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Speakers
Mar 14, 2017
See you at St Patrick's Dinner event
Mar 21, 2017
Cumberland Woodbank
Mar 28, 2017
The Locker Project
Apr 04, 2017
Apr 11, 2017
Intercultural Community Center
Apr 18, 2017
No Meeting
Apr 25, 2017
Cuatros Cayos Guatemala Project Update
May 02, 2017
Gorham Village School Reading Volunteer Program
May 09, 2017
Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals
View entire list
Upcoming Events
Board Meeting
WRVC Conference Room
Mar 07, 2017
10:30 AM – 11:20 AM
 
St Patrick's Day Dinner
Westbrook Regional Vocational Center - Culinary Arts Dining Room
Mar 14, 2017
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
 
Patriots' Day Road Race
Riverbank Park
Apr 17, 2017
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
 
Rotary Links
Rotary International
RI President Home
About Rotary
Joining Rotary
Rotary History
Rotary Foundation
For New Members
Russell Hampton
National Awards Services Inc.
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ClubRunner
     The Four Way Test
      Of the things we think, say, or do:
            1. Is it the truth?
            2. Is it fair to all concerned?
            3. Will it build goodwill & better friendships?   
            4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
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Next Board Meeting of 2016-2017
3/7  10:30AM at WRVC
All members are welcome at Board Meetings
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Milestones
  • Ted Angel Birthday 2/16
  • Dan Willett Birthday 2/22
  • Rotary's Birthday 2/23 - 112 years!
  • Deb Shangraw Rotary Anniversary 3/1 - 2 years
  • Ted Rogers Rotary Anniversary 3/1 -3 years
  • Bruce Saunders Rotary Anniversary 3/1 - 31 years
  • Ted Rogers Birthday 3/5
  • Christine Johnson Birthday 3/8
Stories
Opportunities This Week
 
Donate to our Club's Charity through Amazon Smile – 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.
 
CLYNK for Literacy – Ongoing - Keep those cans and bottles coming! Drop off your filled CLYNK bag at any Hannaford. Thanks to those who have contributed bottles so far to help purchase books that we will donate for each speaker.  If you need more CLYNK bags, they will be available at our next meeting. 
 
District Literacy Project – Ongoing - We continue to need new or gently used children’s books (young readers and up to age 12, also books for older/elderly readers) to fill our distribution boxes at Westbrook Community Center, Stroudwater Food Pantry and Gorham Rec Center. Good sources of books include yard sales, Goodwill, and other thrift stores.  Also stores like Books A Million have "remainder" books.  Your generosity supporting literacy in our community is appreciated.
 
Accept the Foundation Challenge Match- The match challenge for donations made to the Rotary Foundation has been renewed for 2016-2017. The club will match any donation to the Rotary Foundation, dollar for dollar up to $100 in that member’s name.  For folks who newly sign up for Rotary Direct (automatic monthly payments from credit card or bank account) the club will add a one-time $25 donation to the Foundation.  If you have not yet made a donation in the 2016-2017 Rotary year, please consider accepting this challenge!! To donate on line, go to https://my.rotary.org/en/rotary-foundation
 
Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Turns 91
Westbrook-Gorham Rotary turns 91 on March 8, so we are retiring our 90th Anniversary logo.  
 
Our club was chartered on March 8, 1926.  1926 is the year that Henry Ford introduced the 40 hour work week,Walt Disney Studios was born, the first transatlantic telephone call was made, Robert Goddard launched the first (and second) liquid fuel rocket, NBC was created, Winnie the Pooh was released, and Harry Houdini was at the height of his fame. 
 
Thanks again to Jessie Jamison of Sebago Technics for creating this outstanding logo.  Start thinking about ideas for our 100th!!
Rotary Saving Lives in Guatemala
The Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club recently sponsored a District Grant project in Guatemala to equip Emergency First Responders with well-stocked Trauma Bags.
 
Westbrook Fire and Rescue Chief Andrew Turcotte, a Rotarian, headed up the acquisition of the bags. “Sometimes we take for granted the equipment that we have here in the United States,” Chief Turcotte commented, “but for other, non-industrialized nations access to this caliber of equipment is unheard of.”
 
Dr. Donald Van Nimwegen from Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis, MN conducted a training session instructing the EMT’s on the proper use of the equipment.  Rotarian Dr. Bill Chadwick, presented the bags to medical clinics in Montericco, Cuatro Cayos and to the Rio Dulce Fire and Rescue Department in Guatemala.
 
 
Two hours after receiving their bag a text and picture from Chief Juan Martinez of the Rio Dulce Fire Department was received showing a little boy who was hit by a car being securely transported using this equipment. “We saved a little boy tonight, thank you” wrote the Chief.
 
Project Addresses Lung Cancer in Women
The Westbrook-Gorham Rotary Club sponsored an International Project that will have a lasting impact on the health of the woman and children of Guatemala.   The project was to build twelve “ECO-STOVES” in the jungle village of Cuatro Cayos.  The women of the village cook over open fires inside of their homes.  They inhale creosote and smoke particles resulting in a 17% lung cancer mortality rate.  
 
“ECO-STOVES” feature an ingeniously simple design created from loose bricks, a metal plate and stovepipe.  The stoves’ chamber system creates outstanding heat on the cooking surface, and vents the deadly smoke outside of the home.  Dubbed Eco-stoves because of the 70% less wood requirements, these stoves are inexpensive and very efficient.  At a price of only $65 per stove, Eco-stoves are a low cost and effective health-care project.
 
“Another feature of these stoves is the reduced ambient temperature of the entire home.  With outside temperatures commonly passing one hundred degrees, the old fire pits generated indoor temperatures that were intolerable”, stated project leader and W-G Rotarian Bill Chadwick.
 
The stoves were built in conjunction with the Los Amates Rotary Club of Guatemala. Ten Rotarians spent three days teaching the villagers how to build, maintain and operate these stoves.   According to WG Rotarian Wayne Lopez, “The woman loved them! The old fire pits were removed causing some concern, but once the new stoves were fired up, the cooks were very happy!”     
 
Panamanian Heart Patients are Home
We are pleased to report that both 10-month old Angel Abrego Quiroz and almost 13-year old Jean Carlos Vasquez were cleared to return home to Panama on their scheduled flight early on February 17, 2017. The children and their mothers had arrived in a snow storm on January 7 for life-saving heart surgery at Maine Medical Center.   With some delays due to a virus for Angel and need for exploratory surgery for Jean Carlos, the two children came through their corrective heart operations on Feb 2 and 3 with flying colors.
 
  
Angel Abrego Quiroz (L) and Jean Carlos Vasques (R)
 
Gift of Life Albany provided funding that allowed these two children to come to Maine.  Gift of Life International, in partnership with COPA airlines, provided travel.  Gift of Life New England, Maine Medical Center, pediatric heart surgeons Drs Quinn and Mello, their staffs, Ronald McDonald House, and Westbrook-Gorham Rotary, with much help from other local Rotarians and friends, supported the children while there were here.
 
The children and their mothers at Logan Airport
on their way home to Panama
 
The children arrived back in Panama to a large welcoming committee of family, friends and local Rotarians. Jean Carlos is due to return to school on 3/6, the start of their school year in Panama. We expect that he will be back playing his beloved football (soccer) in a few months.
 
 
Jean Carlos and Maricruz with Tom Ford of Gift of Life (L)
Angel and Itzy with dad Eduardo and big sister (R)
 
For a complete photo gallery of their journey, go to: http://westbrookgorhamrotary.org/PhotoAlbums/gift-of-life-2017
 
 
The Transformation Project Comes to Westbrook
Ken Hawley, President of The Transformation Project (TTP), was our guest and speaker on January 31, 2017. Ken spoke about the great work being done with young people in "lock up" at Longcreek Development Center, a youth incarceration center that has been around for about 150 years.  Kids can respond well while at the center, but struggle with transition back into the community.
 
TTP represents a new concept, a transitional opportunity. It is a 501(c)3 that will be located at 907 Main St in Westbrook in a building purchased by a generous donor. They had been looking for a place for about 9 years, when Abigail Cioffi of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition introduced them to the building.  The plan is to establish a cafe and event space in which transitioning youth can work. Those chosen to work there must have reached a require level of rehabilitation.  There will be apartments upstairs for up to 8 kids who are ready to be in the community, along with two house parents. 
 
DJ's Cafe is being named after a promising young man that Ken knew at Longcreek. Upon his release, he fell back into his old circumstances and was eventually shot and killed.  The popularity of the culinary arts program at Longcreek makes this an ideal program to interest and engage the young people it will serve.  TTP will provide accountability, structure and opportunity for youth transitioning back into the community.
 
TTP has had donations of restaurant equipment, and many local professionals have donated their time and talents.   At this point, they need to get the café up and running and finish the upstairs living space, including furnishing bedrooms, bathrooms, and the residential kitchen.  If you would like to find out how you can help, go to their website:  http://www.thetransformationproject.org/
 
Phil Spiller (R) introduced Ken Hawley (L)
 
Upcoming District & Rotary International Dates
 
Interact/New Generations Conference - March 25, 2017 8AM-2PM Scarborough High School - Rotarians welcome $15 - Sign up at District website http://rotary7780.org/event/interact-new-generations-conference/
 
District Training Assembly - April 8, 2017 at USM Hannaford Hall.  All Club Officers are encouraged to attend, and there will be special sessions for Presdidents-Elect, Secretaries, Foundation Chairs, Grants administration and more. $25 Sign up at District website http://rotary7780.org/event/copy-of-district-training-assembly--usm/
 
2017 District Conference - May 19-21, 2017- Samoset Resort, Rockport ME. For more information and to sign up: http://rotary7780.org/event/copy-of-district-training-assembly--usm/
 
2017 International Convention - June 10-17, 2017 - Atlanta GA - Georgia World Congress Center - http://www.rotaryconvention2017.org 
 
District Changeover Ceremony - Camp Hinds in Raymond - 5-10PM - The changeover ceremony will be followed by supper and the RYLA graduation ceremony
 
Speaker Assignment List
We have been receiving many requests to provide programs this year so have not assigned members to specific weeks as we have done in the past.  
 
If you have an idea for a program, please contact Christine Johnson.  We are currently seeking programs for late April and looking into May and June. 
 
Here is the list of upcoming dates with speakers and their sponsors:
  • 3/7- Club Assembly
  • 3/14 - St Patrick's Day Evening meal - No lunch meeting
  • 3/21 - Ethan Johnson - Bruce Wildes from the Cumberland Woodbank
  • 3/28 - Christine Johnson - Katie Brown, Executive Director - The Locker Project
  • 4/4  -  New Member Induction
  • 4/11 - No School - No Meeting
  • 4/18 - See you at the Road Race on 4/17 - No Meeting
  • 4/25 - Bill Chadwick- Cuatros Cayos Guatemala Project Update
  • 5/2   - Kate Wight - Jacquie Lortie - Gorham Village School
  • 5/9   - Jason Beever - Meris Bickford Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals
  • 5/16 - TBD
  • 5/23 - TBD
  • 5/30 - TBD
  • 6/6   - David S. Nealley- Publisher MAINE SENIORS Magazine
  • 6/13 - TBD
  • 6/20 - TBD
  • 6/27 - Changeover Ceremony
 
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Missed a Meeting?   Make up online at Rotary E-Club One
 
Or at one of these other local clubs in our area:
 
Portland - Fridays 12:15PM at Holiday Inn by the Bay or Clarion
check website for current week's venue
 
Portland Sunrise - Thursdays 7:15AM
Cumberland Club 116 High St Portland
 
Falmouth - Mondays 4:30PM
American Legion Post  65 Depot Rd Falmouth
 
Scarborough - Tuesdays 5:45PM
Cabela's 100 Cabela's Blvd Scarborough
 
Sebago Lake Rotary Club - Thursdays 12:15PM 
Dena's Lobster House & Tavern 765 Roosevelt Trail Windham
 
OR you can always claim a make up by attending Rotary-sponsored events of our club or other clubs like fundraisers, selling Christmas Trees, by volunteering at our Golf Tournament or our Road Race, or by attending District events or training. Just let our Secretary Mike Foley know when you have participated in any of these activities at mfoley@me.com
 
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