This Friday's Meeting Starts at 12 NOON at The Elks!
THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM: Musicians Gary Wittner and Eyezaya Mcfetridge, Live Holiday Jazz
Bring guests, and enjoy the highly skilled musical talents of Gary Wittner and Eyezaya Mcfetridge, here to entertain us with some special holiday jazz!
Come a little early as we plan to ring the bell at 12noon!
Guitarist Gary Wittner, Professor of Jazz Guitar at USM, has performed worldwide since the 1970s, delighting audiences on five continents. He has officially represented the United States as a Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador, Fulbright Specialist, and U.S. Embassy Outreach Artist. A leader on seven recordings, he performs jazz, blues/Americana, Latin, and Middle Eastern music. An acknowledged authority on Thelonious Monk, he has presented concerts and lectures internationally and authored Thelonious Monk for Guitar. He now writes and sings original “jazz cabaret” songs with witty lyrics and post-bop harmonic sophistication and humor. During breaks between music, Gary will discuss his forty-year history teaching music in the University of Maine system and his extensive international performance career.
Gary will be joined by Eyezaya Mcfetridge, an undergraduate at USM, a trombonist, bassist, composer, and arranger from Cumberland, Maine. He will share experiences of studying trombone and double bass at the Osher School of Music and his growing local performance schedule. He has performed with the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra, Osher ensembles, the Portland Jazz Orchestra, the Larry Williams Band, and in pit orchestra and freelance settings.
BITS AND PIECES
NEW DIGS: The first meeting of the new year will be January 9th at USM, Abromson Hall (connected to the parking garage). Details on how the set up, parking, and more was sent to everyone via email, and we'll have another coming the week of the meeting with all the details on parking.
CLYNK FOR THE HOLIDAYS!At our meetiug this week be sure to pick up a CLYNKbag. They'll be many recyclable cans and bottles used up over the holidays, let's turn them in with our Clynk barcode and cash in! We have used money from this program before to help by home heating oil for those in need, so let's not let the opportunity slip by!
DISTRICT GOVERNOR NOMINEE: Emma Bodwell, our 2025-2026 District Governor announced this past week that "As your District Governor, I am pleased to share the results from our District Nominating Committee. After thoughtful review and interviews, the Committee has selected Tom Talbott of the Portland Rotary Club to serve as our District Governor for 2028–2029."
TT: As Editor of the WJ, I hope you'll allow me a moment to carve out a section to say a huge thank you to my fellow Portland Rotarians, the District Nominating Committee, and my family for your encouragement and support. It is a tremendous honor to receive this opportunity to serve in new ways. A few months ago, we saw a membership/recruitment video, where the speaker responded to the question, "What is Rotary?" and he replied, "Rotary has been one of the best things I've ever done in my life." I loved that response. Rotary has been 2/3 of my life, and I am very grateful for the friendships and the many things we have accomplished together. Now moving down the off ramp of the work force, I have a new set of goals, a new purpose, and a lot of energy to share. I am proud to be a Portland Rotarian and looking forward to sharing my enthusiasm with the District. Thanks! Tom T.
LAST WEEK'S SOCIAL EVENT: Visit to the Maine Historical Society | By Tom Talbott
Jake Bourdeau and Bowen Depke arranged for a special exclusive club social event, inviting everyone to the Maine Historical Society on Congress Street. However, Mother Nature dealt some harsh cards that afternoon, leaving the streets more conducive for a bobsled run. As a result, we had 9 intrepid history buffs who made their way. The biggest takeaway was that having our social at a venue like this is very interesting, something we can try again. So, good show, thanks Jake and Bo, and cheers for those who skated in!
Sharing some notes, the Maine Historical Society is Maine’s official historical society, founded in 1822, and it functions as a hub for a lot more than just exhibits. Right now, the museum has several shows running at once. Notorious: Maine Crime in the Public Eye, 1690–1940 looks at well-known criminal cases from Maine’s past. Lapsed Time: Portland in the 1980s focuses on the city during that decade. Stitches features quilt handwork from the Society’s collection, and Working Granite (opening later this summer) covers Italian stonecutters and their union, an important part of Maine’s labor history.
Beyond the galleries, the MHS also operates the Wadsworth-Longfellow House and Longfellow Garden, along with the Brown Research Library, which holds maps, photographs, newspapers, and family history materials. There’s also the Maine Memory Network, an online collection of documents and images contributed by historical groups across the state.
Thank you to the Museum for working with us, we wish the circumstances of nature could have been better. Take some time and visit, and see how Maine's history is collected, stored, and shared in one place.
Speaker Schedule
December 26 - No Meeting
January 2 - No Meeting
January 9 - Drew Dumsch, The Ecology School, AT OUR NEW SPOT: USM!
January 16 - Mary Ann Linderman, Coffee By Design
January 22 - Thursday Night Social
January 23- No Meeting
January 30 - Greg Dowty, District Protection Officer
Club Executives
Co-Presidents Bowen Depke, Laura Young President Elect Justin Lamontagne Vice President Jake Bourdeau TreasurerDick Hall Secretary Juliana L'Heureux Board of Directors Dick Hall, Patty Byers,
Art Howe, Niki Merrill, Bill Milliken, Bruce Moore
Sergeant-At-ArmsZach Newell
The Windjammer is published online by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
Guitarist Gary Wittner, Professor of Jazz Guitar at USM, has performed worldwide since the 1970s, delighting audiences on five continents. He has officially represented the United States as a Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador, Fulbright Specialist, and U.S. Embassy Outreach Artist. A leader on seven recordings, he performs jazz, blues/Americana, Latin, and Middle Eastern music. An acknowledged authority on Thelonious Monk, he has presented concerts and lectures internationally and authored Thelonious Monk for Guitar. He now writes and sings original “jazz cabaret” songs with witty lyrics and post-bop harmonic sophistication and humor. During breaks between music, Gary will discuss his forty-year history teaching music in the University of Maine system and his extensive international performance career.
Gary will be joined by Eyezaya Mcfetridge, an undergraduate at USM, a trombonist, bassist, composer, and arranger from Cumberland, Maine. He will share experiences of studying trombone and double bass at the Osher School of Music and his growing local performance schedule. He has performed with the Southern Maine Symphony Orchestra, Osher ensembles, the Portland Jazz Orchestra, the Larry Williams Band, and in pit orchestra and freelance settings.
NEW DIGS: The first meeting of the new year will be January 9th at USM, Abromson Hall (connected to the parking garage). Details on how the set up, parking, and more was sent to everyone via email, and we'll have another coming the week of the meeting with all the details on parking. 
TT: As Editor of the WJ, I hope you'll allow me a moment to carve out a section to say a huge thank you to my fellow Portland Rotarians, the District Nominating Committee, and my family for your encouragement and support. It is a tremendous honor to receive this opportunity to serve in new ways. A few months ago, we saw a membership/recruitment video, where the speaker responded to the question, "What is Rotary?" and he replied, "Rotary has been one of the best things I've ever done in my life." I loved that response. Rotary has been 2/3 of my life, and I am very grateful for the friendships and the many things we have accomplished together. Now moving down the off ramp of the work force, I have a new set of goals, a new purpose, and a lot of energy to share. I am proud to be a Portland Rotarian and looking forward to sharing my enthusiasm with the District. Thanks! Tom T. 