From the October 6th virtual meeting with guest speaker Scott Boucher. Scott currently co-chairs the Polio Plus committee for the District and is a member of the Bangor Rotary Club. #ellsworthrotary #peopleofaction #wearerotary
On Tuesday, October 6th at 6 PM, our club had a virtual meeting over the telephone and internet via Zoom. Vice President Gene Pellerano started the meeting.
Invocation was read by Ashley Johnson for Jackie Sinclair.
The Pledge Allegiance was led by Ashley Johnson and she took notes and Tony and Julie Bouchard took attendance.
Visiting Rotarians: Dave and Betty Parsons and Scott Boucher
Wedding Anniversaries: Jim and Barbara Vickers on October 8th. Jack and Brenda Frost on October 10th. Congratulations!
Checking In/Happy Dollars: Ashley Johnson, Gene Pellerano, Clyde Cushing, Pam Cushing, Jodie Cushing, Rhonda Parker, Jack Frost, Carl Lusby, Tracy Shaffer, Scott Kimball, Fred Beyer, Jo Cooper, JoAnn Brown, Debbie and Lincoln Ehrlenbach, Dan Frye, Tony and Julie Bouchard, Dave and Marian Wells, Rod Fox, Max Dietshe and Melody Pereira.
All Happy Dollars goes towards KidsPeace for Christmas gifts for the kids this quarter.
Don’t forget about Polio Plus and EREY! Please consider making a donation.
Rotary Business:
- Treasurer Debbie Ehrlenbach would like all Happy Dollars and Polio Plus donations to be mailed in a.s.a.p. to Rotary Club of Ellsworth, PO Box 741, Ellswoth, ME 04605.
- Blood Drive at Ellsworth Elks Lodge: Tuesday, October 13th and 27th from 1:00-6:00pm. Scott Kimball is looking for volunteers for both dates. A sign-up sheet will be emailed.
Community Service Update: Loaves and Fishes Food Drive at Ellsworth Hannaford on Saturday, November 21st. Jodie Cushing will email a sign-up sheet for those who are able to help. - Membership Update: The Rotary Passport was emailed to all club members. Please look it over. October 20th is Membership Game Night. Please email JoAnn Brown something about yourself that other club members do not know about you.
- ClubRunner Passport: The Clubrunner Passport was emailed to all club members. We encourage all members to complete to be entered into a weekly $20 Visa Gift Card drawing! ClubRunner Mobile is wonderful tool allowing membership directory data to be available at your fingertips as well as other club information such as weekly newsletters, upcoming events, guest speakers and meetings. It is a great companion to our ClubRunner website. This week’s winner was JoAnn Brown!
- Club Service: Tracy Shaffer reported the next committee meeting is Thursday, October 5th via Zoom.
- Nomination Committee: The committee will be meeting soon to discuss next year’s officers for our club. If anyone is interested, we have a vacancy for secretary and vice president.
Guest Speaker: This week’s guest speaker was Rotarian Scott Boucher of the Bangor Club. Scott has served many roles in Rotary including Club Secretary, Club President, member of the District Training Team, AG, AGC, and he currently co-chairs the Polio Plus committee for the District.
Scott gave a brief history of Polio. When we talk about PolioPlus, we know we are eradicating polio, but do we realize how many added benefits the program brings? The “plus” is something else that is provided as a part of the polio eradication campaign. It might be a hand-operated tricycle or access to water. It might be additional medical treatment, bed nets, or soap. A 2010 study estimates that vitamin A drops given to children at the same time as the polio vaccine have prevented 1.25 million deaths by decreasing susceptibility to infectious diseases.
Eighteen million people around the world who would have died or been paralyzed are alive and walking because of the polio eradication campaign. Health workers and volunteers supported by PolioPlus grants have built an infrastructure for delivering health care and collecting data that, in many parts of the world, didn’t exist before. It’s already being used to improve overall health care and to fight other diseases, proving that the legacy of PolioPlus is more than eradicating a deadly disease from the planet — it’s also building a stronger health system that provides better access to lifesaving interventions for the world’s most vulnerable children.
The polio eradication campaign needs your help to reach every child. Thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, your contribution will be tripled.
To donate, visit endpolio.org/donate
Purple Pinkie Project: Purple Pinkie is a campaign to raise money to End Polio Now – one of the world’s biggest ever immunization programs. In its first year it was a tremendous success capturing the imagination of the public and to build on that success, Purple Pinkie is coming up with many more innovative ideas - full of fun - with something for all ages.
World Polio Day: Saturday, October 24th
Respectfully submitted by Ashley Johnson
