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Portsmouth Rotary Special Meeting Notes
Join Us This Week Either In Person or Virtually
 
The Rotary Club of Portsmouth is back to live meetings at the Portsmouth Country Club so please join us on Thursday. Don't miss the fun!
 
Please join us Thursdays at 12:15pm for lunch at the Portsmouth Country Club, 80 country Club Lane, Greenland. 
 
We are back in the big room this week, so plenty of seating will be available.
 
For those wishing to join virtually, our technical crew has been hard at work to enhance our Zoom experience. 
 
 
If You Cannot Make to the Live Meeting, Join Us Virtually
 
Our techies have been hard at work and the new setup is a big upgrade from the previous one.  Join us virtually and check it out.
 
Join Zoom Meeting
 
Meeting ID: 845 2093 3431
Password: 092666
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,84520933431#,,,,0#,,092666# US
 
(Try logging on early (at 12:00) so if you do have trouble you can contact our very own IT guru Craig Taylor for assistance at 603 793-1382, Craig@CyberHoot.com.
 
 
 SEVEN (7) ROTARY ZOOM MEETING RULES:
 
1. After the meeting has started join on Mute and stay on Mute until you need to ask a question.
 
2. Register a VENMO account. The Rotary Fine Master WILL be making an appearance.  No VENMO, No Problem, fines will be doubled for non-VENMO offenders.
 
3.  Keep the CHAT civilized.  Anything you say is recorded and stored for history... if you wouldn't publish it in a Newspaper, don't publish it in the Chat window.
 
4.  ENJOY and have FUN.  Rotary is all about Fellowship.  Some among us will need our fellowship for a strong boost of morale.
 
5. People have embarrassed themselves mightily on Zoom conferences since virtual meetings started.  Google search "ZOOM Video mistakes" to learn from the mistakes of others. 
 
Check your email for the meeting links.
 
 
District Notes
An Important Message About Helping Ukraine
 
Click the link below to see a message from DG Dick Hall with suggestions as to how we may help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
 
 
 
District Training Assembly
 
First In-person District Event, since February 2020
 
Saturday, April 16, University of New England, Portland Campus
716 Stevens Ave, Portland
It is a beautiful campus with excellent facilities.
 
We have a great program planned.  Click the link below for more details.
 
  • Lots of networking with old and new friends from other Clubs
  • You need at least 8 from your club to cover all 24 breakout sessions.  You do not want to miss anything!
  • Something for everyone – new Rotarians and long-timers, club leaders, general members:  all are most welcome.
 
 
Top of the Week!
Portsmouth Women's City Club Thanks Rotary
 
 
In the wake of Portsmouth Rotary's hands on project at the Portsmouth Women's City Club, the club hosted a celebration to thank our club and allow us to have a look at the finished project.
 
 
Thanks to Ted Alex, Neal Ouellett and all of the volunteers, the Women's Club now boasts a beautiful and shiny new kitchen and reconditioned 3rd floor bathroom. 
 
 
The star of the show was the new double refrigerator (which required some minor door modifications to get into place).
 
 
Rotarians were treated with a fantastic buffet of finger foods and beverages by the members of the Women's Club.  Thank you Carrie Baron and all of the members.
 
 
A Second Rotary Hands On Project
 
Following up on the great success at the Portsmouth Women's Club, we are gearing up for another Hands On Project for the new Portsmouth Community Garden.
 
Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves, shovels, rakes and wheelbarrows if you have them.
 
Sign up now using the Sign Up Genius link below.  Great chance to enjoy some fresh air and that famous Rotary fellowship.
 
 
 
Portsmouth Rotary Club Golf Tournament News
 
 
Our tournament this year is on Friday, June 10th and we would like to invite you to participate again in this worthy cause to help our community through these hard pandemic times. Net proceeds from this event will benefit the Portsmouth Rotary Club’s Basic Needs Fund to enable them to donate to commendable community non-profit organizations that serve food banks, clothing, shelter, and other basic needs.
 
Time for Golfers, Sponsors and Volunteers to Register NOW!
 
 
Or contact our Rotary Tournament Chair, Marie Brownell marie@brownellinsurance.com with any questions.
 
After the April 7 Rotary meeting there will be meeting of the Golf Committee.  All Rotarians are welcome to attend.
 
Thank you for your continued support.
 
See also the information below for volunteering.
 
 
 
 
Salvation Army Update
 
 
Good News!  The Salvation Army has moved into its new Portsmouth headquarters at 272 Rockland Street (off Miller Ave.) formerly the Church of Christ Scientist. Rotary will continue to pick up the food from Edgewood Centre at 2:00pm and take it to the new facility. 4 Rotarians are needed at 4:10 pm at 272 Rockland Street to box the meals. The meals are then loaded onto a van and the van goes to St Patrick’s church parking lot on Austin Street, to hand out.  Only 2 of the 4 Rotarians are needed to go to the Austin Street parking lot to hand out the meals. Sara will announce dates each month for volunteers to sign up.
 
 
Please contact Sara Treacy at saratreacy@comcast.net or call or text to: 603-661-8588.  
 
 
Call for Zoom Hosts
 
The Tech Group has worked hard at making our Zoom meetings better and better. They have contributed time and effort and it gets better every week.  Last week was a good example of how we can host remote speakers at our in person meetings and still make it an immersive experience.
 
We have had some members step up, but need YOU to help out with our Zoom presence as well!  A few more volunteers will spread the load and help to assure this runs smoothly throughout the coming year.  Thanks, Portsmouth Rotary, for supporting the many fellow Club members who attend our meetings virtually.   Inclusion of each of our 150 family members matters so much. 
 
 
Basic Needs Grants
 
The Portsmouth Rotary Club’s Basic Needs Committee is currently accepting grant requests from local nonprofits to help provide for people in need in our community. We have funds allocated to support your efforts and we are ready to disburse them to qualified organizations in the very near future. Nonprofit agencies who are in need of funding to provide basic needs (food, shelter, healthcare, clothing) and are located in and/or primarily serving those in the Greater Portsmouth Area are encouraged to apply. Grants generally range in size from $500 to $2,500.
 
HOW TO APPLY:
 
Complete the Basic Needs funding request and submit with required documentation. The application can be found at: https://www.portsmouthrotary.org/sitepage/basic-needs-committee.
 
There is no deadline for the application and disbursements are done on a rolling basis, however applicants are encouraged to apply quickly, as funding is currently available. Requests will be reviewed by the Basic Needs Committee monthly, and may require a video or telephone conference to seek additional information if necessary. Please feel free reach out to me with any questions at j.parker@crossroadshouse.org.
 
Read more...
Rotary Log for April 7, 2022
Rotary Log for April 7, 2022
 
 
President Justin called the meeting to order at 12:15. We had another great turn out for our last day in the Clipper Room. Starting next week, meetings will resume in the main dining room.
 
 
Fine Master, Past President Neal Ouellett, gave a nifty presentation about the club’s Hands On project at the Portsmouth Women’s City Club. Many thanks to Neal and PP Ted Alex for organizing the project and spending lots of additional hours to ensure it’s success. 
 
Don Chick, our talented club photographer, shared a few OSHA violations. His all-seeing camera caught Rotarians using ladders questionably. Both Neal and Don teased Portsmouth Women’s City Club (PWCC) President Carrie Baron. She remained perfect and presentable “in her designer jeans” following hours of painting and volunteering, unlike our motley crew.
 
 
Vice-President Yvonne Legge presented Carrie with a much-deserved Paul Harris Fellowship. The successful Bean Group real estate agent has given back to the community through extraordinary leadership at the PWCC.  Yvonne hinted that she hopes the Rye resident will be a future Portsmouth Rotarian. Congratulations, Carrie!
 
 
Justin introduced our speaker, Portsmouth Detective Rochelle Jones. Det. Jones gave us a much-abbreviated Active Shooter training course. The full program normally takes about two hours and is available through the Portsmouth Police Dept. Instruction is designed to give participants important tools for responding to a crisis.
 
Rochelle gave us a detailed summary of her experience. The well-known police officer grew up here and currently serves many roles including Portsmouth Community Outreach Officer. Her career began in the Army and led her to a degree in Criminal Justice and a job at Strafford County Corrections. She joined the Portsmouth Police Department in 2002. She is also a competitive softball player and coach.
 
 
She began the presentation with the simple observation that the world is not fair. You may be good and kind and treat others compassionately, but you are still not safe from bad guys. Rochelle’s job is to protect all of us from that threat and she takes it very seriously.
 
 During the Covid Pandemic, murders increased 20 percent, the biggest single year jump in 60 years. Rochelle asserts that one out of every four adults have a mental health issue. The police department has responded by offering CRAST, short for Civilian Response Active Shooter Training.
 
CRAST arose from observations of the response to the school shooting at Columbine, Colorado. Looking at the situation afterwards, experts assessed what could have been done differently. It was determined that students and teachers should have taken exit routes instead of sheltering in place. Rochelle played a very moving 911 call to give us a real life feel for the situation. She emphasized that she was in no way trying to judge anyone after the fact, but instead sharing key takeaways.
 
 
Law enforcement officials now advocate a response called Avoid, Deny and Defend, which is also known as Run, Hide and Fight. Hiding under a desk is not the safest route to go. If there is a clear path to flee the scene, first leave it, even if escape means breaking a window.
 
The first response to gunfire is denial. We do not want to imagine this is happening. In a high stress situation, you might want to convince yourself nothing bad is happening. Rochelle encouraged us to listen to our “lizard brain” and do what it takes to survive. Most active shooter situations last six minutes so you have precious little time to react.
 
When Det. Jones is in a public place, before she sits down, she determines the exit points. That is not something I really thought about before, but I sure will now. During a crisis you will have a burst of adrenaline, and this may help you to escape or fight back in a worst-case scenario.
 
 
If escape is not possible, your next option is to hide. But if you choose this option, you will want to barricade yourself with everything you can. She advised piling desks, chairs, anything you can move in front of windows and doors to stop the shooter.
 
The last option is to fight back, but only if all other options are ruled out.
 
“In that extreme case,” Rochelle said, “use combat aka yoga breathing to calm yourself down and shift from fear to fighting for your life.”
 
She showed a video of bystander James Shaw who grabbed the automatic weapon from the Waffle House shooter. He was driven by the desire to see his daughter again and that helped him overcome fear and save many lives that day.
 
Another tip is to call 911 as soon as it is safe to do so. Police officers are now responding to Active Shooter situations immediately and not waiting for the SWAT team to arrive. Be prepared to encounter officers arriving at the scene as you are fleeing. Listen to whatever orders they give you, knowing that they will be on high alert, too.
 
If your business or group would like to participate in the two- hour training, reach out to Detective Rochelle Jones. Meanwhile, we hope to never forget the lessons learned from this important presentation.
 
 
Respectfully submitted, Aileen Dugan
Photos by Sara Treacy and Don Chick
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Secretary of State
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Tristan Shanley
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