We were recently joined by Board of Director members of the Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund! Thank you, Tamra, Em, and Mikayla for sharing the work that you and your organization are doing for the University of Maine community. Your passion and drive for community care is inspirational!
To donate, get involved, and learn more about Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund, check out their website here: https://www.blackbearmutualaid.org
The Interact Club has been meeting the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month! If there is a young person you know who would like to meet new friends, learn leadership skills, and contribute towards their community, let us know, or stop by one of our meetings!
Interact has an ongoing fundraiser at Mahan's Redemption Center to raise money for their projects. Please consider donating towards their efforts by dropping your bottles off and letting them know they are for the Old Town Area Interact Club. We thank you for your support of our community leaders!
In honorof our recent successful Hunterās Breakfast, we would like to highlight the heart behind the event. David Wollstadt, who was a member of the Rotary Club of Old Town for almost 20 years, sadly passed away earlier this year. During his time in Rotary, he greatly contributed to the Old Town Community. Davewas the driving force behind Hunterās Breakfast. Below is the dedication which was featured in the Hunterās Breakfast newspaper this year as well some words about Dave from Rotarians.
David was an active member of the Rotary Club of Old Town for over 20 years, and the force behind our successful Hunterās Breakfast fundraising. This publication was his idea, and he carried it out in grand fashion-creating all of the layout, keeping all of us on task with soliciting businesses, finding new businesses for us to approach for support, and personally obtaining dozens of ads. Thanks to Dave, we raised over 100 thousand dollars for our community and world. And thanks to Dave, we have many wonderful memories of friendship and service. We miss you, Dave.
A few words from our Rotariansā¦
It was the mid 1990ās and I was chair of the Hunterās Breakfast. At that time, our breakfast handout was actually a booklet you could slip into an oversized pocket, in a field coat, or cargo pants. The contents were mostly stories or tips on hunting, hunter safety, recipes, and hunting lore. Dave was putting the book together (with minimal help from me) on our dining room table. He wasnāt a member yet, but he lent his knowledge and experience to the task, one at which he was very good, and heās helped like that ever since. - Ben Smith
Sometimes Dave had a way of smiling at you. Heād tilt his head forward and look at you over his glasses. There was a slight smile at his mouth, and a faint twinkle in his eyes. Over the years I came to interpret that look to mean that whatever Iād just said or done probably hadnāt been my finest moment. I doubt that those who knew him thought him hesitant to verbally express an opinion, but he was often kind enough to let you off with a gentle look rather than a harsh word. - Ben Smith
David was a devoted and hard working Old Town Rotarian, producing many of our publications. I valued his journalistic ethic, giving equal time to opposing viewpoints when inviting guest speakers. In addition, as Becca would toast "he was the world's greatest dad.." engaging her in our Rotary family. - Pat Cummings
One of the things I enjoyed most about Dave was his dry sense of humor. During āhappy dollarsā he would often come out with a short clip that would have everybody laughing. I would also like to mention his dedication to Becca. He brought her to all Rotary functions including field trips. - Stan Peterson
He was a great worker and did a fine job at what he did. The Penobscot Times was great when he did that; the Hunters Breakfast booklet, and the Community Connections newspaper was great also. Sad to see him go and sad for his daughter Becca. - Joe Cyr
I enjoyed my conversations with Dave. He was very knowledgeable and he always made me feel welcome at Rotary when I first joined. - Steven Lane
Dave and I had many discussionsā¦ from Old Town that we both love dearly, to education of children, to how to spend money wisely, to what Rotary means to us. He told me that he rejoined Rotary because of the way we welcomed his daughter, Becca. I will miss Dave and I am missing Becca too. - Linda Bryant
Thank you to everyone who joined the Rotary Club of Old Town bright and early Saturday morning for Hunterās Breakfast!
We served about 400 meals this year which was a huge success! Thank you to Old Town and surrounding community members for sharing a meal with us, we hope you had fun!
Thank you so much to the Boy Scouts again this year for showing up the day before and the day of! Having your help makes the entire process so much easier and we could not appreciate it more!
Lastly, thank you to the Rotarians who work so hard to make this day happen every year!
Save the date! The Rotary Club of Old Town's annual Hunter's Breakfast will be Saturday, October 28th from 5AM to 9AM at the Old Town Elks, on Fourth Street in Old Town! Please message us or contact a Rotarian if you would like to purchase a ticket! We hope to see you there!
The Rotary Club of Old Town and the Interact Club had a great time at Riverfest this year! Thank you to everyone who purchased a chicken dinner and to those of you who made a tie dye t-shirt! We wouldnāt be able to do what we do without your support!
Last Friday we were visited by the District Governor of Area 9, Tina Chapman!
The meeting was held at a place that is very special to the Rotary Club of Old Town, Sarahās House. Thank you to Sarahās House for being such amazing hosts!
We were also joined by the Bangor Rotary Club as well as the Bangor Breakfast Rotary Club. It was wonderful meeting new faces and spending time with people who care so much about Rotary.
Thank you, Tina for your dedication to Rotary, we cannot wait to see all that you do this year!
Another fantastic day and turnout for the Rotary Club of Old Town Charity Golf Tournament! As always, huge thank you to Hidden Meadows Golf Course for your partnership!
Thank you to the community members who sponsored holes and prizes. The money that was raised will go towards our charitable activities throughout the year. We really appreciate your generosity and support to the Old Town community!
Another thank you to the teams who participated. We hope you had a fun day and look forward to seeing you on the course next year!
Last but not leastā¦ thank you to the Rotarians who work so hard to make a difference in our community.
Check out what we have been up to these last couple of weeks!
On August 17th, we were joined by Dora Zuniga to speak about Project Amigo. Project Amigo is a non profit that helps children in Colima, Mexico to be able to go to school. A really cool fact about Project Amigo is that it was started by a Rotarian which means Rotary values are at the core of how they serve the children. If you want more information about this organization or would like to support them, here is a link to their website! https://www.projectamigo.org/
Last week, we made a special Rotary field trip to The Caring Community Cupboard which is operated by our very own Rotarian, Linda Bryant. The Caring Community Cupboard is a food pantry that provides food to families in Old Town and beyond. We had the honor of hearing from the Vice Presidents of the pantry who work so hard to make such a difference in the lives of our community members. Thank you for your dedication and kindness! The pantry is located at 354 Main Street in Old Town.
Tonight at our weekly Rotary meeting(August 10th), we had our FIRST Open House! The Open House was held at Governorās and each Rotarian had the chance to invite a guest to the meeting. The hope is to help show members of the community what we do and hopefully some guests will think about becoming members or volunteers that can help us make a difference!
In case you saw some community members in the park August 7th, this was one of the many projects to come from the Interact Club. Our young adults are volunteering to make our city a better place!
Yesterday kicked off Interactās first project by painting benches in the Old Town park. Stay tuned for their next projects that are in the works! Special thanks to EJ Roach who is seen handing off the supplies for this project. Thank you EJ!
Weāre very excited to introduce our youth into bettering their own community as they decide their own projects, learn about leadership, and have the ability to voice their minds on what they want their community to be like. Itās just one small project but they can take pride in the fact that small things add up, and can make a difference!
Join us again this year at the 2023 Rotary Club of Old Town Charity Golf Tournament! Please let us know if you would like to participate or be a sponsor!
We will also be bringing back the chance to donate towards our backpack drive to benefit RSU 34, Greenbush and Milford schools! Every person on a team who brings a backpack filled with school supplies will be put into a drawing for 100 dollars!!!
We have a lot of special guest speakers that join us for our weekly Rotary meetings but our guest on July 20th was extra special. Thank you Heather Massey and Cathy Sjogren for sharing the amazing work you do for Sarah's House of Maine and how many lives Sarahās House has touched. Tonight we got to reminisce on the hard work and determination that Old Town Rotarians and community members put into making Sarahās dream come true. It sure feels good to be part of the Old Town Rotary Club and this community!
One of the guiding principles for Rotarians is the Four-Way Test. It is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use for their personal and professional relationships. Consider stopping by one of our meetings to learn more about the objectives of Rotary! #fourwaytest#ServiceAboveSelf
Old Town Rotary is starting an Interact Club for young people ages 13-18! If you know someone who would be interested, we are holding an informational meeting at the Old Town-Orono YMCA on Monday, June 19th at 4:00PM. It's free to come to the meeting and free to join Interact Club. There will be pizza and refreshments provided at the meeting.
Interact Club is a great way for young people to get involved in community service, develop leadership skills, and make new friends! Join us and see what it's all about! We would love to see you there!
Thank you to everyone who showed up to support the Old Town Rotary Club and our community! Itās wonderful seeing so many of us together in one place!
Special shout-out to Vice President, Eric Rojo, for organizing the event and to all the Rotarians who worked hard to put on an incredible evening!
We need wheelchair ramps again! In order to fulfill the needs of the community, we are asking for your help. If you see any ramps for sale or for donation, please let us know! Thank you in advance for your support!
One of the best parts of Old Town Rotary are nights like tonight! Together, on this chilly winter night, we gathered around and listened to a long time Rotarian give their classification speech. Thanks Dave for sharing your story for old and new members, it was truly inspiring!
Consider joining a Rotary meeting and experience nights like tonight! We meet at the Elks Club in Old Town every Thursday at 6PM.
Hunterās Breakfast was a HUGE SUCCESS! We had a great turnout! Special shout-out to Macie Cote, President Elect, and the Hunterās Breakfast Committee for planning and facilitating a great event!
Thank you to all of the community members who stopped by and shared a meal amongst one another. It was great to see you all in person again!
Additionally, thank you so much Scout Troop 76 - Old Town, ME for showing up bright and early to help serve the community. Your help not only made the set up and clean up quicker and easier but the drive thru worked well because of you. We appreciate you!
Last but certainly not least, thank you to the Old Town Rotarians who worked hard to make this event happen.
With Veterans Day right around the corner, it was only fitting that our guest speaker last night was Brian Hamor from My Heroes Museum in Lincoln, Maine. Thank you Brian for joining us, it was wonderful meeting you and learning about My Heroes Museum!
Pictured, is Brian Hamor as well as the Old Town Rotarians who served in the military. Thank you for your service, we honor and appreciate you every day!
The first day of hunting season is right around the corner - October 29th!
We're excited to announce that we're bringing back a traditional sit down Hunter's Breakfast at the Old Town Elks #1287 this year! But don't worry, we're also offering drive thru service for those that prefer the convenience of taking their breakfast to-go!
We look forward to serving everyone bright and early!
This week we delivered the backpacks and school supplies as well as food to RSU 34, Milford, and Greenbush schools. It felt amazing to see their smiles and appreciation when we arrived! Thank you so much to everyone who donated, you are making a huge difference in our community.
It couldnāt have been a better day to host our Annual Golf Tournament at Hidden Meadows Golf Course! Thank you to Andrew and the staff for your partnership and support!
We would also like to extend a huge thank you to all of the local businesses that sponsored holes and donated raffle prizes. The funds raised will go towards our charitable activities throughout the year. Without our community, we wouldnāt be able to do what we do!
Thank you to all the teams that participated, we hope you had fun and we canāt wait to see you on the course next year!
As always, thank you to our Rotarians and volunteers who showed up to make this event such a success!
During our Rotary meeting this past Thursday, the Club took a field trip to Camp Roosevelt! Thank you to our fellow Rotarian, Chuck Major for hosting us. We had a great night!
Join us for our annual golf tournament! There will be plenty of fun and prizes. Proceeds will benefit Sarahās House and other Rotary Charities throughout the year! See full picture for further details.
We are committed to helping those in our community. One of the many ways we do this is by installing ramps for anyone who finds themselves in need of one. If you see or hear of any ramps for sale or donation please let us know. Thank you so much!
If youād like to help support the children in our community this school year, please drop off backpacks and school supplies to the Old Town City Hall now to September 2nd! The Rotary Club of Old Town will bring the supplies to the RSU 34 Schools as well as Milford and Greenbush. Thank you in advance for your support!
We had the honor of hosting District Governor Denis Blouin at our first Rotary meeting of the new year.
District Governor Blouin travelled all the way from Sept-Ćles, Quebec to join us last week. It was a pleasure having him and hearing about his vision for our district during his time in office as well as showing him around the community and visiting spots where our Club has made an impact. Thank you for inspiring us for this upcoming year!
Can you believe it?ā¦ Another year has come and gone!
On June 22nd, Old Town Rotary held their annual Installation Banquet.
Thank you Pat Cummings for leading the Old Town Rotary Club through various service projects, Club events, fundraisers, meetings, and so much more!
With the arrival of the new year, please join us in welcoming Tess Greene, 2022-2023 Old Town Rotary President!
Itās going to be a great year!
āImagine a world that deserves our best where we get up each day knowing that we can make a difference.ā ~ Jennifer Jones, Rotary International President 2022-2023
Area 9 clubs (Rotary Club of Old Town, Rotary Club of Bangor, Maine & Rotary Club of Bangor Breakfast) had fun working together on the Rotary District 7790 District project at Hirundo Wildlife Refuge.
Keri Denis, John Byrne, Ken Huhn & Robin Merchant worked on trail maintenance. Chuck Veeder, Jane Veeder and Delores Landry painted a new kiosk at Gate 2.
Hirundo is a family friendly gem located on Pushaw Stream on Route 43 in Old Town.
The Rotary Club of Old Town surpassed $20,000 in charitable donations to organizations in our community this presidential year! All proceeds from our annual fundraising events such as our Auction, Golf Tournament and Hunter's Breakfast, help support our charitable activities and giving throughout the year. In 2021 we form Old Town Rotary Charities a 501(c)(3) organization to ensure donations to our club are tax-deductible.
At this meeting we presented donations to:
Old Town Public Library
American Red Cross of Northern New England
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
Maine Youth Fish & Game Association
Old Town Animal Orphanage
Katahdin Area Boy Scouts of America
Caring Community Cupboard
Throughout the year we've also been able to make donations to:
What are these two up to? You can't take your eyes off either one of them. Oh, it is time to deliver food to the schools again. Thank you, angels, for seeing that there is a need and doing what you can to fix it.
2 Rotary elves delivered food this month to our schools again. Corina and Linda took a few hours out of their day to make sure that the children of OTES, Milford and Greenbush have full bellies when they are home.
Pictured: Sue & Joe Cyr, Matt Johns (Director of Development at the YMCA), Pat Cummings and Shawn Fournier (Director of Gymnastics at the YMCA).
The Old Town Rotary Club presented a check of $3,000 for annual support to the Old Town Orono YMCA. Matt and Shawn spoke about the mission of the Y being for "all of us."
Mindy Pelletier from the Center for Undergraduate Research at UMaine and Jessie, a senior who does research on phage genomics joined our meeting to share Jessie's research with us. She is a UMaine student studying Microbiology from Milford, Maine. She will be presenting again this year at the UMaine Student Symposium on April 15, 2022 at the Field House at UMaine. This was an interesting topic many of us knew very little about! The public is invited to attend this annual event which highlights the research and creative achievements of UMaine students.
Center for Undergraduate Research at the University of Maine
We're looking forward to once again serving everyone breakfast bright and early on opening day! While this year's breakfast will be drive thru only, we're excited to announce that we're bringing back the classic breakfast everyone missed! That's right - scrambled eggs, ham, and pancakes served with home fries, beans, a donut and coffee (or hot chocolate) for just $5. But don't worry, if you loved the breakfast sandwiches last year, they're on the menu too! Best of both worlds, right?
We held our Annual Golf Tournament Saturday at Hidden Meadows Golf Course, the weather couldn't have been better!
The funds raised by this tournament will help support our charitable activities throughout the year. We couldn't have accomplished this without the support of our community. As a club, we have a lot to be grateful for.
Thank you to all the local businesses that sponsored holes and donated raffle prizes!
Thank you to the teams that participated, we hope you had as much fun as we did!
Thank you Andrew and the rest of the staff at Hidden Meadows for all of your assistance and support!
Last but certainly not least, thank you to our Rotarians and volunteers that pitched in to make this event a success!
The Old Town Rotary Club was able to help Hirundo Wildlife Refuge out on August 12 with a new dock and wharf so the kids are better able to enjoy this pond! And wouldn't you know it, as soon as we finished a group of kids arrived and got a lesson on leeches, of which there were an abundance!
Daniel Finnemore, owner and founder of Box of Maine, spoke to the club on Thursday, July 8. Box of Maine is located on Stillwater Avenue in Old Town, between the Dairy Queen and the Mahan Redemption Center. It's primary business is providing mail-order boxes of Maine products, such as Moxie, whoopie pies, and red hot dogs, which are sent across the country (and the world) to former Mainers and other folks with Maine ties or interests.
Rotarians took a road trip for our meeting on July 22, visiting DR Disc Golf in Orono . Owner Ryan Enmann shared this family business and popular, affordable sport with us. "DR" represents his brother David, and himself, Ryan. They have courses in Brunswick, Caribou, Orrington, Orono and Fairfield.
The Old Town Rotary Club had the honor of hearing The Donut GroVe's first presentation at our weekly meeting on August 5! Their story was inspiring and their donuts were amazing! We wouldn't be surprised if they see some new faces at the Bangor Farmers Market as a result. We would also like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your thoughtful donation.
We enjoyed having you all, please come back anytime!
Outgoing President Keri Denis (left) welcomes incoming President Pat Cummings at the Installation Banquet on June 24 at the Old Town Elks Lodge.
The Rotary Club of Old Town held its annual Installation Banquet on June 24, welcoming the new President, Pat Cummings, and saying thank you to the departing President, Keri Denis.
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of six Paul Harris Fellowships to five deserving Rotarians, including Linda Bryant, Buggsy Bryant, Tamara Sarinen, and David Wollstadt.
Keri and Linda.
Linda Bryant--This Paul Harris Fellowship is awarded to someone who is not an officer but who is always there. Linda is the one who always sees what needs to be done in the community and then getting on e-mail or the telephone to tell us what exactly what to do, and usually how to do it. But she doesnāt stop there. She ās involved in projects from start to finish. Whether itās school supplies for kids, May baskets for the elderly, lining up individuals who need a wheelchair ramp installed or emptying the Crossroads Ministry building and overseeing the distribution of badly needed food in the community. In short, every club needs a person to keep finding ways to make a positive impact on the community. We have Linda Bryant.
Keri and Buggsy.
Buggsy Bryant--Buggsy is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow whose desire to help others has been exemplified in the fact that he has almost never said ānoā when someone asked him for help. He has always been there for us as a club, and weāve learned that we can truly rely on him. Although he may be considered a sidekick to some, we would be remiss not to honor him for his individual time, effort, and contribution to this club and our communities
Keri pins Tamara with her Paul Harris Fellow pin.
Tamara Saarinen, Treasurer--Tamara is a first time Paul Harris Fellow. Although she joined our club four years ago, she jumped right in and got to work. She asked questions and showed great interest and enthusiasm in understanding the operations of the club as a whole, which is critical in her role. She held one of the hardest board positions of any non-profit organization. Not only did she show up for fundraisers and projects, she also spent a lot of time to learn a new system in order to take care of the club financially.
Keri presents Dave Wollstadt with his Paul Harris Fellow pin.
David Wollstadt, Club Administration--Dave is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow who has been a steady presence over the years. He has contributed countless hours to the clubās fundraising and PR efforts through his work, primarily in editing and publishing the clubās annual Hunters Breakfast Newspaper, which raises several thousand dollars annually. He has also consistently encouraged other members to participate in this effort and share the load ā which the goal of many hands/light work.
Ben Smith and Robin Merchant present Keri with one of her Paul Harris Fellow awards.
A special highlight was the presentation of two Paul Harris Fellow awards to Keri Denis, President, 2020-2021. This was the first time in memory that one person received two Paul Harris Fellows. The first Paul Harris Fellowship was awarded in recognition of her many achievements as club president during 1920-21. As presenter Ben Smith told the Club, Keri was being honored āfor exceptional and inspiring leadership in a time of extraordinary turmoil.ā Keriās second Paul Harris Fellowship was awarded for her efforts in spearheading the Rotary Quarter Mile drive, which brought all three Bangor-area clubs together with a goal of obtaining about $16,000 worth of quartersāenough to create a mile-long oval of quarters. The project involved close coordination and encouragement among all three clubs, in which Keri was a key player. In addition to her blood, sweat, and cheers, she also found at least $1,000 worth of quarters that she donated to the project.
New Board Introduced
The new board includes (from left): Keri Denis, Past President and Secretary; Stephen Russell, House Committee; Steve Johnson, Sargent at Arms; Corina Larsen, Service Projects; Macie Cote, Public Relations; Lisa Colby, Membership; David Wollstadt, Club Administration (with Becca Wollstadt, Official Greeter); Tess Greene, Vice President; and Pat Cummings, President. Not present for photo: Stan Peterson, President-Elect; Tamara Saarinen, Treasurer; and Ben Smith, Foundation.
Pat Cummings Installed as Old Town Rotary President
Old Town Rotary Club President Keri Denis (center) joins her Bangor counterparts in creating the Rotary Quarter Mile.
The Old Town Rotary Club joined with the Rotary Club of Bangor and the Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary Club to create a "Rotary Quarter Mile" in Old Town's Waterfront Park to raise funds and awareness for Polio Plus, Rotary's decades-long effort to eradicate polio. The goal was to create a mile of quarters--an oval one-eighth mile long and eight quarters wide--which required 66,555 quarters, equal to $16,638.75. Since the funds were matched 2:1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the total amount raised for Polio Plus was $49,916.25--enough to pay for vaccination of 83,193 children.
Rotary Quarter Mile volunteers in Old Town's Waterfront Park.
Carey Nason (right) with Old Town Rotary president Keri Denis after the June 10 meeting.
Carey Nason, director of Saint Andre Home, spoke to the club on June 10 about "Courage Lives," Saint Andre's program to help survivors of human trafficking and exploitation in Maine.
Saint Andre Home is incorporated in Biddeford, has corporate offices in Bangor, and provides residential treatment services for up to five women at a time at a home in central Maine. Saint Andre also provides non-resident support services for more than 100 survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual assault annually.
Saint Andre Home is a private, non-profit organization founded by the Good Shepherd Sisters of Quebec. It has a history of providing services to vulnerable women and children for the past 81 years.
In Maine, a domestic violence assault is reported to law enforcement every 2 hours and 5 minutes. A report by the Maine Domestic Violence Abuse Homicide Review Panel found that 43% of homicides ion Maine were at the hands of a family member or intimate partner.
Outpatient and residential services help survivors
ā¢ heal and move beyond the cycle of violence
ā¢ recover and receive treatment, and
ā¢ gain economic independence with a whole-person approach to care
Saint Andre Home provides survivors with:
ā¢ individual and group counseling sessions
ā¢ life skills groups
ā¢ case management, and
ā¢ integrated substance use and disorder mental health counseling
Scroll down for more information and instructions on how to register to bid.
Watch the video below to learn how to register on AuctionZip. Start bidding between May 23rd and June 6. Log on Sunday June 6th at 1:00 PM to participate in the live auction.
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On Monday, April 5, the Rotary Club of Old Town purchased a ramp in Bangor in the morning on Pearl St and took it down, took the one in Milford down that we put it up a few months ago in the morning and put up the one that we bought in the afternoon on Kirkland Rd. We were tired but happy that we were able to help the people in need.
Most of you have heard about us helping Crossroads clear out their space so they can do some much needed repairs. Last Saturday was unbelievable with all of the food that was given away to those who needed it. The next few weeks will be the thrift store that we are packing up and taking it up to the Elks for the indoor yard sale. Tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 25th and Friday 26h, both days at 10, we will be packing boxes and stacking them for transport for next week. Next week Wednesday, March 3rd and Thursday March 4th again at 10 we will be boxing and taking things to the Elks. Friday, March 5th, and Saturday, March 6th, at 9 is the yard sale. Those of you who can lend a hand come and see us. We will be inside the whole time so if you are not able to please stay home. Next week we will be using vehicles to transport items so those of you who can not be inside can do that.
--Linda
Message from Linda Bryant about Helping Crossroads Ministries
Crossroads Ministries needs our help. They have to shut down to renovate parts of their building, so they need to clear out as much of the building as possible before work can be started. Our club has offered to help, as, like us, Crossroads does so much to support our community.
Round #1 will be next Friday, February 19th and Saturday, February 20th.
Friday: Volunteers are needed to lug boxes of canned goods from the building to trailers. Volunteers will be capped at 10 people, to include Linda and Bugsy, as there is not a lot of room to work in, we don't want to overwhelm the owners, and for safety reasons. We will meet at 10 am at Crossroads Ministries.
Saturday: There will be a free food distribution at the United Methodist Church parking lot in Old Town from 11 am - 3 pm to give away the boxes of canned goods. Volunteers will meet at 10 am in the parking lot to set-up. We will need more volunteers this day, so no cap.
Please contact Linda directly if you would like to volunteer for either day via phone, text, or email. Please remember all COVID19 safety precautions will be taken both days.
Round #2 may happen if there is leftover canned goods from the event on Saturday. This would consist of distributing the food to three different senior houses, on Tuesday - Thursday, Feb. 23rd-25th. Linda will reach out for any help she needs with this.
Round #3 may be a yard sale to help them sell there other non-food items (clothes, tupperware, etc.). There is no set date for this yet, but could potentially occur on Friday, February 26th and Saturday, February 27th. More to come on this.
Rotary Club Helping Crossroads Ministries Feb. 19 and 20
Old Town Rotarians Linda and Bugsy Bryant packed up Valentineās Day goodie bags for the residents of Marsh Island Apartments (senior housing facility) in Old Town, in hopes to bring joy to them on this holiday and to let them know they are not alone in this pandemic.ā
Linda Bryant and her party of many were at it again helping those in need. Frank and Deanie Greenleaf, Chuck Veeder, Lisa Gallant, Pat Cummings and Corina Larsen delivered food to the Old Town Elementary School, Milford School and the Greenbush School which they will pass out where needed. This is something that Old Town Rotary has been doing for the past few years and will continue to do so.
Rotarians delivered backpacks and school supplies to the Old Town, Milford, and Greenbush schools on September 4, just before the start of the school year.
Rotary Clubs across Maine, New Brunswick, and Quebec have collectively donated $25,000 to local fire departments to purchase necessary equipment (designated refrigeration units and iPads) to assist in their COVID19 vaccination efforts! Below is President Keri Denis of the Rotary Club of Old Town presenting some of these funds to East Millinocket Fire Department/EMS Chief Rob McGraw.
The City of Bangor is grateful to the Rotary Club of Bangor, Maine, Rotary Club of Bangor Breakfast and Rotary Club of Old Town for their generous donation to the Bangor Maine Fire Department and Bangor Public Health & Community Services. This funding will help to purchase equipment needed for COVID-19 vaccinations in the community.
Rotarians help fire departments with vaccination efforts
Old Town Rotarians filled stockings and the pantries for school kids, seniors and pets in our community. Linda Bryant spearheaded the collection of toys, mittens, food and cleaning supplies. Chuck & Jane Veeder, Clarence & Linda Bryant and team members of Bryant Construction delivered # of boxes to the Greenbush School. Pat Cummings and Linda Bryant delivered stockings made by Bernadine Robertson to residents of Marsh Island Apartments. Gently used towels, pet pads, cleaning supplies and financial contributions were donated to the Animal Orphanage and the Bangor Humane Society.
--Warm regards, Pat
There were 22 big boxes and 15 bags of food, essentials and cleaning supplies. They were delivered to RSU 34, Milford School and Greenbush School. It is also called the Old Town animal Orphanage. All mittens were made by Noella Thibeault, Linda's mom and a resident of Marsh Island, for the stockings that were delivered to the schools mentioned above
The Rotary Club of Old Town needs your help with our repurposed handicap ramp project to continue to provide for our communities. We are having a hard time finding used aluminum ramps that can be donated, or for sale at a reasonable price. If YOU have any leads for us, please contact Linda at 207-852-4487.
Rotary also has an assortment of chairs, steps, and other items to help people with mobility challenges.
One of the Old Town Rotary Club's projects for the 2020-21 Rotary year was to provide a washer and dryer for the Helen S. Dunn School in Greenbush. Above, the washer and dryer were presented and installed by Rotarians Doug Marchio, D. J. Whitmore, Steve Russell, and Linda Bryant.
If this isn't a Rotary Moment, I don't know what is...
Thank you, Dave & Sherrie Wight for delivering the meal that were packed with some of the funds the Old Town Rotary gave for the Maine Day Meal Packout planned by the UMaine Honors College students for this May. Though the packout in Orono was cancelled due to CoVid19, you and the students found a way to coordinate and deliver meals to our area. THANK YOU!
--Pat Cummings
Senior Director of Philanthropy, University of Maine Foundation
Old Town Rotarian
Old Town Rotarian Sherrie Wight has written an account of the 2020 Meal Packout, accompanied by photos.
The Vermont team, Wolfie, the Maine Team, and the Disaster Relief trailer.
Hi Melissa,
We were very happy to be able to help out with retrieving the food and bringing it home to Maine. The coordination alone was quite interesting as it wasnāt just us meeting the trailer. The people bringing the food up from Massachusetts were Wolfie (who you know as Craig) and Susan. After some talk on the phone and a number of emails, we had come up with a general area that would be fairly easy to get into safely and they then narrowed it down and made the decision to meet at the Hampton New Hampshire Park and Ride just off exit 2 of I95 in southern New Hampshire on Saturday April 11th. There were eight people there all together: Susan and Wolfie from Massachusetts, a two person team from New Hampshire, two from Vermont, and Dave and I from Maine. Amazingly even with the many hours of drive time for all of us we all managed to arrive within 20 minutes of the meeting time. Susan and Wolfie had a pickup truck full of boxes plus a Disaster Aid enclosed trailer from Rotary filled with boxes. When the trailer pulled in everyone masked up and put on gloves. The boxes were marked with a VT, NH, or M so we could easily tell which went where. We all helped load each otherās vehicles one state at a time.
Lauren supplied me with the contact information for Nancy Perry at Good Shepherd Food bank in Auburn and she was able to put me in touch with Lyndon Hopkins at the Hampden location. Once he was able to insure a warehouse staff would be available, we set up a delivery time on the morning of Tuesday April 14th. We were met by a nice young man and Dave and he, wearing masks, unloaded the 46 boxes (10,000 meals!) from our truck onto two pallets for the fork lift. There was a variety of nutritious meals including at least Macaroni and Cheese, Red Beans and Rice, and Spanish Rice, and I think also some Oatmeal.
Why did we take the risk and do it? Since the first time we met you and some of your students a few years ago at an Old Town Rotary meeting talking about the meal pack out, Dave and I were hooked. It is true that it is a very good cause and that alone is enough of a reason. As a police officer here in our county, Dave has seen the horrific poverty and hunger first hand all too many times. And he was proud to be able to carry a few meals in his patrol car to give someone when he ran across a particularly trying situation. But that fact aside, the professionalism, enthusiasm and maturity of the ākidsā and their earnest desire to give back to the community and help those in need was, and still is, unbelievably amazing and inspiring to us.
After last year when we saw the difficulty you had trying to get meals delivered to some of the farther counties, it occurred to us that the Blue Knights, of which Dave is a member, were perfectly poised to be of help with distribution as they have members in many counties throughout Maine. The Blue Knights are an international Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club that was founded right here in Bangor Maine in 1974 and subsequently spread around the world. As law enforcement officers, they are men and women who have dedicated their lives in service to the safety and well being of others, even at the risk of their own lives. It was a perfect match of good intentions. So when we suggested to the president of Blue Knights Chapter One of Bangor, Jay Durost, that our chapter assist in the deliveries for the meal pack out this year, the Knights jumped at the chance to help and were looking forward to being able to do so.
And then of course the virus took over our lives. When Lauren asked for help, we contacted President Jay and he was all in for us to help. Of course things had changed as to logistics and the number of people that we could actively expose had to be severely limited. Since Dave and I are most familiar with the process, we immediately became the obvious choice to execute this mission. It wasnāt a hard choiceā¦.in fact it wasnāt a choice at all. It was the only thing to do because it had to be done. We feel so blessed and fortunate. We have a roof over our heads and food on our table. Others do not and in this especially trying time their struggle just to survive is magnified.
Your amazing students worked hard to raise the money to make the meal pack out happen. I canāt imagine how disappointing it was for them to be forced to call it off. But they still didnāt give up!!! It wasnāt the meal pack out they had envisioned but they figured out a way to get some meals here at this incredibly difficult time when they are needed more than ever. They never gave up, never stopped dreaming of what was possible. When our young people show that kind of determination and perseverance in the face of extreme adversity, they have become our teachers. As we go through life, we find ourselves in places and times where things can seem dire and frightening. Many people become fearful, hunker down, and seek shelter. Others such as your students dream of ways to help and then find a way to make those dreams come true. Law enforcement officers such as the Blue Knights simply see people in need and a new opportunity to serve and help othersā¦even if it risks their own lives because that is what they have always done. This is where we found ourselvesā¦this place, this timeā¦and we are thrilled that you offered us the chance to help and that we were able to fill that final gap for you and all your amazing students to bring food to the people of Maine.
Old Town Rotary's 69th Annual Hunter's Breakfast was held on on Saturday, November. 1, 2019 from 4:00 to 8:00 AM. Rotarians served the usual Hunters Breakfast fare--ham, eggs, Golden Beauty pancakes, and home fries with or without onions--to hunters and non-hunters alike.
The Old Town Rotary Club is assisting the Old Town Elementary School in implementing a pilot project to place children's books on the school buses used to take students to and from OTES. The "Books on the Bus" program uses seat covers to hold the books, which children are allowed to read while on the bus. The Rotary Club provided funds for OTES to purchase six seat covers at $40 each. "Books on the Bus" started with separate programs in Topsham and Bath. Last fall, RSU 22 started developing a similar program at the Cyr Bus operation in Hampden.
The Old Town Rotary Clubās annual charity auction will be held Thursday May 2nd, 2019 from 5-9 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit the club's philanthropic projects and local organizations supported by OTR including Sarah's House, The Animal Orphanage, Maineās Youth Fish & Game Association, and other Rotary charities.
The evening will start with a dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. The live auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end by 8:30 p.m. In addition to the live auction, there will be a silent auction, a variety of door prizes, and a bingo-type
The Old Town Rotary Clubās annual charity auction will be held Thursday May 2nd, 2019 from 5-9 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit the club's philanthropic projects and local organizations supported by OTR including Sarah's House, The Animal Orphanage, Maineās Youth Fish & Game Association, and other Rotary charities.
The evening will start with a dinner from 5 to 6 p.m. The live auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end by 8:30 p.m. In addition to the live auction, there will be a silent auction, a variety of door prizes, and a bingo-type card game.
The Old Town Rotary Club and members gave $1,028 to the annual Maine Day Meal Pack-Out, which equals 4,000+ meals! Campus and community volunteers pack as many meals as they can that are then donated to local food banks, community organizations, that feed hungry, schools, etc. The goal of the event is to contribute as many meals as possible to Maineās food-insecure community while raising awareness about food insecurity and promoting volunteerism. This year the Meal Pack-Out will be held on May 1st at the Memorial Gym starting at 9 am. We hope to see you there!
Pictured above from L to R: Lisa Gallant (Rotarian and President-Elect), Sarah Marcotte (student), Dr. Melissa Ladenheim, Emma Hutchinson (student), Becca Wollstadt (Rotary friend), Pat Cummings (Rotarian)
Children of all ages enjoyed the Old Town Rotary Club's annual Christmas Party at the Elks Lodge on Thursday, December 13. Santa and Mrs. Claus distributed presents to children of Rotarians and friends of Rotary.
A special treat was gingerbread cookies supplied by LaBree's Bakery, which were decorated with lots of frosting in holiday colors.
Stocking Stuffers
The week before the Christmas party, Rotarians and friends spent Thursday evening stuffing Christmas stockings to be distributed to students at Old Town Elementary School. There were tables full of mittens, books, toys, and other gifts, and each Rotarian stuffed them into three to five stockings.
On Friday, President DJ (center) delivered the stockings to Old Town Elementary School, where they were accepted by Principal Jeanna Tuell (left).
Keri Denis and Don Sturgeon sample all four entries in the club's Chili Cook-Off.
Linda Bryant wins Old Town Rotary Chili Cook-Off by 1 vote margin
Linda Bryant won the club's Chili Cook-Off by a single vote at the October 4th meeting. Rotarians were invited to prepare a batch of their favorite chile recipe, and club members received a cup from each of the four crock pots. After sampling the four entries, club members cast their ballots and were able to take seconds of their favorite chili (and their second or third favorites as well).
In addition to Linda, chili crock pots were entered by Tamara Saarinen, Deanie Greenleaf, and DJ Whitmore.
Linda's chili received one more vote than Tamara's chili, which was made with chicken and chicken sausage.
In addition to receiving bragging rights, Linda was allowed to donate the proceeds to her preferred charity, was was the club's "Birthday Bags" project. The cook-off proceeds totaled $226, which was augmented by $223 that was donated by club members to help fill the Birthday Bags.
Scooping free ice cream Friday night at Riverfest.
Old Town Rotarians participated in the city's Riverfest celebration September 28 and 29 with several different activities. First, on Friday night (Sept. 28), club members scooped free ice cream into several hundred cones for Riverfest participants. Second, on Saturday morning, a team of Rotarians marched in the parade and tossed candy to children along Stillwater Avenue and Main Street. Third, after the parade, club members served chicken barbecue, selling out early in the afternoon. Linda Bryant organized the chicken barbecue with the assistance of a crew that gathered at the Bryant homestead Friday night to parboil the chicken.
President Elect Lisa Gallant with Ray Ruby of the Maine Cancer Foundation, who spoke to the club on August 16 on Reducing the Impact of Cancer in Maine
From left: Past President Doug, Linda and Buggsy Bryant, Mischelle Adams, Steve Russell, Ben Smith, Robin Merchant, and President DJ.
Five Old Town Rotarians have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows. They were presented with their Paul Harris pins and medallions at the club's Thursday night meeting on July 26. The Paul Harris Fellows are Mischelle Adams, club treasurer; Steve Russell, House committee chair; Robin Merchant, Assistant District Governor; and Linda and Buggsy Bryant--two club members who don't hold a formal office but get lots of different things done. The fellows were nominated by Past President Doug Marchio. Assisting in the presentation were President DJ Whitmore and Foundation Chair Ben Smith.
Old Town Rotarians enjoy dinner, camaraderie at Sarah's House
CHECK PRESENTATION--After dinner, the club presented a check for $13,500 to Delores Landry, Executive Director of Sarah's House. From left, Old Town Rotary Club President Doug Marchio, Sarah's House Campaign Chair Judy Collier, Delores, and Rev. James Haddix, President of the Board of Directors for Sarah's House. In the foreground is Ian Whitmore, son of incoming President DJ Whitmore, who brought in a sack full of money (about $50) that he requested in lieu of birthday presents so he could donate it to Sarah's House.
Old Town Rotarians cook hot dogs, serve lunch to veterans and others celebrating Memorial Day
The Rotary cooking/serving crew--Jane and Chuck Veeder, Corina Larsen, Steve Russell, Steve Johnston, Tamara Saarinen, Izzy Larsen, and Josh Hamilton. Not present for photo: Lisa Gallant and her sister Terri and Frank Greenleaf. Photo by Dave Wollstadt.
Old Town Rotarians have enjoyed a busy winter and early spring, which was capped on March 29 by a visit to the Casella Sugar Shack, where members and guests enjoyed steak and chicken, along with maple taffy and ice cream topped with maple syrup. The event was hosted by Rotarian Wayne Boyd, who serves as manager of Casella's Juniper Ridge Landfill in West Old Town, where the Sugar Shack is located.
Earlier, the club heard several very interesting programs on a variety of topics, including:
ā¢ March 22--Jeffifer Lloyd of the EMHS Medical Foundation, who told us about the "Champion the Cure" fundraising project.
ā¢ March 15--Jack Brown and Melissa Ladenheim of the University of Maine, who talked about the UMaine Day Meal Packing Project, which the club and a number of individual members have supported, both financially and through their volunteer efforts. Last spring, the students and other volunteers packed more than 100,000 meals, which were distributed to a food pantries and other charitable organizations in the local area, including Old Town.
ā¢ March 1--Allison Kanoti, forest entomologist, who talked about the browntail moth problem in Maine.
Corina Larsen with forest entomologist Allison Kanoti
ā¢ February 22--Mike Seile of "Our Katahdin," an economic development group that has been focusing on the former Great Northern Paper mill facilities in Millinocket.
President Doug, Mike Seile of "Our Katahdin" and Steve Lane
ā¢ February 8--Kristi Kimball of the Bangor Breakfast Rotary Club, who talked about their Bangor Area Champion for Charities project.
ā¢ January 25--Scott Wilcox, Public Safety Director for the City the Old Town, who talked about the police department's bear program, which the club has supported, along with other law enforcement topics.
President Elect DJ Whitmore, Chief Wilcox, and Dave Walker with bears.
If you missed Tamara's talk, you're going to want to hear her amazing story of overcoming adversity and trusting in humanity to achieve her goals... despite the incredible odds!
Could the world be about to eradicate polio? Only 17 cases were diagnosed last year and they were all in two countries with the last hard-to-reach corners: Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The public health groups trying to put the squeeze on polio have started to get more creative in their last push. The latest: turning vaccination into a circus.
The circus enables the children who join, often from internally displaced communities around Kabul, to learn new skills while continuing their education. Nadia, seen here, is 14 years old, and one of the best girl-performers in the country. Ashley Hamer / UNICEF
āWe are trying to build trust and momentum around why we need to vaccinate our kids,ā said Melissa Corkum, UNICEF team leader on polio eradication.
Santa and Mrs. Claus visited the Elks Lodge in Old Town on December 7 to help Rotarians, children, and grandchildren get into the holiday spirit.
The evening started off with a Gingerbread House decorating contest. Six teams of children and grandchildren, assisted by parents and grandparents, applied copius amounts of frosting to gingerbread houses that had been constructed by President Doug and his grandson, an engineering major at UMaine. The frosting served a dual purpose--as a decorating material in and of itself, and as something that other, more colorful confections--jelly beans, gum drops, sparkles, sprinkles, etc.--would attach to.
While the decorating teams did their thing, the rest of the club enjoyed an extended happy hour and time for fellowship until the dinner bell sounded. After dinner, Santa and Mrs. Claus came through the door and gave presents to all the children and grandchildren present.
Rotarians also brought several dozen extra presents which are being donated to the Marine Corps' Toys for Tots campaign.
Click more to see photos of the gingerbread house decorating contest!
Ben Smith (third from left) poses for a photo after giving his Rotary Foundation Month presention, which included a progress report on Rotary's participation in the drive to eradicate polio worldwide. Sherrie Wight (left) and David Wight (standing next to Ben) traveled to Old Town from Frankfort to make sure that Ben would have an audience. Also in photo: Robin Merchant, Steve Russell, and President Doug.
November is the month every year when Rotarians remember--and celebrate--the Rotary Foundation, which was started 100 years ago.
In the last three decades, Rotary International and our foundation have been particularly prominent in the worldwide effort to eradicate polio. The Global Polio Eradication Iniative (GPEI) started in 1988 as a joint effort of UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and Rotary International. In that year, WHO estimated there were 350,000 new cases of polio worldwide--but few, if any, in the U.S.
But Rotary was more than just a partner. The GPEI was inspired by Rotary's 1985 pledge to raise $120 million to immunize the world's children against polio.
* * *
Some of you here probably remember Jonas Salk, who discovered the polio vaccine. I remember lining up in 1954, with all the other children in my school, to get my first polio shot. What you may not know is that Salk refused to patent the vaccine because he wanted it to be widely available.
When Salk died in 1995, his obituary in the New York Times reported an opinion poll which ranked him between Churchill and Gandhi as one of the most revered figures in modern history.
Salk once said, "There is hope in dreams, imagination, and in the courage of those who wish to make those dreams a reality." Sounds like he might have been a Rotarian!
* * *
From 350,000 new cases of polio in 1988, the number has dropped more than 99%--to 74 new cases in 2015, 37 new cases in 2016, and through Nov. 7, a total of only 14 cases this year--five in Pakistan and nine in Afghanistan.
WHO estimates that more than 16 million people have been saved from paralysis during the last 30 years.
We are getting very close to eradicating polio in the world. Doing so would represent only the second time in history that we've done that. The first was smallpox.
A few numbers about Rotary and the effort to eradicate polio:
ā¢ Since 1988, the GPEI has spent more than $15 through June 30, 2017. ā¢ Rotary has spent $1.8 billion, and by the end of next year, that number will increase to $2.2 billion. ā¢ In 2000, the Gates Foundation launched its Global Health division. So far, they have contributed $685 million to eradicate polio, and within two years, that number will exceed $1 billion. ā¢ The Gates Foundation has also agreed to match every dollar donated by Rotarians with two dollars from their foundation.
* * *
Some of you know that part of the reason I feel so strongly about polio is that my grandfather contracted the disease when he was 2 years old. He lived to be 97, but he walked with a limp his whole life because of polio.
As I said at the beginning, November is Foundation Month for Rotary. The first gift to the Foundation was from the Rotary Club of Kansas City--$26.50 in 1917.
My first ask of you tonight is that you consider writing a check to the Rotary Foundation for $26.50, for Rotary's Polio Plus Campaign, before the end of the Holiday Season.
The world really is really close to eradicating polio, and we are all part of an organization that's been instrumental in getting there. Please help make polio a thing of the past.
My second ask is that each Rotarian consider becoming a regular Foundation supporter. Rotary does a lot of good things in the world, and the Foundation is the vehicle that supports many of those efforts.
About 20% of our members support the Foundation each year. But I think it's significant that 75% of our members have donated to the Foundation at some point in their Rotary careers. That suggest to me that, as a group, we appreciate the Foundation's value.
The two simplest ways to support the Foundation are EREY (Every Rotarian Every Year) and Rotary Direct, a program that is growing in popularity and that five of our members already use. Rotary Direct allows Rotarians to donate directly to the Founcdation via bank draft or credit card. Donations may be one-time or recurring (e.g., an automatic monthly donation from your credit card).
EDITOR'S NOTE: A belated Thank You Dollar for Ben's presentation on the Rotary Foundation. He took what could have been a really boring topic and presented his report with passion and conviction--and made it interesting for all of us. Thank you, Ben!
Ben Smith highlights Rotary Foundation's role in eradicating polio
On Thursday, Nov. 16, club members went on a road trip to the Wicked Good Gourmet shop at 1168 Main Street, Old Town (between St. Joseph's Cemetary and the Orono town line), where we heard Mark Kent, the proprietor of Wicked Good Gourmet, talk about his business and his background.
Wicked Good Gourmet provides an easy way for shoppers to order high-quality food items from Maine and elsewhere in New England and have them shipped to friends or relatives, particularly in states outside of New England. Mark says a number of his customers who want to purchase food items that they used to buy in Maine--either when they lived here or were on vacation--but can't find the items at their local Whole Foods store.
He describes his business as follows on his website (www.wickedgoodgourmet.com): "Wicked Good Gourmet was founded by Mark Kent to bring the finest artisanal specialty foods made by farmers and chefs around New England to your door. These products are usually sold in Farmers Markets and local stores across New England. When you subscribe to the Taste of New England Box you are not only receiving the best specialty food products that New England has to offer, you are also supporting the farmers and chefs that are striving to grow their small businesses. We champion the small businesses and artisanal producers across New England. We connect with small businesses that are growing and supporting local jobs and small towns. We find the best products from the best people and deliver them to your door so that you can enjoy celebrating the best of what New England has to offer."
Mark currently offers two subscription plans--one for $19.95 a month plus shipping and one for $39.95 a month plus shipping (only the $19.95 plan was offered when I checked the website on the morning of Nov. 17), where he selects a variety of Maine and New England gourmet items with a different theme each month and ships them to the address you selects. However, he's in the process of offering shoppers the option of filling their own basket on line and then shipping it.
Shoppers can also visit his store and either purchase items to take with them or fill a box for shipment. The store is currently open on Fridays and Saturdays, but will be open additional days during holiday periods.
Rotary takes ROAD TRIP to Wicked Good Gourmet in Old Town
A team of volunteers from the Rotary Club of Old Town have installed a wheelchair ramp at the home of Jim Martin of Orono, who has ALS.
Rotarians who worked on the ramp construction were Stan Peterson, Buggsy Bryant, Steve Russell, Don Sturgeon, Doug Marchio, and Pat Cummings. They were joined by Dr. John Gaetani, and Joe Cyr stopped by to lend a hand (immediately after his surgery).
Rotary got involved last month after Jane Veeder saw an item about Jim's GoFundMe page that had been posted by a friend of hers on Facebook. She asked Robin Merchant if this was something the club could help with, and Robin, in turn, contacted Stan. Stan called Jim, took some measurements at his house, and got the crew together to install the ramp on November 11.
Rotarians (and others) who are interested in Jim's battle with ALS can follow this link to his GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/jim-scott. Jim said he wanted to thank Stan and his crew for installing the wheelchair ramp, but before he could get outside, they had left.
Rotarians install wheelchair ramp at home in Orono
President Doug with Payden Stanton and Laurel Cookson.
Payden Stanton and Laurel Cookson, who traveled abroad through programs sponsored Office of International Programs at UMaine, talked about their experiences at our Thursday night meeting November 9.
The following appeared in USA Today on World Polio Day, October 24:
Bill Gates: Polio will be eradicated this year
Ray Sipherd, CNBCPublished 3:39 p.m. ET Oct. 24, 2017
Tuesday marks Rotary International's fifth annual World Polio Day, co-hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and there is much cause for celebration: It is very possible that 2017 may see the end of the wild poliovirus ā nearly two years earlier than Bill Gates predicted.
"What we're looking at now is sort of the endgame of polio eradication," says Dr. Jay Wenger, who leads the Gates Foundation's polio eradication efforts. "We are closer than ever, and we're optimistic that we can see the end of wild poliovirus disease by as early as this year," he said.
Rotarians, guests, and friends sit down for dinner at the "Dough Raiser" at Uno Pizzeria & Grill in Bangor/
Old Town Rotarians, guests, and friends traveled to Bangor Thursday night for a "Dough Raiser" at Uno Pizzeria & Grill opposite the Bangor Mall in Bangor. The club will receive up to 20% of the proceeds from club members and others presenting Dough Raiser coupons at Pizzeria Uno that day, depending on the total dollar amount from the coupons.
Club members, guests, and friends ordered from the Uno menu. About 45 members, guests, and friends attended that evening.
Two more views from the "Dough Raiser" at Pizzeria Uno.
Nov. 2: Road trip to 'Dough Raiser' at Uno Pizzeria & Grill in Bangor
The dining area in the back of the tent was full around 6:45 a.m.
The Old Town Rotary Club held its 67th annual Hunters Breakfast from 4 to 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Waterfront Park in Old Town. Rotarians served the usual Hunters Breakfast fare--ham, eggs, Golden Beauty pancakes, and home fries with or without onions--along with home-cooked beans from the Alton Methodist Church, Tim Hortons coffee and hot chocolate, and LaBree's donuts.
Joe Cyr, Jack Larsen, Stan Peterson, Linda Bryant, Don Sturgeon, and Steve Russell (not in photo) did most of the cooking.
Everything went well, and attendance totaled 470, or about the same as last year. The biggest difference was there were a lot fewer politicians--just State Senator Jim Dill from Old Town, who isn't running this fall. Two Rotarians are on the Old Town municipal ballot this November--Stan Peterson running for re-election to the City Council and Dave Wollstadt running for re-election to the RSU 34 School Board--but they weren't handing out any campaign flyers.
Kudos to DJ Whitmore for getting everything organized and making sure all the i's were dotted and the t's were crossed. Outstanding job--and he'll be a wealth of knowledge to help next year's President-Elect.
About 25 club members cooked, served, cleaned, and did all the other chores required for a successful breakfast, and for the 4th or 5th year in a row, Corina Larsen's son Jack joined the cooking crew. Also assisting were five Interact members from Bangor (students at Bangor and John Bapst high schools), who helped serve, and Dave Wollstadt's daughter Rachael and her friend Erica, visiting from Connecticut, who cleaned tables.
Interact students on the serving line with Clair Shirley (center), the club's oldest member.
Frank Greenleaf, Steve Johnston, and President Doug Marchio.
Marie Hanson, Dean of the College of Business and New England School of Communications at Husson University, spoke at our meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Elks Lodge in Old Town. Above, Marie (center) pauses for a photo with Joe Cyr (right) and Club President Doug Marchio. Joe is a trustee of Husson University.
Rotarians hear Dean of Husson University College of Business and New England School of Communications
A group of 11 Old Town Rotarians assisted at the Juniper Ridge Landfill Open House on Saturday, Oct. 7. Rotarian Wayne Boyd is general manager of Casella Waste Systems, which operates the landfill.
The Rotarians had two primary tasks--assisting the caterer, Steve's Stagecoach Express, by cooking french fries, and greet incoming visitors, including directing traffic, telling people where to park, and handing out raffle tickets for drawings that were held during the open house.
In addition, we set up a Purple Pinkie table, where people attending the open house could donate $1 to support Rotary International's Polio Plus program, which seeks to eradicate polio worldwide. A total of $115 was raised for Polio Plus by people who had their pinkies painted purple.
Buggsy serves french fries as Linda and Stan cook more to feed happy customers.
Above: Stan loads a basket with french fries so Linda can cook them.
Right photo: Rachael Peterson displays the cupcakes, which were provided by Stan's sister.
The french fry team included Linda Bryant, who cooked the french fries; Buggsy Bryant, who served them; Stan Peterson, who prepared baskets of fries for Linda to put in the deep fryer; Joe Cyr and Dave Wollstadt, who put the raw potatoes through a machine that sliced them into fries; and Peter Bosse, who helped direct traffic around the serving area.
The greeters included Doug Marchio, Pat Cummings, Steve Johnston, and (later in the day) Peter Bosse.
The Purple Pinkie crew included Ben Smith, Steve Russell, and Tamara Saarinen, along with Mike Timpson, a member of the Bangor Rotary Club (noontime).
In addition, Rachael Peterson and some of her OTHS art students did face painting for children (and adults, too) who attended the open house.
Tamara and Ben with Purple Pinkie donors.
Steve, Tamara, Mike Timpson, and Ben display their purple pinkies.
It was a beautiful day. Above, the open house area as seen from the top of the landfill, which was also a good place to view the fall foliage.
Rotarians volunteer at Juniper Ridge Landfill Open House
Tim Hudson, superintendent of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, speaks to the Old Town Rotary Club at the River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket.
Instead of meeting at the Elks Lodge, Old Town Rotarians and guests boarded a Cyr bus for a road trip to the River Drivers Restaurant in Millinocket, near the entrance to Baxter State Park, on Thursday, Oct. 5.
Our speaker was Tim Hudson, superintendent of the new Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, which was created by order of President Obama to encompass 87,000 acres that were purchased by Roxanne Quinby in the area east of Baxter State Park and donated to the federal government. Before dinner, while we still had daylight, club members gathered by the fireplace outside the restaurant to induct our first corporate member, Tim Magoon, general manager of the Old Town Canoe facility in Old Town. Tim is a full-fledged member of Rotary International, but several other Old Town Canoe employees will assist him in fulfilling his attendance and participation responsibilities. We are anxious to meet Tim's associates at Old Town Canoe and welcome them into the fellowship of our club.
Club President Doug Marchio (left) inducts Tim Magoon (center) as a member of the Old Town Rotary Club. Looking on are David Mahan (second from left), membership chair for corporate/organizational members; Clair Shirley, former member Amos Orcutt, and official greeter Becca Wollstadt.
Tim Hudson with a map showing the lands of the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. The monument includes both the light green parcels (on the map) west of the East Branch of the Penobscot River and the dark green parcels east of the river. Hunting and snowmobiling are generally prohibited on the light green parcels. On the dark green parcels, hunting will be allowed, except for bear hunting using bait or dogs.
Pat Cummings took photos and created a Smilebox photo album, which can be linked to below. NOTE: you have to click on the link below the image. Clicking on the arrow in the Smilebox image won't get you anywhere. Thanks, Pat, and happy viewing.
The Old Town Rotary Club participated in Old Town's annual Riverfest celebration by entering a float in the parade, cooking BBQ chicken during the day, and serving free ice cream on Friday night. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos from Friday night.
Rotarians in the parade
Above: DJ, Mischelle and their children marched (or rode) in the parade and handed out candy.
Chicken BBQ
Tamara, Linda, and Doug
Bruce, Buggsy, and Steve Russell
Steve Johnston and Frank Greenleaf do what they do best.
Lisa Frazell, manager of community events for The Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, spoke to us Thursday night (Sept. 28) about various aspects of Alzheimer's, a brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking, and reasoning skills. She urged Rotarians to participate in the Walk to End Alzheimer's Disease, which will be held in Bangor on Saturday, October 21. Funds raised through the walk will be used to support Alzheimer's research.
Lisa also emphasized the importance of knowing the 10 early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's. (To see the 10 early signs, click on "Read more" after the item about Keri's mom.)
Happy Birthday, Becca! and Happy Anniversary, Linda and Buggsy
Becca, who has been telling us for the past six (eight? nine? eleven?) months that she will be 39 on September 29, was honored a day early with a pre-birthday celebration, including a stirring rendition of the HappyBirthday song and a chocolate cake with pink and white frosting--her favorite!
The club also wished Happy Anniversary (No. 44) to Linda and Buggsy Bryant, also on September 29.
Rotarians help move Keri's mom into her new home
A number of Rotary Club members responded to DJ Whitmore's email request to help Keri move her mom into new quarters. Keri's response was emailed to all club members via ClubRunner, but in case you missed it, here's what she said:
I wanted to take a moment and say thank you! I was going to give a big "thank you" dollar this week at the meeting to all of you, but am unable to attend. It really meant a lot to myself and my family that so many showed up to help! Originally, it was us and four ladies and one husband from Mom's work (which many more of them showed up too). It was quite a surprise too...I heard rumor of some email that went around that I did not see! Packing, driving, and unpacking in two hours has to be some kind of moving record! That night, my mother looked at me and said, "Wow, that was the longest and most tiresome day I have experienced so far since I have been sick, but it was by far one of the best". She was overwhelmed that so many others took time out of their lives to help. She told me that I belong to a great organization full of wonderful people. Again, I can't thank you all enough! If I have forgotten anyone on this email (it was a hectic day!), please forward this to them.
Old Town Rotarians went on a ROAD TRIP to Old Town Elementary School September 21 to get a first-hand look at the OTES gardens and to hear about the RSU 34 food pantry and resource center project, which includes the school gardens at OTES, Leonard Middle School, and the elementary schools in Alton and Bradley.
RSU 34 has entered into a partnership with the Old Town United Methodist Church which will help the school district get $7 worth of food from the Good Shepherd Food Bank for every dollar raised by the school food pantry. The Old Town Rotary Club could have a similar arrangement with RSU 34 to provide financial and volunteer support for the school district's effort to help students and families who are in need.
Details are being worked out, and the club's Board of Directors will be looking at various ways of supporting the RSU 34 food pantry and resource center. Possibilities include:
ā¢ Recurring contributions to the Good Shepherd Food Bank in support of the RSU 34 food pantry (and possibly Crossroads Ministries, as well).
ā¢ Recruiting one or two volunteers per week to support RSU 34/Old Town Elementary School garden and food pantry projects
ā¢ Construction of a greenhouse to support the OTES garden project
ā¢ Assistance with construction of a garden fence if needed
ā¢ Other projects that may come up in the future.
Any comments or suggestions should be directed to President Doug Marchio or Immediate Past President Dave Wollstadt.
thanks,
dave
Rotary tours Old Town Elementary School gardens, resource center
Riverfest starts this Friday night! By serving free ice cream, walking-driving in the parade, and hosting a chicken BBQ, we can make a difference for the whole community. A volunteer sign-up list has been emailed, so please click in the email or on the event name on the home page or in this bulletin, then click on the Riverfest Volunteers button to SIGN UP!
Are you ready for some GOLF! It's time once again for our annual shotgun start golf scramble. At least I think that's what it is. Frankly, I've never played golf, but I can tell you this: we need volunteers and teams to work and to play golf on Saturday, September 16th. Click on the event in the events column on the home page or in the bulletin for more information. All club members have been emailed a sign-up sheet of all of the jobs and times they are available. Please call Ben Smith if you need help signing up for a job at 478-2188. I will be taking my usual post on Hole #4 bullying players into buying raffle tickets. See, even if you don't play golf, you can find a job that suits your strengths:)
September and October are the two busiest months of the year for Old Town Rotarians. If you are able to volunteer, we need your help.
We have a number of activities coming up that will require an effort by all of us in order to accomplish our club service and fund-raising objectives.
During the current week (Sept. 19-23), Doug Marchio will be constructing the club's Riverfest Float, which we will also use for the holiday parade in downtown Bangor. He will be working in Bugsy's barn and can use as much help as you can give him. Our Thursday night meeting will be a pizza and work party at the barn.
On Friday and Saturday, September 23-24, Old Town will celebrate Riverfest.
On Friday night, we'll be serving free ice cream at the Waterfront Park, starting about 7 and continuing until we run out. We'll need volunteers to do this--please bring your own ice cream scoop. Friday evening, Linda will need volunteers at her house to help parboil the chicken and otherwise prepare for Saturday's chicken BBQ. On Saturday, Linda and Bugsy will need help cooking and serving the chicken. Serving time is approximately 11 to mid-afternoon (or whenever the chicken runs out); but if you wait until then, you may have trouble accessing the park because of the parade.
On Saturday, October 1, we'll need volunteers to help out at the Juniper Ridge Landfill Open House, which is being organized by Old Town Rotarian Wayne Boyd, who manages the landfill for Casella. 8-10 volunteers will be needed to take tickets, help pre-cook french fries for the Fryolater, and perform other duties as assigned.
Then, for the month of October, we'll be hard at work preparing for our 66th annual Hunters Breakfast and selling ads for our Hunters Breakfast newspaper, which will be mailed to 11,000 homes in mid-October.
We'll also be participating with the two Bangor clubs on our "Purple Pinkie" project, to raise funds for and awareness of Rotary International's Polio Plus project, which seeks to eradicate polio from our planet.
September-October: Time to show that we really believe in "Service Above Self"
Forty years ago, a man named George Campbell, the owner of the company I worked for, invited me to join Rotary. Back then, that was a common practice in the United States. Your boss invited you to join Rotary because he thought it would be good for business and good for the community, and you said yes. Itās not surprising that our membership surged during that period.
George warned me not to use Rotary as an excuse to slack off at work. Even so, I always had time to attend lunch meetings and serve on committees. I never had to worry that taking a long lunch once a week would hurt my advancement, or what my boss would think about the occasional Rotary phone call at work.
Today, things are different. Companies are less generous about time, and not every manager looks favorably on community service. Itās hard to enjoy a Rotary meeting when youāve got emails piling up on your phone. Itās harder than ever to balance work with Rotary ā and the model that gave us so much growth a few decades ago is part of whatās holding back our growth now.
Thatās why the recent Council on Legislation adopted some innovative measures that allow clubs to vary their meeting times and expand their pool of prospective members. Clubs have more flexibility now to respond to the needs of their members and to clear away as many barriers to membership as they can. But thereās one barrier to membership that only you can remove, one thing that every prospective member needs to become a Rotarian: an invitation to join a Rotary club.
Whenever I tell a group of Rotarians that we need more willing hands, more caring hearts, and more bright minds to move our work forward, everyone applauds. But those hands, hearts, and minds wonāt magically appear in our clubs. We have to ask them to join. And an invitation to Rotary is something that only you can give. An invitation is a gift. Itās saying to someone, āI think you have the skills, the talent, and the character to make our community better, and I want you to join me in doing that.ā
Iām the president of Rotary International, but the only club I can invite someone to join is the Rotary Club of Chattanooga, Tenn. I canāt make your club or your community stronger. Only you can do that ā by inviting the qualified people you know to join you in Rotary Serving Humanity.
By Åafak Alpay, RI director-elect and a member of the Rotary Club of Istanbul-Sisli, Turkey
About ten years ago, an ambitious literacy campaign was started in our region using the Concentrated Language Encounter (CLE) method. Like all other clubs, my club Sisli participated with great enthusiasm, running a course for women in one of Istanbul’s slum neighborhoods.
Another District Conference has come and gone. We had wonderful weather, fabulous fellowship and took home our share of knowledge, ideas, inspiration and awards.
Stan and Rachel did an incredible job presenting their NID trip to India to the whole assembly. In addition to their talk, we heard from many other clubs and learned about some extremely interesting projects that are happening around our district.
BANGOR—Three area Rotary Clubs -- The Rotary Club of Bangor, Bangor Area Rotary Club and Old Town Rotary Club -- are joining forces to host a Purple Pinkie Project in recognition of World Polio Day on October 24th. The celebration takes place during the week of October 19th -- 24th with activities that are intended to raise awareness of Rotary International’s efforts to eradicate polio worldwide and to raise money -- $1 at a time –toward this global effort.
On Oct. 24, and throughout the week, organizers and volunteers will “paint” the region purple when they present the Purple Pinkie Project. Because purple pinkies serve as symbols for polio immunizations, for a donation of $1.00 (the cost of a single immunization), volunteers will color pinkies purple to help raise money for polio eradication. Funds raised will go toward Rotary International’s End Polio Now efforts.
“We are so pleased to bring attention in our local communities to Rotary International’s Polio Plus project,” said Scott Boucher, Assistant Governor for Area 9 Rotary Clubs. “Our goal is to see hundreds of purple pinkies during this special awareness week, and to encourage everyone to wear purple, especially for the celebration on October 24th.”
Activities kick off on Oct. 20th at 12 p.m. at the Masonic Center’s Wellman Commons in Bangor, home to the Rotary Club of Bangor’s weekly meetings. A Purple Pinkie table will be set up during the club’s weekly meeting where donations for the cause will be collected. A presentation on the current status of Polio and the eradication efforts taking place worldwide will follow for all Rotarians and guests. Similar presentations will occur on Thursday, October 22nd, 7:00 am, at Eastern Maine Community College’s Rangeley Hall, for the Bangor Area Breakfast Club, and on the evening of October 22nd at the Black Bear Inn in Orono for the Old Town Rotary Club. These presentations provide opportunities for community members to visit their local Rotary clubs, to participate in the Purple Pinkie Project and to learn more about Polio Plus.
For the general public, Rotary volunteers will be on hand to color the pinkies of anyone wishing to donate $1 toward Rotary International’s “End Polio Now” campaign (multiple digits may be painted for $1 each). Community members are encouraged to visit any of the following three Purple Pinkie stations:
Friday, October 23 - The Alfond Center, University of Maine - opening game for the Black Bear Men’s Hockey team, beginning at 5:30 pm.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, October 22, 23, 24 - Penobscot Theatre, downtown Bangor - opening weekend of Dr. Cerberus. A Purple Pinkie Station will be open 1 hour prior to each show time and through intermission.
Saturday, October 24 - Bangor Y, 17 - 2nd Street - from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm, with assistance provided by high school volunteers from the Rotary Interact Program.
On the evening of Oct. 24, a celebration will be hosted by the three local clubs at the Sea Dog, located on the waterfront in Bangor. Purple beer will be served and donations will be collected for Polio Plus. Rotarians and community members are invited to join in the celebration.
Similar Purple Pinkie projects are being held by Rotary Clubs around the United States, with people donating $1 to have their pinkies marked with the same purple dye used when Rotary International conducts polio immunizations in locations around the world where the disease still exists. When a child is immunized, Rotarians mark their pinkies with a topical purple dye to prevent double dosages, and to identify those who have not yet been immunized. Through Rotary International’s efforts, polio has been eradicated in all but 2 countries worldwide. The goal of eradicating the disease altogether grows closer with each immunization.
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month in Rotary. What a great start we had for the month with an awesome program this week: Literacy Volunteers of Bangor. Our speakers were Executive Director Mary Lyon and one of their students, Linda, who kept us spellbound with her inspiring story. Wrenching herself out of a miserable and abusive life born of her own illiteracy, she found in LVB an advocate and friend. It was hard work but she learned to read and has made a successful new life with her new husband and children.
No one need argue the point...the statistics are well published. Literacy is one of the most powerful tools we have to battle poverty. Why? Because virtually every form of education is built upon a foundation of literacy. Though many people have found ways to function without it, it cannot be denied that it is an essential ingredient in economic development in the world today. Yet, according to the Department of Education, there are over 32 million adults in the United States, 14% of the population, who cannot read; 19% of high school graduates cannot read; and 21% of adults in our country read below a 5th grade level rendering them functionally illiterate.
Illiteracy hurts us all even if we ourselves can read. It is linked to poor productivity, crime, and health care costs. More than 60% of prison inmates and a whopping 85% of juvenile offenders are functionally illiterate…that is a bit more than a mere coincidence. Illiteracy is a major component in poverty and has distinct links to crime statistics. Functional illiteracy adversely affects all of us. If you move this conversation into the global arena, the numbers become staggering. Around the world, nearly 800 million people lack simple literacy and numeracy skills; 98% of them are in developing countries. And two thirds of these people, who cannot read so much as a job application, are female.
Here at home there are thousands of people right in the Bangor area who need help with their reading skills. Enter Literacy Volunteers of Bangor. They are helping people everyday and when they help one person learn to read, they have helped all of us. For more information on this great organization click on their logo above.
We make a lot of fuss and hoopla when we get new members and for good reason....we are thrilled to have them, we want them to know that, and we very much want them to feel welcome and to become involved because that is why people join Rotary: they want to be involved. August is Membership and New Club Development Month, and with that comes an emphasis on new members......but there is more to membership than finding new members....getting new members means much less if they don't stay in Rotary. All too often in our quest to bring new folks into the family of Rotary, we forget to appreciate those who have lived this committment for many, many years. We forget to acknowledge the lifetime of service that some of our members have given, holding onto their Rotarian spirit through the massive facelifts and growth of Rotary as it evolved to meet the demands of a world that was yanked into the technological age.
As of this newsletter we currently have eleven members who joined Rotary within the last year, several of whom have joined within the last couple months and five of whom are staffing a position in the club either as a board member or a committee member this Rotary year!!! We are all happy they joined us and are delighted to see them engaging in the fellowship this great organization offers. We arebetter and stronger with them in our corner.
As awesome as that is, it gets even better. We also have ten members who have been in Rotary for at least twenty years. All ten of them are VERY active members seen at nearly every event and project and most meetings; seven of them are holding official committee or board postions within the club this year! Of those ten, five of them have been in for at least thirty years, and one special man has been a Rotarian for forty-eight years! How many of us have stuck with anything in our life for forty-eight years???? That is a lifetime of Service Above Self and the reason we pay tribute to Don Sturgeon (pictured above) with a Paul Harris Fellow.
New members are awesome; we love them and want to share our wonderful Rotary experiences with all of them. But as we celebrate membership month, never forget the reason we have all these wonderful Rotary experiences to share is because of our long time members who have spent decades of their life making Rotary International and the Rotary Club of Old Town the amazing powerhouses of fellowship and community & world service that they are today.
.....And A Well Deserved PHF For a Lifetime of Service Above Self!
On May 21, 2015 the Global Eagles were officially notified: they are the new kid on the block. Of course the announcement of their Rotary Charter was great news for them, but it is also great news for us because they are the hot new E-Club formed by dedicated long time Rotarians, and they are now open for business.
- A special thanks to Clair for the great treat of fiddleheads at last week's meeting. We had cooked fiddleheads along with dinner and he also supplied bags of raw fiddleheads that he harvested in Milo for sale. AND he donated all the proceeds from the sold fiddleheads to Polio Plus!
- Once again our auction was a great success. The board decided to donate portions of the funds raised to Maine Youth Fish and Game Association, Animal Orphanage, and Friends of the Millinocket Library. A small portion of funds will be retained for unforeseen needs that may arise in the community.
- Last week's program was about Window Inserts for fuel energy savings in the cold Maine winters. Sharon Klein from UMaine will be teaching a new class this fall where students will actually be building the inserts for several local families and performing follow up research to determine the effects of the inserts on the fuel usage. They will be looking for families in need of the inserts; people able to pay for the inserts will be considered and there is also grant money available in the program to accomodate those in need who can not afford them. If you know of someone who might benefit from the inserts, please see President Corina for contact information for Sharon.
- The club is looking into organizations raising money for the crisis in Nepal. All details will be provided when information is available.
- If you have not returned your membership questionnaire to Doug yet, please do so as soon as possible. Your input will help shape the future of the club.
- As part of the 175th anniversary celebration, the book for Riverfest this year will include a history of Old Town Rotary! President Corina has much of the older history on file but we need to cover some of the more recent activities. If you have any information that might be useful, please contact Corina ASAP. The time to submit the information is very short so we must act quickly.
-The meeting on June 18th will be a ROAD TRIP! We will be hosted by Maine Youth Fish and Game and get a tour of their facilities. How fun is that!!!
-The Installation meeting will be held on June 25th....details will be provided soon.
- As you all know, we are required to provide a head count to the Black Bear Inn each week for our meeting. There is now an important change to the procedure that we have been using. Effective with the June 4th meeting the procedure will be as follows. You will receive the usual email request each week to let the president know if you are not coming tothe meeting and she must know by noon Wednesday. If you do not tell her you are not coming and you don't show up, you will be billed $15 for the meeting! The club has to pay for the number of meals we give the head count for. If you have not told Corina you aren't going to be at a meeting, you will be included in the head count. If you then do not show up, the club has to pay for that. Up until now we have simply asked that you voluntarily pay for the meal when this happens and thank you to those who did so. But there is a significant number of people who do not pay for this, which the club has to absorb. Thus the voluntary payment will now be mandatory. Also remember to let the president know if you are bringing guests so they can be included in the head count. There is a small amount of wiggle room for last minute guests and visiting Rotarians. Please be responsible and RSVP to the weekly email.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
This past week OTR took to the road once again for one of our fabulous Road Trip meetings….but this time it had an awesome twist. We all met at Uno Pizzaria and Grill for a great meal and lots of fellowship. The twist? Well Uno will be donating 15% to 20% of the value of our meal checks to The Rotary Foundation!!!
On hand were many Rotarians as well as family members and potential new members. The food was great and the staff was friendly and efficient. They even managed to belt out a song to celebrate Wendy’s graduation from nursing school! Doug won the door prize – a scrumptious berry chocolate dessert wine made right here in Maine at Winterport Winery.
Everyone had a good time and in the process we raised money for our Foundation. Thanks to all who participated and a big thanks to D.J. for arranging for this very special “Dough Raiser”.
There is a photo album on the home page and in the newsletter with a few pictures if you care to see them.
Rotary is not a competition. We are all on the same team trying to make our world a better place starting with our own communities and extending to the farthest reaches of the earth. That said.....WE WON!!!! WOOHOO!!!
Sandy, Linda, Robin, and Corina were on hand at the District Conference where we were honored to win the coveted Turkey Cup beating out the next closest club by a whopping 20 points.
We also were awarded the Governor's Citation AND were one of only four clubs in our district to receive the RI Presidential Citation.
What does that mean? It means we did really great this year. We did it right.....we were Rotarians.....we made a difference......We Lit Up Rotary!!! None of us do what we do for the acknowledgement. We do it because we care and want to make a difference. But the acknowledgement is a nice way of measuring how successful we were in our endeavor and we deserve to be proud of that.
Congratulations Old Town Rotarians - we can be proud of what we did over the last 11 months and look forward to upping the bar for the 2015-2016 Rotary year. If we don't win the cup next year, let's make sure we make another club work darned hard to beat us!!
-There will be a special treat at his week's meeting. Along with our usual supper Clair will be dishing up a super Maine spring delicacy - fiddleheads - cooked to perfection for just $1!
-The outing at Hirundo Wildlife Refuge that was tentatively scheduled for the end of May is being rescheduled for September...updates will be provided when the details are set.
-Once again this year OTR will be manning the BBQ for the Memorial Day celebration. Please contact D.J. if you would like to help out.
-The meeting on June 18th will be a ROAD TRIP! We will be hosted by Maine Youth Fish and Game and get a tour of their facilities. How fun is that!!!
-The Installation meeting will be held on June 25th....details will be provided soon.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week. If you do not tell her you are not coming and you don't show up, the club has to pay for your meal. Please be responsible and RSVP to the weekly email.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-A big thanks to everyone who helped make this year's auction a success. And a super special thanks to Linda for bearing the burden of trying to herd us all into something that resembled an organized effort.....and she did it all with only one good leg! Some of us might have bowed out or needed help after breaking a foot but when you're good...you're good...and she is the best!!! As great as Linda is, it is not lost on any of us that she is only half of an awesome team....behind every great woman is a fantastic guy. Once again Bugsy and Linda really went the extra mile to make our auction successful without any desire for personal kudos or acknowledgment. It doesn't get any more Rotarian than that!
-This month's Board Meeting is this Wednesday, May 13th, at Stan's house.
-This week (May 14th) we have an offsite meeting: ROAD TRIP!!! We will be meeting at Uno Pizzaria and Grill. A head count will be required so make sure you check early with family and friends and be ready to let Pres. Corina know how many are coming.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
Our Old Town Rotary Charity Auction is this week! Everyone is needed on Thursday for the various tasks that will make the evening a success. This auction is vital to our Rotarian efforts. What we do Thursday will dictate how much good we are able to do for the next Rotary year.Make sure you get your meal ticket stubs to Linda ASAP if you haven't already done so; she needs to give K of C a head count.If your auction item/s require a certificate and you need help with that, let Linda, Robin, Corina, or Dave Wollstadt know asap. Get your friends and neighbors to come for an evening of fun and fellowship, a nice meal, and a chance to bid on a lot of great items on the auction block. See everyone Thursday......Lets Do It Rotarians!!
-Next week (May 14th) we have an offsite meeting: ROAD TRIP!!! We will be meeting a Uno Pizzaria and Grill. A head count will be required so make sure you check early with family and friends and be ready to let Pres.Corina know how many are coming.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Friday, May 1.....that's the deadline! Our Old Town Rotary Charity Auction is next week! Time is needed to organize and print the auction list so PLEASE get your auction item information to Linda by May 1. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. If you have a great dessert that you like to make please consider making that for an auction item as they are always popular. This auction is vital to our Rotarian efforts. What we do between now and May 8th will dictate how much good we are able to do for the next Rotary year. If your item/s require a certificate and you need help with that, let Linda, Robin, Corina, or Dave Wollstadt know. Also make sure you get your friends and neighbors to come for an evening of fun and fellowship, a nice meal, and a chance to bid on a lot of great items on the auction block.
-Please note in upcoming events that the location for the May board meeting has been changed to Stan's house.
-The District Conference is coming up in less than two weeks and it promises to be spectacular. The story link will remain available for a few weeks for those who missed it. District conferences are a fun time and the fact that our district spans international lines makes ours even more exciting. Several people from our club are already signed up and they would love to have you join them. Check out the story below for more details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Applications are being accepted until May 1 for STEP - Rotary's Short Term Exchange Program. See the story below for details.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-CRUNCH TIME!!! The annual Old Town Rotary Charity Auction is only a few weeks away! PLEASE get your auction item information to Linda ASAP. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. This auction is vital to our Rotarian efforts. What we do between now and May 8th will dictate how much good we are able to do for the next Rotary year. If your item/s require a certificate and you need help with that, let Linda, Robin, Corina, or Dave Wollstadt know. Also make sure you get your friends and neighbors to come for an evening of fun and fellowship, a nice meal, and a chance to bid on a lot of great items on the auction block.
-The District Conference is coming up soon and it promises to be spectacular. The story link will remain available for a few weeks for those who missed it. District conferences are a fun time and the fact that our district spans international lines makes ours even more exciting. Several people from our club are already signed up and they would love to have you join them. Check out the story below for more details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
The Farmington Rotary Club’s Vidalia Onion Sale has begun!
Surely you can use a bag or two of those sweet, delicious Georgia raised Vidalia’s and support the Children & Mothers of Safe Passage in Guatemala at the same time!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
-The District Conference is coming up soon and it promises to be spectacular. The story link will remain available for a few weeks for those who missed it. District conferences are a fun time and the fact that our district spans international lines makes ours even more exciting. Several people from our club are already signed up and they would love to have you join them. Check out the story below for more details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Our annual Charity Auction, the primary fundraiser for the year, is less than a month away. Each member is asked to provide at least two auction items.....now is the time to be getting the information on your items to Linda!!! The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. What we do between now and May 8th will dictate how much good we are able to do for the next Rotary year. Let Linda know what your items are asap. If your item/s require a certificate and you need help with that, let Linda, Robin, Corina, or Dave Wollstadt know.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
-Monthly Board meeting is this Wednesday, April 8th, at Franks house. See upcoming events for details. If you plan to attend and have not indicated so in a head count or otherwise advised the host, please do asap so they can make appropriate arrangements for food.
-The District Conference is coming up soon and it promises to be spectacular. The story link from last week will remain available for a few weeks for those who missed it. District conferences are a fun time and the fact that our district spans international lines makes ours even more exciting. Several people from our club are already signed up and they would love to have you join them. Check out the story below for more details.
-The annual dinner and auction to benefit Maine Youth Fish & Game is April 11th. See the upcoming events for details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Our annual Charity Auction, the primary fundraiser for the year, will be May 7th. Each member is asked to provide two auction items. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. Also, Linda needs help - she may be superwoman but even superwoman needs help now and then. Talk to her and let her know what you can do to help on the auction committee. EVERYONE should be prepared to assist on the day of the event. And sell those tickets!! See the story on the club website for further details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
- Deadline for the District Conference discounted registration rate is March 31st. Check out the story below for more details.
-The annual dinner and auction to benefit Maine Youth Fish & Game is April 11th. See the upcoming events for details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary is hosting All That Jazz on March 31st....that's tomorrow! Make sure you get your tickets and support the Old Town High School band program. If you missed the story you can still read it on the club website.
-Rotary Club of Bangor is presenting the 10th annual Music Off Broadway April 2 through April 4. Get your tickets now! See the story below for details.
-Our annual Charity Auction, the primary fundraiser for the year, will be May 7th. Each member is asked to provide two auction items. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. Also, Linda needs help - she may be superwoman but even superwoman needs help now and then. Talk to her and let her know what you can do to help on the auction committee. EVERYONE should be prepared to assist on the day of the event. And sell those tickets!! See the story on the club website for further details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
- We are still collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local food banks at each meeting in March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary is hosting All That Jazz on March 31st. Make sure you get your tickets and support the Old Town High School band program. if you missed the story you can still read it on the club website.
-Mark Sturgeon is heading up our club participation in Bowling For Kids Sake. The story is on the club website if you missed it. Please contact Mark if you want to participate. It's a great cause and a fun time.
-Rotary Club of Bangor is presenting the 10th annual Music Off Broadway April 2 through April 4. Get your tickets now! See the story on the club home page for details.
-Our annual Charity Auction, the primary fundraiser for the year, will be May 7th. Each member is asked to provide two auction items. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. Also, Linda needs help - she may be superwoman but even superwoman needs help now and then. Talk to her and let her know what you can do to help on the auction committee. EVERYONE should be prepared to assist on the day of the event. And sell those tickets!! See the story on the club website for further details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
-The meeting this week will be held at Angelo's Pizza in Old Town. Spouses and guests are welcome. We will be ordering off the menu.
- We are still collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local food banks at each meeting in March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary is hosting All That Jazz on March 31st. Make sure you get your tickets and support the Old Town High School band program. if you missed the story you can still read it on the club website.
-Mark Sturgeon is heading up our club participation in Bowling For Kids Sake. The story is on the club website if you missed it. Please contact Mark if you want to participate. It's a great cause and a fun time.
-Rotary Club of Bangor is presenting the 10th annual Music Off Broadway April 2 through April 4. Get your tickets now! See the story on the club home page for details.
- Our annual Charity Auction, the primary fundraiser for the year, will be May 7th. Each member is asked to provide two auction items. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. Also, Linda needs help - she may be superwoman but even superwoman needs help now and then. Talk to her and let her know what you can do to help on the auction committee. EVERYONE should be prepared to assist on the day of the event. And sell those tickets!! See the story on the club website for further details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
Our fellow Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Bangor are gearing up for a little musical production....Off Broadway style. For their 10th annual performance they will be offering a remarkable "Blast From The Past.....10 years of Music Off Broadway".
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-This week's meeting is your chance to tell the board and planning committee what you want from your club: what is working, what isn't, what we do well, where we need to do better. What would you like to see? Come prepared to share your thoughts and ideas. This is your Rotary...help make it the best it can be. New members....don't be intimidated! You were asked to join because your input and expertise is wanted--if you have an idea, speak up. We will also be voting on the new bylaws which you all received in an email. Please review them and be prepared to vote.
- We are still collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local food banks at each meeting in March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary is hosting All That Jazz on March 31st. Make sure you get your tickets and support the Old Town High School band program. if you missed the story you can still read it on the club website.
-Mark Sturgeon is heading up our club participation in Bowling For Kids Sake. The story is on the club website if you missed it. Please contact Mark if you want to participate. It's a great cause and a fun time.
-The meeting on March 19th will be held at Angelo's Pizza in Old Town. Spouses and guests will be welcome. We will be asking for a head count so please be ready to give President Corina a yea or nay and how many guests you will have when she asks.
-Music off Broadway is on the horizon! See the story below.
- And last but definitely not least.....the annual Charity Auction, our primary fundraiser for the year, will be May 7th. Each member is asked to provide two auction items. The sooner you let Linda know your items, the easier the job is for everyone. And sell those tickets!! See the story below for more details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
- We are still collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local food banks at each meeting in March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-Social Makeup at the Boomhouse! Wednesday March 4th at 5:30 p.m. Everyone is welcome so bring family or guests. See upcoming events for details.
-If you are interested in the District Friendship Exchange coming up this year to Brazil, make sure you check out the story on the club website for details. Preliminary applications are due April 30th.
-Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary is hosting All That Jazz on March 31st. Make sure you get your tickets and support the Old Town High School band program.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
Do you like to travel? With Rotary Friendship Exchange the opportunities are nearly endless!! Our district is planning a group exchange this year and the deadline for the preliminary application is approaching. Read the story for a message from the district coordinator Angelo Mestriner outlining details of the trip. This is your chance to meet new Rotarian friends....from away....far away!!
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-The next Board meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 11th at Doug & Pat's house. Check the upcoming events for details.
-Winter is in full swing and the local foodbanks are being stretched beyond their limits. We are collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local banks at each meeting, every week in February and March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-This week's meeting on February 12th will be off site at the University of Maine. You must let president Corina know no later than today (Monday) if you plan to attend. Guests are welcome but she needs an absolute head count for this so let her know if you are bringing family or friends. The cost is $22 per person. We have a bus available to take us from the Black Bear Inn to the venue. If you wish to use the bus you must be at the Black Bear Inn at 5:00 p.m. If you wish to drive yourself to the event you can meet up with the bus folks at Buchanan Alumni House at 5:30 p.m. If you require directions contact Pat Cummings.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Due to rising costs for the Big Bear Inn, the cost of our weekly meetings will be going up to $15 effective this week.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-The next Board meeting will be held on February 10th at Doug & Pat's house. Check the upcoming events for details.
-Maine Youth Fish And Game Association is holding a second Family Ice Fishing Day this week at Pickerel Pond. Check it out in the upcoming events section and bring those youngin's on out to the pond for a classic Maine tradition - the way life should be!
-We are looking at possibly forming a team for Bowling for Kids Sake to benefit Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mid-Maine. We will need five bowlers to make a team. For easy access to details we are rerunning the story from a couple weeks ago in this newsletter, which also contains a link to the page for Big Brothers/Big Sisters. The story is also available on the club website home page.
-Winter is in full swing and the local foodbanks are being stretched beyond their limits. We are collecting non-perishable canned goods for several local banks at each meeting, every week in February and March. If you would like to donate, please bring your canned food to the regular club meeting.
-The meeting on February 12th will be off site at the University of Maine. Some details are available in the upcoming speakers list. The cost will be $22 per person and we will need a hard head count in advance. You will be receiving a registration email from President Corina in the near future. Please respond as soon as possible to facilitate the head count.
-Once again this year the "Cross Egypt Challenge" is open for registration. "Cross Egypt Challenge" is a series of international cross-country endurance scooter rallies throughout one of the most mysterious countries in the world, Egypt. This Rotary organized initiative aims to promote tourism to Egypt, world understanding, and alternative transport. If you have any interest please see President Corina for details.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
Though the author of this poem is unknown, the poem itself was included in the collection of Joe Caulder who amassed a huge library of information in an attempt to preserve the first 50 years of Rotary. He attributed the poem to the Rotary Club of New York. It was reprinted in the February 1977 edition of The Rotarian, and in countless club newsletters and websites since then. The four large volumes of Rotary history collected by Joe were prepared in the 1950's and 1960's so the poem predates that time. But as you can see, it is clearly timeless.
I'M A NEW MEMBER
"I see you at the meetings, but you never say hello.
You're busy all the time you're there with those you already know.
I sit amongst the fellows, yet I'm a lonesome guy.
The new fish are as strange as I; you old ones pass us by.
But darn it, you guys asked us in, and you talk of fellowship;
You could just step across the room but you've never made the trip.
Why can't you nod and say hello! or stop and shake my hand,
Then go and sit among your friends -now that I'd understand.
I'll be at your next meeting, perhaps a nice lunch to spend,
Do you think you could introduce yourself? I want to be a friend."
-About $4,500 was raised for Sarah's House at the gift wrapping fundraiser in the mall! Megan sends her heartfelt thanks to every one who gave of their time and wrapping abilities (or lack thereof) for this great cause.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-Stinky Jack Larsen's mom FINALLY bought the kid some new boots so he doesn't have to wear those boots he shot a moose in anymore. Rumor has it he is having those bronzed.
-There is a Board of Directors meeting Wednesday the 14th at 6:00. President Corina will be asking for a headcount soon so please respond so proper food arrangements can be made.
-Maine Youth Fish And Game Association is holding two Family Ice Fishing Days again this year at Pickerel Pond. Check it out in the upcoming events section and bring those youngin's on out to the pond for a classic Maine tradition - the way life should be!
-LISTEN UP!!!! Okay now that I have your attention.....I know you were told this in the last newsletter and some of you have been totally awesome about taking care of business, but apparently some folks just aren't getting the point. Every member has a profile on the club website that each of you can access to keep your information current. It is important that you keep your contact information up to date and you can share as much or as little other information with your fellow club members as you wish. If you don't know how to access your page, check out the VIP story which is included again this week (and is also on the web home page) for how to get into this area. One sure tell: if your Rotarian magazine is not coming to you at your address, you need to update your information! Please make sure your email address is correct also as that is how the club officers contact you. Unfortunately, if it isn't correct you aren't getting the newsletter so you aren't reading this. If you hear anyone say they aren't getting the newsletter, please pass on the information to go on the website and read the VIP story.
That's all folks......tune in to the next bulletin for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: A high scoring game made for a lot of possible winners - it changed 22 times during the course of the contest. The winner was Sherrie's best friend from high school, Nancy, who lives just outside New Orleans! Thanks to Nancy for supporting our Polio Plus fundraiser. We should probably have a committee deliver her winnings in person....say right around Mardi Gras?? ROAD TRIP!!!J
- Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming and if you are bringing guests to the meeting this week.
-The annual election of officers for the club will be held at the December 18th meeting. For those new to Rotary....the Rotary year runs from July 1st to June 30th and the people we are electing this month will be leading our club through the next Rotary year beginning July 1st.
-There are still slots available at the gift wrapping station in the mall if you would like to join the fundraising effort for Sarah's House. The story is on the club website homepage so you can check there to see what times are available if you would like to volunteer.
That's all folks......tune in next week for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
RI President Gary is the head of his family....he is also the head of ours. Every month he shares with us his insights to help us embrace all that is Rotary and find how it fits into our lives. In this month of December when Rotary celebrates family, his message strikes especially close to home.
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Well since we were dark last week we actually have two weeks worth of winners!! The game on 11-24 was super exciting and it was the battle of the B's for the Polio Plus win. In the last 40 seconds of the game the winner changed from Bugsy to Betts and finally to the winner Becca! The 12-01 game was a low scoring one but even so there were at least seven Rotarians in the running at some point in the game. It came down to a late game score once again and Frank took the prize! Congrats to Frank and Becca!
-The Christmas party is on December 11th...if you missed the story with the details it is still on the website. The cost is $12 per person and $6 for kids under the age of 12. Don't forget, if you bring kids, please bring a gift for them to receive from Santa and do put their name on the gift also so there is no confusion.
-And while we are on the subject.....Remember to let President Corina know if you are coming or not coming and if you are bringing guests to the meeting this week. Every member with email got an e-vite for the Christmas party we are holding at this Thursday's meeting. PLEASE take the 10 seconds it requires to click on the attend or decline button and please do it before Wednesday noon! This is the head count for the meeting and everyone must respond with an attend or decline and add any guests you will be bringing. This is usually a large group for our meeting and arrangements need to be made for the increased number. Really - it takes like ten seconds and saves the president from an ulcer!!
-The December Board meeting will be a brief meeting held after one of our regular meetings.
-The annual election of officers for the club will be held at the December 18th meeting. For those new to Rotary....the Rotary year runs from July 1st to June 30th and the people we are electing this month will be leading our club through the next Rotary year beginning July 1st.
-Make sure you check out last week's story about the gift wrapping station fundraiser for Sarah's House. It is included again this week for those who may have missed it because much help is still needed and it is all for a great cause near and dear to your hearts! Many of you signed up at last week's meeting and that was awesome. There are still a number of days and time slots available for those who didn't get to sign up yet and want to, so please check it out and see if you can volunteer for one of the open times.
That's all folks......tune in next week for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
-The editor had actually toyed with the idea of not doing a newsletter this week since the meeting was dark (hey if you get the week off, I get the week off!)....but Old Town Rotary is still hopping busy, and yes there is a bit of activity happening this week! (and that darned president of ours - what a slave driver - does the woman even sleep???)
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Well since we were dark last week, you'll have to wait until the meeting this week to find out who, but it was a very exciting game! Stay tuned!!! Dave will announce both this week and last week's winners at the next club meeting.
-You've probably been sufficiently nagged into submission on this but it really is important: please remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming to a meeting or are bringing guests. And yes it is a little bit tedious to do this each week, but each of us only has to worry about one person doing it - ourselves. Just think how tedious it is for the president who has to worry about this for every member of the club every week and keep track of it. With that in mind please remember she is a busy lady running a business and a household, raising children, and leading our club with enthusiasm and flare....don't walk up and tell her you won't be at the meeting three weeks from now and expect her to remember that! Help her help the club with time appropriate notifications.
-The December Board meeting will be a brief meeting held after one of our regular meetings.
-The Christmas party is on December 11th...if you missed the story with the details it is still on the website.
- The Festival of Lights Parade is December 6th. We will be decorating the float on Wednesday evening December 3rd at Bugsy's shop, 6:00p.m., so if you have some free time to help it would be much appreciated. Additionally, our participation in the parade will be held as a Rotary Day! If you don't know what a Rotary Day is and missed the explanation, you can read it on the website.
-Make sure you check out this week's story about the gift wrapping station. Much help is needed and it is all for a great cause near and dear to your hearts! Dave and I have signed up for Tuesday the 16th and would love to have you join us! But there are lots of days and time slots available so please check it out and see if you can volunteer for one of the open times.
That's all folks......tune in next week for more scintillating news from President Corina!!!
We've been invited to help with the wrapping station in the mall to benefit Sarah's House! What a great way to join in the festivities of the holidays while spreading the word about the wonderful place you all helped to build for our community and all the people of Maine. Click on the read more link to see Megan's message about the gift wrap fundraiser.
Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Dave Wight! Kind of a fun week for Dave...won the football raffle, had a birthday, got to be the weekly program....If only I'd had a video camera to tape the happy dance for you!
- Please remember......We do need to give the Black Bear Inn a head count EVERY week. We anticipate that every one will attend the meeting every week and our count starts from there. Thus if you will not be coming to a meeting or you will be bringing guestsplease remember to be helpful and let President Corina know no later than noon on the Wednesday before the meeting. You do not have to tell her if you are coming....only if you are NOT coming or are bringing guests. The weekly head count is a little tedious but very important as it affects the finances of the club. If you do not let us know that you will not be attending the meeting, we have to pay for your meal. Sometimes last minute things crop up and someone can't make it. Your meal still has to be paid for and that comes out of the club's coffer; so if this happens please consider paying for your attendance anyway so as not to adversely affect the club's savings. The BBI is a good venue with lots of amenities for the club, so please 'bear' with it while we all make the adjustments and fine tune the details to make this a rewarding relationship for all parties. Our $12 pays for ALL the amenities provided us (not just food); with that in mind please be prepared to pay the weekly attendance fee if you attend the meeting, whether or not you choose to dine. Besides a meal, this money pays for the room, a waitress, linens, AV equipment, a sound system and podium to use every week, and a closet on site where we are allowed to safely store our club's belongings so we don't have to cart them back and forth every week.
-The December Board meeting will be a brief meeting held after one of our regular meetings. Date to be determined.
-For those who missed last week's meeting...we had a program all about The Rotary Foundation. Club Foundation Chair Dave Wight is available for all members (in a group or one on one) to answer your questions, help you understand how the foundation works for us, and assist you in designing a plan for giving that works for your specific situation. Just ask him - anytime!
-The Christmas party is on December 11th...if you missed last week's bulletin the story with the details is still on the website.
- The Festival of Lights Parade is December 6th. We will be decorating the float on Wednesday evening December 3rd at Bugsy's shop, 6:00p.m.. Additionally, this will be held as a Rotary Day! If you don't know what a Rotary Day is and missed last week's explanation, you can read it on the website.
Do you recognize this face? If you are new to Rotary maybe not, but if you are a seasoned Rotarian you certainly should. This is the face of Past RI President John Kenny who served as such for the Rotary year 2009-2010. He is currently the Trustee Chair of The Rotary Foundation, and of course, November is Rotary Foundation month. Click on the read more link to read his message to all of us in this special month that promotes the foundation that funds the work we do all over the world. It's been five years since John led us into the future but his presidential theme rings as true today as it did in 2009....."the future of Rotary is in your hands."
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Henry Sargent! AGAIN???? Henry is lucky but he also bought a lot of squares and has been very generous in support of various Rotary fundraising efforts through the years. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy!
- Growing pains......while we settle in to our new relationship with Black Bear Inn, please remember to be helpful and let President Corina know if you cannot attend a meeting or if you will be bringing a guest. The weekly head count is a little tedious but very important as it affects the finances of the club. The BBI is a good venue with lots of amenities for the club, so please 'bear' with it while we all make the adjustments and fine tune the details to make this a rewarding relationship for all parties. Our $12 pays for ALL the amenities provided us (not just food); with that in mind please be prepared to pay the weekly attendance fee if you attend the meeting, whether or not you choose to dine. Besides a meal, this money pays for the room, a waitress, linens, AV equipment, a sound system and podium to use every week, and a closet on site where we are allowed to safely store our clubs belongings so we don't have to cart them back and forth every week.
-The December Board meeting will be a brief meeting held after one of our regular meetings. Date to be determined.
-The Christmas party is on December 11th...see the story below for more details.
- The Festival of Lights Parade is December 6th. We will be decorating the float on Wednesday evening December 3rd at Bugsy's shop. Additionally, this will be held as a Rotary Day! Don't know what that is? See the story below!
We are all so busy with our lives outside of Rotary.....sometimes we forget all the cool things we have done. Well we have raised a lot of money, done a lot of good, and made a lot of people smile in our community. We had a lot of fun AND we're only a third of the way through the Rotary year!
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Ralph Leonard! Hopefully he isn't a NY Giants fan because it never gets old (for some of us) seeing the Giants get squished on national TV! Ralph has been an Old Town Rotarian about as long as Polio Plus has been a campaign so who could possibly be a more deserving winner.
- Growing pains......while we settle in to our new relationship with Black Bear Inn, please remember to be helpful and let President Corina know if you cannot attend a meeting or if you will be bringing a guest. The weekly head count is a little tedious but very important as it affects the finances of the club. The BBI is a good venue with lots of amenities for the club, so please 'bear' with it while we all make the adjustments and fine tune the details to make this a rewarding relationship for all parties.
-The District Governor's Newsletter for November is out and has been posted for you to view on the club website!! Go on our website and look in the left column near the top under Site Pages. Just click on the DG's newsletter link and you are there!!!!
-This months board meeting will be held at Linda and Bugsy's house. Everyone is welcome but as always we will need a head count for food planning. Please RSVP when you are asked if you will be attending.
-The District seminar for The Rotary Foundation is this Saturday November 15th in Brewer. A couple of us are planning to attend so if you are even a little bit interested but didn't want to go alone - well you will have company! This is a good way to learn the ins and outs of how TRF works, where our donations go, and how to make it work for our club.
Rotary is steeped in traditions. This week Old Town Rotary celebrated one of its oldest and finest traditions: the Hunter's Breakfast. For 64 years Old Town Rotarians have been dishing up vittles in the wee hours to honor an age old tradition of the beautiful state in which we live....hunting. From father to son, mother to daughter the tradition has passed, and likewise Rotarians have passed the spoon and spatula down from Rotarian to Rotarian through the years. Seeing the smiling faces of old timers and children alike makes it all worthwhile. Thanks to everyone who made this year's event a big success. The Hunter's Breakfast: a tradition for the generations.
Pat was kind enough to document the event in photos and it is here for all to see. Just click on the photo album in the left column!
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Scott Boucher! What a great game! A well matched contest with two long time rivals. Our AG Scott has been deeply devoted to the Polio Campaign for a long time and his support of our Monday Night Football game is really paying off for.....Polio Plus and him both!
- Growing pains......while we settle in to our new relationship with Black Bear Inn, please remember to be helpful and let President Corina know if you cannot attend a meeting or if you will be bringing a guest. The weekly head count is a little tedious but very important as it affects the finances of the club. The BBI is a good venue with lots of amenities for the club, so please 'bear' with it while we all make the adjustments and fine tune the details to make this a rewarding relationship for all parties.
-This months board meeting will be held at Linda and Bugsy's house. Everyone is welcome but as always we will need a head count for food planning. Please RSVP when you are asked if you will be attending.
In 1989 the Council on Legislation voted to eliminate the requirement in the RI Constitution that membership in Rotary clubs be limited to men, and women were welcomed into Rotary. Look how far we've come....
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Bugsy Bryant! Another nail biter of a game! With a minute and 50 seconds to go Sherrie was dancing her victory dance. They had already lost the game but Texans never surrender so they lowered their horns and charged in for a TD putting Mike in the winning square. But those pesky Texan's weren't done....with the extra point Bugsy took the prize.
-The Hunter's Breakfast is November 1st. All hands on deck! Volunteers are needed for a variety of times and jobs. Contact Frank if you can help. This is the 64th Hunters Breakfast this club has held! It is an important fundraiser so we can continue to do good in our community and our world.
There is no trick to getting new members! Just treat your friends and coworkers to the Rotary Experience and they will be batty to join. Ask someone to a meeting this week!
We have an especially interesting structure in our district...we are multi-national and bilingual. Though this has its difficulties, the rewards of our close relationship with our Canadian Rotarian friends to the north, far outweighs the problems created by the language barrier and sheer geographical vastness of the district. Further, it exemplifies the spirit of Rotary....no boundaries separate Rotarians.
President Corina recently attended the Zone Institute in Toronto, Canada. One of the highlights was the presentation of a Rotary Foundation Polio Eradication Champion Award to the Canadian Prime Minister. We congratulate our Canadian neighbors.....it is an honor to work with them to make this world a better place. Read on to learn about this prestigious award.
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Dave Wollstadtt! With 53 seconds left in the game, Becca was sure to win. The Rams had the ball and were going nowhere. Then the 49ers intercepted a pass and ran it back for a TD and Dave snatched those $$ right out of his lovely daughter's hand .....it's all in the family!
-The Hunter's Breakfast is November 1st. All hands on deck!
The power of Rotary comes from our numbers. We are strong because we join together to get things done and make things happen. But the things we get done and make happen are very often the vision of a single person who believes it is viable and convinces the rest of us of its value.
-Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Scott Boucher! Our Assistant Governor Scott is personally quite passionate about the push to eradicate polio and has worked hard to support the cause in his Bangor Club, so it couldn't have happened to a nicer fella.
-Don't forget the next Makeup Social will be on Wednesday October 1st from 5:30 to 6:30p.m. at Kosta's Bar and Grill. Come enjoy the fellowship and bring family and friends along too! It's a fun way to do a makeup and a great way to introduce Rotary to others.
-And the Hunter's Breakfast is scheduled for November 1st. Further details to come so stay tuned.
-Old Town Riverfest is this weekend - September 26th and 27th. We are serving free ice cream on Friday night, a float in the parade Saturday morning, and a chicken BBQ on Saturday afternoon. Volunteers are always needed for everything - the more the merrier. In addition Linda will need a few volunteers on Friday evening to prep the food for the BBQ. This is a great way to Light Up Rotary in our community. It will also count as a makeup if you need one. So if you can spare some time, check in with President Corina to see where you might be able to help out.
-The Rotary Leadership Institute is on October 18th, from 7:30 to 3:30 at Lewiston-Auburn College. See the story below for more details....
Remember when you were a kid, how good it felt to have the teacher put a gold star on your collar?
That’s how a lot of us felt at the last meeting when Dave walked around sticking those ultra cool blue stickers on our name badges. What are they? And how can you get one? It couldn’t be more easy…..
-The monthly meeting of the Board of Directors is this Wednesday, September 17th at 5:30. Location to be determined.
-Congratulations to our first two winners of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Sandy Morin and Jim Dubay!
-GOLF TOURNAMENT: It's this weekend and we still need prizes and teams. Contact Dave Wollstadt with any help you can offer!!
-The next Makeup Social will be on Wednesday October 1st from 5:30 to 6:30p.m. at Kosta's Bar and Grill. Come enjoy the fellowship and bring family and friends along too! It's a fun way to do a makeup and a great way to introduce Rotary to others.
-The Hunter's Breakfast is scheduled for November 1st, and the Ad deadline is coming fast - October 12th. Further details to come so stay tuned.
-We will be participating in Old Town Riverfest again this year on September 26th and 27th: serving free ice cream on Friday night, a float in the parade Saturday morning, and a chicken BBQ on Saturday afternoon. Volunteers are needed for everything. In addition Linda will need a few volunteers on Friday evening to prep the food for the BBQ.
-The Rotary Leadership Institute is on October 18th, from 7:30 to 3:30 at Lewiston-Auburn College. See the story below for more details....
- Our first Makeup Social will be held on Tuesday September 2 at the Boomhouse Restaurant starting at 5:00 p.m. Just show up for some fun and fellowship!
- The annual Golf Tournament is approaching fast: September 20th. Needed: gifts for the participants (such as gift certificates to local restaurants), sponsors, and teams to play in the tournament. Please assist in any way you can and contact Dave Wollstadt with any questions and with any gifts, teams, sponsors you can gather.
- Old Town Riverfest is September 26-27. We want to participate but need volunteers!!!! We would like to do the Chili Cookoff again on Friday but desperately need someone to run the event. We also will be providing free ice cream Friday night, hoping to have a float in the parade Saturday morning, and we will be having the chicken BBQ Saturday afternoon. We will need helpers for all events to pull this off so please let President Corina know what you can do, especially if you would be willing to take on the Chili Cookoff!!!! Time is short to get everything ready but this is a great opportunity for a Community Service project and to Light up Rotary in our town.
- RYLA - well the deadline passed and we have only sponsored one person. We have the funds to sponsor two and if we can come up with one more, President Corina says she can still make it happen so wrack those brains and send her a candidate asap!!!
The meeting with the District Governor was awesome! DG Norman had a great message, interesting information, and lofty yet achievable goals to share with us.
This is the first installment of the four part series for New Generations Month. Click "read more" for a short introduction to this amazing program that changes lives of kids in our own communities.
In this month's The Rotarian magazine PRIP and current TRF Chair Ray Klinginsmith indicates that, although we can not of course know when the very last case of wild polio virus will occur, if we maintain our current momentum it could actually be within this Rotary year. How awesome is that!!!!!! It is exciting for newer members to be a part of this as it happens; it is super exciting for those long time members who have fought for decades to make it happen. We can't stop now.......we are truly on the verge of making history and it is all up to us.
With that in mind we have launched our Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle 2015. Once again we are having a little football fun this year to raise dollars for Polio Plus. You don't have to understand or like football to play. Just buy one or more squares on the football board for $10 a square. That locks in your square/squares for the whole season: each square has 17 chances to win Monday Night Football and you can win more than once. The board will be available for signing squares at each meeting until the first Monday night game of the season on September 14th or until the board is full. Contact Jane, Dave, or Sherrie with questions or to buy a square. Raising money for a great cause has never been more fun and it is even more fun knowing the end is within our reach if we just keep reaching!!!!
The RYLA registration deadline is fast approaching and we still need some candidates. Please read the RYLA story below and make submissions asap! It is our chance to change the life of some promising young people and give them an experience they will never forget.
Calling all bowlers: Bowling for Dollars is a go. More details will be coming next week, but in the meantime be sure you see Peter if you are interested in being on the Old Town Rotary team. It's a great opportunity for fun and we earn some cash for our club projects.
There is an Area 9 get-together with the District Governor coming up and President Corina will need a head count soon for those interested in attending. See the story below for details on the event.
It's RYLA time! Once again this year we have an amazing opportunity to change the lives of two special young people. Initiated 44 years ago, RYLA has become one of Rotary's most successful programs. Every year thousands of young people all over the world attend RYLA weekends designed to develop leadership skills in the leaders of tomorrow. We want to send two awardees so read the following for details and send all potential names to President Sandy. It is a fun and action packed weekend they will never forget!
and to those of you who made a tie dye t-shirt!
We wouldnāt be able to do what we do without your support!
Thank you to our fellow Rotarian, Chuck Major for hosting us. We had a great night!
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The dining area in the back of the tent was full around 6:45 a.m.
Marie Hanson, Dean of the College of Business and New England School of Communications at Husson University, spoke at our meeting on Thursday, Oct. 26, at the Elks Lodge in Old Town. Above, Marie (center) pauses for a photo with Joe Cyr (right) and Club President Doug Marchio. Joe is a trustee of Husson University..jpg)
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Club President Doug Marchio (left) inducts Tim Magoon (center) as a member of the Old Town Rotary Club. Looking on are David Mahan (second from left), membership chair for corporate/organizational members; Clair Shirley, former member Amos Orcutt, and official greeter Becca Wollstadt.
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By Åafak Alpay, RI director-elect and a member of the Rotary Club of Istanbul-Sisli, Turkey
This year's Charity Auction was another fun time and a great success. .png)
Every week since about February, you start hearing your president harping about District Conference. So what is it all about, anyway?
A fantastic time was had by all!
September is Basic Education and Literacy Month in Rotary. What a great start we had for the month with an awesome program this week: Literacy Volunteers of Bangor. Our speakers were Executive Director Mary Lyon and one of their students, Linda, who kept us spellbound with her inspiring story. Wrenching herself out of a miserable and abusive life born of her own illiteracy, she found in LVB an advocate and friend. It was hard work but she learned to read and has made a successful new life with her new husband and children. 
We make a lot of fuss and hoopla when we get new members and for good reason....we are thrilled to have them, we want them to know that, and we very much want them to feel welcome and to become involved because that is why people join Rotary: they want to be involved. August is Membership and New Club Development Month, and with that comes an emphasis on new members......but there is more to membership than finding new members....getting new members means much less if they don't stay in Rotary. All too often in our quest to bring new folks into the family of Rotary, we forget to appreciate those who have lived this committment for many, many years. We forget to acknowledge the lifetime of service that some of our members have given, holding onto their Rotarian spirit through the massive facelifts and growth of Rotary as it evolved to meet the demands of a world that was yanked into the technological age. 
On May 21, 2015 the Global Eagles were officially notified: they are the new kid on the block. Of course the announcement of their Rotary Charter was great news for them, but it is also great news for us because they are the hot new E-Club formed by dedicated long time Rotarians, and they are now open for business. 
- A special thanks to Clair for the great treat of fiddleheads at last week's meeting. We had cooked fiddleheads along with dinner and he also supplied bags of raw fiddleheads that he harvested in Milo for sale. AND he donated all the proceeds from the sold fiddleheads to Polio Plus! 
This past week OTR took to the road once again for one of our fabulous Road Trip meetings….but this time it had an awesome twist. We all met at Uno Pizzaria and Grill for a great meal and lots of fellowship. The twist? Well Uno will be donating 15% to 20% of the value of our meal checks to The Rotary Foundation!!!
Rotary is not a competition. We are all on the same team trying to make our world a better place starting with our own communities and extending to the farthest reaches of the earth. That said.....WE WON!!!! WOOHOO!!! 
We also were awarded the Governor's Citation AND were one of only four clubs in our district to receive the RI Presidential Citation.
-There will be a special treat at his week's meeting. Along with our usual supper Clair will be dishing up a super Maine spring delicacy - fiddleheads - cooked to perfection for just $1! 
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The Farmington Rotary Club’s Vidalia Onion Sale has begun!
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-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the meeting each week.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
-Remember to let President Corina know if you are not coming or if you are bringing guests to the next meeting.
Though the author of this poem is unknown, the poem itself was included in the collection of Joe Caulder who amassed a huge library of information in an attempt to preserve the first 50 years of Rotary. He attributed the poem to the Rotary Club of New York. It was reprinted in the February 1977 edition of The Rotarian, and in countless club newsletters and websites since then. The four large volumes of Rotary history collected by Joe were prepared in the 1950's and 1960's so the poem predates that time. But as you can see, it is clearly timeless.
-About $4,500 was raised for Sarah's House at the gift wrapping fundraiser in the mall! Megan sends her heartfelt thanks to every one who gave of their time and wrapping abilities (or lack thereof) for this great cause. 
Welcome to our newest members Gwen, David, and Cole! We are so pleased to have all of them join us. 
Congratulations to this week's winner of the Polio Plus Monday Night Football Raffle: Dave Wight! Kind of a fun week for Dave...won the football raffle, had a birthday, got to be the weekly program....If only I'd had a video camera to tape the happy dance for you!
Rotary is steeped in traditions. This week Old Town Rotary celebrated one of its oldest and finest traditions: the Hunter's Breakfast. For 64 years Old Town Rotarians have been dishing up vittles in the wee hours to honor an age old tradition of the beautiful state in which we live....hunting. From father to son, mother to daughter the tradition has passed, and likewise Rotarians have passed the spoon and spatula down from Rotarian to Rotarian through the years. Seeing the smiling faces of old timers and children alike makes it all worthwhile. Thanks to everyone who made this year's event a big success. The Hunter's Breakfast: a tradition for the generations. .jpg)
We have an especially interesting structure in our district...we are multi-national and bilingual. Though this has its difficulties, the rewards of our close relationship with our Canadian Rotarian friends to the north, far outweighs the problems created by the language barrier and sheer geographical vastness of the district. Further, it exemplifies the spirit of Rotary....no boundaries separate Rotarians.
.....it's all in the family!
- Our first Makeup Social will be held on Tuesday September 2 at the Boomhouse Restaurant starting at 5:00 p.m. Just show up for some fun and fellowship!
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