Rotary Log for April 9, 2015

 

Today, we welcomed back an old friend and former Rotarian, Donald Coker.  More about that later.  President Trish presided and began with her version of true confessions.  Her parents live in the same house where she grew up in North Hampton.  She is a UNH graduate who married her high school sweetheart.  She has worked at the same place for 23 years.  And today, she sat on the left side of the front table.  This was a big change, and apparently, a disconcerting one.  We feel for you Trish.

 

Visiting Rotarians and guests were introduced followed by Rotarian birthdays.  We were reminded that the District Conference is being held in Portsmouth April 24-26 at the Wentworth by the Sea.  Club members are encouraged to sign up.  We want a good showing as the conference is local for the first time in a long time.  Happy dollars followed as well as general announcements. 

 

 

Leonard Seagren introduced today’s speakers.  Our first guest speaker was none other than Don Coker, a former long-time member of our club.  He is a past Paul Harris Fellow recipient and current Chairman of the Piscataqua Maritime Commission (PMC).   Don was the long-time chairman of our Thanksgiving Day event.  I’m sure many will remember Don’s dedicated and passionate service to the club and to the Portsmouth area.  Many thanks. 

 

Turning to the PMC, the Commission, a (501)(c)(3) non-profit organization, hosts two annual events.  The most famous is the annual Sail Portsmouth event that showcases tall ships from ports around the world.  The second, and perhaps the more important, is the Sea Challenge program.  Each year, the Commission sponsors at-risk children to participate in a one-week excursion on a sailing vessel. Once aboard, they learn not only how to sail, but other important lessons—more about that below.

 

The Sail Portsmouth event is the only annual event of its kind. The event essentially sells out every year.  The PMC is proud to be America’s only maritime commission that holds an annual tall ship event .  This has been the case for the past 30 years.  It is Portsmouth’s longest summer event and one of its most profitable.  Last summer, the 170-foot Mystic received about 14,000 visitors over a four-day period.  According to Board member Bruce Addison, for every non-resident visitor that comes to see the ships, about $64 is put into city businesses’ coffers—well done.

 

The Sea Challenge program was the brainchild of PMC Vice Chairman, Larry Job.  Annually some 20 to 30 at-risk seacoast area students, ages 14 to 17, get a rare opportunity. They are offered the chance to sail aboard a sailing vessel for one week.  The accommodations are very basic and the workload significant.  No electronic devices allowed!  Apparently, many students exhibit electronic device withdrawal symptoms in the early days of the excursion. 

 

Larry gave us many examples of children that took the challenge to learn to sail. The on-board experience changed many of their lives.  He recalled how he was informed that it costs New Hampshire about $80,000 a year to incarcerate a person.  Larry’s vision is to “right the ship” just a few degrees for these children. It can steer them away from poor choices in the future.  Counselors in a 1:10 ratio accompany the students to ensure their well-being.  From what we heard, success has been far beyond  expectations.  We wish them continued success in this worthwhile program.

 

To wrap up the meeting, Charlie Bourdages scored a rare back-to-back raffle win.  We’ll be watching him next week for sure!