Rotary District 7780 Newsletter - July 2015 (Jun 22, 2015)

Kittery "After-Hours" Rotary Club

"I am so very pleased and delighted to announce that the Rotary Club of Kittery "After-Hours" has been Chartered by Rotary International as the newest Club of District 7780! Congratulations to all of the Charter Members who worked so hard to set the tone of the club and create a strong group of like-minded individuals committed to serving their community with excellent Rotary "service above self." This would never have happened without the vision and energy of Past District Governor Jeff Pelkey and the leadership and hard work of President Joyce Verville. But when all is said and done, it was truly a group effort and everyone involved should be proud and satisfied. Creating a new Rotary Club is not easy and they came though with flying colors. And now in the words of PDG Jeff, "Let's look forward to a great charter event and continued good Rotary work !!!!"

Lawrence Furbish, PDG 2014-2015

VISION TO PLAN WORKSHOP #6 FOCUSED ON CLUB LONG TERM PLANNING

The District Vision and Planning Committee held its 6^th in a series of Workshops, designed to help clubs take their vision and develop an initial long term plan.

A total of 30 Rotarians from 19 District clubs attended the 2 hour evening session this past April. Attendees included past vision and workshop participants, District leadership, and 12 President Elects. Part of the work included a discussion and exercise to use club goals and planning details to fill in Rotary Club Central information for the next Rotary year.

The exercises included: the selection of Club Focus Areas from a list of 10, writing a goal for each area, developing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Based) objectives for that goal, and finally listing SMART actions and time lines.

The District Committee utilized its newly developed planning templates as the working platform. Based on participant feedback, the group was well pleased with the outcome.

We hope many will return and others will join us in continuing this process during Workshop #7, scheduled for October 29, 2015

More information can be obtained by contacting your AG, the District Vision and Planning Committee, or by looking up Vision and Planning on the Home page of the District Website.

WORLD PEACE CONFERENCE 2016

Areas of Conflict Resolution

Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club

“SPOKES FOR FOLKS” PROGRAM IN HIGH GEAR

Vasilica Gafincu and Grigore Dubosari from Romania accepting their free all aluminum bikes from the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club.

Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club’s bike donation program was started in 2006 by Rotarian Seth Hedgcock, and each year, the demand for bikes has grown. Our area attracts summer workers, many from outside the U.S., from countries as far flung as Lithuania, Russia, China, Bulgaria and many others. Rotary club members and community volunteers have donated hundreds of hours in labor and many hundreds of dollars for parts each year to cobble together an adequate fleet of bikes to meet the demand. Local businesses and individuals have given direct donations to keep the program going. Two years ago, the program was able to provide 150 bikes to summer workers and local people who have no other means of transportation. But as of early 2015, there were only 30 serviceable bikes left. Many other bikes had rusted out, or had parts that were difficult to find and replace. And, some bikes simply disappeared at the end of the summer. Now, people who want to use the Rotary-provided free bikes pay a deposit at the beginning of the summer and receive their deposit back at the end of the season when the bike is returned in good condition.

Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club

RECOGNIZES COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING WORK

(l-r) Public Sector award recipient Michael Tremblay, Private Sector award recipient Leon Chick, RN, Vocational Service award recipient Kenneth Crepeau, and Humanitarian award recipient Dennis Robillard.

The Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club recognized ten outstanding community members for their commitment to serve the community. The awards included: Private Sector, Public Sector, Humanitarian, Vocational Service, Presidential, Service Above Self and Paul Harris Fellowship.

Leon Chick, RN, of Southern Maine Health Care, was presented with the Private Sector award for his unselfish dedication to the care of others far beyond the walls of his employment. The Private Sector award is awarded to a citizen whose good works have been performed independently of their employment in the private sector. Recipients work for the public good, while being privately employed or not employed by a government or community entity.

Michael Tremblay was presented with the Public Sector award for his incredible commitment to promoting the safety of all of the people in his community. The Public Sector award is awarded to a citizen who, in the course of their employment or funding, serves the public with government and/or public monies. Recipients are usually employed by a government agency, hold a political office, or have their good works funded in the course of their employment.

Dennis Robillard was presented with the Humanitarian award for his willingness to constantly recognize needs and to act to address those needs in our community. The Humanitarian award is awarded to a citizen, private or public, who has done exceptional work to further the good of humanity in the community.

Kenneth Crepeau, of Biddeford Regional Center of Technology, was presented with the Vocational Service award for his dedication to the advancement of vocational education. He has worked to design vocational classes that challenge the students and give them post-secondary credit toward a degree. The Vocational Service award is awarded to a citizen, private or public, who has done exceptional work to promote vocational education and vocational program.

Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club

GOLF TOURNAMENT BENEFITS YOUTH PROGRAMS

The Bridgton-Lake Region Rotary Club had a fantastic golf tournament on Saturday, June 13^th. Perfect weather, lots of golfers and a lot of fun. Every Rotary member had a part and it couldn’t happen without the great teamwork in our club. The proceeds from this annual event will fund all the youth programs we support.

Sebago Lake Rotary Club

BBQ TO BE HELD FOR SENIOR CITIZENS

On August 27th, the Sebago Club will be hosting a BBQ for the senior citizens at the Unity Garden Retirement Center. Everyone is welcome to join us. Contact Deb McPhail at Mcphailda@gmail.com for more information.

South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club

HOLDS ANNUAL GEOGRAPHY QUIZ NIGHT

The South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club recently held its annual event, a Geography Quiz Night, which is always well attended by the community as they cheer on their favorite geography teams who are quizzed about world geography by Rotarian Mike Moloney. Mike was a "geography wiz" back in Ireland, and used geography quiz nights to raise funds when he was younger. His first project was to help victims of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Since then each year our club, with Mike’s help, raises funds for a worthy international project, and this year’s was the Global Grant project in Colombia initiated by the Ogunquit Rotary Clubt to furnish food trucks and dining facilities for villages deep in Colombia. The South Berwick – Eliot Rotary raised over $5,000 that night, most of which went to the global grant and the remainder to other smaller international causes.

Click on "Read More" to see more pictures from this fun event!

PRESENTS AED TO HELP SAVE A LIFE

This past January the South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club held a concert, “Stayin’ Alive with the Saxyderms” to match funds being provided by the Rotary District 7780 through their simplified grant program so the local club could put AED’s in various locations around Eliot that were lacking them. Working with the Eliot Fire Department and Chief Jay Muzeroll, they were able to purchase 7 AEDs from the funds that were generated when the all-saxophone band from the Boston area came to Marshwood High School’s auditorium and held a concert that was a joy to all who attended. The high school’s Interact club provided the opening acts for the show thanks to Interact members Olivia and Ethan Martin and Sophie Towle, along with help at the door and ticket area. Rotary volunteers cooked and baked and served refreshments. Through this grant, the town’s fire department found the most economical units and were to install the units at the town hall, the highway department, the transfer station, the community service department, and have units available at the fire and police departments, and, because so many community functions occur at the Regatta at Eliot Commons, one unit was also presented to them this past week. The ambulance company that services the town will provide training and an additional fire department grant will supply replacement batteries. This true community effort makes the town a safer place since these automatic defibrillators can save lives when used as soon as possible after someone has a cardiac event.

Pictured above, is the presentation of the last of the AEDs purchased for Eliot by the South Berwick-Eliot Rotary Club presented to the Regatta at Eliot Commons. Those in the photo are (left to right): Fire Chief Jay Muzeroll, Regatta event manager Barbara De Oliveira ,Rotary President Deb DeColfmacker, and Fred Forsley, owner of the Regatta.

MIKE MOLONEY IS ROTARY CLUB'S 2015 CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

The Spring Hill Lodge in South Berwick was full of fans of Mike Moloney as he became the recipient of Citizen of the Year 2015 honors by the South Berwick – Eliot Rotary Club. Mike is well-known and beloved among the citizens of South Berwick and Eliot and beyond. His story is an inspirational and heart-warming one.

He immigrated to America from Ireland and became a part of the local community for the past 23 years. He met his wife Cindy while she was studying in Ireland and love brought them both back to America and his new life in Maine. In his words, “Becoming a member of the South Berwick Rotary Club in 1990 was the point at which we as a family really became integrated into the fabric of the community.” Whenever Mike and his wife served the community, his two daughters, Catie and Annie, always came along, too. From serving water at the town races, to delivering food at the lobsterfest, to helping at blood drives, to feeding senior citizens at Thanksgiving, to manning the food pantry, the Moloney family was everywhere. During the times of strife in Northern Ireland, Mike was instrumental in bringing kids from different backgrounds together through the Friends Forever program which he introduced to South Berwick, a project that was near and dear to him to promote peace and harmony. Having studied geography while in Ireland, he and his mother discovered that Geography Quiz Nights were great for raising funds and world awareness, and he brought that concept to Maine. Thanks to his expertise and talents, and the help of his family again, the Rotary Club has run a number of these quiz nights to raise funds for Rotary projects in Bangladesh, Haiti, Colombia, and other locations having great need.

South Portland Sunrise Rotary Club

RAISES MONEY FOR KIDS' VAN

The South Portland Sunrise Rotary Club recently raised a little over $20,000 to procure a spiffy new van for the South Portland clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine. Many students in South Portland’s Redbank area, about 5 miles from the clubhouse, were previously unable to attend after-school activities at the clubhouse due to lack of transportation. The van now allows these students to get homework assistance, create art projects, exercise in the gym and enjoy a nutritious snack. Spearheading the project were Jim Price and Jake Heilscher; the club was assisted in reaching its goal by a deep discount provided by Pape Chevrolet.

"Thank you Rotary for our new van! Now we can get a ride to the South Portland Clubhouse."

The Rotary Club of Sebago Lake

Feet for Food Walk-A-Thon

The Sebago Lake Rotary Club is preparing for their Feet for Food Walk- A -Thon set for Sept 20^th at the Windham Middle School area.

Last year was a rainy day but many came to support this effort. The funds raised by this walk will be to help community food pantries. Last year it raised over $5000 which resulted in feeding over 37,000 meals. If you would like to participate contact Cyndy Bell of the Sebago Club at cbell@keepmecurrent.com

Rotary Club of Oxford Hills

ANNUAL KIWANIS-ROTARY WEEKEND

The Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale

GLEN CLARKE, Past President (1987-1988)

SANFORD - Glendon Earle Clarke, 87, of Sanford, passed away on Saturday, July 11, 2015, at the Southern Maine Health Care in Sanford.

He was born on Sept. 30, 1927, in Springvale, a son of the late Walter and Elvah (Pence) Clarke.

Glen was a lifelong resident of Sanford, who served in the Navy in World War II.

For 35 years he was very active in the Sanford Fire Department as a volunteer fireman; he served as deputy chief for 15 years and was a certified fire instructor and Sanford Fire Commissioner.

Glen’s elected positions included the Saint Thomas School Board and the Sanford Board of Selectmen. He was a Water District trustee. He served as an officer in several social organizations, including president of the Sanford Town Club, president of the Rotary Club, vice chairman of the United Way and a member of the Kiwanis Club.

Glen enjoyed playing poker, belonged to the Bridge Club and was an avid golfer.

Glen is predeceased by first wife, Laurianne (Bernier) Clarke; sons, Blaine and Timothy Clarke; and daughter, Marcia Sanders.

Visiting hours will be on Thursday, July 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home at 580 Main Street. A funeral service will be celebrated on Friday, July 17, at the Curtis Lake Christian Church at 38 Westview Drive in Sanford at 11 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow at St. Ignatius Cemetery.

Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider donations in his memory to Grahamtastic Connection, 21 Brandeen Street, Springvale, Maine 04083 (www.grahamtastic.org) or the Sanford Food Pantry, P.O. Box 732, Springvale, Maine 04083.

Condolences may be expressed at www.blackfuneralhomes.com.

From the Editor . . .

I would like to thank everyone who contributed articles and information to be published in the District Newsletter this past year. Because of YOU, it made my “job” all that much easier!

I have been asked by Sheila (and agreed) to continue as the Newsletter Editor this Rotary year, so as I've done previously, each month I will be reaching out to Club Presidents, or whoever will be in charge of your club’s public relations, to provide me with an update of your club’s activities.

Lastly, I would like to apologize for the lateness of July's edition. Unfortunately, there have been some "glitches" in the software we are using, but hopefully this will all be straightened out in time for August's edition to be published in a timely manner on the first of the month. I do realize that some of the fundraising announcements in this month's newsletter may be out-of-date, but it is still a great way to see what is going on in other clubs in the district, so I left them in.

Again, thank you for all your help this past year!

Yours in Rotary,

Deb Marsolais, 2015-16 Newsletter Editor

District 7780

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 newsletter@rotary7780.org, 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 or opportunities of service.

Deadline for September Newsletter Submissions: August 25th

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