Phil is a long time Westbrook resident and WHS graduate, class of 1991.  He graduated from Cornell University with Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Management and served 10 years of active duty in the Navy.  During his time as a Captain and Pilot in the Navy, he served as an Aircraft Commander, Mission Commander and Pilot Instructor.  After leaving active duty, he continued in the Navy reserves while working as Captain for Jet Blue.  

 

He told us that his community involvement really got started about 2 years ago with the 25^th anniversary of the sister city program.  Phil’s father, Phil Spiller Sr, was instrumental in the creation of this partnership in 1987 between Greater Portland and Archangel Russia.  Since then, he has become involved with Westbrook’s downtown coalition network, MPTC Board, Westbrook Together Days Organizing Committee, Cornelia Warren Courts renovation, Westbrook Historical Society, and the 10 year sustainability board for the Jetport.  He is a local Cornell Ambassador and a member of American Legion Post 62 on Dunn St.  Also, he is an advocate for the Portland Boxing Club, of which Jet Blue is a sponsor at the Portland Expo.

 

Phil has been a Pilot for Jet Blue for 10 years and is based in Boston. He can work 12-18 days a month, with many layovers not in New England. He told us about two hot button issues in the airline industry today. The first is laser strikes.  Through October 2015, there were over 5300 laser strikes on domestic aircraft in the US.  This is a serious offense that can blind pilots and endanger passengers.  Anyone caught can face up to a $250K find and up to 20 years in jail. The second issue is the proliferation of drones. While drones must now be registered, the increasing popularity of these recreational devices could pose a hazard to commercial aircraft.

 

The Club thanks Phil for his service and is pleased that he has added Rotary to the list of his community activities.

We are pleased to announce that the IRS has approved our new non-profit entity, WESTBROOK GORHAM ROTARY CLUB CHARITIES.  Our Treasurer, Bill Gowen, will share more details at our next Club Assembly on February 2. 

 

Thanks to all who worked so hard on this for so long. Particular thanks go out to Judith Reidman and Bill Gowen.

This month’s District “What’s Your Story?” theme is Community Service.  If we submit a story about our club’s involvement in this area of focus, our club’s name will go into a drawing to win two free tickets to the District Conference.  This month’s deadline for submission is January 31st.  Stories should be 1 or 2 paragraphs. Pictures are a plus!    Please let Christine know if you’d like to write a story.  We can write about anything we are involved with locally.  Two potential ideas are the House Project and our involvement with MPTC.

The Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club cordially invites you to join its members for breakfast on January 21, 2016 at 7:15 a.m. at Above and Beyond Catering at the Town Club, 6 Washington St, Sanford, ME.  The speaker will be TRAVIS MILLS (Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant of the 82^nd Airborne) who will share his inspiring story.

 

There is limited space.  RSVP to Elias Thomas – ethomas@metrocast.net  before January 15^th .

$12.00 per person (Checks payable to Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club).

2/1/2016 - Mid-Year District Dinner at Fireside Inn

5:30-8:30PM  $35

Club Presidents, Presidents-Elect, and Vice Presidents should be sure to attend. Others welcome.

 

2/20/2016 - World Peace and Understanding Dinner at Marriott Sable Oaks

Cocktails 5:30  Dinner 6:30  $45

Francesca Giovannini will be the speaker.  Francesca is a program officer and staff director for global security and international affairs for the International Security and Energy Program at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Boston.  Her work focuses on nuclear disarmament, arms control and regional nuclear cooperation in Southeast Asia.

 

3/19/2016 - Rotary Leadership Institute - York County Community College, Wells ME - Info at http://www.rlinea.org/

 

4/2/2016 – District Assembly at University of Southern Maine.

 

6/10-6/12/2016 – District Conference at Tarry-A-While Resort, Bridgeton

The speaker assignment list has been posted on our website. Look under Site Pages, Program Assignments. Please let Christine Johnson know as soon as you can once you have secured a speaker or if you need help securing a speaker.

 

Dates in January are just around the corner and we'd like to have these slots filled before the next Scribbler is published.  Thanks for your assistance in providing a great mix of interesting programs for our meetings.

 

Here is the list for the first quarter: