22nd Annual Gorham Business Exchange Marketplace – This Week!! Saturday March 30, 2019, 10AM-3PM. Visit and support local businesses. Admission is free. There will be about 80 booths representing all kinds of businesses who provide products and services to the people and businesses of Gorham. Lots of entertainment including bounce houses and games for the kids. Food court supplied by local businesses. If you’d like to register your business as a vendor, go to: Gorham Biz Exchange 22nd Annual Marketplace
Rotary Night Out - Our next Rotary Night out will be May 21 starting at 5:30 PM. Mister Bagel 609 Main St, Westbrook. Members $10. Cash bar. Program TBD. Note: Week of April 15 is our annual Road Race so no meeting that week.
WRVC Awards Ceremony - Thursday May 23, 2019. 7PM Westbrook HIgh School Auditorium
RYLA Registration – Sunday June 23 starting at 8:30AM. Camp Hinds, Raymond. Volunteers needed to help with registration and collecting forms as students arrive. For more information contact: Phil Giordano at Philtastic7780@gmail.com
Westbrook Strong 5K and Matt's Mile Kid's Fun Run - Saturday July 13, 2019. Riverbank Park. Run, sponsor or donate. This race is in memory of Matthew Rairdon who's life was tragically taken in November 2013. Proceeds benefit nursing scholarships. For more information: https://runsignup.com/Race/ME/Westbrook/2ndAnnualWestbrookStrong5KandMattsMileKidsFunRun
Locker Project Fresh Food Distribution – In this school year, produce distributions at Westbrook High School will take place the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month with additional days as needed: Mar 27, Apr 10 & 24, May 8 & 22 and June 12. Any date changes will be announced in the Scribbler. Arrive around 12:45 PM depart by 2:15 PM, unless otherwise noted. Help lay out food on tables and interact with the kids to encourage them to take items. Everyone is invited to bring food home with them. If you can help on any of these dates, please contact Christine Johnson. For more information, or to donate, visit their website: mainelockerproject.org
Community Celebration & Fundraiser - Benefit Kenny Reed, a 3rd grade student at Narragansett School who is fighting a rare form of childhood cancer. Sunday March 31, 1:30-3:30, Gorham Sports Center, 215 Narragansett Ave, Gorham. Auctions, Raffles, Face Paint, Bounce house, and more.
Update Bob Marley Fundraiser for Altrusa - Wednesday May 8, 2019, 7PM at Keeley’s Banquet Center, Warren Ave, Portland. $25 General Admission. See Christine Johnson for tickets or purchase at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bob-marley-performs-to-benefit-altrusa-tickets-58293228616
On the evening of Tuesday March 19, we welcomed 37 Rotarians and guests to our winter dinner at WRVC. On the final night of winter, Chef Limoggio and his students served a wonderful meal that started with fruit & cheese platters, crackers and punch while a Westbrook High School jazz combo played. After dinner, we invited three groups of students to share a bit about their programs and activities.
Our first speakers were five students from Gorham High School Interact Club. President Sarah Walker told us about projects they have worked on so far this school year. These projects include Yoga Day – a fun activity for the whole club; participating in United Way Day of Caring; traveling to Rotary UN Day in NYC; caroling at a local nursing home; decorating a tree at the Westbrook Warren Church Festival of Trees; and collecting donations for Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Most recently, they helped set up chairs for Offer Wayne “Pooch” Drown’s funeral. Coming up, they will be building at Habitat for Humanity in Scarborough, collecting dog toys for Helping Paws and running a American Red Cross Relay for Life event. The club currently has about 130 members made up of a fairly even mix of boys and girls. The club tracks participation of all members by logging their service hours.
Sarah Walker, Sam Pocok, Carson Battaglia,
Jillian Nichols and Cooper Lyons
Our second group of speakers represented the Electrical and Building Trades programs at WRVC. The students mentioned having family members in the trades as a reason they became interested in the program. Kobie Spruce and Nick Gray mentioned a desire to own their own businesses one day. Devon Sargant is one of a few girls in the program. Peter Wilson, Electrical Instructor, told us that he has 18 tech 1s this year, and almost as many on the waiting list - a large rebound from just a couple of years ago. Students in their second year can earn 3 to 6 college credits. They can also leave the program with many certifications that they can put to use in a highly competitive job market. These three students recently participated in the SkillsUSA Maine conference in Bangor, along with 23 of their classmates from multiple programs. This is an annual event that was attended by 850 students in 81 programs from schools across the state who competed in a wide range of skills championships as well as leadership activities. The WRVC team received several medals and championships across disciplines including Crime Scene Investigation, Early Childhood Education, Medical Terminology, Heavy Equipment Operation, and Automotive Service Technology, among many others.
Devon Sargent, Kobie Spruce, Nick Gray and Peter Wilson
Our final group of speakers represented the Business and Marketing programs and attend the dinner with their teacher Bob Radley. Elizabeth Ryder is Co-President of the FBLA chapter and recently had returned from a state conference. Kaleb Gower and Christian Dubuc participate in DECA, a program that develops marketing and leadership skills. They also had recently returned from placing well in State competition and will be traveling to Nationals in Orlando FL in April. The competition consists of role-playing workshops, as well as oral and written testing. Areas of competition include marketing, spreadsheet analysis, entrepreneurship and quick service. It costs about $1300 per student to travel to Nationals and they will be conducting a variety of fundraising efforts with bottle drives and candy sales. Proceeds from the school store are also earmarked for this trip.
You join the Bequest Society when you give $10,000 or more via your estate plans. Bequest Society members are recognized with an engraved crystal recognition piece (if selected) and a Bequest Society pin. Recognition items commemorate giving at these levels:
Level 1: $10,000 to $24,999
Level 2: $25,000 to $49,999
Level 3: $50,000 to $99,999
Level 4: $100,000 to $249,999
Level 5: $250,000 to $499,999
Level 6: $500,000 to $999,999
Level 7: $1,000,000 to $2,499,999
Level 8: $2,500,000 to $4,999,999
Level 9: $5,000,000 to $9,999,999
Level 10: $10,000,000 and above
You become a Benefactor when you include the Endowment Fund as a beneficiary in your estate plans or when you donate $1,000 or more to the fund outright. Benefactors receive a certificate and insignia to wear with a Rotary or Paul Harris Fellow pin.
District Training Assembly - Saturday April 6, 2019. 8AM-1PM. York County Community College. Join your club members and form a car pool to attend this annual opportunity to learn with Rotarians from across District 7780. Club will pay the $20 registration fee. Sign up at: https://rotary7780.org/event/district-training-assembly/
Rotary Leadership Institute – Saturday April 20, 8Am-3:30PM, York County Community College, 112 College Dr, Wells. Parts I, II, III and Graduate available. Recommended for all Rotarians, but especially for those considering leadership positions. If you 'd like to attend, the club may pay the registration fee. Talk to club President. For more information and to register: www.rlinea.org
Rotary Fest (AKA District Conference) - Friday-Saturday June 21-22, 2019 - Fort Williams, Park Cape Elizabeth. Friday service project and cook out for volunteers. Saturday packed with fun and educational events for adults and kids, and another service project opportunity. DG John and the Planning Committee are working hard to make this a free event for all. Watch for more details.
District Changeover - Tuesday June 25. Camp Hinds. More details to come.
For listing of all District-wide events, visit: https://rotary7780.org/events/calendar
Children's Books for Pantries - We continue to supply new and gently used children's books to food pantries about every two weeks. We have been fortunate to obtain a regular supply of used books from Goodwill Buy the Pound. We also periodically obtain new books from a couple of sources at little cost. However, the need is always greater than the supply. If you, a family member, friend or colleague have children or grandchildren who have outgrown their books, we'd love to have them to share with children who will love them. All ages from babies to young teens. We can also always use large print books for older readers. Bring to any club meeting or contact Christine Johnson for pick up.
Can Tabs for Ronald McDonald House - Thank you for continuing to collect can tabs.It's and easy way to help a wonderful organization! Just keep a small plastic bag or small jar in your kitchen, on the counter or in a drawer. As you go to toss your returnable can into your CLYNK bag, simply twist off the tab first.
CLYNK for Literacy - Ongoing - Don't forget to keep filling those bags to help fund the children's books we ask our speakers to sign for the Baxter and Walker Libraries. Extra bags are always available at our meetings. If you have been working on filling a bag for a very long time (6 months or more), please consider returning it and starting a new one. Thank you for your ongoing support of this fundraiser!
Donate to our Club's Charity through Amazon Smile – Ongoing - If you order items from Amazon.com, even if not very often, you can help Westbrook Gorham Rotary Club Charities. Go to http://smile.amazon.com/. Search for our Charity and select it. You may need to login to your Amazon account before being able to finalize your selection. Then, when you shop Amazon.com (always starting from http://smile.amazon.com/) a portion of every purchase will be donated to our charity.
If you have an idea for a speaker or program, please contact Christine Johnson at cejinmaine@gmail.com or Phil Spiller at pdsflynavy@gmail.com . We are also interested in ideas for periodic evening meetings, service projects in lieu of meetings, or in-meeting service projects
We are now scheduling programs for April and May.
Here is the list of upcoming speakers and programs:
* 3/26 - Rebecca Hobbs Exec Director - Through These Doors
* 4/2 - Club Assembly
* 4/9 - Sheila Rollins - Rotaract in Puerto Rico
* 4/16 - No lunch meeting. See you at the Road Race on 4/15
* 4/23 - TBD
* 4/30 - Eliza Kenigsberg - Community Career Coordinator GHS
* 5/7 - TBD
* 5/14 - Alicia Milne - Dev Director Ronald McDonald House