often filled with deposit bottles and cans as well, as the renters don't know what else to do with them. Thus they too are a ready source of funding for the Foundation, because I go about early Saturday morning, prior to the trucks arriving, and collect them also.
I estimate that between these two activities, I contribute approximately $25 a week to the Rotary Foundation during the summer tourist season."
Here, then, are two easy ways for Rotarians to support the Foundation, support recycling and reduce the load that the trash trucks gather.
Go to it, Rotarians!!
The Rotary Club of Ogunquit
BRENNAN IS AWARDED PHF
On September 29th, Ogunquit Rotary Club President Bob Cruickshank presented club member Carol Brennan with a Paul Harris Fellow award. The Paul Harris Fellow Award acknowledges individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Congratulations, Carol Brennan!
Pictured above: PHF recipient Carol Brennan and Club President Bob Cruickshank
CLUB HOST ANNUAL SENIOR HOLIDAY LUNCHEON
December 6th, Ogunquit Rotary Club hosted its annual Senior Holiday Luncheon at Jonathan’s Restaurant in Ogunquit. Every year, the club invites local Senior members of the community to enjoy a holiday luncheon along with a group of Wells Junior High School’s 5th grade students and teachers, Rotary Club members, guests, and guest of honor Santa Claus. The event brings together generations to share a meal, while also enjoying holiday music performed by Pastor Jeff Patnaude and pianist Ann-Marie Johnson, and singing assisted by the Wells 5th grade students and attendees. Ogunquit Rotary donated a set of books, handpicked by Ogunquit Librarian & Rotarian Mary Littlefield, to the Wells 5th grade students for their school library.
ROTARY PARK CHRISTMAS TREE
Finally, the Ogunquit Chamber’s annual Christmas by the Sea event was held December 8-10th, and this year it included the official lighting of the Rotary Park Christmas Tree, which was handpicked and decorated by the Ogunquit Rotary Club. Then the following day, the Ogunquit Club participated in the Christmas by the Sea parade, which originates in Perkins Cove & concludes at Ogunquit Beach. The Ogunquit Rotary Club is thankful for a wonderful year of service, community-building, & fun!
The Rotary Club of Oxford Hills
PHF AWARD PRESENTATION
The Rotary Club of Oxford Hills is pleased to announce the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow Award recently to Evy Marshall. Evy is the mother of Rotarians Beth Abbott and Patty Rice, Rotarian-in-spirit Barbara Brunjes, as well as mother-in-law to Rotarian George Rice.
Pictured left to right: George Rice, Patty Rice, Evy Marshall, Beth Abbott, and Barbara Brunjes
The presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow recognition is The Rotary Foundation’s way of expressing its appreciation for a substantial contribution to its humanitarian and educational programs. It is named for the founder, Paul Harris, a Chicago lawyer who started Rotary International with three business associates in 1905.
Rotarians often designate a Paul Harris Fellow as a tribute to a person whose life demonstrates a shared purpose with the objectives of Rotary and practices their motto—SERVICE ABOVE SELF.
Evy has practiced this motto her entire life. She was a Brownie & Girl Scout leader for her three daughters; a member of the Mt. Hope Rebekah Lodge; is a member of the Heywood Club whose motto is ‘neighbors helping neighbors’; volunteered for Stephens Memorial Hospital by cooking for their coffee shop; assisted with community immunizations with Dr. Harper and Dr. Hazelton; is a volunteer for Beacon Hospice; and although she doesn’t make client visits anymore, she does design and make memory pillows and American flag lap robes for the many Veterans in the community. She was named Beacon Hospice Volunteer of the Year in 2013.
She recently made a patchwork quilt in memory of her husband John E. Marshall, a Veteran in the Air Force, and donated it to the OH Rotary Club, who sold raffle tickets and will start a new Veteran project with the proceeds. Evy was very overwhelmed and pleased with the surprise Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
The Rotary Club of Portland
HELPING OTHERS STAY WARM THIS WINTER
For the past 5 weeks, the Portland Rotary Club has been having a warm shoe, boot and clothing drive for the indigent in the community through Preble Street Resource Center.
Members have been collecting slightly-worn apparel and footwear to help our neighbors during the cold winter months. Money has also been donated to purchase other needed items.
Many of the Preble Street clients spend a big part of their day outside... often not by their own device. So far the club has donated over 70 pairs of good-as-new shoes, sneakers and boots, and many huge bags/boxes of clothing.
All in-kind donations except for food can be brought to the Receiving Center at 18 Portland Street, which is located in the driveway along the side of the building facing the parking lot for Maria’s Restaurant. The second door at the end of the driveway is the Receiving Center. Ring the bell and we will be happy to help you. The Receiving Center hours are 9:00 am-noon, Mon-Wed-Fri, and 12:30-3:30 pm, Tue-Thurs. Please give Ray Hepler a call at 775-0026, if you have any questions.
Portland Rotary cont'd
INTERNATIONAL 3H PROJECT
In addition to the clothing drive, through 19 previous trips to the Dominican Republic, the Portland Rotary Club’s core international 3H (Hearing, Hands & H2O) project has helped give the gift of hearing to thousands of patients, provided clean water, and fitted hundreds of prosthetic hands. The project was recently feature on a WCSH 6 207 segment, which can be seen by clicking the link below.
We put on two huge gala luncheons to cap 2017. The Rotary Thanksgiving Dinner, held at the Jarvis Center, was a huge undertaking and a great success. More than 100 volunteers and the Portsmouth Hospital kitchen cooked turkeys, pies and more. Dinner was served to a packed house, as other Rotarians also assembled meals to go. Volunteer drivers fanned out as far as Nottingham and Exeter to deliver holiday food. Once again the incomparable Priscilla MacInnis coordinated this massive effort.
Meanwhile Cindi Shanley and co-chair Julia Ghigliotti directed another wonderful Senior Holiday Luncheon at the Portsmouth Country Club. The event “sold out” within hours of being announced back on November 13. In addition to a traditional turkey dinner, the Portsmouth High School orchestra played and Santa stopped by. There was also a performance by youngsters from the “spotted turtle room.” And the “Rotations” led everyone in festive song. More than 150 dinners were served.
Cindi Shanley & Santa
On top of all that, our Christmas Tree sales seemed on track to raise more than $10,000 for the club. Each of us was obligated to do three, three-hour shifts during the three week stretch. Cleo Villaflores and Leo Gagnon directed this challenging, but rewarding initiative. Cleo and Leo will be our President and Vice President, respectively, in 2018.
Christmas Feast Boxes were distributed in December by about thirty members of the Rochester Rotary Club to the elderly served by the Rochester Housing Authority. All those visited where very happy for the Christmas gift, and perhaps most of all the individual smiling human contact!! Thanks to Christine McCluskey, the project team leader, and the members of the Rochester Rotary Club.
The River Valley Rotary Club
WRAPS UP WINTERIZATION PROJECT
The River Valley Rotary Club just finished their winterization project, whereby they help seniors insulate their windows and foundation. Though there were not many volunteers available this time of year, they got it done and made a difference for the homes.
Seen in the photo are fellow Rotarians, Dr. Paul Doroghazi and Roger Whitehouse, both volunteers on the Winterization Project
CLUB RECEIVES "THANK YOU" FROM SCIENCE STUDENTS
Thank-you again for the opportunity to have Region 9 Fire Science students (candidates) help support your cause (Crutches 4 Africa) and be able to provide public service. My students were eager to help and are still talking about this project.
~Jon Longley Region 9 Fire Science Instructor
The River Valley Rotary Clubs receives and delivers used crutches, canes, walkers and wheel chairs in any condition from the general public which are sent in bulk to Africa for the millions of needy people.
A NIGHT FULL OF SURPRISES!
The River Valley Rotary Club held its Annual Holiday party at 49 Franklin Street Monday, December 18,2017 at 5:30 pm. It was attended by some 20 plus Rotarians and guests; and the night was full of surprises with five unexpected awards being issued!
The first was presented by the immediate past District Governor, Marge Barker, to the immediate past River Valley Rotary Club President, Dave Duguay, for meeting and exceeding fund raising for the Polio Plus project last year. Dave had invited a long time friend as an honorable guest, Regie Arsenault, who has been living with Polio since he was two years old. Regie is and has been one of the Town Selectmen of Mexico, Maine. Regie spoke on the importance of Polio vaccination and what it is like living with Polio.
Dave Duguay, Immediate Past President receiving recognition from Past District Governor Marge Barker, for exceeding Polio Plus fund raising in 2016
The second was presented to the entire River Valley Rotary Club as an Appreciation Award for sponsoring and promoting the Community Giving Tree presented by Michelle Worthley and Melissa McEntee of the Rumford Group Home for the Homeless. "These are stressful times with more than 15 homeless families just in this area alone and over 30 homeless families altogether in the system. What your club has done is to take some of the burden off us and give hope and lift the spirits of those truly in need!"
Randall Therrien, RVRC President receives an Appreciation Award on behalf of the River Valley Rotary Club from Mellisa McEntee and Michell Worthley of the Rumford Group Home for sponsoring and promoting the Community Giving Tree at the Festival of Trees events
The 3rd award, also presented by Michelle and Melissa was the "Super Santa Award" to Roger Whitehouse, whose kind, giving spirit has been an absolute godsend in spreading his exuberant, cheerful spirit, while encouraging the community to participate in donating to the homeless.
Roger Whitehouse received a Super Santa Appreciation Award for his exuberant and spirited personality in encouraging others to donate to such a worthy cause.
On Saturday, December 2nd, the city of Saco held their annual Holiday Parade of Lights which consisted of 75 floats! The Rotary Club of Saco Bay entered a float for the first time, and plan on making this an annual thing for the club going forward. We invited local Interact students to come and join us in the parade to help pass out candy to children, and 6 Interact students participated with us.
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
At our December 7th meeting we awarded our December Students of the Month.
Pictured from left to right: Cierra Albert from Old Orchard Beach High School, Alyssa Landry from Biddeford High School, Monika Kaczorowska from Thornton Academy, and Club President Tony LeBlanc.
HOLIDAY PARTY BENEFITS LOCAL FOOD PANTRIES
One of the annual fellowship events that the Rotary Club of Saco Bay holds is a holiday party. Club members Phil & Lucie Hatch opened their home up to the club. Some members brought favorite dishes, and some of the food was catered by club members David & Maureen Glidden (owners of the Chef & the Gardener restaurant and catering in Saco.) We had 52 folks in attendance with attendees bringing non-perishables to donate to our local food pantries (we collected three large boxes worth of food!)
The Seacoast Rotary Club
9TH ANNUAL TURKEY TROT 5K
On Thanksgiving morning, Seacoast Rotary in Portsmouth - a small but mighty club of just 41 members oversaw its 9th annual Turkey Trot 5K for more than 2,500 participants. Each year, 100% of race sponsorship dollars are donated to pre-selected non-profit beneficiaries. This year’s beneficiaries were Seacoast Family Promise and Blue Ocean Society. The beneficiaries received a combined $27,000! Seacoast Rotary was proud to be recognized in the below Letter to the Editor from Pati Frew-Waters, the Executive Director at Seacoast Family Promise.
Dec. 3 -- To the Editor:
It was a cold Thanksgiving morning and having to be ready to work in the brisk Portsmouth winds at 7 a.m. seemed almost surreal. Arriving at Strawberry Banke there was not an uncovered head or pair of hands, but the laughter and broad, welcoming smiles seemed to eliminate the nip of the air. Runners began to arrive; Rotary organizers were calling out their directions and necessary duties and folks took their places like soldiers as the race kick-off time approached.
They were off. Runners of all ages and sizes began the 5K through downtown, in anticipation of at least finishing the race and bettering their personal bests. They thanked volunteers for volunteering, shouted Thanksgiving greetings, and acknowledged the members of the Portsmouth PD who were there to ensure their safety as they crossed major intersections. They pushed carriages, waited for family and friends, donned an assortment of costumes and even sang an occasional tune as they made their way to the finish line.
Returning to the parking lot which was now full of fulfilled people delighted to have taken part in this annual event there was such a sense of coordination, good will, joy and exuberance for the day ahead. The Rotarians worked the booths providing coffee, water, donuts, breads and other items donated by the event sponsors. They knew exactly where to be and what to do like a well-oiled machine.
On behalf of the families with children served by Seacoast Family Promise, the board of directors and staff I wish to thank Seacoast Rotary for the honor of being chosen as one of the recipients of this charity event along with the Blue Ocean Society. Also, the sponsors and runners who all made this a Thanksgiving to remember.
Pati Frew
The Rotary Club of Sebago Lake
HOSTS TRADITIONAL HOLIDAY DINNER
The Sebago Lake Club recently hosted a Holiday Dinner for Seniors at Unity Garden Housing for over 40 seniors. A traditional ham dinner with all the fixings, along with many desserts made by Rotarians, was served along with an evening of entertainment by sax player Dave Debree.
The Rotary Club of South Portland-Cape Elizabeth
ANNUAL TREE SALE
In the cold, early afternoon of Sunday, December 12th, SP-CE Rotary's final tree found a home. The club's 55th annual tree sale was a big success, no trees went unsold! Everyone worked so hard during the sale, including student volunteers from South Portland, Cape Elizabeth and Waynefleet high schools.
Melania and Maddy Turgelsky and Paul Brown are pictured here with their tree (the very last one on the lot) ... along with SP-CE Rotary members Joan Frustaci and Laurenz Schmidt.
Have Something You'd Like to Share with Us?
Updates and short articles with images or videos, and the names of new members and those who have passed, may be submitted to our Newsletter Editor, Deb Marsolais, at deb.marsolais@comcast.net to be included in our Monthly Newsletter. The District Newsletter is a means of communicating to other clubs in our district; items of interest, upcoming events, fundraisers, opportunities of service, or member news.
Deadline forFebruaryNewsletter Submissions: January 24th
PLEASE NOTE:
As a precaution, unless you have obtained a written consent from a parent/guardian, every child’s face which appears in a picture submitted for the newsletter or website, will be edited so that it is blurred out in the picture. Since there may be situations involving abuse, neglect, custody dispute, etc., and parents wouldn't want their child's picture to appear in public, this is being done for the child's privacy and protection.
If you have a submission for the newsletter or website, and would like to have us post a picture with a child (children) in it, please let us know if you have received a consent, otherwise we will edit it accordingly.
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drive, through 19 previous trips to the Dominican Republic, the Portland Rotary Club’s core international 3H (Hearing, Hands & H2O) project has helped give the gift of hearing to thousands of patients, provided clean water, and fitted hundreds of prosthetic hands. The project was recently feature on a WCSH 6 207 segment, which can be seen by clicking the link below.
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