President

Don Zillman

First Vice President

John Curran

Second Vice President

Amy Chipman

Treasurer

Scott Blakeslee

Secretary

Kathy Grammer

Immediate Past President

Laura Young

Sergeant-at-Arms

Travis Parker

Director Term End 2018

Justin Lamontagne

Director Term End 2018

Tom Ranello

Director Term End 2019

Dave Small

Director Term End 2019

Ellen Niewoehner

Community Service Chair

Gracie Johnston

International Service Chair

Roger Fagan

Vocational Service Chair

Michael Reed

Youth Service Chair

Lili Brown

Rotary Foundation Chair

Dick Hall

Club Protection Officer

Nan Heald

Vision Champion

Michael Greer

Communications-WJ Bulletin Ed

Loretta Rowe

Communications-PR External

Linda Varrell

Constitution/ByLaws Chair

Roger Asch

Fund Raising Chair

Kris Rosado

Good Cheer Chair

Roger Asch

Invocation Chair

Russ Burleigh

Meeting Day Chair

David Clough

Music Committee Chair

Bill Blount

Program Chair

Bob Martin

Membership Chair

Tom Ranello

Web Administrator

Erik Jorgensen

Administrative Coordinator

Elise Hodgkin

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Portland, Maine!

Service Above Self

We meet Fridays at 12:15 PM

Holiday Inn By-the-Bay

88 Spring Street
Portland, ME 04101
United States

District Site

Venue Map

Editorial Correction

CORRECTION TO THE BITS & PIECES REPORTING IN THE AUGUST 4TH WINDJAMMER:

Past President Kris Rosado's son Ryan is NOT a Navy ROTC, but an ARMY ROTC.

Rotary This Week

Portland Rotary
meets this week at the

Clarion Hotel

1230 Congress Street, Portland

Cost of Lunch

NOTICE

The cost of lunch
at our weekly meetings

is $17.00 per person.

*08/11/17 Pam Leo, Founder of Book Fairy Project

Posted by Bob Martin

Pam Leo is an early literacy activist, the author of Connection Parenting, the forthcoming children’s book, “Please Read To Me,” and writes the ‘Recipes For Reading’ column in the local Parent and Family paper.

Pam has worked with parents and children for over forty years in the roles of family child care provider, parent educator, childbirth educator, and birth doula. Pam has worked with parents in the workplace, teen parents programs, parents in rehab, and parents in prison. Pam’s enduring love of children’s books, her passion for literacy, and her commitment to empowering parents are combined in her new role as the founder of the Book Fairy Pantry Project.

Pam Leo is a member of Kindred’s International Editorial Advisory Board and a member of the board of directors for Kindred’s parent nonprofit, Families for Conscious Living.

The Book Fairy Pantry Project is a grassroots early literacy project whose mission is: “No child with no books.” Upon discovering the unbelievable statistic that 2/3 of the 15.5 million children living in poverty in the U.S. do not have even one book to call their own, Pam felt compelled to do something about it.

The number one indicator that children will arrive at school ready to learn to read is growing up with books in their homes and being read to daily from birth. Pam’s focus is providing a pipeline of books for families living in challenged conditions.

To learn more about this project, go to their website or click on the following link: bookfairypantryproject.com

08/04/17 A Day at the Ball Park - Hadlock Field

Posted by Jake Bourdeau

Past President Ben Lowry, a recent inductee into the Maine Baseball of Fame, fittingly introduced our two speakers to the Club on Friday. Mike Antonellis is the radio announcer for the U.S. cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network, as well as the media relations manager. Greg Levinski is a former bat boy and the assistant clubhouse manager, which basically means he helps out with anything players need in the clubhouse.

The topics regarding all things baseball seemed numerous Friday. Our speakers talked about a broad range of topics, such as: traveling with the team over a 140-game schedule, Twitter feeds from the players’ relatives, the 25 jerseys hanging behind home plate, which designate the Sea Dog players who made the big league, the superstitions and traditions, as well as the daily effort needed to make the players feel as if they were playing for the Red Sox.

Mike talked a little Sea Dogs history, and he let us know that the team was originally started as a Florida Marlins franchise. Obviously, the better team won out here. Mike said that the players ask him not to say certain things when announcing: a run has not been scored in X number of innings; or the pitcher is on the way to a no-hitter. The discussion led to whether radio versus television announcers have a tougher job. He indicated that the talent for radio announcing is typically stronger than for television because the announcer has to recreate the game and surroundings in a person’s mind using only words.

Mike also talked about how from a marketing perspective, the theme nights (e.g., Star Wars, Harry Potter) seem to be doing very well recently compared to the give-aways (bobble heads, t-shirts).

The discussion eventually led to the new pitch clock and its effect on the game, and interestingly, the effect on between inning promotions. The games and commercial breaks are now shorter due to the pitch clock. So while the pitch clock may speed up the game a little, it will not help speed up a 200-pitch game.

Greg said being the assistant club house manager means that he cooks or arranges food for the players, including breakfast and the pre-game, and he generally assists players in whatever they need to make their day go smoother; plus he helps with the coaching. He cleans some of their shoes, can translate for some of the Spanish-speaking players, and generally helps them feel comfortable. The main thing is that the players should be treated like they are in Boston, so that when that player makes the big leagues, it is not a tough transition and they know the routine.

Because Greg is so close to the players in the club house, he shared some funny anecdotes about the tradition the big leaguers have when they are rehabbing with the Sea Dogs. An on-going tradition is for the major leaguer to buy the team dinner during their stay in Portland. So when a player says he wants to treat the team to steaks and lobsters, Greg turns on the grill and helps fill them up.

Mike finished up by saying that Slugger is still as popular as any other promotion.

(Photo L-R: Sea Dog Greg Levinski, Past President Ben Lowry, Sea Dog Mike Antonellis, and President Don Zillman.

08/04/17 Bits & Pieces

Posted by Jake Bourdeau

President Don Zillman opened the meeting by welcoming 40 members, 3 visiting Rotarians and 8 guests to a beautiful day at the ballpark. Julie L’Heureux provided an invocation. In honor of the baseball-themed day at Hadlock Field with the Sea Dogs, Julie read the “Luckiest Man Alive” speech given by Lou Gehrig that he recited on July 4, 1939. The intro starts with, “Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Ending with, ”So I close in saying that I may have had a tough break, but I have an awful lot to live for.”

Mike Reed led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Ben Lowry led us in singing the appropriate song, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

President Don thanked those responsible for setting up and helping run the meeting.

Visiting Rotarians, Claudia Frost and Carolyn Bulliner, who were part of the 3H team that went on the Spring trip to the Dominican Republic, gave us their account of the trip and to present to the club a photo/scrap album in memory of the trip. The Portland Rotary 3H team, included Dick Giles, Rob Chatfield, Dick Hall, Bill Blount, David Small, Jan Chapman, Bruce Moore and Drs. Roger and Liz Fagan. To round out the 3H team that went to the DR, there were other people from Alaska, Oregon, Georgia, Florida, and Maine.

Ellen Neiwoehner led the raffle this week and asked President Don to select a name out of the bucket. He pulled Mike Reed’s name, to which Mike selected the 8 of Clubs, allowing the Queen of Hearts to rest for another week. The pot is getting bigger, so join us next week for a shot at close to $700.

Photo Corner & Rotarians in the News

A few notable photos taken at the meeting:

Past President Ben Lowry, recently inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, shows where his name has been added to a plaque at Hadlock Field.

Rob Chatfield brought his daughter, Sara .

Memorial Service - William Leavitt

On August 12th at 3 p.m., a small memorial service will be held at Oceanview (in the Hilltop Community Room), 20 Blueberry Lane, Falmouth, for former Portland Rotarian William (Bill) Leavitt, who passed away in 2015.

Speaker Request

Posted by Bob Martin

Ordinarily, a decline to appear before our club as a speaker is not published, but the following letter is noteworthy to share:

Nominations Requested for District Finance Committee

Our District 7780 bylaws provide a seat on the Finance Committee for each of the three “areas” of our district. This year, the vacancy is for area C, which is chosen by clubs in Cumberland, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties, Maine.

This seat is currently held by Ron Bennett of our Portland Rotary. The next member will take office July 1, 2018 and serve a three-year term. The duties are described in bylaw section 303. The finance committee usually meets in person four or five times per year, and members have duties between those meetings.

This position is not appointed by the district governor. Instead, the clubs must nominate candidates from within their club and the candidate gets selected by the District nominating committee. The deadline is October 15 to apply, and an interview follows, with the selection to be made before December 1.

Bylaw 303.1 states there is preference given to candidates who have served either as club president or club treasurer, and/or who have accounting or finance as a part of their vocation or profession.

Clubs are encouraged to submit applications to the District Nominating Committee. Chair Marty Helman will be happy to answer any questions about the process and requirements. You can contact her at: martyrotary@gmail.com or 233-8741

Please find further information here: rotary7780.org/SitePage/finance-committe-member-nomination

Multi-district Rotary Red Sox Day at Fenway

Red Sox and Rotary together on September 13!

Join 200 Rotarians and friends from around New England to root for our hometown heroes – our Boston Red Sox, when they play the Oakland Athletics at historic Fenway Park. 200 seats in the left field grandstand, in Sections 29-31, have been blocked out for us. This event will sell out, so call your friends and purchase your tickets today. Meet new friends; chat about baseball and Rotary; have a wonderful time; and cheer on our beloved Red Sox. Hopefully they will still be in first place, on their way to the playoffs and on their way to another World Series banner!

Game date: September 13, 2017 @ 7:10 PM

Deadline to purchase: August 18, 2017 @ 11:59

Seat block location: left field grandstand, Sections 29-31

Purchase at: https://groupmatics.events/event/Rotaryinternational

After you purchase your tickets, please send a quick note to DGN Andy Glazier at andyglzr@gmail.com. Based on the level of interest and response to this offer, we will then explore transportation options. If you have any questions, please also contact Andy Glazier (email above). Thank you!

This Week's Duty Assignments

Invocation: Cy Hagge
Program Reporter: Bob Martin
Bits & Pieces Reporter: Bob Martin
Registration/Greeter: Bruce Jones
Sell Meal Tickets: Ellen Niewoehner
Raffle: Rusty Atwood
Badge Box: None
Collect Meal Tickets: Deb Lavoie*
Song Leader: Eric Lusk
Pianist: None
Sgt-at-Arms (Setup): Russell Voss
Sgt-at-Arms (Take Down): Dave Putnam

*if hotel staff is unavailable

Volunteer Opportunities

Following is a list of our Club's volunteer projects. If you know of other opportunities, please contact Loretta: lrowe@maine.rr.com

When
Project Who to Contact

Preble Street 4th Wednesday ea month
Resource Ctr 4-6:30 pm
Soup Kitchen Gracie Johnston
gracie.johnston@wcsh6.com

Game Night 3rd Tuesday ea month
Long Creek Mike Fortunato
Youth Center michael.k.fortunato@gmail.com
or Jim Willey
jimandbarbarawilley@gmail.com

Rotary Meeting Locations

If you would like to mark your calendars,
we are scheduled at the following locations
through September 2017:

2017
Aug 11 - The Clarion
Aug 18 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Aug 25 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay

Sep 1 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 8 - Holiday Inn By-the-Bay
Sep 15 - The Clarion
Sep 22 - TBD
Sep 29 - The Clarion

Blue BOLD dates are scheduled Board meeting days.

Any questions, please contact Loretta at: lrowe@maine.rr.com

Item Donations Needed

The following items are needed on an on-going basis. Please feel free to bring them to a meeting where we will collect and distribute them.

Crutches4Africa - Crutches, canes, folding walkers and wheelchairs to be shipped to Africa.

Toiletries for the Shelters - Collect those tiny bottles of toiletries you are paying for during your next hotel visit and bring them home for members of our society who find themselves staying at a shelter and in need of personal hygiene products.

Prospective Rotarians

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)
Eileen Skinner Retired CEO
(David Small) Mercy Hospital

Adam Scheppard Northpoint Mortgage
(Brian McDonough)

John Thompson Icon LNG
(Loretta Rowe)

Thank you.