Ethan Johnson is Account Executive at Chalmers Insurance Group in Gorham. He previously worked for UNUM and Norton Insurance. He holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Southern Maine and is a 1998 graduate of Westbrook High School. He is involved with the Maine Real Estate and Development Association, the Maine Insurance Agents Association - Maine Young Agents Committee Member, and Gorham Business Exchange.

 

In his LinkedIn profile, he states that he is in the insurance business because he has a passion for helping people. He has over 14 years of experience in the insurance industry and specializes in Commercial Risk Management & Insurance. He was honored to be the recipient of the 2012 Maine Young Agent of the Year Award from the Maine Insurance Agents Association. His insurance designations include Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS).

 

He and his wife moved to Gorham in December 2015 with their two young children – daughter Mia age 4 and son Robbie age 6 months.  He is a sports enthusiast.  He is sponsored by Jason Beever.

 

 

On May 26, Past-President and longtime club member Patricia Plummer presented $15,000 worth of scholarships and toolships to students of the Westbrook Regional Vocational Center at their annual awards night. The scholarships are generated from proceeds of the House Project, a partnership between the club and the school where students build houses and Westbrook-Gorham Rotary purchases the land & building materials and markets the house. This program has been in place since 1958! Congratulations to all the students and especially to those receiving awards.

 

Congratulations to Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club member Henry Saunders.  At his first meeting after his return from Florida, via Texas, he was recognized with the prestigious Paul Harris Award.  He recently achieved PHF+2.

 

 

Paul Harris Fellow recognition is given to individuals who contribute $1,000 or more cumulatively to the Rotary Foundation. Multiple Paul Harris Fellow recognition is given at subsequent $1,000 levels.

 

Henry has been a longtime supporter of the Rotary Foundation, honoring both his brother Don and his late wife Marjorie with Paul Harris Fellows in past years. His chief area of interest has been the eradication of polio around the world.  During the presentation, he spoke about the scourge of polio that he witnessed as a child. How it impacted friends, neighbors, and fellow students. It was even dangerous to swim at the Cornelia Warren pool, then located at the edge of the Presumpscot River.

 

Thanks to Henry for supporting the great work of our Foundation.  We have never been closer to the complete eradication of polio.

 

Jeff and Kiersten Malloy are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Peighton Evelyn Malloy.  She was born on Mother’s day 5/8/16 weighing 6 pounds 13 ounces. 

 

Congratulations to the whole family!!

 

 

On May 24, President-Elect Jason Beever and Vice President Bill Chadwick signed our District Grant proposal.  The project proposes to bring sustainable health care to the roughly 800 indigenous people in the villages of the Cuatro Cayos region of Guatemala through the purchase of a Bell Portable Dental Surgery Unit and a Medical Trauma Bag complete with supplies.

 

This project builds on the previous work of Wayne Lopez, Bill Chadwick and many others from the Stroudwater Christian Church, and the relationships they have built with local people and organizations.  In fact, Bill was instrumental in the forming of a new Rotary Club in the area with which we propose to work, Los Ametes Rotary Club #81824, Guatemala. 

 

We are hopeful that our proposal will be accepted and funded for about $9800. If funded, the work will take place in February 2017.

 

Westbrook Fire Fighter and Paramedic, Brandon Brichetto was our guest and speaker on May 24. Brandon grew up in Prides Corner and is a graduate of Westbrook High School 2012.  He is currently a student at USM studying Therapeutic Recreation and lives in Gorham.

 

Brandon was referred to Camp Susan Curtis (CSC) in 2005 by a guidance counselor.  He was 10 years old, a normal age for a first referral to CSC.  He returned every year after that. He made many close friendships, including 3 girls who are like sisters and with whom he still keeps in contact regularly.

 

Before Brandon attended CSC, he skipped school a lot and was heading down a bad path. He recalled an exercise during which the campers were asked “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” He decided he wanted to help people. He began to focus on school and find opportunities to learn and grow in the medical field. This led to his current job and career.

 

L-R: Terri Mulks - Camp Director 

Brandon Brichetto- Westbrook Fire Fighter/Paramedic

Christine Johnson - W-G Rotary President

 

Camp Susan Curtis is located on 100 conservation acres on Trout Lake, the upper-most lake in the Kezar Lake Watershed. Students must be referred to the camp, which is focused on economically disadvantaged kids. CSC servea kids from all 16 Maine counties, using about 275 referral sources across the state. They see about 500 campers each summer, with 125-140 attending each of four 2-week sessions. The camp provides structure and skills for life in leadership and communications and costs about $1200 per camper for each 2-week session.  The great news is that kids who attend at least 4 years of camp have a 99% high school graduation rate.

 

Brandon has continued to stay connected to Camp Susan Curtis, returning as a staff member each year. He told us he likes to keep busy, and sure will be busy this summer balancing camp and work!