Portsmouth - Club Recap

 
The Rotary Club of Portsmouth
CLUB RECAP
 
The club is gearing up for its annual golf tournament on June 22nd, and Tournament Director Peter Grace is looking for more foursomes.  We welcome teams from our sister clubs across the District.  Also upcoming is our annual Vocational Awards.  Lexi Leddy is leading this effort that will recognize an unsung hero in four Avenues of Service: Public service, Human services, Education and a general category.
 
 
Pictured above:  Peter Grace, Tournament Director
 
Meanwhile Past President James and Nancy Clayburgh led a successful used clothes collection drive. The initiative benefits the Echo Thrift Shop in Durham, an organization that gives away clothes to needy college students. James also led the Rotary Plant-A-Tree campaign for our club. Some 200 hopeful “trees” (glorified twigs, really) will be placed all over the seacoast. Before and after pictures were encouraged.
 
Meanwhile Bill Hurley’s branch of the Crutches for Africa campaign seems to be collecting mountains of devices for that program...The club raised more than $700 in pocket change, which went to buy books for our sister charity, The Ritchie McFarland center.
 
 
Bill Hurley and Joe Cunningham 
 
Some 25 club members attended the District Conference at the Mount Washington. We are especially proud of our own Governor Dave. He seems to have been a prime mover in bringing an amazing 650 Rotarians to the venerable mountain resort. There, President Ben was presented with the Pyramid of Peace Award. Later, he thanked all of us for doing the hard work that made the recognition possible.
 
 
 
As for comings and goings in our club…Midge Nelson, former president of the Sunrise Club, was inducted. Our newest Paul Harris fellow is Terry Hodskins, recognized for her quilting work in the “Wrap A Smile” program. Terry brought along several quilts for us to take with us as gifts on our upcoming RotaPlast trip to Bangladesh.  Mickey Allen, a long-time member of the club, passed away in late April.
 
The month’s programs were highlighted by our first ever Rev. Gordan Allen Humanitarian Award. Ellen Labrie was the deserving winner. Rev. Rob Stevens of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Portsmouth, Gordon’s old parish, said the blessing and gave a brief talk about Gordon. The club is donating $500 dollars to the St. John’s Common Table.
 
 
Pictured above:  Ellen Labrie (left) and Rev. Rob Stevens (right)
 
Visiting the club were Dave Mara and Chief Robert MacKenzie. They talked about New Hampshire’s infamous drug crisis. 
 
 
Pictured above:  Dave Mara (left) and Chief Robert MacKenzie (right)
 
Erik Lesniak, executive director for the N.H. Fisher Cats, a Toronto Blue Jays AA affiliate in Manchester, spoke. The club plans an outing there June 24th. During another week, we were awesomely serenaded by 17-year-old Griffin Miller, youth ambassador for the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra.
 
 
Pictured above:  Erik Lesniak, Executive Director for the N.H. Fisher Cats (left) and Griffin Miller, youth ambassador for the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra (right)
 
Finally, Lainey McCartney, curatorial associate of the Discover Portsmouth Center, gave a wonderful presentation on the art of Gertrude Fisk. Fisk was one of the first female painters to be famous, earning recognition during the period of the first world war. A championship athlete in her own right, she haled from Boston and studied under the great Edmund Tarbell of New Castle, N.H. Her works are currently on display at the Discover Portsmouth Center.
 
 
Pictured above:  Lainey McCartney, Curatorial Associate of the Discover Portsmouth Center