When I went to the President-Elect Training Seminar in March, I was fortunate to hear a speech from the incoming President of all of Rotary International, Ravi Ravindran. Ravi is from Sri Lanka and he was a very down to earth speaker with a fairly effective message. One of the little tidbits that I wanted to share was his observation that no Rotarian should be fined for talking about his or her business or perhaps discussing business with another member of the Club. He indicated that one of the important functions of Rotary is networking. To be honest with you that observation was a significant change from what I have grown to learn about Rotary over the last 28 years. It was always taboo to talk about business during our Rotary meeting. It was frequently frowned upon to talk about Rotary as being a networking organization. I suspect, however, if you went back to when Paul Harris and his fellow founders of Rotary started to meet, they were really meeting for purposes of fellowship and networking.
So as we continue our efforts to recruit members, please do not hesitate to indicate that Rotary provides an excellent opportunity to network. We should be working with each other and we should make every effort to hire fellow Rotarians to provide needed goods and services. While networking may not be the primary goal of Rotary, it is certainly a benefit that we should promote and embrace and not whisper about at a corner table.
Happy Dollars Galore (Everyone is so happy this time of year)! Earl Goodwin gave a happy dollar; Joe Basset is glad to be back; he missed 6 graduations due to illness - he was not happy about that, but he’s back on track and looking forward to making it up; Chuck Hennessey is happy that the late Tim Girard’s wife has become the minister of their church.
Fines: Bill Kany was fined for having a Photo as President of the Club (no ego there). Karen Chase rattled some jibberish that I didn’t understand from where I was sitting. Sneaky Brian Dallaire was able to report that only 27% of Rotarians in our club open the TACK. Very interesting -can’t believe I’ve been taking copious notes each meeting and no one is reading this. What?
Joe Moreshead read it last week and gave CJ $1 for how I portrayed his behavior toward our District Governor – love it.
Thank you Karen Chasse for making those beautiful posters for the literacy program. If anyone knows of any location that could use free books, please let us know.
There may have been a few other fines as names were being mentioned fast and furiously – I decided to eat my lunch at this time.
Raffle Committee, Interact and Charitable Committees are meeting today after Club meeting.
Sue gave update on August 2 party at Jim McAllister’s house. Twelve people signed up and she passed the sheet around for others to sign up if they haven’t already. She asked that everyone bring either an appetizer or salad. It’s a BYOB and a great way to get to know each other on a personal level. I’m in!
Lucie sent this email: OnSeptember 19the Alzheimer’s Association is hosting aWalk to END Alzheimer’slocally in York Beach. The two mile walk begins at the York Beach Ball Field at9:30 AMthat morning. We have created a team (Biddeford & Saco Rotary Club) for all Rotarians who would like to join us. We are requesting that each person who signs up pledges to raise at least $100 for the cause. To sign up to be a part of the walk visit our teamwebsite, or contact Lucie Kay directly so she can sign you up. She also said she is getting t-shirts for the event and possibly getting matching fund of $500. She will be putting a basket at the registration desk in August to raise money for the walk. There is no sign-up fee. Sarah Neault mentioned that Maine keeps a portion of the money raised (she didn’t come prepared with how much, but will get back to us).
Bill mentioned on Sept. 23 there is a Golf Outing at Deep Brook @2:30. After playing 9 holes (to be set up as a scramble), the Club will have meeting in evening. Trying to get Billy Guay to join us and come back to Club. I’ll see if I can work my charm.
Bill wanted to thank Jackson Brown for showing up. He also thanked everyone that attended the District Governor’s reception last week. Saco Bay thanked us also.
The Club Board of Directors is going out tonight on a boat to discuss business – right? [Sounds like another one of those “makeup meetings”]
Reminder that Ron Gagnon has resigned and Board is looking for anyone interested in filling his seat. This is a two year term. A couple members have expressed interest so far.
The Club received two thank you notes from Mike Tremblay for receiving the Rotary Public Sector Award and from Payton for receiving a UNE scholarship.
A mention was made for Bernice Wood and one of our other members for making into the local paper. Paul Deschambault will be sending an email with more information on the International Projects so the group can decide which ones to get involved in. There is a meeting on Monday at 7:30AM for 1 hour at the World Community Center, 45 Granite St., Biddeford.
Car Show this Saturday from 8:00AM to 1:00PM.
The Pedestrian Bridge Dedication/River Jam is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2015.
Speaker Presentation: Bill Kany introduced Bill Mann, our guest speaker to give us an update on the City of Saco’s Economic Development.
Bill comes from a diverse background and rather than use his official title he prefers we think of him as wanting to “help people” in our city. He is a Maine Native with a degree from George Washington University and a Masters Degree from USM.
One Take Away: His role is to assist you and your business in any way they can. He welcomes inquiries which can be directed to: 207-282-3487 or wmann@sacomaine.org. Bill’s mother always told him growing up that he has two ears and one mouth so use the two ears more than the one mouth. He enjoys building relationships and currently they are working on obtaining an inventory of buildings as well as a Business Needs Assessment. When people ask him what he does, he replies “I help people”.
There are several Action Steps: 1. Engaging the business community in various ways; 2. Working with utility partners to ensure safe and competitive access including low cost Broadband services; 3. Integrating Bridge 2025 feedback; 4. Promoting Saco as a place to visit, live and grow a business. Bill emphasized that for every $1 spent in our neighborhoods, $1 should also be spent downtown.
Saco Main Street is also working on several initiatives to re-engage the business community. Kate Brown is their Interim Executive Director. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a part of this organization, please let Bill know.
The City of Saco is seeing an increase in development activity when compared to last year.
Maine Molecular Quality Controls, Inc. Lot #10, Mill Brook Business Park is Ground Breaking, this month. Chinburg Properties Saco Island Lot #4 is expected to break ground in the next 30-45 days.
Bill also touched upon some other issues: 1. We have a great opportunity to re-shape our downtown; 2. Addressing the traffic issues; 3. Feasability Analysis; 4. Broadband solutions; 5. Marketing – getting better at telling our story.
Our Fellowship BBQ at Jim & Donna McAllister’s home in Biddeford is this Saturday 8/1 at noon and the weather looks good! There are a number of us that will be paddling down the Saco River prior to the BBQ and we will meet everyone at Jim’s house at noon. Please be at the parking lot at Skelton Dam at 9:30 so we can be in the water paddling by 10 am. I’m happy to drive people back to the dam after the BBQ to get their vehicles.
We have about 20 people attending so far. Please email me at susan@partyplusmaine.com if you would like to join us and I will happily add you to the sign-up sheet. I have attached a current sign-up sheet. We still need appetizers and fruit salad. Also, please let me know how many people will be attending with you so we can give our hosts an accurate number. The more the merrier!
Thank you to Jim & Donna for hosting. Looking forward to a fun day this Saturday!
Rotary Fellowship BBQ
Saturday, August 1st at noon
Jim & Donna McAllister’s home, Garden Drive, Biddeford
*Meet at 9:30 in the parking lot at Skelton Dam if you want to canoe or Kayak down the Saco River prior to the BBQ! I’m happy to drive people back to the dam to pick up vehicles after the BBQ.
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.
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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