Biddeford and Saco Rotary - Newsletter

Our new President Julie Villemaire began the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and thought it would be neat to have music accompany our National Anthem. It didn’t go as well as planned when we suddenly had to bust into rap because the record player was stuck. Bernice Wood then led us in the Four Way Test and Dana Lane did our invocation. Following a buffet lunch, President Elect Frank Dumais introduced the following visiting Rotarians and guests: Ed Boucher from Saco Bay, Ned Perkins from Florida, Dave Moravich from Kennebunk, Matt Cyr, George Wandell’s grandson, Nicholas, and Julie’s mother, husband and daughter.

Foundation Moment - Phil Denison provided the Foundation moment which focused on a GSE experience of someone’s defining moment while visiting South Africa.

Send-off Party – Mrs. Maine Hydie Knuckles invited us all to her send off party which is being held Wednesday, July 14th from 6-8pm at Events on Broadway, 729 Broadway in South Portland. Please bring your families, friends or business contacts with you. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend. This will be a fun enjoyable event to wish Hydie well before she leaves for Las Vegas on July 17th to win Mrs. United States 2010. Let Hydie know if you plan to attend so she can give the caterer a heads up.

Wishing Her Well – Jim Clingensmith asked us to keep Peggy Bean’s mom in our thoughts and prayers as she is currently in the hospital.

50/50 Winner OR NOT! – President Julie introduced a new twist to the 50/50 and it worked just as it should. Bill Kany (the lawyer) won, or thought he won, the $38 BUT…he chose a white ball and he couldn’t keep the money. The bag is now down to three white balls and one orange ball. Believe it or not, you want the orange one.

Drum Roll Please….SAA – President Julie introduced “the twins” as our new Sergeant-at-Arms tag team: Jackson Brown and Randy Forcier. This year should be easy on the eyes. They began with Happy Dollars: Steve Morin for now being Past President and he made his last payment on his business buy-out. I guess this means he can now sit at the special table once a year eating steak and all future car repairs are profit (except he has two girls); Leon Tranchemontagne for driving Mrs. Maine in the Biddeford Pool Parade but, more importantly, convincing his wife it was his “civic duty”; Denis Elie for his three kids not killing each other on their recent vacation to Virginia and his grandmother’s 85^th birthday; Don Lauzier for celebrating his 38^th Anniversary; Earl Goodwin for celebrating his 45^th Anniversary (wow guys – good job); Jake Desrochiers for his daughter’s 1^st birthday and finding out she was going to be a big sister (congrats Jake…I am praying you get a boy or you may be in counseling with Steve); Ed Boucher for belonging to the Saco Bay Club and being a past Mt. Fuji climber; Hydie Knuckles for Leon inviting her to be in the parade (after all, she would hate to damper his “civic duty”); Karen Chasse for celebrating her birthday week; and President Julie for her family coming today and Diane mentioning that our attendance is way better than an earlier Rotary Club that meets at this location.

Then the fines began as Randy said, “This stuff writes itself”: President Julie for that wonderful song we sang and the years of confusion between Randy and Jackson (they are starting to think they are each other); Jim Audiffred for a down payment to start the year (they didn’t buy his vow of silence promise but several Rotarians jumped up to give a Happy Dollar when he suggested it); Hydie Knuckles for her party next week which was fully-sponsorsed; Karen Chasse for her recent press release in which she obviously copied over last years replacing Rotarian of the Year Frank Dumais with President Julie’s quote; Jake Desrochiers for being early to his first meeting all year (the secret: sign him up for front desk duty); Bruce Ruben for the many Red Sox injuries; Frank Dumais for needing some new glasses as he said hi to Tom Wells at the back table when he was sitting at the first table in front of the podium; and Joe Moreshead for his outfit.

Jackson and Randy announced they would be adding a twist to their routine as well. At the first meeting of each month they will ask a trivia question. If you get it correct then you are immune from fines that month (Jim Audiffred immediately ran out of the room to begin studying). If you get it wrong, you pay $1. The question was Name the four teams still in the World Cup. Joe Moreshead only got 3 so he had to pay a fine. Josh Fearon guessed the last one and is now immune (but he didn’t get an immunity idol for the month). The answer was: Germany, Spain, Uruguay and Netherlands.

Would the new Board please stand – President Julie noted we had our first Board Meeting under her regime this morning. The board meets the first Wednesday of the month at 7:45 at the Richard J. Martin Center except during July, August and September where we will meet at Saco & Biddeford Savings in Biddeford due to lack of air conditioning at the other building. She then asked the new Board to stand: Frank Dumais, President Elect; Karen Chasse, Vice President; Steve Morin, Past President; Dana Lane, Treasurer; Dawn DeSimone, Secretary; Lucie Dunigan Assistant Secretary; and Directors Phil Denison, Hydie Knuckles, Jim McAllister, and Bernice Wood.

Good to know – President Julie announced that Joe Bassett was approved as a transfer to our club; Maureen St. John will be on a leave of absence until October due to a vacant position at work she is helping to cover; and Past President Scott Simmonds submitted his resignation which the Board accepted with regret.

And the Award Goes To…– Bill Kany was happy that Mardens had a sale on Paul Harris fellow awards because he was finally able to make good on his promise to give the medallions to Jim McAllister, Lucy Dunigan and Bernice Wood. He then presented two awards to President Julie who was at the Rotary Conference when awards were given out – the Humanitarian Award and Service Above Self Award. She consistently goes above and beyond for our Rotary Club but it doesn’t stop there. Her commitment to our entire community is amazing and is to be commended.

“I am truly honored.” – President Julie then stood before the club surprised she was even President when she swore she never would be (interesting how this club gets you to do things you never thought possible). Here is what she said:

Fellow Rotarians and Guests,

About 5 years ago Paul Deschambault was introducing me to his wife and mentioned that I would one day become president of this club. I believe the first two words out of my mouth were "NOT ME". I said I would volunteer for just about anything to help the club but there was no way I would be standing at that podium as president. Apparently, something happened along the way and I now stand before you truly honored not only as the president but the second woman president of the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club. I truly appreciate the faith you have placed in me and promise that I will continue to work very hard alongside everyone in this club to ensure its continued success.

Eradication of Polio will continue to be a primary focus. Reported cases have dropped 99.8% from 350k a year in 1988 to just a handful, and the incidences of the disease are relegated to only four countries: Any guesses as to which ones? Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and India. As of the RI convention, on June 21^st, it was announced that it had been 6 months since a case was reported in India. The end is in site! Clubs have been asked to sponsor a fundraising event strictly for the Polio Plus program in hopes of not only raising $2,000.00 but increasing awareness about Polio. We will continue with our Bingo for Polio Plus fundraiser. Each year seems to get bigger and better!

With all of the meetings and training this past year, the message is very clear. We want to get back to Rotary Basics and build a Bigger, Better and Bolder Club than ever before. Bigger doesn’t necessarily just mean increasing numbers. We need to support and strengthen our clubs, focus on and increase humanitarian service and work on our public image. Some people have the perception that Rotary clubs are inflexible, exclusive, an old man’s club, not diverse and expensive. We want to get our Rotary story out to non-Rotarians so they will understand what it is that Rotarians do both on the local level and also globally and perhaps spark an interest in joining with us. Jennifer Jones, one of the speakers in Montreal, said that Public Relations is all about telling our story! It’s important to communicate with our own members so they can tell the story to others. Members of the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club, it is time to tell our story! Proudly wear your Rotary pins each and every day ~ not just to the weekly meetings. You’d be surprised at how many people will comment on the pin and inquire about Rotary. Don’t be afraid to share “your Rotary moments”.

We were also challenged to take a look at our traditions and not be afraid to "dream big" and try something new. RI President Ray Klinginsmith wants us to use “Cowboy Logic”. Cowboy logic consists of Living each day with courage; taking pride in your work; completing what you start; doing what needs to be done; being tough but fair; keeping promises with integrity; talking less and doing more; knowing that some things are just not for sale, and draw the line-know what you will and will not stand for.

When RI President Ray was looking for a theme for this year, he reviewed the four avenues of service looking for something that would serve a dual purpose: the first to explain the essence of Rotary to non-Rotarians and the second to confirm & validate the importance of our principles to Rotarians. The theme for 2010-2011 is Building Communities ~Bridging Continents. President Ray quoted his former District Governor (Elizabeth Usovicz): "When a positive spirit comes alive in our clubs, we inspire our communities. And when our communities are inspired by our service and presence, we inspire new members. It's a powerful cycle."

When I first joined Rotary back in the late 90’s it was because my employer said I had to join some type of group that was involved in community service. My kids were very young at the time and I wasn’t able to devote very much time outside of working hours. I really didn’t feel the “connection” that I heard about from others in the club. In my banking career, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with some very dedicated Rotarians, David Moravick and Mike Morel. They just lit up when they talked about Rotary and the various projects they were a part of. It wasn’t until several years later, when my kids were somewhat grown up, when I joined the Rotary Club of Biddeford-Saco that I truly understood and actually felt what it meant to be a Rotarian. Leon Tranchemontagne was my sponsor and took me under his wing. He made sure to introduce me to everyone in the club. I was immediately the “greeter” ~ what better way to get to meet everyone in a short amount of time! I was a nervous wreck (what else is new) but it was a lot of fun! My first “heart stopping” moment was when I hooked up with Paul Deschambault and his wife Carole to work on the holiday events for the families in need that we adopted. It was such an incredible experience to witness the good deeds of Rotary in action and meet the families face to face. The next thing I knew I was the chairperson of the essay committee trying to hold back the tears as the students presented their essays on what Family meant to them. Every person is at different stages in their life and may not be able to join every committee and participate in every event. That doesn’t make you a bad Rotarian. Circumstances change and you may find that you are able to commit more time down the road. What you need to do is find your passion and then go for it! Whether it be working with the youth in the Interact Club or getting involved with the Literacy Program or anything else, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how rewarding it can be.

This is such a tremendous club! The bar has been raised very high – and not by any one person. It is due to the hard work and dedication of all of the members of this club (past and present) working together as a team to achieve the ultimate goal. This is going to be a very busy year and I look forward to working with each and every one of you as we strive to make our club Bigger, Better and Bolder while Building Communities and Bridging Continents.

Julie Villemaire

Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club

President 2010-2011

Neil’s Motors, Inc.

Quickprint Color Center

Saco Biddeford Savings Bank

Southern Maine Medical Center