Hey, what do you know? President Bruce did an excellent job during his term to help the club transition from struggling to success! Thank you!
On Friday, President Bruce Jones gave a rousing summary of the past 18 months; the longest term of a Portland Club President. President Bruce opened by thanking the members for all their support and how grateful he is that everyone, especially the past presidents, stepped in and stepped up at the start of his term.
At the beginning of his tenure, Bruce challenged the club to build up our membership, enhance environment sustainability, create relevant community service opportunities, and strengthen our local image. In all areas, Bruce was pleased to announce that we had exceeded his expectations despite the challenges of the pandemic. The club adapted its meeting modality from remote zoom to hybrid to now fully in-person. Social events are organized monthly to help us reconnect; an online roster and directory is complete; and we were able to integrate the Portland Sunrise club while supporting their ongoing community projects.
Bruce shared how this could not have happened without the work of the board and the dedicated committee chairs and their members. Bruce shared a few highlights of the committee work:
Sargent at Arms – Jake Bourdeau was critical adapting the meeting formats;
Meeting Day – Jan Chapman and Brian Nickerson streamlined the process to create a seamless welcome process;
Program – David Putnam led an impressive and diverse array of speakers which helped reinvigorate meeting day attendance;
Message of the Day – Dave Small ensured we had novel and thoughtful opening messages;
Fundraising – Tom Ranello did a good job supporting a number of successful and meaningful events from Flags for Heroes, Mud Auction, and Fentanyl Awareness Day in the Park. Combined the committee raised $20K.
Service – Amy Chipman kept us engaged in a number of new projects including Boots for Kids and The Locker Project;
International Service – Roger Fagan and Erik Greven coordinated an incredible number of projects in the Dominican Republic, India, Guatemala, and Kosovo; from Hearing Aids, Water Filtration, Prosthetic Limbs, eye surgeries and children's books;
Wellness – Bruce Moore and Jan Chapman spearheaded a consistent service to support Milestone and our recovery partners;
Vocational Services – Brian Nickerson helped revitalize our vocational efforts and we now provide 3- $500 scholarships to students at PATHS;
Youth Services – We continued to honor graduates from all Portland High Schools and support the summer reading initiative;
Environment – Ellen Niewoehner and her team ensured we stayed focused on the Bayside Trail and helped plant 26 trees.
Foundation – Through Patty Byers’ leadership, the club raised over $21,000 and recognized 26 Paul Harris Fellows.
Communication – Tom Talbott did an amazing job keeping the Windjammer interesting, and our team kept the website current and regularly posted social media.
Bruce closed with a heartfelt thank you to his wife Sue, for supporting his “all things Rotary” for the past 18 months. Bruce also thanked incoming President Dick Hall for his steady mentorship during the transition.
With his signature closing, Bruce shared a “Hey, what do you know?” that today is the anniversary of Jonah Salk’s death and pointed out the spread of wild polio is expected to be halted by the end of the year and that polio will be eradicated worldwide by 2026.
Charlie Frair recognized Bruce’s tremendous work and thanked him for his willingness to serve and credited him for helping the club flourish.
Dick Hall closed out the meeting by thanking Bruce with a Paul Harris Fellow from the past presidents (Bruce’s 4
th PHF) and noted that because of Bruce, we survived. The members were then treated to a slide show of all the service, work, activities and fun we had this year!
Mike Fortunato introduced guests Sue and Andi Hall and visiting Rotarian Kevin Donnelly, from the Rotary Club of Crook County, Prineville, Oregon.
In community service, Amy Chipman asked for volunteers who would like to help the Cultivating Community project on Wednesday June 28th. Cultivating Community’s programs empower New Americans by teaching them sustainable farming practices and connecting them to the community. Let Amy know about your availability to volunteer because the club would like to continue the participation with this program.
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