BRIDGE THE GAP TO END POLIO WALK & SOCIAL - This Thursday!
This Thursday, October 20th, we will meet at 3:45 pm at Sea Dog Brewing (formerly Easy Day) at 725 Broadway in South Portland and at 4pm walk across the Casco Bay Bridge - The 1st Annual "Bridge The Gap To End Polio" walk.
T-SHIRTS and HOODIES PICK UP INFO! Foundation Chair Patty Byers reminds everyone to please wear RED! You can pick-up your tee shirt and/or hoodie order in advance on Wednesday, October 19 at the Italian Heritage Center from 11 AM - 12:30 PM. If that doesn't work for you, we will have them available on Thursday prior to the walk. Thank Paul Gore for making all our apparel!
After the walk we will convene at Sea Dog Brewing for a Pints for Polio event. Dress warm, as we have an outside deck set up. Sea Dogs will donate $1 for every pint sold. Do your best to join us for this fellowship event.
Remember, no meeting on Friday!
Last Week at Portland Rotary: District Governor,
Claudia Frost | by Ben Lowry
On Friday at the Italian Heritage Center, our club was honored to be joined by Claudia Frost from the Brunswick Rotary Club, who is serving this year as governor for the 7780 District. Claudia, who is originally from Maine but has lived in Massachusetts, Alaska, New Jersey and North Dakota, has been back in her home state and living on Bailey’s Island since 2010, where she serves as a choral arts teacher.
During her long tenure in Rotary, Claudia has been lucky enough to make trips to the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Zambia and Nigeria, always volunteering for the next great Rotary adventure. With Jennifer Jones leading Rotary International this year, Claudia has bought fully into this year’s slogan, “Imagine Rotary” and she has spent the summer zig-zagging across our large district, which runs from Boothbay and down to northern Massachusetts and west to the Rumford area. She has listened to the local clubs and worked with them each to attain their goals for the 2022-2023 year. Claudia firmly believes that the clubs and their members are the key to making the larger Rotary engine run, with every idea beginning with a single club member and advancing from there.
Governor Frost reminded us of our goals for the upcoming year, with increases in membership, service, Foundation giving, Polio Plus and increasing our RYLA participants, touching upon just a few of our club’s goals. She was impressed with our website which, unlike many clubs, gives an extensive list of our achievements such that any perspective member can’t help but be impressed. The District also has a long list of achievements for which Claudia is very proud, from the recent Recovery Conference to the mid-year dinner and conference to the District Training Assembly to the ongoing International Outreach Program with Zambia, which has touched over a half a million children in the impoverished nation, with a goal of reaching one million children by 2025. Lastly, Claudia wanted to remind each of us of the District Celebration scheduled for June 10th on Bailey’s Island. She even showed us a lovely video with a brief tour of the historic island with an invitation for all to attend the gala.
We are certainly in good hands with Claudia Frost at the helm and we were honored to have her, as well as her assistant, Fran Bagdasarian, as our esteemed guests on a rainy and blustery Friday.
Bits and Pieces | by Laura Young
President Bruce opened the meeting, Assistant Governor Fran Bagdasarian led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Cyrus Hagge provided the invocation. He shared the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken" that he first learned in the 9th grade but these days he reads it from the end to the front. If finishes with, "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."
Jerry Angier announced the visitors and visiting Rotarians.
We Have A Winner, In More Ways Than One
Mike Fortunato led the raffle that had grown to a princely sum of $585, and guess who won? It was “not PTG.” When the “not PTG” ticket was drawn everyone raised their hands. But, alas, “not PTG” was actually PTG (yes, it is confusing) and this time, after numerous previous meeting attempts, he picked the Queen of Hearts. And, given that he is a "King with a Heart", Paul donated the $585 pot back to the to the boots cause. (See more on that below) Thanks PTG!
Veterans Opportunity
President Bruce announced that for our meeting on Friday, November 11th you can bring a Veteran to our meeting and their meal will be free.
Jeff Tarling, Portland Arborist, Awarded Paul Harris Fellow
Patty Byers introduced the guests sitting with Portland City Arborist, Jeff Tarling, who we were honoring with a Paul Harris Fellowship award.
Roxane Cole shared the following story about Jeff’s relationship with Portland Rotary. (Paraphrased for the WJ) “Portland Rotary’s relationship with Jeff Tarling began within weeks of my attending the 1999 International Convention in Singapore in my role as incoming President of Portland Rotary. There I learned of an idea of giving a small tree to weekly speakers instead of a traditional mug.Once home, I called Jeff Tarling, Portland City Arborist, and pitched him on the idea. With my $250 budget for the year, I was thinking small “trees in a cup.” Jeff’s enthusiasm for trees was evident, but he explained that small pine saplings would not survive. With $250 he said he could buy two high-quality trees. I was disheartened…Jeff was enthusiastic. We hatched the idea that every speaker would receive a certificate of appreciation for speaking to our club, identifying Portland Rotary for making a gift in their name toward planting shade trees in Rotary Grove on Portland’s Eastern Prom Trail. Jeff had the vision to place great value on the new partnership with Portland Rotary. He knew two trees a year would add up. Jeff was right. For more than two decades Jeff has truly been a friend of Portland Rotary. He sourced historic granite to become a commemorative bench at Rotary Grove, as well as the Armillary that provided Portland Rotary with a landmark at the waterfront gateway to the City. The project at Bayside Trail, is another new tree planting project that ties us together. The essence of Jeff is believing in community, partnerships and using creativity to make things better. Thanks to Jeff, we have a partner who has helped us create the image that Portland is a ‘Rotary Town’.”
District Governor Claudia Frost did the honors of the Pin Presentation. Congratulations Jeff! Below, Roxane Cole and Patty Byers on the left, Bruce Jones on the right, with the Tarling family.
WE NEED BOOTS!
Amy Chipman provided updates on the Boot Collection program. The Community Services Committee is collecting used boots for K-8th grade students in the Portland school system. They are looking for sizes 12 ½ children up to 12 adult. Lamey-Wellehan Shoes donated 35 boots. Please check your closets and bring your boots to the October 28th meeting.
NEW! We now have a web page for online donations! CLICK HERE Make a donation, and boots will be purchased from local retailers.
Noted earlier, Paul Gore won our cash raffle that has been building for months. Attendees know that Paul buys a healthy number of tickets each week, thereby getting more chances to win. Buy hey, without Paul, the pot would be half the size, and no one is being denied their own chance to buy more than one ticket! Paul broke through on this one, then turned right around and donated the entire purse back to our boots program, $585. That's a winning hand courtesy of PTG! Dick Hall (L) thanks Paul!
Speaker Schedule
November 4 - Chris Wolfel, Rioux Institute, Northeastern U. "Entrepreneurship"
November 11 - Chip Morrison, Building Bridges, Minimizing Political Division
November 11 - Bring a Veteran to our lunch, and they will be served a free meal.
November 18- TBD
November 25 - No Meeting. Enjoy Your Thanksgiving!
Club Executives President Bruce Jones President Elect Dick Hall Vice President Patty Byers Treasurer Dick Hall Secretary Bill Blount Board of Directors Ellen Niewoehner,
Bob Clark, John Thompson, Ben Millick,
Quinn Slayton Sergeant-At-Arms Jake Bourdeau
The Windjammer is published online by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
Contributing Editors Bill Blount, Jake Bourdeau, Dick Hall,
Erik Jorgensen, Julie L’Heureux, Ben Lowry,
Tom Nickerson, Tom Talbott, Laura Young
1st Q Program Chair: Dave Putnam Managing Editor Tom Talbott
T-SHIRTS and HOODIES PICK UP INFO! Foundation Chair Patty Byers reminds everyone to please wear RED! You can pick-up your tee shirt and/or hoodie order in advance on Wednesday, October 19 at the Italian Heritage Center from 11 AM - 12:30 PM. If that doesn't work for you, we will have them available on Thursday prior to the walk. Thank Paul Gore for making all our apparel!
On Friday at the Italian Heritage Center, our club was honored to be joined by Claudia Frost from the Brunswick Rotary Club, who is serving this year as governor for the 7780 District. Claudia, who is originally from Maine but has lived in Massachusetts, Alaska, New Jersey and North Dakota, has been back in her home state and living on Bailey’s Island since 2010, where she serves as a choral arts teacher.
Celebration scheduled for June 10th on Bailey’s Island. She even showed us a lovely video with a brief tour of the historic island with an invitation for all to attend the gala.
Mike Fortunato led the raffle that had grown to a princely sum of $585, and guess who won? It was “not PTG.” When the “not PTG” ticket was drawn everyone raised their hands. But, alas, “not PTG” was actually PTG (yes, it is confusing) and this time, after numerous previous meeting attempts, he picked the Queen of Hearts. And, given that he is a "King with a Heart", Paul donated the $585 pot back to the to the boots cause. (See more on that below) Thanks PTG!
WE NEED BOOTS!
Amy Chipman provided updates on the Boot Collection program. The Community Services Committee is collecting used boots for K-8th grade students in the Portland school system. They are looking for sizes 12 ½ children up to 12 adult. Lamey-Wellehan Shoes donated 35 boots. Please check your closets and bring your boots to the October 28th meeting. 
that has been building for months. Attendees know that Paul buys a healthy number of tickets each week, thereby getting more chances to win. Buy hey, without Paul, the pot would be half the size, and no one is being denied their own chance to buy more than one ticket! Paul broke through on this one, then turned right around and donated the entire purse back to our boots program, $585. That's a winning hand courtesy of PTG! Dick Hall (L) thanks Paul!.png)
