06/03/16 Bits & Pieces

Posted by Tom Talbott

Road trip! Our meeting took place at City Hall, with a much-heralded pre-meeting event. 92 Rotarians gathered on the steps for a 100-year club photo, followed by a photo of past-Presidents. Cheese! Nice job by Mike Fortunato to make all the necessary arrangements. Our official club meeting then proceeded to the State of Maine Room (above).

Russ Burleigh took the reins of Invocation by quoting from a Franklin D. Roosevelt fireside chat that took place June 6, 1944, the onset of the Normandy invasion. Up to that point it had been highly secretive, but now Roosevelt explained what was underway. He began, "My fellow Americans: Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.” For the full text, visit: http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/aboutfdr/d-day.html

As flag bearer, Gracie Johnston raised a small-sticked 6-inch flag, the undersized room filled with the song, sounding strong this week to the tune of “America The Beautiful.” President Bowen beckoned us all to be seated; however that was not possible due to the overflow of members and guests. Standing Room Only!

John Curran provided a 'History Moment,' circa 1997-1998. Captivating events of the day included the passing of Mother Teresa and the tragic death of Princess Diana. Tim McVeigh/Oklahoma City bomber was convicted, and the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal led the headlines. Terrorism was on the rise, and Bin Laden launched a jihad. On the brighter side of leadership, Fred Thompson led our club with Loretta Rowe and Roxanne Cole, respectively as 1st and 2nd VPs, and Marie Williams (Rotary Club of Kittery) was the first woman to be Governor of District 7780.

Long-time Club Secretary Ruth Fletcher retired. “Cocktails with the Queen” aka Peggy Wescott, fetched over $1000 at our fundraising auction. Winterfest, an ambitious holiday fundraiser, began in earnest, partnering with the Narrow Gauge Railroad (NGRR). Over the next three years, Winterfest would go on to raise close to $300k in revenue shared between the NGRR and Rotary. Following on the heels of Winterfest, however, came the fearsome "1998 Ice Storm," affecting millions. Internationally, the club connected with visiting students from Ireland through "Friends Forever." Then member Sarah Luck went on a District Grant to Romania. Hearing aids were collected for a special “Listen Up” program focused on villages in India.

Programs included Governor Angus King, with program topics that included interesting tech topics, such as the benefits of cell phones! Jim Willey was honored with a Rotary International “Four Avenues of Service” Award. Alas, Jim didn’t hear this golden memory moment as he was off attending his Bowdoin College 50th Reunion!

Raffle Card Draw! Quincy Hentzel led the raffle, with Mark Stimson having the honor of selecting this week’s card drawer – Ben Lowry. However, Ben had departed to attend the memorial service of the recently-deceased Peter DeTroy, a respected Maine attorney. Pinch-hitter John Marr was called in, but flied out with a six of diamonds.

John rebounded by introducing a new member, Chris Thomas. John reported that Chris was born in Barbados to a family of rumrunners, though your B&P reporter was not sure if this passed the 'Four-Way Test!" Either way, Chris moved to the U.S. when he was one-year old and has since lived in all New England states. He married his wife, Meredith, in 2004, and is a proud father of two girls, Violet and Hazel. Gus, his loyal Boston Terrier is there for male support. Chris works as a financial advisor at Fidelity Investments, enjoys history and politics, and has too much sense to run for office! Welcome aboard Chris!

Amy Chipman has done an outstanding job as Foundation Chair and she presented an update. True, it looks like we’ll be shy of our goal, but it was an ambitious one to start. As it is, this year will be the second highest year on record, following last year’s all-time high. We are currently over $16,500 and it’s not too late to contribute! Amy added that over the next few weeks, additional Paul Harris Fellows would be announced.

Rob “Never-Needs-A-Mic” Chatfield reported that the BBQ Crawl raised $500 for the Food Locker project, which was a nice touch to an event that was primarily about club fellowship. 40 Rotarians participated and had a fantastic day. Expect this to be an annual event!

We had quite the meal, with salads, an assortment of wraps, and tantalizing desserts, courtesy of the first catering venture from the residents of Long Creek Youth Center. How good was it? “How about they do it every week!” stated Gracie Johnston.

Mike Fortunato introduced us to Administrator Chef Steve, and 3 of the residents, who’ve been working in the growing culinary program, Ty, Josh, and Mike. We learned that Mike was just accepted to the Institute For Culinary Education in NYC, which is no small feat for anybody. Mike Fortunato told us that Mike (the culinary resident) needs some assistance on a few essentials for school – sheets, towels, etc. Can you help? Also, Mike asked if anyone has an extra bike for another resident who will soon be leaving Long Creek that would be used to get to and from work. If you can help, reach out to Mike Fortunato: michael.k.fortunato@gmail.com.

Busy Mike! He reminded us that the Maine Outdoor Challenge (MOC) is on Wednesday....our biggest fundraiser, built on several components. 41 teams are signed up – biggest field ever. Megan Devlin joined in to pitch the final chance to buy raffle tickets - on sale – 6 for $100. There’s the auction and the lobster bake. When the dust settles, the proceeds of the event are going to put us over $100k for the year – phenomenal!

Having no formal program speaker, President Bowen disbursed the SRO crowd a bit ahead of schedule, wishing us all a good weekend!