I guess words mean things. When I said I was not going to put a lot of emphasis on meeting attendance I should have been a little more articulate in explaining my thoughts. I miss you guys. Last week we had a great meeting all 15 or so of us. Roland and Sue gave a program on their trip to Jordan; it was a great presentation. One reason to go to meetings is to talk, hang out, laugh and exchange ideas, get out of the office, get a break. I think I can easily speak for all of us when I say we are all working too damn hard, we need a break. I want our meetings to be that break.
I know that we don’t have the greatest venue for our meetings. I just hope that some of these hotels get built around town and have restaurants that would love to have our business. I hope to go back to Rotary’s roots. It has been suggested by a number of folks to rotate meeting places. I will bring it up to the board at our next meeting. Keep in mind that it takes work to arrange meeting places, etc. So if we pursue this avenue I will need help pulling it off. Any takers out there?
We have what I think is a rather important meeting this week, 10/03. I hope you can attend. First, the location is the Biddeford Center of Technology. We are going to reap the benefits of the $4000.00 we spent to send a team of kids to participate in Odyssey of the Mind by hearing about their experience. We should show these kids that we not only support them financially but really do care about them individually and collectively. We might have some future Rotarian’s; maybe their participation in this great experience could potentially change the trajectory of their life. You can just never know the impact we can have as Rotarians.
At the meeting you will also be presented with a request to support the purchase of two AED’s for McArthur Library. We need you there to hear your voice and vote.
Lucie K is going to follow up with signup sheets for “Stuff the Bus” for October 27th . She is also emailing all of you.
Did you buy or sell any Beer Fest tickets? Ken is looking for sales and volunteers for our October 20 Celebration of Suds.
The board will also be meeting that morning at Paquin & Carroll at 7:45, please feel free to join us. I hope to see a great at BRCOT.
12:15 Pledge of Allegience Sue Gajewski led us in reciting 4 way test Joe Moreshead gave the invocation
President Joe Moreshead passed around a thank you letter from Thornton Academy thanking us for the saplings we donated this spring.
Ken Farley made announcement about Celebration of Suds to be held on 20 October. - Please promote it on social media - Set up time will start at 1:30 - Will be getting pizzas delivered from Portland Pie - Need silent auction items still - Will need 6 large coolers
Lucie Kay gave an update on the food drive scheduled for 27 October. - It will be held from 9 to 2. - Need volunteers - Joint effort with Saco Bay Rotary Club
Joe announced that starting 1 January 2019, the 1st Wednesday meeting of each month will be held in an area school.
There is still space in the Tack fro those looking to advertise. 2 spots are available at $100 each. See Don or Brian Dallaire.
No Sargeant at Arms since Matt Simmonds is on holiday, but Joe solicited some happy dollars:
- Adam moving to new house on Friday. - Bill Patterson heading to Corpus Christi - Joe M. heading to DC. - Laura Warner - son scored winning soccer goal - Kristen Lane - daughter lost her first tooth - Dr. Joe - had great visit with his family in Maryland.
Peggy Bean won $20 in the 50/50
New member, Sherry Norton, was inducted.
Dr. Joe introduced our guest speaker Hayden Anderson, Executive Director of the Maine Humanities Council.
Hayden began his presentation reminiscing about his grandfather who was a Rotarian in Amsterdam NY. He would sometimes bring young Hayden to meetings in noisy rooms much like our setting today.
The Maine Humanities Council is one of 56 councils in states and territories of the United States.
The mission of the council (as per their website) is to "use the humanities— literature, history, philosophy, and culture — as a tool for positive change in Maine communities. Our programs and grants encourage critical thinking and conversations across social, economic, and cultural boundaries."
They do this thru various initiatives; partnerships with public libraries in 85 towns across Maine, as well as working with Adult Education programs in the state.
They support local efforts through grants. Annually the spend about $200,000 in grants; but the median grant amount is only about $1000.
They are starting a Veterans Book Group here in Biddeford. It will start November 1st and be held at the Seeds of Hope Neighborhood Center on South St.
The council is also evaluating how to prepare for Maine's becentenial in 2020; seeking answers to the question, "How can history inform the future of Maine?"
Ads space is available in the Tack & eTack newsletters. Also included is ad placement on the website. Rates are $100 for 1 year. Please contact the webmaster, Brian Dallaire for more info.
We currently have 5 sponsors, Thanks! Our goal is to have 7 to fund the expense for ClubRunner.
Energy: Saved enough energy to light 58.8 lightbulbs—24 hours a day—for a year.
Emissions: Saved the emissions equivalent of driving a car 11,131 miles.
Volume: Diverted enough containers to fill 424.8 lobster traps.
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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