As we all know this is the season of giving (no Joe Moreshead it is not the season of getting). As Christmas fast approaches I want to take just a moment to sincerely thank each and every member of our club. As a group we give a lot to our communities and we should all be proud of that. I am given grief sometimes for all of my thank you’s. Let me assure you that they are all heart felt and incredibly well deserved.
So for all the giving you do week in and week out let me thank you by wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a safe, healthy and happy 2016. Remember, we will not meet on December 30 so we will meet again on January 6, 2016. How time flies when you’re having fun!
President Bill Kany led us in the Pledge of Allegiance followed by the 4-way test led by Mike Nahorney which he jumped right in with “Is it the truth?” Joe Basset gave the invocation and Don Lauzier convinced Scrooge Kany to sing a holiday song. We sounded better than ever so it was decided we will only be seeing holiday songs going forward. President-Elect Lucie introduced visiting guests Sabine McElrath (which she is still having trouble pronouncing), Don Pillon, Jane Foley, Rick Larriviere, and Brian Smith. The 50/50 was won by Conrad Welzel who donated 100% of it to the Red Ribbon Committee Fund. Do you see a trend here with the 50/50 winners?
Thank You! – Bill usually does his weekly thank you’s but I guess he was not feeling the love today. I think the Christmas crowds are getting to him.
Speaker – President Kany held a “Fun Fact Trivia” game today in which Rotarians submitted a fun fact about themselves and we had to guess who was the Rotarian. It was absolutely hysterical! It is clear our club thinks Joe Moreshead and Pierre Giroux live the most exciting lives as they were chosen most often. The team names included: Earl’s Lucky Charms, Santa’s Forgotten Elves, Taste of Victory, The Black Santas, Incognito and The Mistletoes. Of course, Earl’s Lucky Charms won (would we expect less from Earl) but I think it was because Jackson is a master at reading facial expressions. Prizes included swag from York County Federal Credit Union. The full list of Rotarians and their fun fact will follow from President Kany.
Wine Tasting – Steve encouraged us all to give Wine Tasting tickets as stocking stuffers (a gift for yourself is okay too!). The 10th Annual Wine Tasting is on January 30 (Snow date: February 6) from 6:30-8:30pm at the Community Room of Pepperell Mill. You enter to the door next to Portland Pie. Tickets are $25 each with none sold at the door. We are still looking for silent auction items so please send along ideas or gifts you might donate for the cause. If people prefer to pay via credit/debit card, please direct them to the Eventbrite.com site. (a small surcharge is added for paying online). Yes, we know it the same day as the Portland Brewfest but we are in the evening so feel free to go to both…or just buy a ticket to ours even if you can’t come.
Bell Ringing – Despite Bill’s constant forgetfulness of the sign-up sheet, our club managed to succeed at staffing the belling ringing for the Salvation Army. Brian Smith of the Salvation Army stood up and thanked us for our efforts and stated, “Your club raised $1,915.67 which is an average of $156 per hour helping 144 families or 560 people. You have this year’s record of Top Earner for a group standing in for the day.” President Kany then proceeded to give Brian a list of his requests for next year complaining that they were the “worst limp bells he ever had.”
Auction – Jackson invited us all to attend the next Auction meeting on Tuesday, December 29, 8am at the Rotary Community Room at Richard J. Martin Community Center. He seemed nervous about pressuring us to go – give him time, he will get more assertive.
Red Ribbon Committee– We continue to collect donations! Carl Goodwin presented the $2,500 check from Biddeford Savings Bank, Jim McAllister gave $500 and Paul Deschambault gave a donation along with another donation (and a plug) to the Rotary Foundation. President Kany noted that “no good deed goes unnoticed” as he recapped our service project for the Kinney Shores boardwalk. Well, we were “repaid” when Jim Godbout held a dinner party in which his neighbors contributed $1,100 to the Red Ribbon Committee and funds continue to come in!
Christmas Delivery – Paul Deschambault thanked all the Rotarians who delivered gifts to the families we supported this year.
Rotary House – Demolition continues to occur at our Rotary House. If interested, there will be more the morning after Christmas on December 26th from 9am-12pm. Jim Godbout have masks and gloves but bring your hammer! If you don’t like demo, consider coming to help clean up their mess. All help at all levels is welcome.
Environment Moment – Joe Moreshead gave a short intro of Rick Larriviere from the Saco River Salmon River & Hatchery. He pretty much botched it so all I picked up was that they would like to remove two dams. The location of the dams, I think, is near Joe’s Office but someone also mentioned the ones near UNE. Since I have no idea where the dams currently are, I have no idea which ones are to be removed. More to come on that!
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 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.
.jpg?&time=635731032561782875 "VenueMap"){kind=small}
