At the end of June in every Rotary year, the passing of the club's leadership gavel is always a time of reflection on the past 12 months. During Bowen Depke's Rotary presidential year, the retrospective has been even more impressive. His leadership was a tribute to the past 100 years!
"The successful Centennial year we had would not have been possible without the help of our club leadership," said Bowen. He thanked everyone who supported the Rotary club's growth and program success during the past year.
Here is President Bowen's farewell message, that he posted on our club social media page, reprinted with his permission:
"Our Portland Rotary Centennial year is coming to an end, with our final meeting today at noon. It has been my honor to be the President of the 177th club in Rotary International this 100th year. We have accomplished much. In 100 years, Portland Rotary has raised over $2.2 million (over $109k this year) in the support of hundreds of charities and people in need. This year we have volunteered 1,000's of hours for numerous charity services, events, and fundraisers, here and in the Dominican Republic. In addition, we have had wonderful special activities, such as our Jewell Island excursion, the Gala, Veteran's Breakfast (many have said this was one of the best Rotary programs in recent memory!) and our new BBQ & Beer Crawl. We completed another visioning exercise. We are turning one of our funds into an endowment, and starting a $1million capital campaign. Moreover, we scanned meeting minutes for 100 years for future generations. We have had our history minutes presented at each meeting, recounting tales of our forbearers. We have updated our Presidential pictures and took a full membership picture to recognize our Centennial. On the marketing side, our club improved public relations through traditional media and used new social media. Meetings were interesting because of great speakers, wonderful events, and an engaged membership who helped bring 25 new Rotarians to our membership! These are but some of your accomplishments this year. Well done Portland Rotary on 100 years of Service Above Self. Signing off...Bowen".
Rounding out his final meeting of the year, Bowen played a video tribute to the Club's Centennial. In the video, interviews from club members described the pride of being a Rotarian.
Past President Cy Hagge presented Bowen with an official Portland Rotary Club paddle.
(Should he find himself up the proverbial creek, he will have his paddle.)
Incoming President Laura Young ended the meeting by presenting a thank you gift of a plant to Bowen, given on behalf of the membership, so he can remember his leadership year while nurturing its growth.
She then pinned Bowen with his Past President's pin and Bowen transferred his President's pin to Laura, who will conduct her first official meeting on July 8, 2016.
All hail, President Bowen called to order the last meeting of his 2015-2016 term, in our Club’s fabulous Centennial Year!
It was a beautiful summer day to toast the wonderful year it was, while at the same time remembering one of our esteemed and cherished members, Herb Carmichael, who passed away this week. Herb joined Portland Rotary in 1975, and was our club President 1985-1986. He will be missed. (Photo: Herb Carmichael, not so long ago.) His obituary in the Press Herald can be read here: http://bit.ly/292RVVH
One visiting Rotarian and three non-Rotarian guests joined the 57 club members in attendance, joined in chorus as Russ Burleigh led us on the keyboard. With Bowen waiting to make his parting remarks, our meeting moved from lunch to business in expedited fashion.
First up, Howie Herodes gave us a 'History Moment,' circa 1991-1992, the year when Tom Saturley was at the helm of the Club. Highlights of that era included the aforementioned Herb Carmichael’s 14 years of perfect attendance, numerous invocations by Ed Nelson, Harry Sawyer introducing new member Russ Burleigh, John Houghton’s leadership in Salvation Army bell-ringing, all under the watchful eye of our very own Bob Patten as District Governor. On the world stage, G.W. Bush was President of the U.S., Gandhi was assassinated, 'Hurricane Bob' wreaked havoc in New England, and gas cost $1.12 per gallon. In addition to the interesting trivia, Howie urged us to find time to go through the club archives and relive some of the moments you may have forgotten. On cue, Jim Willey announced that we have had our club meeting minutes digitized. He echoed Howie’s sentiments on the nostalgic appeal, claiming they are “a hoot.” They still need to be categorized and catalogued, and will ultimately be available on DVD. Even better, Loretta Rowe has been given the challenge of posting the archives online for future reference – stay tuned.
We wish a speedy recovery to Kathy Grammer, who fell off her bike, broke her wrist, and needed surgery.
On other medical fronts, Bionic Bill Blount has one, soon to be two, titanium knees. Keep an eye on him, he may be getting his own TV series.
Money, money, money! Or not. With Loretta employing advanced shuffling techniques, Julie L’Heureux's odds of drawing a winning raffle card were slim....she produced a non-bankable five of diamonds. The pot thickens. On July 8th, you could win….$441.
Time for a toast! Noting that it had not been done at the Gala, President Bowen had a bottle of champagne on each table. With glasses filled, Bob Traill recounted the story of a conversation with the late Naj Lotfey at our Club’s 75th Gala, as they looked forward to the day when our Club would celebrate the next big date, 100 years. At the time, it was said, in Italian, “For 100 Years.” Now, here today, we raised our glasses as Bob updated the phrase to “For Another 100 years” - “Un altri cento anni!”
With that, President Bowen stepped to the mic for his last time as Club President, and recounted the incredible year that it was. His remarks are detailed in the Program review article above, but spoiler alert… it was truly a fantastic year on every level! Under his leadership, combined with stellar committee work and all-around club participation, the Centennial Year for the Rotary Club of Portland was a phenomenal success!
As we receive applications for prospective members to join our Portland Rotary Club, the names of the applicants will be included in our Windjammer. Any information and/or comments you would like to share will be handled confidentially. Please contact Loretta Rowe: lrowe@maine.rr.com. Your input will be appreciated.
PROSPECT BUSINESS (Sponsor) Danielle Conway Dean & Professor of Law, USM (Bowen Depke)
Thomas Saturley Tranzon Auction Properties (Peter Goffin)
.jpg)
Here is President Bowen's farewell message, that he posted on our club social media page, reprinted with his permission:
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
On cue, Jim Willey announced that we have had our club meeting minutes digitized. He echoed Howie’s sentiments on the nostalgic appeal, claiming they are “a hoot.” They still need to be categorized and catalogued, and will ultimately be available on DVD. Even better, Loretta Rowe has been given the challenge of posting the archives online for future reference – stay tuned. .JPG)
.JPG)