The 5th Annual Southern Maine Cornhole Invitational was held on Saturday October 26 at the Gorham Sports Complex. A record 63 two-person teams competed for cash in the winning bracket (or beer in the consolation bracket). In addition, the tournament planning team was able to sell 10 Leader Board sponsors, a new component of the event this year. The Leader Board sponsors included: Desmond & Rand, Stroudwater Title, Hops & Vine, Elaine Spiller (Spiller for Mayor), Gorham House of Pizza, and Gorham Savings Bank.
During registration, each team picked a fun name for their team like Rotary Rockers, Team X, Guacahole, Four Baggers, Airmail, and Stuff that Hole. The event kicked off at 1PM with “pool play” in which all teams played each of three other teams in their randomly assigned “pool”. Based on those results, the teams moved on to “tournament play” with the winning teams from pool play competing for a cash prize in the “cash bracket” and the less successful teams from pool play competing for beer in the “beer bracket”. The winning team, Stuff that Hole, took home $400 and bragging rights. Alas, Steve Rand and Bill Chadwick, our Rotary Rockers, landed in the beer bracket and fell out of competition early.
Thanks go to many businesses and individuals who made the event a great success: Ethan Johnson, Steve Rand, and Aaron Paiton (among several others from GBE) for picking up and transporting cornhole boards purchased in previous years to be sure we had enough boards to support the competition; Bill Chadwick and Christine Johnson who sold raffle tickets for cash and prizes, bringing in a new record of $220; Allagash brewing for donating beer (and Ethan for transporting it); Gorham House of Pizza (and George Sotiropoulos) for donating pizza; David Willis for keeping the brackets and competition organized and running smoothly; Craig Belhumeur for website management, on-line registrations, photography, and digital support; and to Gorham Sports complex for a great rental rate and loosening some of their rules.
Finally, a huge thank you to everyone at the Gorham Business Exchange for bringing in Westbrook-Gorham Rotary as their partner again this year. A fun event!
If you have an idea for a speaker or program,look for a sign-up sheet and an upcoming meeting or contact Christine Johnson at cejinmaine@gmail.com or Phil Spiller at pdsflynavy@gmail.com .
We are also interested in ideas for service projects in lieu of meetings, or in-meeting service projects.
The following lunch dates are available for YOUR program. Sign up today!!
This week! Rotary Night Out - Sebago Brewing - Tuesday Oct 29 5:30PM. 616 Main St, Gorham. Invite your friends and colleagues to join us for a social night out at Sebago Brewing's Tasting Room. Light appetizers. Cash bar.
Veterans' Appreciation Lunch - Friday November 8, 2019 - Portland Rotary will be hosting its 5th Annual Veterans' Appreciation Luncheon on Friday, November 8, 2019, 12:00 noon at the Seasons Event & Conference Center at the Ramada Plaza, 155 Riverside St, Portland, Maine. Veterans free, others $25. Registration required. For complete information, go to the Portland Rotary Club website at portlandrotary.org and on the right side, click on Veterans' Appreciation Lunch or click HERE.
Westbrook's Veterans Day Celebration - Monday November 11, 2019. Ceremonies at Riverbank Park 11AM to honor all veterans. Celebration at American Legion Post 197, 300 Conant Street following the ceremony.
Dirigo Kids Annual Toys for Tots Fundraiser – Friday December 6, 2019. 5:30PM Italian Heritage Center, 40 Westland Ave, Portland. $65 per person/$500 per table. Sponsorship opportunities. Visit: https://dirigokids.com/
Annual Christmas Party - Tuesday evening December 10, 2019. 5:30PM at the home of Judith & Ed Reidman, 7 Enchanted Lane, Westbrook, ME. More details to follow.
Festival of Trees Tips for Charity Luncheon - Friday December 13, 2019 11:30 or 12:30 - We'll have our Rotary table again this year. Watch here for tickets to become available.
The Locker Project - TLP will be returning to Westbrook High School, 125 Stroundwater St, Westbrook, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month, with some exceptions due to holidays. Arrive by 1PM for set up. Done by about 2PM after clean up. Check in and out at the front office. Upcoming dates include Oct 30, Nov 13, and Dec 11. An additional date may be added in Nov and/or Dec as we get closer. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Christine Johnson.
Winter Gear Drive for Westbrook Schools – During the month of November, we’ll be collecting winter gear for kids. Hats, mittens, boots and coats for all ages. Scarves for older kids. Collected at meetings: Nov 5, 12 and 19.
Reading Friends - Read weekly with 1st or 2nd graders at Gorham's Village School, 12 Robie St, Gorham. Starting immediately. From about 9-10AM on a weekday morning of your choice. Some opportunities may be available for a later reading time. Even if you can only commit to a few weeks in the fall, winter or spring, consider joining this important work for literacy. If interested, contact Christine Johnson. Registration and a basic background check are required. Go to this link to register: Reading Friends Volunteer Form Village School Gorham for "child's name" enter Rotary Volunteer, under Teacher select "other" and enter "Reading Volunteer".
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.
Volunteer at Preble St – Register as a volunteer then select as few or as many volunteer shifts as you want. These can be working in the Receiving Center accepting, sorting and stocking donations; helping prepare and/or serve breakfast, lunch or dinner; sorting or distributing food pantry items; or other activities listed on the volunteer page. For more information and to learn how to register as a volunteer: https://www.preblestreet.org/you-can-help/volunteer/
.jpg)
The 5th Annual Southern Maine Cornhole Invitational was held on Saturday October 26 at the Gorham Sports Complex. A record 63 two-person teams competed for cash in the winning bracket (or beer in the consolation bracket). In addition, the tournament planning team was able to sell 10 Leader Board sponsors, a new component of the event this year. The Leader Board sponsors included: Desmond & Rand, Stroudwater Title, Hops & Vine, Elaine Spiller (Spiller for Mayor), Gorham House of Pizza, and Gorham Savings Bank.
the teams moved on to “tournament play” with the winning teams from pool play competing for a cash prize in the “cash bracket” and the less successful teams from pool play competing for beer in the “beer bracket”. The winning team, Stuff that Hole, took home $400 and bragging rights. Alas, Steve Rand and Bill Chadwick, our Rotary Rockers, landed in the beer bracket and fell out of competition early.
Thanks go to many businesses and individuals who made the event a great success: Ethan Johnson, Steve Rand, and Aaron Paiton (among several others from GBE) for picking up and transporting cornhole boards purchased in previous years to be sure we had enough boards to support the competition; Bill Chadwick and Christine Johnson who sold raffle tickets for cash and prizes, bringing in a new record of $220; Allagash brewing for donating beer (and Ethan for transporting it); Gorham House of Pizza (and George Sotiropoulos) for donating pizza; David Willis for keeping the brackets and competition organized and running smoothly; Craig Belhumeur for website management, on-line registrations, photography, and digital support; and to Gorham Sports complex for a great rental rate and loosening some of their rules..jpg?_=637079208044433822)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.png)