Opening Ceremonies: President Debbie Ehrlenbach called the meeting to order.
Invocation was read by: Carl Lusby and we all said the Pledge of Allegiance.
Sergeant at Arms: Jo Cooper and Robert Thomas
Setting up Zoom: Michael Houlsen
Guests: Brielle Johnson, John Shoppe, Grace Robinson,
Visiting Rotarians: Kent Weise and Scott Boucher
ROTARY BUSINESS:
Polio Walk Update: We had 21 walkers attend and raised over $1,000.00! Fogtown Brewery donated $150.00! Thank you to Tricia Quirk and Lincoln Ehrlenbach for organizing!
"MOVEMBER" MUSTACHE GROWING CONTEST - MENS HEALTH AWARNESS MUSTACHE GROWING 50/50. CONTEST 1 NOV. THROUGH 28 Nov. 1st Prize 25%, 2nd Prize 15%, 3rd Prize 10%. *50% will be donated to MCMH Urology Dept. for screening equipment. *SUPPORTERS CAN ALSO PARTICIPATE BY DESIGNATING A PARTICIPANT and if the participant wins, share in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place winning. *Judges will consider fullness, neatness and facial improvement on Nov. 28th. Entry fee is $10 per person.
75th Anniversary Legacy Project - As you know much research has been done over the past 3 months to identify a project the club can participate in for its 75th anniversary.
The City of Ellsworth Recreation Committee has given their approval for the Rotary Club of Ellsworth, Downeast Family YMCA, Ellsworth Little League, and a representative of the Recreation Committee to form a committee to evaluate the needs at Demeyer Field. A city counselor will be ex-officio. Once evaluation is complete the committee would present a plan of action, timeline, related budget, and project sustainability to the Recreation Committee for consideration. If approved by the Recreation Committee the project plans would be presented to the City Council of Ellsworth for approval.
Rotary Club of Ellsworth has maintained continuous relationships with the City of Ellsworth, Downeast Family YMCA, and the Ellsworth Little League for almost 70 years. Participating in this new partnership with these organizations seems to be a next step to honoring our heritage and ensuring the legacy of the Rotary Club of Ellsworth, while continuing those long-standing partnerships for the benefit of the youth in our communities.
This is a tremendous opportunity for the Rotary Club of Ellsworth to be seen as a leader in the community. It is my recommendation that the Rotary Club of Ellsworth participate in the Committee to evaluate the needs at Demeyer Field. Debbie Ehrlenbach and Peter Farragher would be the representatives for the Rotary Club of Ellsworth. They would report periodically to the Board and the Club.
Rotary Leadership Institute – Trainings are available via Zoom and Online. This is a great opportunity to learn more about Rotary.
Rotary Blood Drives are the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at the Elks Lodge in Ellsworth. Please sign up to help. Shifts are from 11:00am to 2:00pm and 2:00pm to 5:00pm.
Membership Night – Monday, November 6th at 5;30pm at China Hill. A copy of the invitation to invite guests were emailed to all club members. Please pre-pay (cash or check) for your meal prior to the event. RSVP your guest to JoAnn Rodick. Appetizers and desserts will be provided!
Rotary Food Drive for Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry – Saturday, November 18th from 9:00am to 2:00pm at Ellsworth Hannaford. We will also be having the Two Ton of Turkey Challenge again this year. Sign-up sheet is available.
2023-24 Rotary Passport- This was emailed to all members. Please check it out!
Nominating Committee: The committee is looking for future officers for Secretary, Vice President and President Elect. Any Rotarians who are interested in holding any of the officer positions, please let Debbie Ehrlenbach know.
Door Prizes: The lucky winners were: Clyde Cushing, Shelly Van Camp, Fred Beyer and Julie Clark.
$50/50: $12 to Pam Cushing
Happy Dollars: 2nd Quarter Happy Dollars will go towards: The Club’s Prosthetics Project to the Centro De Protesis of the Dominican Republic. All these funds will bring us close to our goal of $5,400 for nine leg socket adapters, thus providing the “Gift of Walking.”
The following individuals gave Happy Dollars: Pam Cushing, Jodie Cushing, Clyde Cushing, Grace Robinson, Dave Wells, Gene Pellerano, Carl Lusby, Lincoln Ehrlenbach, Kent Weiser, Peter Farragher, Jo Cooper, Debbie Ehrlenbach and Rod Fox.
Guest Speaker: This week’s guest speaker was Scott Boucher. Scott is a member of the Rotary Club of Old Town. He has served as the chair for Polio Plus on the Maine side of District 7790 for 10 years. Scott provided a presentation about Polio around the world. He spoke about the history and where the disease is today.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a paralyzing and potentially deadly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. The virus spreads from person to person, typically through contaminated water. It can then attack the nervous system.
Rotary has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years. Our goal of ridding the world of this disease is closer than ever.
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we've reduced polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979.
Rotary members have contributed more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from this paralyzing disease. Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by governments to contribute more than $10 billion to the effort.
Today, polio remains endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But it’s crucial to continue working to keep other countries polio-free. If all eradication efforts stopped today, within 10 years, polio could paralyze as many as 200,000 children each year.
Respectfully submitted by Rotarian Ashley Johnson
