Rotary Log for March 2, 2017
By Suzanne Rapoza
Photos by: Sara Treacy
President James brought the meeting to order as Bob Sheesley led us in song for the first time. He did just fine! Greeter Jay Gibson then led us in the Four Way test. John Rice gave the invocation, one of Rev. Allen’s brief classics.
Guests to this week’s meeting included our Assistant District Governor, Julia Phelps, Steve Martineau and two international guests.
Then the meeting moved on to club announcements. It was announced that the Basic Needs Committee received money to help Common Table. This program has provided 12,000 meals since its inception ten years ago…Leo Gagnon reminded everyone that the next Rotary Social is on March 14th at the Atlantic Grill from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Everyone is welcome! …
Susan Gold, chair of the Communications Committee, did a great job communicating (we can see why she heads the committee…) She let us know that the Rotary website will now have a public calendar. All committee meetings and volunteer opportunities will be posted.
Leo was back again to remind the club that a District Training Assembly will be held April 8th from 8 am to 12:30 pm at USM- Portland. All are welcome and there will be education on grant writing and funding.
Finally, Donna Lewallen updated the group regarding two physicians who are traveling to Africa in April. They are delivering much needed used medical equipment, restored with funds that Tom Decker donated. Those monies were also matched by Rotary International. All are welcome to tour the medical equipment facility in North Andover on March 15th from 11am to 1pm.
Happy Dollars did not make an appearance. However, the back table won the raffle with Dave representing. They walked away with $55 but did not match the number for the $250 bonus!
Chelsea, Director of Community Relations at Friends Forever introduced one of our international guests, Ilya. Ilya is a 2017 Eileen Foley Fellow interning at Friends Forever headquarters. Once her internship is complete, she will become the point of contact in Israel. Ilya explained that her Friends Forever experience has helped her learn how to express herself and influence people positively. She has also gained an understanding of other perspectives and uses these skills during political dialogues.
James then introduced Julia Phelps with whom he had the privilege of traveling to India for National Immunization Day. He began by sharing four fun facts that he learned about Julia while traveling on the bus. First, she is a past Rotary International Director, being only the 7th female to hold the position. Second, she is a past District Governor. Third, Julia belongs to the Amesbury, Mass., Club despite living within shouting distance of the Portsmouth Country Club. Finally, she is a retired public school administrator.
Julia showed us many inspiring photos. The Amesbury Rotarian described the incredible work that she, James and 16 other members performed as they travelled throughout India. She summed up the trip in one word: extreme. They witnessed extreme poverty and wealth, extreme needs, extreme generosity and extreme colors. There were 2.3 million vaccinators and 640,000 polio posts. Some 167 million children under the age of five were vaccinated. Over the two day effort, 236 million households reached. Those numbers are outstanding. Further, because Julia and James stood at the edge of the road to draw crowds in, the numbers grew even more.
Julia explained that each child vaccinated received a visor, ball and purple pinkie. The purple pinkie was painted to track who had received the vaccine and was a vital component to the effort. Julia was passionate regarding the trip and did a great job of describing it. She left James only had eight seconds for his part of the presentation. Still, he was able to clearly describe the many modes of transportation encountered in India. He also noted the phenomenon of folks taking power from the powerlines throughout the city! We can be sure that learning about their experience has inspired others to act!
Respectfully submitted, Suzanne Rapoza