News of The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine
January 3, 2022
In-person Meeting Canceled  
No meeting at IHC
 
The Club Board of Directors voted Monday afternoon to postpone meeting-in-person until February 4 due to the increase in coronavirus infections spiked by the omicron variant. Concerned with a rising hospitalization rate in Maine, along with uncertainty about attendance, the board decided to delay in-person meetings.
Bob Martin will lead his last meeting with Portland Rotary, which will include a transfer of leadership to Bruce Jones.
 
Please use the regular weekly Zoom link to attend.
Bits & Pieces | Juliana L'Heureux
 
Zoom chatter welcomed Ben Lowry home for Christmas where he will be visiting for 10 days. Mike Fortunato is reported to have been enjoying his experience of playing “pickle ball” with the students at the Long Creek Youth Development Center. (What is “pickle ball?” Pickleball is a paddleball sport that combines elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis. Two or four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, much like a wiffle ball.) 
 
Tom Talbott provided the invocation to the 37 in attendance with a personal story about how he and his wife were thanked by a neighbor who was grateful for their expression of sharing some fresh eggs they collected from another neighbor’s chickens. In a thank you note; the recipient of the eggs compared the gift to “finding two angels on a tree branch”. Giving and receiving created feelings of mutual generosity. “Every act of kindness is appreciated by some person”, said Tom. What we do in Rotary is a gift. Let’s invite others to share in the satisfaction of giving by joining us in Rotary.
 
President Bob reported that former Rotarian Joe Reagan is now traveling to Washington from Maine with the Wreaths Across America convoy, but was unable to join our meeting to share his trip and will present about his role to the Portland Rotary in January. 
 
We all wish for Alice Alexander to have a recovery from an illness, not COVID related, but serious enough to send her to the hospital. 
 
John Curran presented a tribute to Dean Rock for his humanitarian work with Rotary to help improve on the successful design for the prosthetic hands project (Hearing, hands and H2O). In fact, the prosthetic hands international service project in the Dominican Republic and Kosovo, was at somewhat of a crossroads until Dean Rock was contacted and asked to provide his 3-D printer technology to create significant improvements in the prosthetic’s design. Asheesh Lanba, a Portland club member who teaches engineering at USM, enlisted the aid of his students to help with other improvements in the prosthetic’s design. The late George Crockett connected Dean Rock to the International Services team. An anonymous Rotarian also donated funds to support the purchase of a 3-D printer. A shift was soon made to create electronic devices. In 2019, a major improvement created fiber glass sockets for the prosthetics, thereby enabling a highly-functional custom fit for the user. John Curran presented Dean with a Paul Harris Fellow award as a tribute to his assistance to the people of the world who need prosthetic limbs. Dean expressed his gratitude to Rotary for the honor.
Contact John Curran for more information about the Portland Rotary International Service Project at curraj1@mmc.org.
 
President Bob Martin shared the Rotary International press release in support of endorsing vaccinations for all Rotarians and as a requirement for all Rotary employees. 
 
Club Secretary Michelle DiSoto requested everyone to update their club records for posting on the website on https://www.portlandrotary.org/ and to send any dues payments before as soon as possible.
 
Nominating Committee Chair and Past President Ellen Niewoehner presented the slate of Board members and officers for Rotary Year 2023, to begin their service on July 1, 2022. 
 
Incoming President – Bruce Jones
Incoming 1st VP – Dick Hall
Secretary – Michelle DiSotto
Treasurer – Howie Herodes
Two Directors with Terms 2022-24 – Ben Millick and John Thompson
Club Protection Officer – Alan Nye
Sergeant-at-Arms – Jake Bourdeau
 
The Rotary Club of Portland members voted to accept the Nominating Committee report. Thank you, Ellen, and to all who have volunteered to serve.
 
 
 
A Memorial to celebrate the life and legacy of Russ Burleigh.
 
WHEN: Saturday, January 8, 2022 | 4:00pm to 6:30pm
 
WHERE: Merrill Auditorium | Myrtle Street, Portland, Maine
 
WHY: To raise a glass to Russ and to celebrate his remarkable imprint on our local performing arts community & beyond. Join us for great music and memories with good friends!
 
Featuring performances by:
 
Ray Cornils on the mighty Kotzschmar Organ
Members of the Kotzschmar Festival Brass
Maeve Höglund, soprano
Following the music program and brief remarks, guests will be invited on-stage for a reception. Hors d'oevres, wine, and beer will be served.
 
Health & Safety Notice
 
This event, like all others at Merrill Auditorium, requires Proof of Vaccination or a Negative COVID-19 Test for entry. Masks are also required, except when eating and drinking. To read more about health protocols at Merrill, click here.
 
Register Now
Foundation News | by Patty Byers
 
 
Pandemic Members | Erik Jorgensen
 
As part of President Bob’s reflections on a full year of remote Rotary (might “remotary” be a word?), Friday’s program featured a group of new members, some of the fifteen people who have joined since we went remote in April of 2020. They are Leslie Clark, Michele Kanymbo, Asheesh Mamba, Brian Batson, Emily Crowley, Nick Gagnon, Stefanie Trice Gill, Mike Harper, Joyce Kennedy, Maggie McGauley, Tim Hooper, Sara Yeransian, Brian Nickerson, Brenda Lewis, and Nanette Duncanson. All of them jumped into the work of the club, despite never having had an in-person lunch with us. Five of them agreed to tell us more about themselves. 
 
Brian Batson started the lineup – he grew up in Ellsworth and came back to Maine after college. While Portlanders might remember his service on the city council, professionally he’s worked as a nurse and has more recently moved from a ward to desk, as a member of MaineHealth’s administration. In addition, he serves a few shifts a week as a per diem nurse on his old ward – where he met his wife. They have 2 orange cats, Gizmo and Girl, and when not working, Brian likes to hike and surf. He’s one of those intrepid surfers who braves the Maine winter to ride our waves. They are expecting their first child in just a few weeks. Brian joined Rotary having been attracted by its mission and scale. 
 
We then heard from Emily Crowley – our newest member is a rotary legacy – her mom and grandmother and even her great grandfather have all been involved with Belfast Rotary. Emily is an attorney at Curtis Thaxter, and moved back to Maine with her husband, an electrical engineer, after her law school and practicing in Boston for a decade. Like many these days, they had a difficult time finding a house to buy, but had actually closed on a house in Falmouth today! With this important milestone now behind her, they are now Looking forward to getting a “large dog”. Congratulations to you, Emily! 
 
Brian Nickerson is also a new member. He grew up in North Shore of Mass and reports being a cousin of some sort to Tom Nickerson, as they share a relative many generations back. A UMass grad, he worked in city planning before entering the Navy during Vietnam. After his service, he returned to grad school and became the city planner for Portland from 1973-80. In 1980 he moved back to Mass to run a development company in Worcester that built commercial properties. He later founded a company called Comfax – which offered both development services and office furnishings, specializing in Bauhaus style furniture. In 1999 he moved to Cape Cod, where he spent 9 years doing planning for the national guard. He was a member and past president of the Worcester Rotary Club, where he got to know many of Dick Hall’s family, and later was a member of the Falmouth MA Rotary.
 
Stefanie Trice-Gill – learned about Rotary from her sister Liz, who traveled in high school as a Rotary exchange student. Later, her family hosted Vietnamese refugees in 1975 as she grew up, and both of these experiences provided an awareness of the world beyond Maine. After her first 18 years here, she spent her second 18 years in NYC, and there had a career ranging from being a railroad conductor to a bossanova singer and, ultimately, as specialist in health care interpretation. Finding hereself “pushing 40” she then “had a kid and returned to Maine”. Since coming back she has worked with immigrant professionals and with Maine Med and their interpreters. More recently, she started Intwork, a recruiting service aimed at placing new Mainers in professional roles around the state. She provided some background on that venture in a Rotary program earlier in the year. 
 
Last but not least, we heard from Sara Yeransian. Sara grew up in Massachusetts, went to college in Connecticut, met her husband there and then worked in development at Tabor Academy. They moved to Denver in 2015, where they had the opportunity to fully engage their outdoor interests. There, she took a job with the Morris Animal Foundation, where she still works. She came to Portland in 2018 when her husband became a fundraiser at Bowdoin. They now live in Portland’s fabulous Deering Highlands neighborhood. An enthusiastic traveler – she has been to remote places including Patagonia, and more recently, Iceland— her interests have included the Tri for a Cure and she has been very involved with Maine Cancer Foundation. She got into Rotary having met Laura Young.
 
Moment of Reflection
 
Excerpt from “I Go Among the Trees”
 
Wendell Berry
 
I go among trees and sit still.
All my stirring becomes quiet
Around me like circles on water.
My tasks lie in their places
Where I left them, asleep like cattle…
 
Then what I am afraid of comes.
I live for a while in its sight.
What I fear in it leaves it, 
And the fear of it leaves me.
It sings, and I hear its song.
 
Wendell Berry
Speaker Schedule
 
January 7 | Review of the Year, Bob Martin VIA ZOOM ONLY
January 14 | Lisa Martin, Maine Manufacturers Association
January 21 | Rick Schneider, CEO, Maine Public
January 28 | Christian Cotz, Executive Director, First Amendment Museum  
The Windjammer
is published online by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
 
Contributing Editors
Jake Bourdeau
Dick Hall
Erik Jorgensen
Julie L’Heureux
Ben Lowry
Tom Talbott
 
Managing Editor
Tom Talbott
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