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Assistant District Governor Laura Young stopped by our meeting today to present us with our district grant for our upcoming Front Street Community Center Project. We are really excited to get going on this project!!  From left to right: ADG Laura Young, Sunrise Rotary President Christine Byrne, and Group Member Brian McCambridge. |
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Two of our Rotarians ran into each other, literally, during this year's Tri for a Cure. Here are Katie and Christine, all smiles as they help raise over $2 million for cancer research!  |
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On the cusp of a new Rotary year, a callback to our club origins!  |
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Our recent night as Guest Chefs at Ronald McDonald House in Portland |
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Our 2019 Party with a Purpose in aid of the Maine Children's Cancer Program is only one week away! Wednesday May 22nd 2019 DiMillo's Restaurant in Portland  |
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To mark International Women's Day, a great article on five Rotary women who are in the forefront of the battle to eradicate polio...including our own Ann Lee Hussey |
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Save the date! Our 2019 Party with a Purpose in aid of the Maine Children's Cancer Program will take place Wednesday May 22nd 2019 at DiMillo's Restaurant in Portland. This year's event promises to be bigger and better than ever! Stay tuned for more details... |
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Amy Schram, Community Relations Manager |
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Our speaker this week - Meghan Carey, Chief Executive of Co-Amplify |
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L-R Kathy Kingston, Ashton Hunter-Sildve of MCCP and Art Howe  |
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At today's meeting we welcomed not one, not two, but three new members! A very warm welcome to (l to r) Kath Hall, Liliane Ruvakubusa & Katie Soule.  |
Our 2nd Annual Back Cove Sunrise 5K was a great success - beautiful weather and a strong turnout. Congrats to our winners: Female:
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Only six days to go to the 2017 Back Cove Portland Sunrise 5K! The weather forecast is great and we have some excellent prizes again this year courtesy of Galeyrie in Falmouth - see pic below! See you at the Back Cove!  |
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The Back Cove Sunrise 5K is back for its second year! This race on a waterfront trail around Portland's scenic Back Cove raises funds for Rotary's efforts to end Polio worldwide and Portland Sunrise Rotary's service projects in our local community. The starting line for the race will be to the left of the main parking lot across from Hannaford. Register online today! http://running4free.com/ |
Celebrating our Interact Club of Casco Bay High School! These students work so hard in and out of the classroom and we are so proud of them!
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Come to Dimillos on February first and help us raise money for the Maine Childrens Cancer Program. Tickets are available at the door as well as on line. It is the BEST! Fabulous food and drink and an exciting auction, LIVE and SILENT!!!
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Save the date! Our 2017 Party with a Purpose in aid of the Maine Children's Cancer Program will take place Wednesday February 1st at DiMillo's Restaurant in Portland.
Stay tuned for more details! |
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Only 2 days to go to the 1st Back Cove Sunrise 5K!
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 Please join us for Party with a Purpose presented by the Portland Sunrise Rotary Club to benefit the Maine Children's Cancer Program. The event will take place at DiMillo's Restaurant on Wednesday, February 3rd from 5:30pm-8:30pm
Enjoy complimentary beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres at DiMillo's Restaurant while perusing the silent auction and taking part in other surprises throughout the evening!
For more information and to purchase tickets for the event, please visit the Maine Children's Cancer Program website: https://fundraising.mmc.org/mccp/rotarysocial
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 This week's speaker was Kendall Hinckley, Vice President of Marketing for Garbage to Garden. Garbage to Garden is a very innovative service available to households and businesses in the Portland area. For a small fee, food waste is picked up weekly and a fresh, clean bucket is left in exchange. People who want compost can actually get a bucket of compost exchanged, too! It's a very different service and we were all very impressed and full of questions for Kendall. If you missed the meeting, you can check out Garbage to Garden here.
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Our August 20 meeting was a rocking one!
We were filled to capacity and beyond for our visit by District Governor Sheila Rollins. Please see story below.
  Ann Lee welcomed our newest member, Dana Tait, into the club and she was pinned by District Governor Sheila Rollins.
.JPG) Club banners were exchanged with visiting California Rotarians.
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 Today's speaker was Morgan Callan Rogers, a writer currently living in Portland. Morgan spoke of her life journey that led to the creation of a novel that has now been translated into four languages. Her book, Red Ruby Heart in a Cold Blue Sea, is a coming of age novel that takes place in Maine. It deals with a young girl in the 1960s who grows up dealing with the mysterious disappearance of her mother and how that skews her life. Ms. Rogers is a wonderful speaker and the club enjoyed her presentation.
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 Saying goodbye to a club member is always hard and it was a bittersweet meeting today as we bid farewell to Dianne Procida. Dianne has been a dynamic force within our club and she will be sorely missed. Dianne is leaving us to accompany her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren to Italy where she will live for several years. We look forward to keeping up with Dianne's exciting new adventure and hope to see her in the future! |
Michael Nazemetz took over as our 2015 - 2016 president on July 2, 2015. This is Michael's second stint as a Rotary President, having served previously as president of the South Berwick Rotary Club. Michael will definitely be a huge asset to the club and we look forward to an exciting year.
At the meeting we all had the pleasure of attending the induction of Lauren Kelly. Lauren is an international recruiter and promises to be a great addition to the club.
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Happy Rotary District 7780 Day,
I am so very pleased and delighted to announce that the Rotary Club of Kittery "After-Hours" has been Chartered by Rotary International as the newest Club of District 7780! Congratulations to all of the Charter Members who worked so hard to set the tone of the club and create a strong group of like-minded individuals committed to serving their community with excellent Rotary "service above self." This would never have happened without the vision and energy of Past District Governor Jeff Pelkey and the leadership and hard work of President Joyce Verville. But when all is said and done, it was truly a group effort and everyone involved should be proud and satisfied. Creating a new Rotary Club is not easy and they came through with flying colors. And now in the words of PDG Jeff, "Let's look forward to a great charter event and continued good Rotary work!!!!"
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 A fun time was had this week with the three remaining members of the Bulgarian exchange team. On Thursday night they joined us at RiRas. Thanks to prospective member Lauren for bringing along her Bulgarian workmate, Simieon! The faces of the exchange team showed delight at hearing their language. Friday morning Jim took them on a boat trip during which they saw lighthouses and seals. After they attended the Portland Club's lunch meeting, they spent a little downtime with Sally, wandering through the Old Port and sipping espresso at Starbucks. It was fun getting to know Bobby, Yordan and Daniel.
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 Our speaker May 14 was Josh Corbin from On Belay. The organization works with children whose lives have been touched by cancer, usually a parent or sibling who has or is being treated for the disease. Through adventure based programs, On Belay teaches these children that they do have power and that they can be resilient. It was a powerful message from a growing and important organization. More information is available at www.on-belay.org |
 After a winter spent chasing the sun, your president is back in Portland. While in Mexico, I visited the Chapala Sunrise Rotary Club and exchanged banners. To the right I'm seen with with President John Gonzales. The club is less than a year old but made up of expats and business people from the Guadalajara area. In a short time, the club of about 30 members has accomplished a truly amazing amount of work. One of their most notable projects was construction of a dormitory for a local childrens home.
Also visited in Mexico was the silver mining city of Guanajuato. Colorful homes stacked against the mountainside in a city that has all vehicles running in tunnels under the city made for a most beautiful scene. It's definitely a beautiful city worth visiting if you ever have a chance.
Then off to Galveston and our new little home. Six weeks of crazy toil and we were done with a place we can truly call our own. Next winter y'all come on down!
It's good to be back in Maine. I've received great reports on how smoothly all went in my absence. Two pizza fundraisers and our annual wine social and auction for Maine Children's Cancer took place while I was gone. And now we are headed for the home stretch. Coming up in June will be the Old Port Festival. More about that later in this newsletter. I look forward to seeing you all and rolling up my sleeves to join you in some great projects!
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 Since attending the Young Professional Summit in Chicago last year, our own Sam Heck has been the go - to person in the district for questions regarding how we can build relationships and interest of the young professionals who we would like to see as members of our clubs. At the conference, Sam led a panel of three young Rotarians, one of whom was connected from Kansas City by Skype. It was truly interesting to hear the thoughts of these young people. While their wish to serve the community and the world is strong, they also hold different views on things such as the need for meals at meetings. It was a lively discussion and over too quickly.As a result of asking for input from friends as he prepared for chairing the panel, Sam made the acquaintence of a young, non-Rotarian who wants to be in a club but is unable to make it to the meetings. Further conversations led to more ideas and as a result, Sam has found quite a few young professionals who are interested but the current meeting structure, i.e. time and/or cost, don't work for them. Sam presented to the board last week that he would like to explore the possibility of starting a satellite club which will meet as an after-hours club. The board unanimously approved the idea so stay tuned for more exciting information!
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We recently donated 90 warm winter coats to children in need in the Portland area. Working with Operation Warm, the club was able to purchase new coats in a variety of colors and styles. This is the third year the club has participated in this project and we were able to give to both an elementary school and to immigrants living in one of the local communities.
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 On November 13th, President Sally Pachulski presented a check for $500 to Mary Peverada, Team Leader for Children's Services at Portland Public Library.
Past President John Henninges had the idea of donating books in lieu of speaker's gifts. After spending some time trying to decide the best way to implement his project, it was decided gifting the Portland Public Library's Annual Fund would best serve the library and we would be donating books the library wanted and needed.
Our speakers seem genuinely pleased with our bestowing a gift in their honor, the library is happy with the donation and our club feels great about helping the community!
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 Jennifer Archer is an attorney who works with ILAP. The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP) provides free and low-cost immigration information and legal assistance to low-income Maine residents. She explained some of the types of cases she has worked on, and drove home the importance of the work that ILAP does. Many immigrants served have suffered terribly in their native countries and arrive in the US with nothing. They have sometimes had to leave under threat of death or unjust imprisonment. Due to their state of poverty here, they may be victimized again.ILAP's website states that the organization helps Maine's immigrants keep their families together, gain protection from persecution and domestic violence, attain residency and work authorization, and become proud U.S. citizens. ILAP builds stable families and improved opportunities, allowing Maine's immigrants to contribute to their communities for generations to come. |
 Jim Brennan, COO and Co-founder of PS It Matters, a company based in York, Maine was the November 6 speaker. Jim has a diverse business experience that includes large corporation, entrepreneurial ventures and a support of non-profits that has spanned his entire career. After living in Europe for seven years, he returned in 2008 with a commitment to develop and build socially focused for-profit businesses that would create monthly reoccurring revenue streams to support their missions. The elimination of hunger in our communities by way of creating business with a "double bottom line"...profitability and donations to Food Banks/Pantries from every purchase...is his sole focus. He remains a director and advisor in a number of entrepreneurial ventures.Jim spoke at many venues and began to realize that while food banks and pantries would indeed remain beneficiaries of their work, the original company, Meals 4 Ohers could help others fund their passions by changing the business profile. Starting in December of this year 15% of the cost of any purchase will be donated to the purchaser's designated charity. The buyer chooses and Jim's company writes the check. What a fabulous idea for corporate gift buyers AND any of us looking to give unusual gifts at a personal level.
Ordering is available online at the website or you can shop at their retail store on Route 1 in York.
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 Sarah Bronson, from Riding to the Top was our speaker on October 30, Riding to the Top offers therapeutic riding from its 50 acre farm located just off of Route 302 in Windham, approximately 7 miles from the heart of Portland. They have 11 horses and a wonderful facility that includes a heated indoor arena with attached program and office space, an outdoor arena and access to miles of trail. Founded in 1993, Riding To The Top (RTT) has provided therapeutic horseback riding services to thousands of children and adults with a wide range of physical, emotional and/or learning disabilities. With a small paid staff and lots of volunteers the organization has touched and changed many lives. Check out their webpage here..
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.jpg) Pat Knudsen was honored on October 23rd as our 5th Paul Harris of the year. Pat is the person who always keeps us on track with our community services projects. She is responsible for scheduling many of our service commitments and has always been a champion of both our American Red Cross Blood Drives and our Guest Chef participation at Ronald McDonald House. Pat is a multiple Paul Harris recipient and her new pin sports a lovely sapphire. Pat is shown here, left, with President Sally Pachulski. Congratulations and a huge thank you for your generous gifts to the Rotary Foundation.
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 Annie Beaulieu, Maine Outreach Coordinator for PALS, was our featured speaker on August 28th. PALS is a volunteer organization that flies patients to medical appointments all over the East Coast. Many of these patients struggle to find the money to afford transportation to or from the airport so without PALS, they would not be able to see the necessary specialists. Annie described a typical day of being at the airport before 5:00 AM to do preflight before hopping off to Aroostook to begin picking up patients. Many stops later, the plane may be in Portland for pickup and dropoff and then on to Boston and even points beyond. At the end of the day the pilot and crew are there to pick up the patients and deliver them to their home airports, finally arriving home late in the evening. This job is truly a labor of love!
The clientele includes many children and their parents. Burn victims, cancer sufferers and more. Adults are also passengers. The organization tries hard to never turn anyone away.
More information about PALS is available at http://www.palservices.org/
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 The month of August 2014 should go down in history for our club. Four of our twenty members, 20%!!! of our membership, received Paul Harris Fellowship Awards this month. Dave Walsh and Mary Jo Cross each received their Paul Harris plus 1 award. This award is presented to donors who have received a previous award and given a sufficient amount over time to qualify for a second award.
Ed Powell and Jim Schmidt qualified for their first Paul Harris. A special thanks should go out to these selfless individuals who are giving others, strangers across the world, access to a better life through their gifts.
L to R - Ed Powell, Mary Jo Cross, Dave Walsh, Jim Schmidt
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 Amy Volk is the State Representative for House District 127, which includes part of Scarborough in Cumberland County. This year her bill, which helps victims of human trafficking, was signed into law. She spoke about how many people are sold over and over and really have no choice regarding entering a life of prostitution. The new law makes sex trafficking an affirmative defense to the charge of prostitution, preventing victims of trafficking from being branded with a criminal conviction. The measure also fines perpetrators of sex trafficking $500-$1,000 in addition to existing penalties and allows victims to draw from the Victims' Compensation Fund.
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The outbreak of ebola in Liberia and several other West African nations has been horrifying to watch as it quickly spreads due to lack of proper sanitation. Although the outbreak CAN be stopped with proper safeguards taken, many basic supplies such as bleach, rubber gloves and hand sanitizer are in short supply. Foundation for Women, a group that has successfully been doing micro credit lending to change the lives of the people, has organized a drive to bring basic medical and cleaning supplies to the country. Tracy Eames spoke with us last week about the need and how her Rotarian friend, Deborah Lindholm, founder and CEO of Foundation for Women, has left the country for a bit but is organizing the collection and shipment from California. The club voted to make a donation and many members expressed a wish to help out on a personal level. Here is a link to the site for more information. http://www.foundationforwomen.org/index.php
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 Doug Dransfield, MD, a retired pediatrician formerly with Maine Medical spoke to us about the need for global nuclear disarmament. Doug is on the board of the Maine Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, a Nobel Peace Prize winning international organization focusing on preventing the use or spread of nuclear weapons; slowing, stopping and reversing global warming and stopping the toxic degradation of our environment. Doug's presentation dealt with the impact of nuclear weapons on the world and the threat which they pose. His presentation sparked many questions. Many thanks for a very informative talk. |
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July 19, 2014 was a fun day for the Portland Sunrise Sailing Crew. We didn't sink!!! Thanks Commodore Michael, First Mate John, Dave, Jim and Ed! Great job!! If a slide show doesn't show up, please click the story headline and you will be taken to a page where you can view some highlights from the day.
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Shannon Moss, Producer and Host of "Split Screen with Shannon Moss" was a recent speaker at the club. She's shown here with our own Michael Nazemetz.
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Christine Byrne and new Rotarian Kathi Adams at our food drive to benefit Preble St. Resource Center. We filled the trailer and raised over $100.00 in cash donations!! |
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Past President Sam Heck accepts a banner from Past District Governor Marty Helman |
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Carolyn Johnson, 7780 District Governor was our speaker today. She began her presentation with the premise that everyone has a story. And everyone has a Rotary story. She shared some of her special Rotary stories, one that took place in Yarmouth and one in a rural mountain village in Guatemala.
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Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, CEO of Goodwill Industries of Northern New England gave the club a most informative presentation regarding Goodwill, how it works and who benefits. The credo at Goodwill is "nothing wasted" and Anna brought us through the donation process and where all that "stuff" ends up. Each Goodwill is operated separately and the Northern New England chapter is cutting edge.
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August 29th proved to be a triple header! First, we received an award from the American Red Cross for our work holding blood drives twice a year. We also talked about our upcoming blood drive on September 20th from 7AM to 2PM.
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Mike Dixon, Executive Director, Portland ConnectED
Our August 15, 2013 Speaker was Mike Dixon, Executive Director of Portland ConnectED, a collaboration of organizations aiming to build and sustain citywide culture dedicated to supporting highly effective education for Portland's youth, for Portland families and for the Portland Community at large.
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Save the date! Join us on Monday June 10th at the Falmouth Country Club for the 20th Annual Rotary Club of Casco Bay Sunrise Golf Tournament!
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GSE Team visits Portland Head Light on a foggy morning. |
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Inspired by our own Ann Lee Hussey, this young man is now an inspiration to us all! http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130713/GJNEWS_01/130719671 |
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June 27th marked our changeover with a packed house welcoming our new president, John Henninges as he took over the leadership role from Sam Heck. |
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Devin, Sally, Dennis, Ed and John cooked up a daring spaghetti dinner for the guests at the Ronald McDonald House in Portland. A fun time!
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June 13 is our next night to cook at Ronald McDonald House. Joining our team will be District Governor Carolyn Johnson. If you have never volunteered at RMH, you are in for a treat. Parents with seriously ill children are so grateful for what you do. Interested? Sign up to help with Jim or Pat. Next year we are serving as Guest Chefs once a month. The dates are on the calendar on the website. Speak with Pat or Honoré if you wish to cook one night later in the year.
Terry Hodskins, President-Elect of the Wells Rotary Club, told us today about the hobby she turned into a gift for children worldwide who are the recipients of surgery through Rotary. Wanting to do something to help out Rotoplast which performs cleft palate surgery to children in need around the world, she asked if she could send a quilt with the team to give to a child having surgery. Then she asked how many surgeries would be performed. She decided then to meet the challenge and had quilt groups start making and donating quilts. Her effort, Wrap a Smile, is now just shy of 20,000 donated quilts! Thanks, Terry, for showing how a hobby can sometimes change into something beneficial to people far away.
Need an office space for a month? Three months? Patrick Roche, Owner and Director of Think Tank CoWorking, gave us a look into the small business office of the future, a place where entrepreneurs can work and exchange ideas in an open workspace. With two locations, Portland and Yarmouth, Patrick provides the area with space to grow small business. His Portland space provides 6000 square feet of open, dynamic workspace plus dedicated offices while Yarmouth offers 2500 square feet of open space and six offices. The concept of CoWorking is fairly new and Patrick gave us a great introduction to the work environment of the future.
