Biddeford and Saco Rotary - Newsletter

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WEEK IN REVIEW

02/17/2010

Karen Chasse, reporter

President Steve Morin began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by God Bless America led by Paul Deschambault and an invocation by Jim Audiffred. Following a buffet lunch, President Elect Julie Villemaire introduced the following guests: Brad, a friend of Chuck Hennessey’s; Kiera, Hydie Knuckles’ daughter; and Lyric, Dawn DeSimone’s daughter.

Foundation Moment - We then welcomed back Phil Dennison for a Foundation moment. He discussed the lack of proper sanitation access in Sri Lanka and the Foundation grant that made toilets possible ($1,000 = 7 toilets). This is timely because we recently received a $1,900 request to re-build the latrine at our computer school.

Fruit Sale - Jake Desrochers announced we are wrapping up the fruit sale and he thanked those who came and helped with distribution (Julie circulated some photos from that morning). It appears we will make $3,600 profit so if you haven’t turned your money in yet – GET TO IT!

Auction - Frank Dumais noted there is an Auction committee meeting on Tuesday and all are invited to attend (by press time the next meeting is March 2^nd, 6pm at York County Federal Credit Union). He has plenty of posters and inventory slips if you need them. He turned the floor over to Earl "the Hammer” Goodwin who reported we have 225 items (of which only 92 are from our club). GET YOUR ITEMS IN! It is vital you complete the description on the slip to help the auctioneers while they are on the air (unless you would like me to just wing it – this could be disastrous!).

Happy Birthday! - President Steve Morin asked Rotarians to let Chuck Hennessey or him know if you are able to attend any of the 90^th Birthday Bideford England events in May. PLEASE COMPLETE THE FORM EVEN IF YOU CANNOT ATTEND. We need to know numbers for the Lobster Bake on May 18^th, the Anniversary Celebration Dinner on May 19^th, and the Mountain Trip on May 20^th. You may invite a guest (or two). We hope to keep the cost around $10 per person.

Please, oh please! - Jim Audiffred begged the crowd to complete the Bangor Savings Bank fundraising ballots he placed on the tables pre-marked for the Fuller Center for Housing. He then walked around the room with his pen and helped people complete them.

New Member Posting – Stephanie Desjardins from Jimmy the Greek's Restaurant

50/50 Winner – There was no winner because we forgot to remove the old tickets so someone this week will win an additional $34! President Steve Morin made sure he threw out the old tickets immediately.

SAA - I then accepted a few happy dollars from Phil Dennison, Frank Gooding and a few other Rotarians but since I was up front and not taking notes at the time I cannot remember why everyone was so happy. Apparently I am not as good at multi-tasking as I thought. I then handed out the following fines: Denis Elie (I didn’t want you to think I forgot your birthday on Jan. 31. I know 30 is a big year!); Don Lauzier for his birthday on Valentine’s Day; Frank Gooding for his phone ringing during the February 3^rd meeting and Steve Morin for the same thing at the February 10^th meeting; Frank Dumais for showing up at the Captains Galley instead of YCCC last week and then proceeded to threaten me with holding the Auction binder hostage next year if I fined him; Julie Villemaire for mistaken identity between Randy Forcier and Jackson Brown (but Peggy Bean confessed it was her fault); Earl Goodwin, Dave Lowe, Peggy Bean, Ron Gagnon and Marc Tuller for having 5 people at a table of 4 at YCCC; Jim Audiffred for his many happy dollars last week when there was no SAA; Carl Goodwin for his son’s smart-aleck remarks via e-mail to me; Ken Robbins for not being considerate of the people driving behind him by shoveling off the snow on the roof rack; Matt Early for thinking I am older and calling me ma’am (or madam as he recalls); Jake Desrochers for being late in hopes of avoiding fruit money collection; and finally…anyone who has not committed a random act of kindness today since it is “Random Acts of Kindness Day” according to the Rotarian Magazine,

Guest Speaker - Chuck Hennessey then introduced our speaker, Major General John Libby but we call him Bill because his Dad’s name was John (I will refer to him as Major Libby out of respect for my elders). He spoke very quickly so let’s see how accurate I got these notes. If something doesn’t sound right, please send all complaints to Helene Plourde and maybe she can fire me from all further duties as TACK Reporter. (Don't count on it! Helene)

Major Libby began with the positive comment, “The picture doesn’t look promising.” He noted the good news is no one was deployed recently (although this comes with a whole other set of issues) and the bad news is an Infantry company is heading to Afghanistan for the most difficult mission since 2002. Currently there are 200 men and women mobilized in the Guard in Bangor. They have not been deployed but they are also not working at their regular jobs either which affects business owners. Major Libby stressed that the National Guard is totally different than it was 15 years ago. They have 3,500 men and women in the National Guard with 4,700 deployed since 2001. The State of Maine is #2 in the nation in terms of the number of population who are veterans. Almost 17% of Maine citizens have served this country.

Some of the issues with non-deployment include: sadness among the men and women who thought they would be serving their country; not re-enlisting in the second semester of school only to find out they missed the deadline to get back into classes; financial concerns because they were told they would be getting bonuses and they do not occur, etc.

Major Libby talked at length regarding reintegration issues and how it is much different than when he and his colleagues came back from Vietnam. We all know these men and women come back changed people and there are emotional valleys but it doesn’t have to be crippling. They have seen a world others haven’t seen and they have a far greater appreciation for the simplest of things that others may take for granted. There are programs in place to help veterans, as well as family support programs which help the soldier, their family and children before, during and after deployment.

He is currently serving as Commissioner on the Governor’s cabinet and when his term is up he will move onto other things. His two dream jobs would be cutting grass at a golf course or driving a zamboni. We hooked him up with Ron Gagnon and Earl Goodwin before he left the meeting. Thanks Major Libby and Chuck for a great program. And a heartfelt thank you to all who served our country as well as those who are currently defending us here and abroad!

Thanks Karen for your terrific notes!

Helene, Ye Editor

Neil’s Motors, Inc.

Quickprint Color Center

Saco Biddeford Savings Bank

Southern Maine Medical Center