Pat became the CEO of Kinotek in March 2022 after spending 30 years at two Maine startups in the animal health space, IDEXX and Vets First Choice (later Covetrus). Her scope of responsibilities throughout her career spanned a wide range, including product development, marketing, sales management, operations, and mergers & acquisitions in the USA, Europe, and Australia. After retiring from Covetrus in 2021 she learned about Kinotek, reached out to the team, and offered her experience bringing new technologies to clinicians. She became an investor, then CEO. Originally from the Midwest, Pat earned her degrees in Journalism & French from Indiana University, Bloomington, her MBA from The Kellogg School, and a Certificat in French Public Law from the University of Paris. Passionate about animals and the environment, she is also a Board Member of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Bits and Pieces | by Jake Bourdeau
Friday’s meeting was hosted by President Dick Hall at Hadlock Field in Portland. Due to scheduling, our host and speaker, Chad Epperson from the Sea Dogs spoke first, followed by club business. Dan Fahey led the Pledge of Allegiance, saluting the flag in the outfield.
Tom Talbott pinch hit for Bruce Jones on the "Message of the Day", and while wearing his little league hat from 4th grade, provided us with 5 baseball quotes for us to consider:
It is hard to hit a round baseball with a round bat, squarely.
Don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
Slumps are like soft beds - easy to get into and hard to get out of.
Baseball is the one place where parents can teach their kid the skill of stealing.
7 days without baseball makes… one weak.
Bill Blount then noted that he has been commissioning our annual club meeting at Hadlock since 1993, and led us in the song, "My Country Tis of Thee". (Photo)
SWING BATTER BATTER Jim Vicenzi led the raffle and because Chad had departed, and Charlie Frair was already standing up, Charlie got the nod to pick for our contestant. Charlie picked Roxanne’s Cole’s name from the can. Roxanne struck out, picking a black ten, leaving the Queen of Hearts in the deck for next week.
IN THE STANDS Zach Zimmerman told us about the seven guests that were present including a member from the Bethel Club and Paula Ross (Bill’s wife).
MORE FLAGS FOR HEROES Charlie Frair let us know more about the 50-flag increase in Flags for Heroes this year. The plan is to have 150 flags which is 50% more than last year. Charlie told us a little but about the fundraising team’s efforts who are focusing on both Rotarians and non-Rotarians, which was split 60%-40% last year. This year we would like to reverse those numbers. Charlie told us about the heroes he would be honoring, a very close group of friends who have been consistently meeting monthly for 39 years. (Photo)
BASE PAINTERS PAINT PARTY Jake Bourdeau let us know about a volunteering opportunity related to the Flags for Heroes project. With the increase in 50 flags, the ceramic bases of the flags will need to be painted to match the others. Two evenings have been set aside to paint the bases: Tuesday July 25, and Tuesday August 1 at 6pm. The meeting location is Cyrus Hagge’s warehouse door number 2 located at 121 Cassidy Point Drive in Portland. Brushes, paint, and gloves will be provided, and we hope to see you there.
BACK-TO-SCHOOL BACK PACK PACKING IS BACK
Amy Chipman is leading the charge for an August 22nd “Back-To-School” backpack packing event held with sponsors: Lamey Wellehan, the Locker Project, and the Boys and Girls Club. There will be stations in the gym setup for new Mainers and Mainers to fit and size some sneakers, and 120 backpacks will be donated by Rotary. School and other supplies will be loaded into the back packs by the volunteers. This event is a good way to start volunteering in the new Rotary Year. Please get in touch with Amy for more information on time and location. The “Boots Project” will occur later in the year.
SEA DOG SING-A-LONG At the end of the meeting Nanette Ranger-Duncanson led us in the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" after enthusiastically recalling seeing a kid’s excitement during a recent Sea Dog’s game that she attended.
GET YOUR TICKETS President Dick noted that Zach Newall is setting up a Sea Dogs game night in section 211 as our Social for September. Tickets are $9 each, and 50 seats have been reserved. Contact Zach for a reservation.
BAYSIDE TRAIL EVENT - TREE PLANTING Ellen Niewoehnner let us know that TD Bank is providing a grant to install trees on the Bayside Trail in Portland. A correction from last week’s message that stated the grant was for $20,000. It was, but TD has opted to take $8000 of that and provide it to another organization. That’s ok, $12k is still fantastic! 20 volunteers from TD Bank are on board, and Rotarians will be needed to plant the 30 trees being donated. More information on the date and time will be following.
Last Week's Program: Chad Epperson, Manager, Portland Sea Dogs | by Ben Lowry
Last Friday during our annual trip to Hadlock Field, home of the Class AA Sea Dogs, a Red Sox affiliate, Portland Rotarians and guests were honored to hear from the skipper of our team, Chad Epperson. With questions posed by both Rotarians and Emma Tiedemann, who is the radio play-by-play voice of the Sea Dogs, our audience was treated to a real insiders look at the team as they hit the half-way point of the 2023 season. Chad, with a long history as an active and inquisitive catcher for several organizations, took over the team last summer and guided them to a playoff appearance. Starting as a catching coordinator in the Sox system in 2001, Chad worked his way up to Portland and now has the team in the hunt for the playoffs yet again this season, despite a rotating roster that has had over 77 changes in just the first half alone.
As a key cog in the feeder system to help the parent club in Boston, Chad acknowledged that winning is not the priority at the double A level but, with perhaps the strongest infield in all of minor league baseball, spearheaded by 20 year-old Marcelo Mayer, the #5 prospect in all of baseball, the Sea Dogs have been able to sustain their pace and expect to contend for the Eastern League title yet again. With the additions of Corey Kluber, a former Cy Young winner, and Sox shortstop Trevor Story, who are both on rehab assignments in Portland, the fans can expect to see some exciting games as these two high quality players work their way back to Boston. Chad mentioned that these two veterans have made a point of working with some of the young kids as they learn how to become big-leaguers.
In taking questions from the audience, Chad was open and entertaining in his assessment of major league players such as Aaron Judge, who is coming off a major injury with the Yankees, as well as working with and learning to deal with AA umpires, who he suggests are quite capable of missing a call here and there. With just 20,000 major league players in the 100+ years of major league baseball, it takes a lot of finesse and caring in helping these young men, sometimes as young as 19, as they reach toward their goal, all the while knowing that perhaps as many as 97% of the players will not make it to “The Show”. Spoken like a true mentor, Chad hopes that each player leaves Portland with a better understanding of what it’s like to play winning baseball and what it takes to become a good man and teammate.
The Portland Sea Dogs have been such an integral part in the life blood of Portland, Maine since their inception in 1994. We’ve been fortunate to have two front office leaders as members of the Portland Rotary Club (the late Charlie Eshbach, the team’s first general manger and John Kameisha, the former executive vice president) and we’ve enjoyed our picnic meetings at Hadlock Field, thanks in part to the hard work over the years of club member Bill Blount. It was nice to hear that the current team is in the wise and gentle hands of Manager Chad “Eppy” Epperson. Take me out to the ball game!
New Member Applications:
In accordance with Portland Rotary Club Bylaws, “The prospective member’s name shall be published in the club newsletter (the Windjammer) for two meetings, and/or by circulating the prospective member’s name by email.”
First Notice: Mario Martinez of Kennebunk, Maine has been sponsored for membership by Nannette Ranger-Duncanson. Mario is the Branch Manager for Key Bank at the Monument Square location. His name will be published a second time and then his application will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
First Notice: Andrea (Andi) Summers of Portland, Maine has been sponsored for membership by Nannette Ranger-Duncanson. Andi is the Executive Director of the Foundation for Portland Public Schools. Her name will be published a second time and then her application will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
Second Notice:Corey Masson of Exeter, New Hampshire has been sponsored for membership by Niki Curtis. Corey is the Chief Equanimity Officer and Founder of BSimpler and is currently working at the District level with the Recovery Ready Workplace initiative. After this publication, his application will be voted on by the Board of Directors.
Speaker Schedule
August 4 - Fred Horch, Rotary Environmental Ambassador - ME Solar Power
August 11 -Umaru Balde, City of Portland, Justice-Diversity-Equity-Inclusion
August 16 - Wednesday Night Social
August 18 - No Meeting
August 25 - Barbara Walsh, Children's Book Author
September 1 - No Meeting - Labor Day Weekend
September 8 - Flags For Heroes Dedication at the Maine Mall
September 14 - Rotary Social - Sea Dogs Game, 6pm.
September 15- No Meeting (Sea Dog Social the night before!)
Club Executives President Dick Hall President Elect Patty Byers Vice President John Thompson TreasurerDick Hall Secretary Tom Nickerson Board of Directors Bruce Jones,
Ben Millick, Quinn Slayton, Zachary Newell,
David Ertz, Maggie McGauley Sergeant-At-ArmsJake Bourdeau
The Windjammer is published online by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
Contributing Editors Jake Bourdeau, Erik Jorgensen,
Julie L’Heureux, Ben Lowry,
Zach Newell, Bruce Moore,
Tom Nickerson, Dave Patterson,
Tom Talbott, Laura Young
Program Chair Doreen Rockstrom Managing Editor Tom Talbott
Pat became the CEO of Kinotek in March 2022 after spending 30 years at two Maine startups in the animal health space, IDEXX and Vets First Choice (later Covetrus). Her scope of responsibilities throughout her career spanned a wide range, including product development, marketing, sales management, operations, and mergers & acquisitions in the USA, Europe, and Australia. After retiring from Covetrus in 2021 she learned about Kinotek, reached out to the team, and offered her experience bringing new technologies to clinicians. She became an investor, then CEO. Originally from the Midwest, Pat earned her degrees in Journalism & French from Indiana University, Bloomington, her MBA from The Kellogg School, and a Certificat in French Public Law from the University of Paris. Passionate about animals and the environment, she is also a Board Member of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.
Bill Blount then noted that he has been commissioning our annual club meeting at Hadlock since 1993, and led us in the song, "My Country Tis of Thee". (Photo)
MORE FLAGS FOR HEROES Charlie Frair let us know more about the 50-flag increase in Flags for Heroes this year. The plan is to have 150 flags which is 50% more than last year. Charlie told us a little but about the fundraising team’s efforts who are focusing on both Rotarians and non-Rotarians, which was split 60%-40% last year. This year we would like to reverse those numbers. Charlie told us about the heroes he would be honoring, a very close group of friends who have been consistently meeting monthly for 39 years. (Photo)
BACK-TO-SCHOOL BACK PACK PACKING IS BACK
As a key cog in the feeder system to help the parent club in Boston, Chad acknowledged that winning is not the priority at the double A level but, with perhaps the strongest infield in all of minor league baseball, spearheaded by 20 year-old Marcelo Mayer, the #5 prospect in all of baseball, the Sea Dogs have been able to sustain their pace and expect to contend for the Eastern League title yet again. With the additions of Corey Kluber, a former Cy Young winner, and Sox shortstop Trevor Story, who are both on rehab assignments in Portland, the fans can expect to see some exciting games as these two high quality players work their way back to Boston. Chad mentioned that these two veterans have made a point of working with some of the young kids as they learn how to become big-leaguers.
In taking questions from the audience, Chad was open and entertaining in his assessment of major league players such as Aaron Judge, who is coming off a major injury with the Yankees, as well as working with and learning to deal with AA umpires, who he suggests are quite capable of missing a call here and there. With just 20,000 major league players in the 100+ years of major league baseball, it takes a lot of finesse and caring in helping these young men, sometimes as young as 19, as they reach toward their goal, all the while knowing that perhaps as many as 97% of the players will not make it to “The Show”. Spoken like a true mentor, Chad hopes that each player leaves Portland with a better understanding of what it’s like to play winning baseball and what it takes to become a good man and teammate.
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