08/14/15 BITS & PIECES

Posted by Ben Lowry 
on Aug 15, 2015
 
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.
 
 
 
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!