The Editor is always looking for more and diverse content for our newsletter. Current sources include word-of-mouth, FaceBook posts and events, District Newsletter, and District website. 

 

If you have a fundraiser, volunteer opportunity, or know of things happening in our community that you think other Rotarians might be interested in, please send details in a short write-up to Christine at cejinmaine@gmail.com.

First Rotary Night Out - Tuesday August 28, 2018. 5:30PM. In place of our usual lunch meeting, join us for an evening at Westbrook Common (also known as Blue Note Park) in the heart of Downtown Westbrook.  Pizza on us to celebrate our first "Night Out"!! Friends, spouses and perspective members welcome. Henry Saunders will be giving a short talk on Westbrook Urban Renewal.

 

4th Annual Southern Maine Cornhole Invitational - Saturday October 13, 2018 1-6PM.  At Gorham Sports Center. Benefit for Gorham Business Exchange. Sponsor a board or enter a team. Watch for updates on their Facebook Event at: https://www.facebook.com/events/508241312938195/ 

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.

This year, President Deb Shangraw has asked us to try something new – something many other Rotary Clubs around the world are trying. Some clubs are meeting only 2 or 3 times a month, and are offering hands-on service projects in the place of the extra meeting(s).  Other clubs are choosing one night a month or one night periodically to hold a meeting at a different time or in a different place.  

 

After looking in detail at the calendar for the coming year, beginning in October we’ll hold an evening meeting on the THIRD Tuesday of the month with start time at 5:30PM. Note that in August, we’ll still meet on August 28^th (the fourth Tuesday) as previously announced.  In September, we will NOT have an evening meeting as the third Tuesday falls on our Golf Tournament day.

 

By choosing the third Tuesday, we'll actually be adding a meeting to our calendar by getting together during the February school break – a week we usually take off.  In December, we'll have our annual Christmas Party, in April we have the annual Road Race, and in July we have our annual Lobster Bake.  In March, we’ll plan our usual evening at the WRVC.  With these dates shown below, we will be changing only 6 meetings from lunch time to evening over the course of the year beyond what we have done in past years.

 

For the 2018-2019 Year, these are the plans for alternate meetings:

Hope to see you at these evening meetings and outside events. Programming for each Rotary Night Out TBD as each date draws closer.

* Thank You Notes - Deb passed around several thank you notes from students.  See story below.

 

* Rotary Night Out – August 28, 5:30PM at Westbrook Common. Our first evening meeting. Here’s a chance to invite a friend to join us in a casual setting.

 

* Publicity – Deb is looking for someone to take point on publicity for our club. This includes writing up a short press release each week on our speaker, on a fundraiser, or other topic of your choice and sending it to the American Journal.   If you are interested, please contact Deb or talk to her at an upcoming meeting.

 

* Treasurer Changes – We are sorry to report that Bill Gowen has stepped down as Treasurer and has also left the club. Mike Foley, who has experience as a book keeper for several local businesses, has agreed to step in. He has moved our accounts to Quick Books on line which will provide quicker access to reports and enhanced checks and balances on our accounts.  We also expect to have improved project reporting with near-real-time status.

 

* Lobster Bake – We are pleased to report that we made a small profit on our Lobster Bake again this year. While the Lobster Bake is not strictly set up to make a profit, this extra cash helps us cover our meal costs at WRVC so we can pay for our speakers and guests each week.

 

* Golf Tournament – Last year was a record year with 40 hole sponsors and 15 teams.  We are shooting for a similar number of sponsors this year and 16 or more teams. We are on track with 7 teams and 10 hole sponsors signed up so far. Deb asks each member to go after a hole sponsor, a major sponsor and/or a team; or purchase a gift card or provide a golf-related item for the raffle. Brochures will be available at each meeting.  You can also download a copy at Annual Rotary Classic Brochure 2018 Please note, if a sponsor is listed on our “thank you” list on the back of the brochure, they will already be contacted this year. 

 

* Food Drive – On Saturday August 18.  Set up 9AM.  Volunteers needed for any amount of time you have available that day.

We periodically receive thank you notes from students awarded scholarships and from students who have attended RYLA, among others.  Here is a sampling of recent notes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ll be reading with students again in the new school year, probably starting in October.  Even if you are only available for a few weeks, we hope you will give it a try.  The kids and the schools are very appreciative and the experience is very rewarding. 

 

Reading Friends is our program at Village School in Gorham. We ask that you commit to one day a week from about 8:50-9:50 on a weekday morning of your choice.  You will be assigned up to 3 students in either 1^st or 2^nd Grade who will read to you for about 15 minutes each. 

 

Read with Me is the Westbrook initiative to provide a reading mentor to every Kindergarten and 1^st grade student. This initiative is a partnership that includes United Way, Kiwanis, Rotary, and other Community volunteers. You will be paired with two students with whom you will read 15-20 minutes each. Depending upon the needs of the student, you may read to them or they may read to you, or some combination during their assigned time.

 

In both school systems, the teacher will provide the books. You can read for a few weeks at a time or commit for the year. Also, two people can volunteer to read on alternate weeks or split weeks however they wish.  Why not bring a co-worker, spouse of friend to read too? We want to make it easy and fun to volunteer! 

 

If you have not volunteered in the schools before, you will need to complete the school-based background check. 

 

If you have questions or need assistance with completing the forms, please contact Christine Johnson cejinmaine@gmail.com