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Rotary Meeting on August 21st
will be at
HOLIDAY INN BY-THE-BAY
88 Spring Street, Portland
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Posted
on Aug 16, 2015
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 This week at Rotary, our District Governor, Sheila Rollins, will be our guest speaker/program.
Sheila was born in Detroit Michigan. She moved to Boston in 1978 and subsequently to New Hampshire and Maine.
Sheila has had many different jobs and careers over the last 40 years. She earned her flight instructor’s rating in 1989 and operated an introductory aviation program for women called, “Women With Wings” for three years. She worked as a freight pilot for a UPS subsidiary. Sheila loves flying and still teaches flying (in her spare time!) in Lewiston and Fryeburg, Maine.
At the tender age of 52, she went back to school and earned a Masters Degree in Mental Health and is currently a mental health counselor (LCPC) in private practice in Bethel, Maine. She ran for the Maine House of Representatives and still participates in local politics.
She joined Rotary in 2006, served as Club Interact chair for two years and as President of her Rotary club, Bridgton-Lake Region 2008-2009. She was an Assistant Governor of District 7780 for three years and is also a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. Sheila was the Group Study Exchange Team Leader to Nigeria, 2013. In 2013-14 she was also the District’s New Generations Chair. She is the 2015-16 District Governor of District 7780.
Sheila and her husband, Merrill, who also is a Rotarian, enjoy dancing, flying, skiing, hiking, and travel. They live at Scribners Mills in Harrison, Maine, at the site of an historic water-powered sawmill with two dogs, four cats, and two goats.
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Posted by Ben Lowry
on Aug 18, 2015
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After Bill Blount, Amy Chipman and Sea Dogs players, Mike McCarthy and Reed Gragnani, led us in a rousing edition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Bill gave a brief history of our meetings at Hadlock Field. Bill came to us from the Utica, NY Rotary Club, where each summer the club would hold one meeting at the home of the minor league Utica Blue Sox. Once he arrived in Portland in 1992, Bill felt there was something missing: a minor league summer outing. So, since then, aside from one year when the ball was dropped (pardon the pun), we have coordinated with our local Red Sox affiliate to break bread once a summer at Hadlock Field.
This summer, we were lucky enough to hear from two of the Sea Dogs, Mike McCarthy and Reed Gragnani, who have been with the Sea Dogs for two and one year, respectively. Mike, a tall right-handed pitcher from Bakersfield, California, and Reed, a slight second baseman out of Richmond, gave an overview of their life “living the dream” in Portland, Maine. It was an interesting overview from both, who then took questions from our picnic goers.
The highlights: when asked about the parent club’s 2015 pitching woes, the two players took the high road, citing the need for team chemistry and the uncertainty of any team from season to season. Mike related it to a business model, saying any corporate culture needs a “fire within,” just as is the case with a group of players. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
The players addressed the newly instituted “pitch clock” and “inning clock” as an effort by major league baseball to speed up the game, in an effort to compete with the fast pace of today’s lives. Kids now have instant access to date and stimulation....on TV, on devices, on the internet....and baseball needs to stay ahead of the curve (again, pardon the pun) if they want to maintain the relevance of the sport. That being said, both players agreed that baseball is alive and well world-wide, as evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of The World Baseball Classic and the Little League World Series, to name two examples. Both Mike and Reed teach children in the off-season and are amazed with the technological advancements in learning the sport.
When asked about superstitions, Reed named a few....from waking up on his back, to putting on his left sock first; while Mike acknowledged he is not particularly superstitious, but “licks his fingers a lot,” while pitching a game.....sometimes up to 38 times per batter!
In describing their daily lives, both players thanked their “host families” for allowing them to live in their homes. They also described the dreaded minor league bus rides, which can be up to 12 hours in the Eastern League. Nutrition and fitness obviously play a large role in their daily lives, which include days lasting up to 12 hours at the stadium, often playing games, texting or reading. Mike, clearly a very literate gentleman, is studying for his MBA as he progresses through the minors and closed with a wonderful quote from author Wes Moore, which he used to describe his ambitious climb and dreams: “You’re not a product of your environment, you’re a product of your expectations.”
Thanks to Senior Vice President John Kameisha, Bill Blount, and the Seadogs organization for our wonderful annual visit to Hadlock Field to gain just a bit of insight into the lives of these wonderful young men.
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Posted by Ben Lowry
on Aug 15, 2015
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Last Friday, on a picture-perfect day, we were officially greeted at Hadlock Field, Home of the Portland Sea Dogs!
President Bowen welcomed 45 members, 11 guests (one who came from as far away as South Africa), as well as two visiting Rotarians. All that were there were served the usual ball park fare. Julie L'Heureux led the invocation with Bill Blount and Amy Chipman leading us in the pledge and the National Anthem.
Al Sargent offered a look back to 1926-1927 as part of our "Moment in History" for our 100th anniversary celebration. Nationally, the country was in the midst of the Prohibition Era and the Roaring 20’s. In Portland, our own club was just over a decade old and meeting weekly in the Falmouth Hotel, which sat in what is now the Key Bank Plaza on Congress Street. Just down the block, the Eastland Hotel was undergoing a huge renovation. Our Rotary Club established the 'Service Fund' in 1927, a fund that still survives as the 'Service and Memorial Fund' today. More presentations will follow, thanks to the organizing efforts of Jim Willey.
Jake Bourdeau, sporting a fine-looking walking boot, asked Justin Lamontagne’s young daughter, K.C., to pull a name for the raffle. Well, it proved to be her lucky day when she drew her own name! Her luck ran out when she failed to pull the Queen of Hearts, losing out on a $430 pot.
.JPG) Amy Chipman called up Julie L’Heureux, who surprised her husband, Richard, with an early anniversary gift: a Paul Harris Fellowship. With their 50-year anniversary fast approaching in September, Julie gave us a brief look into Dick’s charmed life: a highly decorated naval officer for 20 years, an actor in films (some starring John Wayne), and a successful insurance sales executive. Dick met Julie in Maryland and married her in the fall of 1965, as she finished nursing school. Today, Julie and Dick live in Topsham , where she is the past-president of the local Rotary Club. Amy then presented Julie with a Paul Harris pin of her own. Congratulations to both Dick and Julie!
Bruce Moore is looking for volunteers to help at a concert in Brunswick that will benefit the hospital we frequent in La Romada, Dominican Republic, on August 28th. This should be a wonderful event. To contribute your time, please contact Bruce, his wife Jan at: chapmoore@myfairpoint.net or John Curran at: curraj1@mmc.org.
Gus Karlsen thanked Rotarians who pitched in to sponsor not one, but TWO boats in the MS Regatta, to be held on Saturday, August 15th as part of the MS Harborfest, which raises funds annually for the ongoing battle with Multiple Sclerosis. We look to regain our title as the fastest boat in the harbor and wait with bated breath to hear the outcome this Friday.
President Bowen announced that we have had great success with the recently completed “Feeding Bodies, Feeding Minds” campaign, part of our efforts to end childhood hunger and increase child literacy in Greater Portland. With over 100 volunteer hours in July alone, this program has provided support for dozens of local at-risk youth. Thanks to all who have participated thus far!
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Posted
on Aug 15, 2015
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Invocator: Alan Nye
Program Reporter: Julie L'Heureux
Bits & Pieces Reporter: John Marr
Registration/Greeter:
Sell Meal Tickets: David Clough
Raffle: Jim Thornton
Badge Box: Jerry Angier
Collect Meal Tickets: None
Rotary Moment in History: Rusty Atwood
Song Leader: Janelle LoSciuto
Pianist: Kathy Grammer
Sgt-at-Arms (Early): Glen Nerbak
Sgt-at-Arms (Late): Mike Reed
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Posted
on Aug 15, 2015
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Portland Rotary meeting locations for 2015
If you would like to mark your calendars,
we are at the following locations through Sep. 2015:
Aug 21 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Aug 28 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 4 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 11 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 18 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 25 - The Clarion Hotel
BOLD dates are scheduled Board meeting days.
Any questions, please contact Loretta at: lrowe@maine.rr.com
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Posted by Loretta Rowe
on Aug 15, 2015
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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 the Club Secretary (Loretta Rowe: lrowe@maine.rr.com). Your input will be appreciated.
PROSPECT BUSINESS SPONSOR
Megan Devlin Italian Herit. Ctr Charlie Frair
Maxwell Chikuta Maine Med. Ctr Bruce Moore
Andreea Paine Goodwill NNE George Crockett
David Lee HumanNature@Work Bowen Depke
Katie Brown Locker Project Laura Young
Thank you.
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Posted by Loretta Rowe
on Aug 15, 2015
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The meeting minutes of the Portland Rotary Club's Board of Directors are posted on our website the month following their approval. From the "Home Page," click on the "Board Meeting Minutes" in the listing at the left.
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Posted by David Smith
on Aug 15, 2015
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You can watch our recent Portland Rotary Club speakers on the Community Television Network website:
http://ctn5.org/shows/rotary-club-speakers-series
You can always find the link on the Portland Rotary Home Page!
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