Andrew Rudalevige was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in the Boston suburbs, where he learned to love the ocean, the T, and, at great cost to his emotional stability, the Red Sox. He went to Watertown High School and then to the University of Chicago. After graduation he worked in the Massachusetts State Senate and on political campaigns, spending a term himself on the Watertown Town Council, before going back to do graduate work in political science at Harvard University.
Receiving his PhD in 2000, he taught at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2012 he joined the faculty of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where he is Thomas Brackett Reed Professor of Government.
Andy was a fellow at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Democratic Politics in 2004-05. From 2007 to 2009, he served as the director of Dickinson's humanities study abroad program in London and Norwich, England, and as a visiting professor at the University of East Anglia. In fall 2011 he taught at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques at the University of Lyon, France.
His current research & writing projects address questions of policy implementation and the president's ability to direct it. Book projects on various aspects of the president's role as "chief executive," as well as the presidency of Ronald Reagan, are in progress.
Andy is a prolific writer, and some of his work can be found on the Monkey Cage blog on The Washington Post website.
Michael Romy Greer is the current Executive Director at Portland Ballet. He started by recognizing Don Zillman, Rusty Atwood and guest Jim Shaffer for service to Portland Ballet. He is very proud to take over as executive director. He told us that many organizations are integral to the success of Portland Ballet. He also could not resist telling us about the next show, 'The Armed Man,' presenting on May 20 and 21. (For tickets, go to: www.portlandballet.org/tickets/)
Michael was previously General Manager at Sino-European Recycling Resources in Ningbo, Zhejiang, China. From this point of view, he shared many observations of the Chinese people and the Chinese culture.
China is a country of 1.4 billion people, versus 300 million people in the USA. Everything in China is multiplied due to this large population. There are numerous similarities between China and the US:
the geographic size is similar
the population densities are along the coast
both are monolingual
for both, a large part of the population is not aware of things outside their country
neither country is required to learn a new language
both feel their country is center of all
The areas where China is different than the US are linked strongly to the very large population, or at least emphasized by the population. Real estate is a driving force within the whole society. Most Chinese live on the eastern coast, in very high densities. From 1997 to 2014 the percent of GNP invested in real estate development has risen from 4% to 15%. A big part of this growth is because 20% of loans go to real estate, or commodities like concrete devoted to real estate. The drivers behind this are the one-child policy, and a society that still favors the male child. Therefore, the proportion of males are much higher, which creates strange problems. Melded with the idea that in order to get married, a son must own real estate; real estate ownership is required for acceptance by a family. Michael was asking his future wife’s father for her hand in marriage. He was immediately asked, "Do you have a house?" When told no, the father replied that he believed Michael will have a house, so he approved the marriage.
Due to the male/female ratio, marriage is very selective. A male must have property. To achieve this, saving rates of 30-50% are common to save for a house. Three generations will save for the house of the young male. Developers know of the need, so they are anxious to provide real estate.
Capital flight is limited to $50,000 per year per person to the US. Most people want to keep money in China, but investment instruments are limited to real estate, day trading, or starting a business. Real estate is considered the most secure. High returns are generated on real estate investments. Banking is very loose, with limited due diligence. The daily cost of living is very low and there is no need for insurance, which provides the ability to save a large portion of salaries. It is a very excited real estate market; ghost towns do exist. Major cities have demand to fill developments, but new construction is performed with very poisonous products. Therefore, all renovations sit for at least 6 months waiting for all fumes to air out. During the first year, it can be too dangerous to live in a new development. When developments open, there can be miles of people in line trying to get units.
There are many overnight millionaires and even some overnight billionaires for those who own property. In the scrapyard, Michael found people had windfalls on selling property and decided to buy scrap because someone said it was a good idea, not because they had any knowledge of scrap metal. Windfall investors drive the economy. Government is aware and can see the real estate investment bubbles. The government tries to curb them, but the government is not good at it. By law, for a first home, one can get a 90% loan. For a second home one can only get a 50% loan, and for a third home, it must be an all-cash purchase. This is not controlled or enforced across geography, so people just buy second and more homes in a different location. The alternative, day trading is a very unstable market, with high volatility, tied to real estate prices. When the real estate market is going down, the stock market goes up, and vice versa. The two booms and busts are somewhat complimentary.
President Bowen welcomed 59 members and 9 guests to our meeting last Friday. Alan Nye provided a "be kind to your fellow persons" invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and we sang a patriotic song.
We recognized our members having birthdays in April. Mark Stimson was congratulated on his milestone birthday of 90-years young.
(Photo: Mark and Connie Stimson.)
Other special April birthdays of note were: John Houghton at 84 years on April 10th; Harry Sawyer at 83 years on April 13th; and Bob Traill at 94 years on April 24th. Happy Birthday to all!
Jim Willey presented a history moment from the 1969-70 era, compiled by Erik Jorgensen, who was caught up in the final days of the legislative session. Jim took us back to an uneasy period in the country, a time beset with street violence, protest and war. Despite real accomplishments like landing men on the moon, this year marked an unsettled time in US history – the country was stuck in Vietnam; Charles Manson was murdering people, the Chicago Eight went on trial and people were still marching in the streets.
The Club’s speakers touched on many subjects that reflected the current national mood. Clearly the club was trying to make sense of what must have seemed like puzzling and upsetting social upheavals during this period. We heard from Judge Edward Thaxter Gignoux (after whom our Federal courthouse was later named) speaking about courts, immigrants’ rights, and the “unwarranted dissidence” rampant across the country. A group of Boston college students spoke to the club about the science behind drugs and addiction (this was one of three programs about drugs and delinquency that year – one speaker noted there were 49 heroin addicts in Maine, and was very worried about marijuana); the regional director of the FBI spoke to the club about “anarchy masquerading as peaceful demonstrations"; and we heard from Graham Watt, city manager of Dayton Ohio, who spoke about the wealth divide in the country, social justice and the plight of America’s urban areas.
Rotary notes that year showed that the Club had around 220 members, and that the price of lunch was increasing to $2.75 including tip, something that suggested that Rotarians then were as concerned as they are now about how to keep costs affordable. Records showed that the Club contributed to a number of local causes that year, from the YMCA to the Catherine Morrell Day Nursery; and familiar names were showing up on our programs: Don Lowry made an initial appearance having provided a classification talk, and Mark Stimson was elected Second Vice president.
Our club presented a Youth Service Award to Hibo Abdi, a student at Waynflete School. Representing Waynflete and introducing Hibo to us was the Dean of Student Affairs, Lydia Maier. Hibo's mom, Ardo Amir, proudly watched her daughter receive the award.
(Photo: Lydia Maier, Ardo Amir, Hibo Abdi, Ellen Niewoehner, and President Bowen Depke.)
Erik Greven ran the weekly raffle and asked our speaker to pick a raffle ticket from the can for a potential shot at $1,344. Though she tried, Kathy Grammer could not find the Queen of Hearts as it continued to hide in the deck.
(Photo: Kathy Grammer and Erik Greven.)
A highlight for our club (and most Rotary clubs) is bringing in a new member. This week Matthew (Matt) Wolcott was introduced to the club as our 19th newest member this Rotary year. Matt is with Safe Passage as their U.S. Director. Please be sure to welcome him over the coming meetings. Welcome, Matt!
(Photo: President Bowen and Matt Wolcott.)
President Bowen announced that:
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 6th and 7th.
They are looking for 2-4 host families to house the team members overnight on Monday, plus volunteer(s) to chauffeur the team members around for those two days, and to provide breakfast, lunch & dinner.
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 Ann Schieber at: annschieber@hotmail.com
or at: 603-770-2744
Erik Greven and David Small, part of the International Service 3-H Team gave a report on their recently-returned trip to the Dominican Republic. They recounted how they were amazed that in the midst of squalid conditions, the indigenous people seemed friendly and smiled a lot. Both told of stories about working on the water filters in the bateys, helping process patients for 125 hearing aids and observed the fitting of many recipients with the helping hand and/or measuring for the full prosthetic that will be made in Yarmouth in the coming weeks. They encouraged others to get involved in future trips, because it makes you appreciate all that we have here in America, as well as provide tremendous gratification of immediately improving the quality of life for scores of families. It has been a life-changing experience for both Erik and David.
President Bowen reported on the trip some of our members made to the Boston Rotary Club on April 6th. (See separate article.)
Alex St. Hilaire (photo) asked the club for volunteers to help with acquiring raffle items for the upcoming 'Maine Outdoor Challenge.' There will be a BBQ on the third afternoon of the event, where merchandise will be raffled. He is looking for people who would like to take part in a 'blitz' happening on one day where the volunteers would canvas certain areas of the Portland commercial shopping district in order to solicit items for this occasion/event. For more information and to volunteer, contact Alex at: alex.st.hilaire@td.com.
President Bowen reminded us of our upcoming "All Member Social" on Wednesday, April 13th. EVERYONE is invited! New members, seasoned members and Past Presidents. Please let us know you are coming (so we know how much food to order) by going to the club website: portlandrotary.org and clicking the event name at the right, which will take you directly to the register page......OR you can click HERE and it will take you to the site. We hope to see you there!
Five old hands took advantage of a clear, cold day to zip down to Boston on April 6th to break bread with our parent club there. Besides President Bowen, the adventurers were Linda Varrell, Peter Goffin, Mike Fortunato, John Marr, and former member Kerck Kelsey (who in former times served as President of the Boston club). Some drove, some took the train, some took advantage of relatives, but everybody found their way to Fisher College on time.
When we got there, we discovered that there were more of us than there were of them! Lots of changes in old Club #7 over the past few years, we were told.
Nevertheless, it was a fine luncheon in a lovely building and we were made to feel most at home. Our hosts made up for the scarcity of their numbers by the muscle of those who came. These included Susana Brown, Peter Griffin, and David Manzi – all Past Presidents of the Boston Club, and the latter is the present District Governor!
We heard a fine presentation by the current Vicar, Stephen Ayres, of the #1 top-rated tourist attraction in Boston....Boston's Old North Church. Rev. Ayres is responsible for the management and preservation of this historic site, known as Old North. Aside from the traffic and the $24 charge for parking, it was a fine expedition.
Invocation:David Small Program Reporter: Tom Talbott Bits & Pieces Reporter: Ben Lowry Registration/Greeter: Rusty Atwood Sell Meal Tickets: Tom Nickerson Raffle: Lester Evans Badge Box: Quincy Hentzel Collect Meal Tickets: Jerry Angier Rotary Moment in History: Dick Hall Song Leader: Music Committee Pianist: Kathy Grammer Sgt-at-Arms (Early): Charlie Frair Sgt-at-Arms (Late): Travis Parker
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(S) Vantiel Duncan American Red Cross Laura Young
Leisa Collins ME Comm College Sys Tom Nickerson
ROTARY DOUBLES TENNIS LEAGUE Winter/Spring Session 2016
It’s time to start thinking about our annual celebratory post-season event. We had a great time at Kathy Grammer’s last year. Would any of you consider hosting the event this year? Please let me know.....thanks, Bill.
Andrew Rudalevige was born in Philadelphia, but grew up in the Boston suburbs, where he learned to love the ocean, the T, and, at great cost to his emotional stability, the Red Sox. He went to Watertown High School and then to the University of Chicago. After graduation he worked in the Massachusetts State Senate and on political campaigns, spending a term himself on the Watertown Town Council, before going back to do graduate work in political science at Harvard University. 
Michael Romy Greer is the current Executive Director at Portland Ballet. He started by recognizing Don Zillman, Rusty Atwood and guest Jim Shaffer for service to Portland Ballet. He is very proud to take over as executive director. He told us that many organizations are integral to the success of Portland Ballet. He also could not resist telling us about the next show, 'The Armed Man,' presenting on May 20 and 21. (For tickets, go to: 
Jim Willey presented a history moment from the 1969-70 era, compiled by Erik Jorgensen, who was caught up in the final days of the legislative session. Jim took us back to an uneasy period in the country, a time beset with street violence, protest and war. 
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Erik Greven and David Small, part of the International Service 3-H Team gave a report on their recently-returned trip to the Dominican Republic. They recounted how they were amazed that in the midst of squalid conditions, the indigenous people seemed friendly and smiled a lot. Both told of stories about working on the water filters in the bateys, helping process patients for 125 hearing aids and observed the fitting of many recipients with the helping hand and/or measuring for the full prosthetic that will be made in Yarmouth in the coming weeks. They encouraged others to get involved in future trips, because it makes you appreciate all that we have here in America, as well as provide tremendous gratification of immediately improving the quality of life for scores of families. It has been a life-changing experience for both Erik and David.
Five old hands took advantage of a clear, cold day to zip down to Boston on April 6th to break bread with our parent club there. Besides President Bowen, the adventurers were Linda Varrell, Peter Goffin, Mike Fortunato, John Marr, and former member Kerck Kelsey (who in former times served as President of the Boston club). Some drove, some took the train, some took advantage of relatives, but everybody found their way to Fisher College on time.