I have now been President for two months so I can really appreciate even more the efforts of my predecessor, Ken Farley.
Truth be told, at our last meeting in June the Club took so long to make fun of me that we did not really have adequate time to acknowledge and thank Ken Farley for his efforts as President of our Club. Throughout his year, Ken demonstrated his vast knowledge of Rotary and our Club. Ken knows our budget inside and out and managed it ably. He knows all about Rotary Youth Exchange and expressed his concerns about the way that program is now being run. He continued to provide an incredible amount of leadership and work for the auction to insure that it went off smoothly, including yet again writing the script for the auction.
Perhaps most impressive to me was the fact that a few key members of our Club, for a variety of reasons, had to leave during the Rotary year. They had important responsibilities like coordinating our programs or the dictionary project. Most members of our Club probably did not know that Ken ultimately took on those responsibilities in addition to his responsibilities as President.
Clearly, however, Ken's legacy is going to be bringing in 10 new members to our Club during his Rotary year. That is a very impressive number at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract new members to almost any charitable organization. Ken worked closely with his membership chair, Karen Chasse, to work to increase our membership and I am sure that he appreciates the efforts of our Club members to sponsor new members.
I am very excited that Ken has agreed to take on the role as Membership Chair as Karen transitions over to our Marketing Committee, and of course, we owe Ken a huge thank you in taking on the beer festival event and we all need to support him in that effort.
While way too late in coming, we all owe Ken a big thanks for his hard work and leadership this past Rotary year.
President Bill promptly started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Steven Morin led everyone in the 4 Way Test. Joe Bassett provided the invocation, and the Club took a moment of silence to remember the victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the eve of the 14th anniversary of that tragic day in our country’s history. Lucie visiting Rotarians, from the Saco Bay Club, Kerstin Kirchner and Elaine Fournier. There were no guests in attendance today. Rotarian, Kerstin Kirchner announced that she has between 2,000 and 3,000 books in the back of her pickup truck that will be donated to the YMCA.
Next up were today’s SAA’s Joe Moreshead and Denis Elie trying their best to add to the budget with happy dollars and fines. Denis was happy that his son, Evan’s team won their first two football games; Frank Gooding was happy that he survived the weekend with his grandchildren and he was fined for being the last in; Matt Simmons was happy that his son’s travel hockey team won its first game and that his son scored his 1st goal; visiting Rotarian, Kerstin paid $1.00 to share that she is leaving the Saco Bay club because she is moving to Wells; Steve Morin is oddly happy that his youngest daughter is now 21; Lucie was happy that her granddaughter started her first day of preschool; Ken is happy that he won’t be here next week to hear Governor LePage speak since he’ll be in Florida for work… NOTE: any story worth telling is worth embellishing!!! Fines were as follows: Peggy Bean for chuckling when President Kany announced next week’s guest speaker. A very reliable source confirms that it wasn’t her that snickered!! Bernice for not keeping President Kany adequately informed concerning today’s speaker and for the love/hate relationship the two share; Jeremy Ray for sending his son to school in Saco and putting his kindergartener on the bus; Steve Morin for reciting the 4-way test verbatim.
President Bill reminded everyone once again about the Alzheimer’s Walk on Saturday, September 19th. Our Club has raised over $3,000.00 for the event and is on the leader board! Bernice Wood has ordered the T-Shirts. Cost is $9.00 for a crew neck and $10.50 for a V-neck T-shirt to be paid by member. If you can’t walk please take the time to make a contribution if you have not done so already. The on-line process is very easy.
Susan Gajewski reminded everyone that the meeting on 09/23 was going to be held at the Deep Brook Golf Course. Golf will start at 2:30 for anyone wishing to play. The cost is $20 per person without a cart. To date there are 28 Rotarians signed up to attend the meeting. If you are planning on attending the meeting portion, please let Susan know so that she can make accurate arrangements for the food. The meeting portion will begin at 5:30 p.m. Please arrive between 5-5:30 p.m.
If anyone is interested in purchasing a kayak for half-price to donate for the Auction, please contact Susan Gajewski for details. Rotarian Kerstin Kirchner committed to buying one but there could be more available for purchase.
PP Ken Farley informed everyone that only 34 tickets have been sold to the upcoming Celebration of Suds at the Falls. Tickets need to be purchased in advance so please spread the word! There are 9 brewers who will be in attendance. Ken is looking for Volunteers and a sign up sheet was circulated. There will even be live entertainment! The “Lower Village People”. Ken stressed to all members to “invite” people to the event through Facebook-don’t just “Share”. At the time of his announcement, over 1400 people had been invited.
We have posted the names of two candidates for new membership and if you have any comments or concerns you are asked to get in touch with a member of the board. The candidates are: Mark Nahorney from UNE, sponsored by Ken Farley; and Heather McLean, sponsored by Karen Chasse.
There will be a Dictionary Committee meeting after today’s meeting.
SAVE THE DATE: GOVERNOR LEPAGE WILL BE SPEAKING AT OUR MEETING ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2015.
President Bill Thanked Don Lauzier for his hard work as the Chair of the SMHC Golf Tournament.
Today's speaker was Melissa Cilley, Executive Director of the Susan L. Curtis Foundation and shared with us that in the early 1970s the Susan L. Curtis Foundation was formed to serve the State of Maine’s most underdeveloped resource, the economically disadvantaged children of Maine. The founders circle recognized that these children were unable to take advantage of Maine’s summer camps, and wanted to level the playing field for economically disadvantaged children. Camp Susan Curtis was born. Camp Susan Curtis lays the foundation for lifelong achievement - a foundation that remains with the children they serve throughout their lives, permanently shifting their path to a brighter future. At Camp Susan Curtis these children realize that they HAVE potential. The children are taught healthy habits like resilience, determination, personal responsibility and trust, good behavior, and skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration, and effective communication, so that they can reach their full potential. The goal of Camp Susan Curtis is to break the statistical trajectory of our economically disadvantaged children. While at Camp Susan Curtis children get the full camp experience. The Camp is located on 100 acres of conservation land, where the children hike, swim and bike. The staff is paid; 50% are returning participants who were at one time campers. Camp Susan Curtis serves 500 children each year aged 8-17 years from all 16 counties in Maine. There is no cost to the campers. It costs roughly $1,200/child for the 2-week experience. Staff to camper ratio is 3/10. All of the children are referred to Camp Susan Curtis by Maine’s public schools.
Thank you to this year's Board of Directors for your leadership of our club: (front row, l-r) Laurie Jo Ready, Treasurer; Bernice Wood, Secretary; Bill Kany, President; Lucie Kay, President-Elect; Jackson Brown, Vice President: (back row, l-r) Susan Gajewski, Asst. Treasurer; Peggy Bean, Asst. Secretary; Andy Grief, Director; Joe Moreshead, Director; Rob Moody, Director; and Ken Farley, Past President.
In honor of World Polio Day, which is recognized on October 24th, Rotary District 7780 and Seacoast Rotary Club of Portsmouth, NH are sponsoring “Bridge the Gap to End Polio” on October 24, 2015 at 9 AM.
Imagine buying a house for only $32,500, qualifying for an $8,000 tax credit and helping students receive scholarships all at the same time. It may sound too good to be true but it is all part of the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club’s House Project. Each year for the last thirty years, the students at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology (BRCOT) build an energy efficient modular home and all the proceeds from the sale benefit scholarships for Saco, Biddeford and Old Orchard Beach High School seniors.
“The Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club currently gives $21,000 a year out in scholarships to local high school students who continue their education,” stated President Bill Kany. “The Rotary House Project is a substantial fundraiser to support these scholarships while helping the students at the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology to learn valuable skills.”
This year’s house is 1,008 square feet (24’ x 42’) and features two bedrooms, one bath and is well insulated with an energy recovery ventilation system. The buyer is responsible for relocation (approximately $10-$20,000 depending on distance of the move), appliances, foundation, septic, flooring, paint and heating options.
For more information, contact Rotarian Carl Goodwin at 207-590-4644.
Peggy Bean needs more volunteers! Please let Sarah Neault know if you are available to serve as the Tack Reporter on October 14 and October 21. Thanks.
Invocation: Joe Bassett
PROGRAM IDEA???? PLEASE CONTACT Brian Dallaire, PROGRAM CHAIR or a member of the Program Committee. Remember it is the responsibility of every member to help get Programs for our meetings.
Fill up those green bags. If you need more bags and/or labels, just let Julie Villemaire know and she can hook you up…no charge!
Simple fill with returnables and drop off at any Hannaford.
Alternately, if you already have a CLYNK account of your own, you can designate you funds as a donation. Hit the Donate button and search for Rotary and you'll find our account.
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