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APRIL GOVERNOR’S MESSAGE
As we turn the calendar to April, that can only mean one thing – spring? No, not in New England! Spring means it’s time to plan for the next Rotary year! Our Presidents-Elect have returned from their training at PETS and are no doubt raring to go into “their” Rotary year. And now it’s time for the rest of us to get ready. This Saturday, April 6, we are holding a District “Training Assembly” at York County Community College in Wells from 8 – 12:45. While the assembly is especially useful for incoming club officers and committee chairs, it has been planned so that EVERYONE will find something useful and informative. Not to mention a chance to get together with fellow Rotarians from around the District – always a fun time!
And once you’ve attended the assembly and become inspired to make a difference (see how I managed to fit two Rotary annual themes into one sentence!), it’s not too early to start making plans to apply for a District grant for 2019-20. The application deadline is June 1, which will be here before we know it. In order to apply for a District grant (or global grant), one person in your club must have attended a Grants Management Seminar. There will be a second in-person seminar at the District Training Assembly, but if the relevant people in your club are not able to attend in person, the seminar can be viewed online from our District website – look under the District Communications heading on the left of the home page. Even if someone else in your club has attended the seminar, I encourage anyone interested in either District (small) or Global (large) grants to view the webinar.
And speaking of grants, Rotary celebrates the Maternal and Child Health focus in April. A project that seeks to improve Maternal and Child Health could almost certainly be subsumed by one of the other 5 areas of focus – especially Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Basic Education and Literacy. But it is noteworthy that despite this fact, the Foundation Trustees carved out Maternal and Child Health as a topic deserving of its own Area of Focus.
None of our current district grants have Maternal and Child Health as their stated primary focus, so I’d like to talk about an international project that over a third of the clubs in our district have supported – Healthy Kids/Brighter Future (HK/BF) in Lusaka, Zambia. The Brunswick club began supporting this project in 2014 with a global grant, and there have been additional global grants since then, supported by clubs in our district as well as the Ipswich, Mass. club and other clubs in District 7930. The program, which trains teachers to become School Health Workers so that healthcare screening and preventative care can take place in the schools, was founded by Lonnie Hackett, a young man who grew up in our district. One of the grants allowed him to study at the University of Oxford where he received a Master’s in International Health and Tropical Medicine last year. The number of
students covered by the HK/BF services is mushrooming – starting with 10,000 four years ago and on track to reach 250,000 students in 2021. How are they doing that? By using Rotary Foundation dollars – donated by you and me – as the seed money that started a program that is sustained (that important buzzword!) by grants from other organizations and more importantly, from the local government. Although founded by a young man from Maine who is still wholly committed to the program, it is not dependent on him – it is sustained by local personnel.
Claudia Frost and others in the Brunswick Rotary Club recognized a great idea when Lonnie Hackett presented it 5 years ago. What great ideas has your club seen lately? Do they have the potential to be the subject of a district or global grant? Please feel free to reach out to our District Foundation Chair, Lawrence Furbish, lkfurbish@mac.com, Dave Underhill, dave.underhill.nh@gmail.com (global grants) or Betty Hughes, esh1508@myfairpoint.net (district grants) if you’d like to talk about what might make a good grant project for your club.
Considering our annual theme for next year is “Rotary Connects the World,” there can be no better time to begin exploring the feasibility of seeking a global grant. We have plenty of mentors who can help you and your club pursue a grant-- just ask!
I want to congratulate the Fryeburg Area Rotary Club, chartered April 4, 1994, on 25 years of service to the community, and to give a shout out to the Bath Sunrise club as it will be celebrating its 30th anniversary at a party on April 13.
On a sad note, we said good-bye to long-time Rotarian Dan Hussey in March. Dan passed away peacefully after having a fun day with his wife Jaca on Hilton Head Island, S.C., and in Savannah, Georgia. Dan and I served as Assistant Governors together. I will miss him.
We’ll remember Dan and other Rotarians who have passed away this year at a ceremony during our District Conference at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine on June 22, 2019.
Please be sure to save the date (June 22!) for our District Conference - RotaryFest! I hope to see you there! Our conference committee has a fantastic day planned. (For those who can make it, there will be a service project in the park the afternoon before too.) In addition to the utter beauty of the park, there will be music, free food, kite-flying, and cornhole and other games. There also will be opportunities to build Little Free Libraries, to learn more about the opioid crisis and how to use Narcan, and to hear about successful grants. All this and much more -- and you can do as much of it as you want or just kick back and network and socialize with fellow Rotarians and their families. I can’t wait!
Session Three – January 28, 2019 – Mid Year Leadership Dinner
Focus: What is your status? (Fireside Inn- Portland, 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM)
Session Four – February 9, 2019
Focus: Goal Setting (Freeport Community Center, 8 AM - 12:00 PM Breakfast)
Sessions Five and Six – March 7 – 9, 2019 – NEPETS
Focus: Inspiration & Leadership (Framingham, MA)
Session Seven – April 6, 2019 – District Training Assembly
Focus: Mandatory Topics (YCCC-Wells, 8:00 AM -12:00 PM)
"Let’s Go Fly a Kite" at the 2019 RotaryFest
JUNE 22, 2019
I certainly hope that by now you have Saturday, June 22, 2019 on your calendar. That is when we will gather at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine to celebrate District Governor John LoBosco’s terrific year as our fabulous leader. Every Rotary District in the world must have an annual District Conference and DG John has decided to make ours a one-day, family-oriented, free, fun day in the park. There will be some traditional Rotary programing but we want this to be something even non-Rotarians visiting the park might be interested in and by participating come to learn more about who we are and what we do. Potential new members, perhaps?
One of the exciting fun activities for kids, and adults who are young at heart, will be kite-flying and building. Not only will the Nor’easters Kite Club be there to fly kites, but they help us build our own for a great Rotary show in the air. Check it out at noreasterkites.org. We hope to have kites flying for the whole day. I have been assured by the Fort Williams staff that there are no Charlie Brown kite-eating-trees on the property. There are many reasons you should be at RotaryFest, which will run from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM. Come anytime and bring family, friends, neighbors, or anyone you might meet on the street. It will be a great day.
Lawrence Furbish
RotaryFest Chair
District Training Assembly
APRIL 6, 2019
District Training Assembly
Saturday, April 6th 8:00 am- 12:45 pm $20.00 per person
York County Community College
112 College Drive, Wells, Maine
Are you ready for the next Rotary year? District Training Assembly (DTA) is ready to help you!
Presidents, Board Members, Committee Chairs, Treasurers, Secretaries, Protection Officer and all new Rotarians. THIS IS FOR YOU!
What better way to welcome new members to the family of Rotary? It’s time again to pull your team together and register for the District Training Assembly (DTA). Once a year we gather to share ideas, fellowship and more than a few laughs.
Do you want to get club members, officers and committee chairs networking, engaged and aware of what’s happening? THIS IS FOR YOU!
Do you want to take part in great discussions, learn how others solved a problem, or talk to like-minded people? THIS IS FOR YOU!
Sign up now! Only $20 which includes a fresh continental breakfast, loads of ideas and the highly coveted “time with friends” – all included.
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, April 20, 2019 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: $80.00 which includes materials, breakfast, lunch and coffee breaks.
Time is running out! Registration closes Saturday, April 13th! To initiate course registration, please go to www.rlinea.org and click on the highlighted site name for Wells, ME. This will automatically take you to that site’s registration page.
I will be emailing all the individual club presidents shortly as a reminder for them to sign up and their club members.
Any questions, please contact me. I hope to see many of you there on April 20th!
Afghanistan has {2} cases of wild polio virus and Pakistan has {4} cases to date.
World Polio Day is observed on Thursday, October 24, 2019 this year and I would love to hear from any of you that may have some ideas on what our district could do. Feel free to reach out to me with your ideas.
UPDATED FOUNDATION DOCUMENTS AND DROP DOWN MENU ON DISTRICT WEBSITE
Thanks to the hard work of Scott Irving of the South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club, we have updated District and Global Grants documents and a new dropdown menu on the District website. Hopefully, the new menu will make it easier for people to find documents they are looking for. There are still a few pages awaiting updating such as Polio Plus and Peace Scholars, but the grants-related material is all current.
On the District website homepage, click on Rotary Foundation & Grants at the top and eight dropdown items will appear. The first is "Our Rotary Foundation" and it has the current committee roster and information on our District Designated Funds and the timelines for disbursement. The second is "Ways You Can Give" and the third is "Club Qualification" which contains very important information about what a club has to do to be qualified to apply for a District or Global Grant. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a fillable PDF that a club must sign and email back to be eligible to apply for a grant. (Right now the PDF opens in Google and must be downloaded to be filled in.)
The fourth dropdown is District Grants and it contains fillable PDFs for an application and report and a link to the current online Grants Management Seminar. The next is Global Grants; it contains the criteria for a Global Grant, a spreadsheet of all of the Global Grants our district is currently involved in. It also has a link to the page on the RI website (My Rotary) with information on how to apply. The next two are Polio Plus and Peace Scholars.
The last dropdown is a list of resources. Right now, interested Rotarians must go to My Rotary to find links to the most up-to-date version of this material. We are trying to work out a system that will allow the direct links to appear on our website, but we are not there yet. Finally, this year we produced a District 7780 Rotary Foundation Grants Manual and had a limited number of hard copies printed to be handed out at Foundation training. The Manual has copies of all of the grant-related documents on the website. A PDF version of the Manual appears under the Resources tab for anyone wishing to print their own version.
District and Global Grants are a major, direct way we, as Rotarians, can do good in the world. Grants are a way for more people to know who we are and what we do. I hope your club will be doing a grant this year and that this updated menu will make it easier for you to do so. If you have feedback or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me, Lawrence Furbish, District Foundation
What’s the difference between a Rotary Global Scholar and a Peace Fellow?
Global Grant Scholarships are for graduate students studying abroad in one of Rotary’s six causes:
1. Promoting peace
2. Fighting disease
3. Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene
4. Saving mothers and children
5. Supporting education
6. Growing local economies
Scholarships last from one to four years and can include an entire degree program. Global grant scholarships are funded using cash and/or District Designated Funds matched by the World Fund.
The Rotary Club of Brunswick, with the financial help from several District 7780 clubs and the match from the District through DDF (District Designated Funds), sponsored Lonnie Hackett for a degree in Public Health at Oxford University in 2017. The scholarship was for $30,000 and followed many of the criteria of a Global Grant for any project. Many of the questions and the qualifications of the candidate are answered by the candidate.
Rotary Peace Fellowships are available to candidates who want to participate in a master’s degree or certificate program at one of our six partner universities.
Each year, Rotary awards up to 100 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders from around the world to study at one of our six peace centers. Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centers program develops the fellows into experienced and effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and all internship and field-study expenses.
This photo exemplifies the stark contrast we found on this beautiful island, in the Vietnam Barrio of Guaynabo by the sea. The rainbow lit our spirits with joy as we worked in the warm rain at our reconstruction sites. The area is characterized by massive industrial buildings, a huge harbor for transportation of goods, and a neighborhood of homes that have stood for 50 years. All of this makes it potentially a great place to live and work.
The UNH Rotaract group under the direction of Sheila Rollins, PDG, took on the tasks of refurbishing several houses there. Our group worked with the nonprofit group called PathStone, Inc. It is committed to rehabbing several houses that the former residents want to live in again. That organization, we were told, has committed $220,000.00 to the effort and hired contractors and tradesmen to work on the houses. Our district’s 10 college student took their spring vacation week to work there with and for the people. They basically cleaned up Hurricane Maria’s related damage in the houses, and debris left on the grounds and in the gardens. It was difficult, demanding work in the heat, sun and warm rain. The group never complained and worked steadily till 2:30 pm each day. Then we went them to the beach to luxuriate in the crystal clear, warm sea. It was lovely.
Our Rotarians included the following workers: Krista Mastrogiacomo, co- President, Emily McPherson, co-President, Regina Flynn, secretary, Jacey Chavez, Erica Peplau, Megan Brule, Alyssa Picinich, Hannah Bowler, Jessica Hodgkins, Sung-KI Carty, Sheila Rollins, Lucy Abbott and Cornelia Stockman. We completed a great deal of work while there, including cleaning mold, destructing interior damage, power washing and painting the buildings. The first white house on the left is pictured here all painted outside, with a new roof and awaiting the fine carpentry inside. The owner is delighted with the work as the house stands whole again . . .
It was great work and quite satisfying to all, especially the homeowners. Many thanks to all thirteen people and Kudos to the clubs for their financial support.
Submitted by Cornelia Stockman of Kennebunk Portside for Sheila Rollins, PDG, Bridgton and for Lucy Abbott, Bethel.
District History for April 2019
Dennis Robillard Saco Bay Sunset responded to Charter Request.
Request for March! Oxford Hills recently celebrated their 35th anniversary and it got me to thinking – this is history! All our clubs have an anniversary every year! This calendar year we have a number of clubs having a key anniversary! Bath is 100 years old March 1st, Bath Sunrise was 30 years old January 12th, Boothbay Harbor is 80 years old November 22nd, Exeter is 60 years old December 1st, Hampton is 50 years old March 22nd not 35 as I previously stated – my apologies Hampton, Saco Bay is 30 years old November 14th! I have the Oxford Hills 35th anniversary celebration Program which you will be on their club’s page under the District History when you read this.
I would like to collect copies of all the club’s Charter & Anniversary celebration programs that are out there. There is a lot of club/district history in them! Many have how the club was started, the original charter members, all past presidents, current members, original officers, etc. Any that I get mailed to me at PO Box 142, Kittery Point, ME 03905, I PROMISE I will scan and return them to you promptly. If you do not want to mail them to me as you may be afraid they will get lost in snail mail, scan them as a jpg file and email it to me at mawilliamspdg@comcast.net.
I am going to continue with the above request for April. I received the Rotary Club of Saco Bay Sunset’s charter from Dennis Robillard, The Rotary Club of Bath Sunrise’s Charter night program from PDG Joe Hahn, The Rotary Club of Kittery’s Charter Night Program which are all posted to their club’s page in the District History. Al Carignan sent me paperwork regarding the Rotary Club of Saco Bay which includes pictures of all the charter members, CD of their history, etc. which I need to review and post what I can.
PLEASE SEND ME INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CLUB’S HISTORY!
Will your name and your club’s name be here next month?
Marie
Marie A. Williams, PDG
District 7780 Historian
Welcome New Rotarians!
AG Bob Reed recently inducted their newest member, Robert Melanson, into the Damariscotta-Newcastle Rotary Club. Robert, a former Rotarian, was sponsored by Steve Burton, the club’s senior member. He was identified as a potential member by Nancy Burton, a long-standing member of the family of Rotary.
The Rotary Club of Dover welcomed Lynn Robbins as our newest member to our Club. We are excited to have you join us and looking forward to your involvement within our Dover community. #welcometorotaryclubofdover #betheinspiration #serviceaboveself
The Rotary Club of Bethel
TELESTAR STUDENTS OF THE MONTH
Above: President Mike Steven with the Telstar HS February Students of the Month
CLUB HOLDS BREAKFAST TO RAISE FUNDS
Below are photos from Bethel Rotary's Spring Country Breakfast, which raised funds to support Rotary’s community programs.
Picture on left: Rotarians Jean Benedict, Steve Smith, Tim Roberts, friend of Rotary Bridget Remington, and Mike Steven. Picture on right: greeters Steve Wight and President Elect Tim LeConey
Picture on left: John Wholey on dish duty! Picture on right: Kevin Finley greeter and coffee duty
Cheerful Rotarians on the serving line!
The Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor
CLUB RECAP
We are so proud of our membership committee leaders who have excelled in bringing our membership to a new heights.
As soon as spring arrives, we’ll be installing Little Libraries in special accessible sites for anyone to borrow a book. This is a joint project with the Chamber of Commerce and the Boothbay Harbor Library. So far, Rotary members have committed to four little libraries. Hats off to the library and to the Chamber for their leadership!
The annual Soup Bowl will take place on April 11th, at 5:30 pm at the American Legion. This is a collaborative effort with Rebuilding Together and the Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, which prepares beautiful handmade soup bowls that are inclusive in the $15 admission price.
Bravo to our Youth Lane and 20 members of our local Interact Club who stepped it up a notch for this year’s Interact spaghetti dinner fundraiser. Thanks to all for bringing in $1000 for their community and global projects.
Our collaborative program for veterans called, “Serve the Served” is going forward to meet our mission of bringing veterans back into the community, who have lost touch with others and would benefit from home visits and possible community activities. Rotary, our local community center, and the American Legion lodge have gathered volunteers who, after training, will spend a minimal of 3 hours a month with a veteran.
We recently had an excellent guest speaker, Julie Kenny, Director of the Bath Regional Career Technical Center and Rotarian at Bath Sunrise Club. Julie asked us to share her link video that she wished us to view. We will be touring the Center in late April in hopes of facilitating greater investment in vocational training in order to safeguard the economic future of our community.
The Rotary Club of Damariscotta-Newcastle
KARL'S KIDS
Karl’s Kids volunteers making dreams come true at 12th annual family fun fundraiser weekend at Sugarloaf.
Pictured on left: Honorary member Mary stands in front of Karl's Kids banner. Pictured on right: PP Lorraine Faherty, Mary Berger, PP Linda and Dirk Brunner, VP Roberta McLaughlin.
The Rotary Club of Dover
CELEBRATES DR. SEUSS' BIRTHDAY
The Rotary Club of Dover spent time with the kindergarteners and 1st graders as they celebrated Dr Seuss’ birthday, by reading at Garrison Elementary School as part of Read Across America. #happybirthdaydrseuss #readacrossamerica #rotaryclubofdover #serviceaboveself
CLUB MEMBERS VISIT WITH SENIORS
Our Rotarians throughout the year have the opportunity to visit each of the Senior & Residential communities in Dover and talk with, sing, and create something fun with their residents. Today, we were able to paint “friendship” rocks and will in the Springtime, put these rocks in the Rotary gardens at Henry Law Park in downtown Dover for others to trade and enjoy. Thank you to the staff today for all their help and laughs. #rotary #seniorvisits #friendshiprocks #serviceaboveself
CLUB DONATES TO PURCHASE NEW FLOORS FOR TEEN CENTER
What a change! As one looks at the new floors that were installed recently at the Dover Teen Center. Thanks to the Rotary Club of Dover for the donation for these floors, that used to be concrete and had to be painted at least once or twice a year. No more with this donation. The kids along with the UNH Interns thanked Rotary and named the room, the Rotary Great Room at the Dover Teen Center.
The Rotary Club of Exeter
ROTARIAN VISITS PAUL HARRIS BIRTHPLACE
Exeter Rotary Club President, Kathy Flygare, recently visited Wallingford, Vt, where she lived for several years while growing up. Wallingford is the birthplace of Paul Harris. Above, she is pictured in front of the memorial building, which honors Rotary and Paul P. Harris. This building was the elementary school he attended as a boy and was built by his great grandfather.
Kathy remembers annual auctions and barbecue chicken sold right on Main Street. "This was an ideal place to grow up and Rotary was very important to our town."
The Rotary Club of Hampton
CLUB CONTINUES SUPPORT OF CRUTCHES 4 AFRICA
Above left: Saco Bay Sunset Rotarian Dennis Robillard and Hampton Rotarian Dave Anderson, pause for a quick picture. Above right: Barbara Anderson loads a walker onto the truck.
Our club's own Dave Anderson, with the assistance of his wife Barbara, has made yet another trip to Maine to donate crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs for “Crutches 4 Africa”. Dave has been the driving force in the Hampton Rotary Club’s ongoing commitment to this program, spending hours talking about the organization, collecting the mobility enhancing equipment and delivering and packing it to send to those in need. In spending time talking about this program he has been instrumental in helping folks within our own communities as well.
Thank you Dave for your desire to make a difference, for your determination to make this program successful, and your discipline to get the job done!
CLUB CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
At their 50th year celebration held on March 23rd, at The Atlantic Grill in Rye, NH, the Hampton Rotary Club was honored to have as their guest, NH Governor Christopher Sununu. One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of a Paul Harris Fellow recognition to Governor Sununu for his continuous support in the battle against opioid addiction and addiction awareness. Congratulations Governor Sununu!
Above: Governor Sununu poses with club president Donna Abisi, after being presented with a Paul Harris Fellow recognition.
The Rotary Club of Kennebunk
CLUB PURCHASES MOSQUITO NETS FOR SCHOOL IN UGANDA
The Kennebunk Rotary Club recently completed a project, working with James Kyeyune, Director of The Mbabaali Memorial School for Orphans in Uganda.
James Kyeyune visited the Kennebunk Rotary Club in September 2018
The Mbabaali Memorial School for Orphans in the Kampala district of Uganda, is a primary school which started in 2000 with a sole purpose of helping Orphans whose parents had died of HIV/AIDS. It started with only 30 students, and currently has 264 students.
Mbabaali Memorial is the only school in the Kampala district that accepts orphans without any tuition. On an average day, they receive 20-25 requests for orphans to attend their school, but their resources are so limited, they turn almost all of them away.
We asked James what we could do to help that would have an immediate impact, and he suggested purchasing Mosquito Nets for every one of the children that lives at the school, along with the netting for the staff that lives onsite.
On the day I communicated with James (January 10th, 2019) that we had successfully raised the funds for the Mosquito Netting, he shared that presently 31 kids at the school, were battling Malaria. He indicated that on average, 8 children a day in his care, get Malaria.
Our club raised and sent $1,200 in January, and the nets were purchased and installed in February. A total of 350 nets were purchased, enough for the children and staff, with some left over for future usage.
Our club is very pleased to be a part of this effort and to share our joy with our fellow Rotarians.
"The Kittery Rotary After-hours Rotary Club, along with the Kittery Fire Association, has made it a local tradition to host a joint St. Patrick's Day Dinner. Designed to be an affordable, family-friendly gathering and fundraiser for both organizations, the event once again "sold out" as they went through all the great Irish boiled dinner. Club President Dave Cuttle and PDG Jeff Pelkey MC'd the event, while club member Fire Chief Dave "Obie" O'Brien was the chief chef once again.
The Rotary Club of Ogunquit
HAPPY-DOLLARS BUILD COMMUNITY
Rotarians are the do-gooders who build community one happy-dollar at a time. For the uninitiated, Rotary Clubs meet regularly for fellowship and to progress their community service mission. Twice a month the Club members meet around a shared meal for a little over an hour. Officiants give minutes, report on finances, talk about old and new business, and reserve about fifteen minutes for a guest speaker’s talk. Perhaps as a gesture not to take themselves too seriously, happy-dollar chatter follows immediately after the group-recitation of the Rotarian four-way test, which is: “Of all the things we think, say or do: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?”
However, if you were to read a meeting recap, you would find the “happy-dollars” review length besting the amount written about the rest of the meeting by a healthy 2:1 ratio. From jolly jousts to milestone achievements and noteworthy observations – no matter how small, Rotarians happily pay-to-play. Happy-dollars ransom penalties and reward recognition equally. Caught without a nametag? Pay a dollar fine! Sitting only with your friends? Put some dollars toward repentance. Want bragging rights for a celebrity sighting, new baby, wedding announcement, milestone birthday or professional award? All those are good excuses for giving happy-dollars. Although nobody’s keeping score. Happy-dollar amounts tend to reflect the donor’s level of enthusiasm for the roast or the toast! And, although, luckily not as often, happy-dollars are also offered in hope to heal the sick and for those lost, near and far.
The Interact “New Generations” Conference was held on Saturday, March 23, 2019, and hosted by the Oxford Hills Interact and the Oxford Hills Rotary Clubs. Fifty-six students attended from (9 Interact clubs) Oxford Hills, Fryeburg Academy, Lake Region, Baxter Academy, York, Yarmouth, Wells, Kennebunk and Scarborough. Several advisors and Rotarians were also in attendance and/or leading the eight different breakout sessions.
Governor John LoBosco was able to attend and give some welcoming and encouraging words to the participants. A lot of ideas and information were shared, and everyone had a great time. Keynote Speaker, Ann Lee Hussey, shared her personal polio survivor story, and was very pleased when the Interactors asked what they could do to help! Fundraisers will be in the works to help support End Polio Now.
The highlight of the event was the many door prizes that most all the participants were able to win, and the new Baxter Interact Club won the whitewater rafting trip donated by Bob & Lynne Schott from the Oxford Hills Rotary Club. Kudos to OH Interact Advisor/Rotarian Tina Fox and the Oxford Hills Interact Club for organizing and executing a great conference!
The Rotary Club of Portland
CLUB DONATES FUNDS TO CHORAL GROUP
Portland Rotary President John Curran (left) with Dr. Peter Stickney (center) and Past President Bill Blount during the presentation of a donation to the Deering High School for the purchase of a keyboard needed in the music department.
Dr. Peter Stickney is the choral director at Deering High School, and their chorus performed at the Portland Rotary meeting in December 2018. Some discussions of aging and broken pianos were discussed during the performance event, and Dr. Stickney ended up using the club's keyboard, rather than his own. After the event, Past President Bill Blountled an effort to help Deering High School by starting a members' fundraiser, which saw enough funds donated to obtain a nicely pre-owned keyboard for the school. At our March 8th meeting, Dr. Stickney was presented with a check from the funds collected.
On a separate note, the Deering High School choral group, band and orchestra will be performing another concert for the Portland Rotary and all are welcome to attend; date to be announced. Of further interest, is that many of the members of the Deering High choral group are new Mainers, which has been a recent focus of our club.
The Rotary Club of Portsmouth
PORTSMOUTH ROTARY MARCH 18 DISTRICT REPORT
The club will host the second of four forums designed to address New Hampshire’s opioid addiction crisis. Governor Chris Sununu key-noted the initial meeting last month in Exeter. Our event is slated for April 11, 6-8pm at Portsmouth High School. Everyone is welcome. (see flier below)
Also, in the works is the second annual Reverend Gordon Allen Humanitarian Award. Nominations were still being accepted for the honor that will be presented April 18. Gordon was the long-time club chaplain. He passed away in December 2017.
We continue to support Cross Roads House, a local homeless shelter. Portsmouth Rotarians cooked and served the evening meal March 6. They will do so again March 30 and April 3. Tiffany McKenna is doing an exemplary job leading this effort.
Joanie Dickinson was pleased to announce that eight students have signed up for Rotary Youth Leadership.
The club was regaled with a program covering last fall’s Rotaplast expedition to Bangladesh. Ted Alex served as trip leader. Dr. Larry Gray was one of the chief surgeons involved with cleft palate and other restorative surgeries. Past President Ben Wheeler spear-headed the amazing $100,000 fundraising effort. Twenty-seven Portsmouth Rotarians ultimately made the trip. More than 100 patients were served by this “East Coast team.”
We also heard from our own Maddie Warren and hiking partner Larry Yetter, an Appalachian Mountain Club trip leader. They extolled the virtues of winter hiking in the Whites…Also presenting to the club was Dr. Tom King, whose AVATAR surgery has revolutionized recovery times for joint replacement surgeries.
The Rotary Club of Rochester
CLUB OFFERS FINGERPRINT ID KITS FOR FIRST GRADERS
Starting this week, a renewed partnership among multiple community organizations will once again provide families with an essential resource to better protect their children.
Through the Rochester Rotary’s fingerprinting project, Rochester first-grade students at each of the city’s elementary schools will have the opportunity to provide their fingerprints for identity kits, which parents can use in the event of an emergency.
Students at the William Allen School were the first to have their kits made during an event on Tuesday, March 19. Rochester Rotary, the schools and the police department have partnered on this project for approximately a decade.
The partnership, which includes Rotary and the schools working collaboratively with the Rochester Police Department, keeps kids safe while also protecting their privacy. Once filled out with complete sets of fingerprints, the ChildPrint ID Kits will be sent home, where parents can complete them and have them on hand if needed.
The kits are designed to help families provide as complete a profile of their children as possible in the event they go missing. Its core function is to streamline the reporting and investigative process to ensure law enforcement can act quickly and decisively to return a child home safely should that scenario ever arise.
In addition to students’ fingerprints, the kits enable parents to record a variety of critical details about their children, including a photo, identifying marks, whether or not they wear glasses or have any kind of chronic conditions, among other identifying factors. The kits also come with a plastic bag where a sample of the child’s DNA can be kept.
“Hopefully these kits will stay in a safe somewhere and never have to be used,” said Susan Ford of Rochester Rotary. “However, should the scenario ever arise where they are needed, these kits will help save essential minutes and be a critical resource.”
The Rochester Police Department and schools do not collect or maintain students’ fingerprint information, they simply facilitate the fingerprint collection process and retain parent-signed permission slips, said a police spokesman. The program comes at no cost to students or families, and will continue through the spring as police officers visit the remaining elementary schools to help fill out the ChildPrint kits.
The kits also have valuable educational information enclosed, which parents can share with their children in order to ensure they’re aware of the strategies they can use to stay safe.
“We’re glad to support this proactive program in order to help keep our kids safe,” Police Chief Paul Toussaint said. “My sincere hope is that these kits are never needed, but having them will enable our officers to do everything they can to reunite families should a child ever be separated from their loved ones.”
Left: David Gushee catches the #1 Pike a the Sebago Lake Ice Fishing Derby, while Bentley Eaton (right) catches his first Lake Trout at the Kids Derby held at Range Pond hosted by the Sebago Lake Club and Kittery Trading Post.
This years Sebago Derby attracted over 850 fishermen resulting in over 2,400 lbs of fish caught and donated. The fish was delivered to Nova Seafood Processing in Portland and produced 550 lbs of frozen filets, which was then donated to local food pantries.
The weather and ice conditions were favorable for families and diehard fishermen alike.
The Kids Derby was a fun filled day for hundreds of children to enjoy and be introduced to a great winter activity.
The Rotary Club of Bath Sunrise
30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - APRIL 13, 2019
The Rotary Club of Brunswick
PATRIOTS' DAY "HALF-K" - APRIL 15, 2019
The Portland Sunrise Rotary Club
PARTY WITH A PURPOSE - MAY 22, 2019
Party with a Purpose is presented by the Portland Sunrise Rotary Club to benefit Maine Children's Cancer Program.
Event guests are invited to enjoy complimentary beer, wine and a spectacular buffet of hors d'oeuvres at DiMillo's Restaurant in Portland. A silent and live auction will take place over the course of the evening. Proceeds from the event will benefit Maine Children's Cancer Program, and will help support its three primary areas of focus: providing world-class cancer care to Maine children in a closer to home setting, research opportunities that continue to bring us closer to a cure and social support services for the entire family through their journey with childhood cancer.
The snow may be on the ground yet Spring is almost here and so is golf season. Are you looking for a fun outing? Join us on June 10th. This is one of the ways that the Rotary Club of Dover raises funds to distribute to local and international causes.Come out, have fun and do good at the same time!
The Rotary Club of York
CAR WITH A CAUSE - OCTOBER 19, 2019
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 for May Newsletter Submissions: April 23rd
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.
Thank you for your cooperation.
www.rotary7780.org … or follow us on Facebook!
Everyone’s Phone Number at Your Fingertips . . . and Much More!
Have you done the easy ClubRunner download yet?
How would you like to have not only your own Rotary Club members contact information but also the entire District at your fingertips? You can and so much more by downloading the new and improved ClubRunner Mobile App. You can also access club and district leadership, stories and events all with just a few clicks. Connecting to them is as easy as clicking on the phone number or email address.
You can download it on the AppStore or GooglePlay and be on your way in minutes. Now would also be a good time to make sure that your profile is current, and if you do not have a picture saved, or your birthday listed, considering updating your information now!
Reach out and collaborate with other like minded Rotarians from around our district and be the People of Action that your are!
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How would you like to have not only your own Rotary Club members contact information but also the entire District at your fingertips? You can and so much more by downloading the new and improved ClubRunner Mobile App. You can also access club and district leadership, stories and events all with just a few clicks. Connecting to them is as easy as clicking on the phone number or email address.
