This week is Past Presidents’ week which is our chance to thank the past Presidents of our club who have done so much to make our club the organization that it is. It is supposed to be a beautiful day and we will be out on the patio at Run of the Mill so please make every effort to be there.
I also wanted to remind everyone that on Thursday, June 16 we, along with Run of the Mill, will host the Chamber Business after Hours at Run of the Mill. Again, if the forecast is accurate we will be able to be outside. The prior Businesses after Hours have been a lot of fun and great member recruiting events. It runs from 5:00 to 7:00 PM so please try to attend.
I also wanted to remind everyone that June 22nd is our annual awards day. It is the opportunity for the club to acknowledge the outstanding contributions that people have made to our communities while also giving me a chance to acknowledge some club members for their outstanding work for the club. Again, please make every effort to be there if you can.
Finally, I have never been a person who supports “teaching to a test”. I am always offended by the stories about school districts that spend all year simply preparing students to take certain standardized tests as opposed to just teaching the subject and hoping that the students get enough out of the class to do well on whatever standardized test they are taking. At the beginning of my Rotary year we received the RI President’s criteria for getting a Presidential citation and a District Governor’s Citation Challenge. I looked at the list and really felt that if we got any such recognition it would be because we did the right thing during the year and not because we “taught to the test”.
Well, fast forward to this past weekend and Lucie and I attended the District Conference in Brighton for the day on Saturday which was held almost exclusively in a large tent. To be honest, it was not real warm and it rained for a decent part of the afternoon. There were speakers throughout the day who were pretty good, but we had to sit is these folding chairs supplied by some rental company (sorry Sue) which were the same chairs they make prisoners sit in at Gitmo so they will confess. The day began at around 8:00 AM and at 8:30 PM the District Governor called up all of the current Presidents (the tent was more than half empty by then as many were suffering from hypothermia) and gave out some awards. To my surprise we received the highest District Governor’s citation that she gave out and we received a Silver RI President’s Award and only 2 other clubs in the district got that high an honor (except Portland Rotary that got the Gold Award, but I am sure that they taught to the test).
Those awards are really acknowledgements of all of your hard work and dedication to our club’s efforts and I thank you all for everything that you did for the club this year and for all that you have done in the past and will do in the future. At the end of the day, certificates get placed in a file or a scrap book and are forgotten, but I can assure you that I will never forget all that each of you did during my year as President to continue to make our club one of the best clubs in the District.
President Kany kicked off the meeting leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. The 4 way test was led by Roland Eon and Joe Basset gave the invocation.
Israel Collins – visiting Rotarian Saco Bay Sunset
50/50 Raffle:
Keith Jacques won $32 which he graciously donated to the Red Ribbon Committee.
Presidential Thanks-Yous:
Bill Kany led the meeting, opening by thanking Heather Maclean for her project of building a Red Ribbon display for the District Convention.
He thanked Jim Audiffred Roland Gagne and their wives for hosting our visiting Rotarians from Argentina.
We had a chance to hear briefly from each of the Argentinian Rotarians and Bill presented each one with a banner from our club and a pin with our countries’ flags on them.
Happy Dollars and Fines:
SAA Joe Moreshead, Keith Jacques and Karen Chasse.
Fausto was happy to greet our Argentinian visitors in Spanish!
Karen was happy her daughter graduated from Thornton and she can watch the video of her being hypnotized!
Keith Jacques was happy he feels better this morning than his daughter did after celebrating her 21st birthday yesterday.
Ken Farley was happy his son did something amazing (but that I didn’t hear because Ken was in the other room).
Main St. House Update: work has stopped since the COT teacher was injured and kids can’t work in there unsupervised. Jim Godbout will be coordinating getting some of the framing done in the next few weeks so that the mechanical systems can be installed before the end of summer.
Next Thursday our club will be hosting the Chamber’s After Hours at Run of the Mill from 5 to 7:00 PM
Bill and Lucie will be attending the District Conference on Saturday.
The changeover (Lucie becoming president) is scheduled for Tuesday 28 June at Camp Hines at 7:00PM.
Currently under the umbrella of ENGINE and housed in the shop at Biddeford High School. Primary work is boat-building with middle and high-school students to teach them the skills of teamwork, workmanship and pride in their work as they build a boat together.
Also involved in other community efforts like a pilot boat-building effort at UNE and summer camps.
Added programs for adults at the high school shop, not just boat building, but other wood shop classes were offered this spring and will resume in the fall.
The boats are sold to the public, raffled off at fundraisers, and some are commissioned by individuals.
Next big fundraiser is the Biddeford Boatbuilding Festival to be held at the Pepperell Mill Campus on the 16th & 17th of July. 8 teams will build their own Compass Skiff, a 10-foot motorboat in just two days.
There will also be vendors, exhibitors, kids activities, and food at the venue.
Join us for the first Biddeford Boatbuilding Festival on July 16 & 17 at the historic Pepperell Mill Campus in downtown Biddeford.
Six participant teams–corporate sponsors, families, or youth organizations–will each build their own Compass Skiff, a 10-foot motorboat, over the course of the weekend. All materials and supplies will be provided, no prior expeirence or skills needed. The festival will conclude with a celebratiory boat launching into the Saco River. Each team will then take their boat home to paint and use. Completed boats are great for fishing, using as a tender, or as the first boat for kids. They also make great gifts, donations for charity fundraisers or auctions.
The festival will also include nautical-themed exhibitors, local youth nonprofits, a Saturday evening event at Engine with special guests the Lowell Brothers, kids’ activities, food and music, and more.
Funds raised will support Compass Project’s year-round boatbuilding and rowing programs for at-risk youth.
The Biddeford Boatbuilding Festival will be a fun event, with artisans, vendors, and exhibitors, guest speakers, activities for kids, local food, and live music.
The cost per team is:
Family Team : $950 For families of 3-5 people, ages 8+ Youth-Led Team : $750 For youth groups of 3-5 people, ages 8-18, accompanied by an adult. Corporate or Corporate-Sponsored Team : $2,500 Participants may vary throughout build. Great team-building exercise for businesses. Corporations may choose to sponsor another group or participate themselves.
WHEN: Saturday, July 16 and Sunday, July 17 TIME: 8:30am-4:30pm WHERE: 32 Main Street in the Pepperell Mill Campus next to Portland Pie in downtown Biddeford FMI: Email Shane Hall or call 207-391-6830
The below list of nominations were read. No nominations were heard from the floor. Paul Dechambault made a motion to accept the slate of nominations, Jeremy Ray seconded the motion and the club voted unanimous.
Peggy Bean needs more volunteers!Please remember it is up to the TACK coordinator to ensure that someone is taking the minutes each week during your assigned month. If you aren’t able to take the minutes yourself, please reach out to fellow members for volunteers. Please forward the minutes to Julie Villemaire and Brian Dallaire so they can get them posted for the rest of the members.
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.
Energy: Saved enough energy to light 36.9 lightbulbs—24 hours a day—for a year.
Emissions: Saved the emissions equivalent of driving a car 6,991 miles.
Volume: Diverted enough containers to fill 256.8 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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