Glenn Cummings is the 13th President of the University of Southern Maine. A native Mainer, Glenn represented Portland in the Maine House of Representatives for eight years, eventually being elected as Majority Leader, and then Speaker of the House. He also served in President Obama’s administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, where he focused on efforts to improve adult education and literacy, career and technical education, and community colleges.
Glenn is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, earned a Master Degree in Teaching from Brown University, a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and earned his Doctorate in Higher Education Management from the University of Pennsylvania.
Glenn will share the progress USM is making with its financial challenges, and its efforts to evolve into a Metropolitan University.
Bob Martin introduced our speaker, Dana Eidsness, Director of Maine’s North Atlantic Development office at the Maine International Trade Center. This is the entity responsible for coordinating Maine’s commercial involvement with the Arctic. Formerly a Munjoy Hill Resident, she noted that while it may not seem that Maine has much in common with the Arctic, there are a lot of things happening up north that will likely bring increasing benefit to Maine.
The leitmotif connecting all these issues is the massive melt-off of Arctic ice seen in recent decades. It has wide implications for cities and states on the ocean. It also means new access to resources. Countries are paying attention to the Arctic, even places like Singapore, which have no geographical connection. In other words, “what’s happening in the Arctic isn’t staying in the Arctic.” This also means that new sea routes are opening up. Many estimates suggest that the Atlantic and Pacific will soon be connected via a northerly route. By 2030 as much as 5% of world shipping could go through this passage.
In Maine, developments like Eimskip’s new headquarters have made Maine a hub for niche shipping. Maine exports to Iceland are now up 315% since Eimskip moved here. This is our own “Arctic Highway” and has resulted in the doubling of the Port of Portland in terms of its facilities and capacity.
Eidsness works with the Arctic Council, an entity comprised of the eight Arctic nations plus observer nations, plus representatives from the region’s indigenous nations. Its central focus is around sustainable development and environmental stewardship. The Council has taken notice of Maine and Portland has been selected for several Council meetings in 2016, including “senior arctic officials” meeting here in October. Meetings will include public components.
As commerce develops in the region, questions arise, ranging from who “owns” the Arctic, to determining who is responsible for rescues, etc. These are all issues that need to be resolved by the Council.
Eidsness’ presentation prompted a number of questions from the audience ranging from inquiries about the state of the US icebreaker fleet (we have two aging ships – other nations have many more); to the much publicized Scandinavian Maine lobster “crisis” (Dana thinks this is not a real issue, given how the Swedish “invading lobsters” had banded claws and were likely to have been released); to the rise of tourism in the Arctic region, notably that a massive cruise ship will be making an historic (and possibly ill-advised) transit of the Northwest Passage this year. All passengers will be required to carry evacuation insurance.
President Bowen called the meeting of May 13, 2016 (Friday the 13th!) by welcoming 55 members, 1 visiting Rotarian and 1 guest.
Kathy Grammar led the opening invocation. We recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang our patriotic song.
WE HAVE A WINNER!
Rusty Atwood ran the weekly raffle, asking our speaker to pull a name out of the pot for a chance to win $1563. Patty Erickson's name was pulled and out of 12 cards remaining in the deck, SHE FOUND THE QUEEN OF HEARTS...much to the chagrin of a lot of unhappy campers who were hoping it would have been their chance at fame and fortune. CONGRATULATIONS TO PATTY ERICKSON! Back to square one and starting all over with a new deck of 52 cards and a new pot for winning.
President Bowen welcomed back some of our snow birds who seem to be migrating back to the north: Mark Millar, returning from Colorado and Alan Levenson, returning from Arizona.
The three-person troika of Kris Rosado, Patty Erickson and Alex St. Hilaire made announcements about our Maine Outdoor Challenge (MOC) approaching fast and we need, not only 5-person teams to participate, but people to ask local businesses for items and gift certificates to be used at the Lobsterbake and Awards Banquet on June 8th. If you can form a 5-person team for the MOC, please contact: Kris at: kris.rosado@morganstanley.com. For volunteering to help with acquiring gifts for our raffle/auction at the Lobsterbake, contact Alex at: alex.st.hilaire@td.com or Patty at: perickson@bathsavings.com
For more information on the Maine Outdoor Challenge, click HERE.
Juliana L’Heureux spoke about the upcoming four Argentinian visitors that are coming to our area through a Group Study Exchange program, who will be in Portland on Monday, June 6th. Hopefully, host families can join this opportunity to welcome our international visitors (see separate article in this issue).
President Bowen reminded all club members to respond to the invitation to have our historic group photograph taken on June 3rd at Portland City Hall, rain or shine. You can sign-up by going to our club website on the right side under calendar events or simply click HERE. We'd like to see as many of our members turn out for this historic photo opportunity. YOU can leave your mark in the record books and YOUR face will go down in history!
Visiting Rotarian PDG Carolyn Johnson introduced her guest, Shenna Bellows, Interim Executive Director of Learning Works, who spoke to the club about the “Graffiti Busters” summer project. From April through November (weather permitting), graffiti removal is offered in Portland and Biddeford. Over 500,000 square feet of graffiti has been removed throughout Portland since 1994. To learn more or to support this project, contact Shenna atLearning Works 775-0105 or by email at: sbellows@learningworks.me. This program helps juveniles in rehabilitation from offenses to make amends by offering them meaningful opportunities in community service.
ON MAY 21ST, WE ARE HAVING A BBQ CRAWL AND POKER RUN RAFFLE.
YOU CAN STILL GET IN ON THE FUN....
It's a fundraiser to support "The Locker Project."
$20 Poker Run Raffle Tickets may be purchased at any location below or by clicking HERE.
Show your ticket and draw a card at each location you visit.
IT ALL STARTS AT 1:30 p.m. THIS SATURDAY!
START ANYWHERE AT ONE OF THE LOCATIONS BELOW – ENJOY IN ANY ORDER!
Special $4 BBQ sampler items available at participating locations:
Salvage BBQ - 919 Congress St., Portland
Elsmere BBQ - 448 Cottage Rd., S. Portland
Terlingua - 52 Washington Ave., Portland
Buck’s Naked BBQ - 50 Wharf St., Portland location only
Binga's Stadium - 77 Free St., Portland
Special 50/50 raffle....door prizes and final raffle results at 5:30 p.m. at Binga's Stadium, 77 Free St., Portland
For additional information or questions, contact Rob Chatfield: robchat@exitstage.com
The Locker Project, in partnership with the Good Shepherd Food Bank, helps ensure food security for all Maine children through local schools. The Locker Project works with schools to create programs for providing students with healthy class-time snacks and take-home food for the times they are most likely to experience hunger. For more information: mainelockerproject.org/
Our Rotary District is looking for help to host the inbound Argentinean District Vocational Training Team. This Group Study Exchange Team (GSE) of four (2 men, 2 women) will be coming to our area on Monday and Tuesday, June 6 and 7.
They are looking for 4 host families to house the team members overnight on Monday, plus volunteer to chauffeur the team members around for those two days, and to provide breakfast, lunch & dinner for the two days.
The GSE between District 7780 and Argentina will focus on collegial sharing between the mental health professionals of the outbound team and inbound team, as well as interfacing with other mental health professionals (particularly Rotarians) in each country. A particular emphasis will be on youth/adolescent mental health. The teams will visit a representative sampling of mental health/social service agencies in each country.
If you can volunteer or want additional information, please contact Assistant Governor Ann Schieber at: annschieber@gmail.com or at: 603-770-2744
Invocation:Tom Nickerson Program Reporter: Bob Martin Bits & Pieces Reporter: Jake Bourdeau Registration/Greeter: Lili Brown Sell Meal Tickets: David Clough Raffle: Jan Chapman Badge Box: None Collect Meal Tickets: Max Chikuta Rotary Moment in History: Jim Willey Song Leader: Meredith Small Pianist: None Sgt-at-Arms (Early): Matt Tassey Sgt-at-Arms (Late): Jim Willey
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) Dennis Kouba The Editing/Proofreading Guy (Loretta Rowe) Chris Thomas Fidelity Investments (John Marr)
Glenn Cummings is the 13th President of the University of Southern Maine. A native Mainer, Glenn represented Portland in the Maine House of Representatives for eight years, eventually being elected as Majority Leader, and then Speaker of the House. He also served in President Obama’s administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of Education, where he focused on efforts to improve adult education and literacy, career and technical education, and community colleges.
Bob Martin introduced our speaker, Dana Eidsness, Director of Maine’s North Atlantic Development office at the Maine International Trade Center. This is the entity responsible for coordinating Maine’s commercial involvement with the Arctic. Formerly a Munjoy Hill Resident, she noted that while it may not seem that Maine has much in common with the Arctic, there are a lot of things happening up north that will likely bring increasing benefit to Maine.
The three-person troika of Kris Rosado, Patty Erickson and Alex St. Hilaire made announcements about our Maine Outdoor Challenge (MOC) approaching fast and we need, not only 5-person teams to participate, but people to ask local businesses for items and gift certificates to be used at the Lobsterbake and Awards Banquet on June 8th. If you can form a 5-person team for the MOC, please contact: Kris at: 
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