News of The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine
March 23, 2022
 
C'mon down! The Rotary Club of Portland, looks forward to seeing you. Join our meetings, Fridays at noon!
This Week: Phil Coupe, ReVision Energy
Phil is a managing partner of ReVision Energy, responsible for leadership in sales, marketing and strategic direction.
 
Prior to co-founding ReVision, he served as Vice President & Director of Corporate Philanthropy at a startup company in Washington, D.C. that received numerous awards for its socially responsible business initiatives to serve disadvantaged children and support organizations working on the front lines of society’s problems.
 
The D.C.-based startup twice made the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies in the U.S. and continues to thrive today (along with two spin-offs that are also doing well). An active member of the local community, he serves as Chair of Maine Audubon's corporate partner program, on the board and of the Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine (E2Tech) and Envision Maine, and is a long time mentor in the Big Brother/Big Sister program.
 
Fundraising Alert!  All Hands On Deck!
 
 
Underneath all the mud in our yards and parks, there is great beauty ready to
come out this spring. Using that analogy, welcome to "The Mud Sale".
 
Starting right now, we are asking you to choose something you are willing to part with, because you simply don't use it, won't use it, never used it, or you just want to give it!  It may be new, or gently used, in good shape, just a little dusty!  Tools, crafts, art, electronics, jewelry, furniture, tickets to an event, a weekend at your camp....anything that is still viable and useful.
 
Take a photo and provide a description*, and mail that info to Dick Hall. The item will be posted on a special "Portland Rotary Mud Sale" web page.
 
Between April 8th and 15th, you can bid on the array of treasures simply using your credit card. The winning bid will be charged, and all proceeds go to the Portland Rotary Charitable Fund.
 
An email went out this past Monday with all the fine points on the donation process.  Please feel free to share it with friends, co-workers, family members. While it is not being generally advertised, the auction is open to one-and-all. Subsequent emails will provide all the info on the bidding process, which starts April 8th,  finishing on April 15th.
 
*Your Name, Description of item, Fair Market Value,  Fair Starting Bid, and a Photo or link to a website for tickets or gift certificate.
 
Meeting of March 4 | Dr. Susan Black by Juliana L'Heureux
Link To Zoom Recording of MeetingLINK  Password: Mv0N^k1$
 
District Governor and Portland Rotarian Dick Hall introduced Dr. Susan Black, a Family Practice physician and a leader in international projects to help improve health care in Africa, especially in South Africa and the poor nation of Burundi. She spoke about the twenty plus years of experience providing humanitarian health care in Africa and her participation with Village Health Works.
 
Dr. Black lives in Harpswell, Maine and she is the President of the Rotary Club of Brunswick Coastal. Her interest in wanting to improve access to health care in Africa began when her medical practice in Lowell, Mass, was treating patients who presented with HIV. In wanting to learn more about HIV and AIDS, she attended an International Aids Conference, in the year 2000, held in Durbin, South Africa.
 
One of the presenters was a young man named Nkosi’s Haven, who died at the age of 12 years old of AIDS. He had become famous in South Africa for his charm, grace and advocacy as he promoted greater awareness of the AIDS pandemic. He raised her awareness about how children were separated from their parents who were diagnosed with AIDS, and sent to live in orphanages. Instead, he asked for AIDS hospice facilities to include taking in children who could remain together with their parents, rather than be separated from them.
 
At the time of inception, it was the first hospice in South Africa that provided residential care for mothers living with HIV/AIDS and their children. AIDS activist Gail Johnson had connected with PEPFAR — the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief — the effort led by George Bush to try to end the H.I.V./AIDS pandemic in Africa and around the world.
 
Gail raised a lot of money and she received support from several countries like Norway and the Netherlands. So, Dr. Black was in a position of finding her niche in this project and decided to obtain certification in palliative care, so she could obtain her medical license to practice in South Africa. While working in South Africa, she took a trip to Swaziland, where she had a very special experience. While eating breakfast in the 10-unit tourist bed and breakfast where she was staying. Susan heard a lady speaking English. In fact, she was actually from Brunswick, Maine and was in Africa to help with clean water projects in Burundi. Small, small, world.
 
Susan learned about the high maternal mortality rate in the poor nation of Burundi, because of poor access to health care, especially when the women required Cesarean-sections to help deliver their babies. Most women walked to clinics to receive care. Providing Burundians access to clean water received help from the Gates Foundation to build a water tower. She recommended watching the movie Hotel Rwanda to learn more about the unstable conditions in Burundi and how many refugees were catastrophically impacted by the guerilla fighting during the Civil War. The situation was very violent.
Providing access to clean water and teaching Burundians about the importance of hand washing were essential to helping improve the health for women and babies who were being exposed to contaminated water. They also helped destroy villages to build houses using mud bricks instead of straw. To help women access health care, they used cell phones to reach nurses when they needed help.
 
Networking with Rotary International and humanitarian organizations, Dr. Black helped to raise the money to buy an ambulance and to build a 150-bed hospital in Burundi. Today, Village Health Works has built a hospital and Women’s Health Pavilion. This 85,000 square foot facility is a 150-bed teaching hospital designed to meet the health needs of the entire community, particularly women and children, thereby improving the quality of life of hundreds of thousands of Burundians.
 
Village Health Works (VHW) is a 501(c)(3) global health organization operating in rural Burundi, where access to healthcare is extremely limited. VHW’s mission is to provide quality, compassionate, and dignified healthcare and education.
 
As President of the Rotary Club of Brunswick Costal, Dr. Black says she is grateful to Rotarians for generously supporting Rotary International, because we know how our donations are allocated to people in need, and international charitable projects, like providing clean water and improving health care in Burundi.
 
If you would like to provide a financial donation, you can a check to either:
 
Brunswick Coastal Rotary, c/o Sally Leblanc, 12 Garden Drive, Topsham, Maine 04086
Susan Black,MD, 12 Muskegon Shore Rd, Harpswell, Maine 04079
 
Bits and Pieces | by Dick Hall
Mike Fortunato, PP Dick Hall, Bruce Jones, PP Bowen Depke,  Justine LaMontagne, and Jake Bordeau all arrived early to set the room up for a different hybrid experience. It took two laptops, two webcams, two tripods, a snowball microphone, the IHC TV and several cords to make this work. This was followed with Bruce and the tech team rehearsing to ensure a flawless meeting experience. (Photo: Dick, Jake, Bowen)
 
President Elect and Acting President Bruce Jones called the meeting to order at 12:05 with pledge and Laura Young leading us all in in the Star Spangled Banner. PP Tom Talbott regaled us with a long and winding thought for the day focused on the mud of spring. We broke for a chicken parmigiana lunch and muted the room so zoomers could chat among themselves.
 
Bruce restarted the meeting rattling the cans for Polio and cans for Club Charitable fund, and admitted we forgot those last week. Bowen jumped off the Zoom/Tech table to have the speaker, Susan Black pick Justin’s ticket for the raffle. Unfortunately for him, he did not win the $225.
 
By my count, today we had 25 Rotarians and 2 guests in the room and 9 showing on zoom, but three of the zoomers were also in the room. Bruce reported that we had 40 present in person last week and 5 on Zoom. (Photo: PP Laura Young and guest/former Portland Rotarian, Lionel Nima)
 
Tom Talbott announced our upcoming Mud Sale Auction, which will showcase donated items for sale on line with bidding between April 8 and April 15. PP Amy Chipman joined Tom to solicit auction items, and begged that they be new or gently used. Items will be brought to the Italian Heritage Club every Friday meeting between now and April 15th, with pickup on April 22. Special delivery needs can also be accommodated. To offer an item, send a picture and description to DickHall7780@gmail.com. Tom added that an email is being sent to all club members with all the fine points and details.
 
Bruce conducted a poll of the room and zoomers to choose the meeting start time. The vote was in favor of staying at 12:00 as we have for the last two years. There was some hooting in the back from someone who favored 12:15, but not accompanied by enough votes to prevail.
 
Bruce also asked the club if they would be in favor of one social event in place of a regular meeting once per month. He received overwhelming support for this idea.
Patty Byers was next up awarding David Small (photo) his Paul Harris +2, for a tal of $3,000 donated to the Rotary Foundation. David told the club that he enjoys donating to a large number of causes, but he wants to be sure the money gets used wisely. Whenever he donates to the Rotary Foundation, he feels it supports good woks, and he is sure the money gets to the right place.
 
District Governor Dick Hall announced the upcoming District Training Assembly to our club first. It will be April 16 at UNE Stevens Ave in Portland, 8:30-1:30. Dick wants a great showing of Portland Rotarians, and he is also hoping that at least a half dozen will volunteer to be hosts.
 
Bruce announced the first in person Board Meeting since March 2020 will be April 1, immediately following the club meeting, and will be held at the Italian Heritage Center. Tom Talbott will be running the meeting next week.
RI Statement on Ukraine Conflict
In 1987, the first woman joined Rotary. Today, there are 199,000 women Rotarians around the world. On July 1, 2022, we will welcome our new Rotary International President, Jennifer Jones from Ontario, Canada, our first female President. Her theme for the year is "Imagine Rotary." Salute!
Food Reservation Required Every Wednesday, 10am!
Reminder that if you intend to eat lunch at our club meetings, you need to make a reservation every Wednesday by 10am. To do so: Email : Administrative Assistant, Alice Alexander.
Speaker Schedule
April 1 | Brian Elowe, Boys and Girls Club Director
April 8 |Andy Kaplan, History of Hard Cider in ME.
     April 8 - Bidding begins for the Mud Sale Auction!
April 15 | Brian Nickerson, Navy Pilots, April 15, 1969
     April 15 - Bidding closes for the Mud Sale Auction at Midnight!
April 22 | Dean Norm O'Reilly, U.Maine Grad School of Business
April 29 | Jonathan Culley Redfern, Tallest Building in Portland
May 20 | Kevin Hancock, Hancock Lumber
 
President-Elect Bruce Jones will turn over the bell to these Past Presidents to guest host the following meetings:  April 1st: Bill Blount • April 22nd: Larry Gross  April 29th: John Marr •May 20th: Bowen Depke • May 27th: Ellen NiewoehnerJune 17th: Roxane Cole  • June 29th: Ben Lowry
Club Executives
President-Elect  Bruce Jones
1st VP  Dick Hall
2nd VP  Patty Byers
Treasurer  Howie Herodes
Secretary  Michelle DiSotto
Board of Directors  Ellen Niewoehner, Mark Foster, Bob Clark, Roger Fagan, John Thompson
Sergeant-At-Arms  Dave Putnam
Club Administrator  Alice Alexander
 
 
The Windjammer
is published online by
The Rotary Club of Portland, Maine.
 
Contributing Editors
Bill Blount, Jake Bourdeau, Dick Hall,
Erik Jorgensen, Julie L’Heureux, Ben Lowry,
Tom Nickerson, Tom Talbott, Laura Young
 
3rd Q Program Chair: Justin Lamontagne
4th Q Program Chair: Roxane Cole
       Managing Editor  Tom Talbott
Co-Production  Alice Alexander
Thank you North43Bistro, South Portland, for your support!
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