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A Busy Spring Schedule!

It happens sometimes: Our planned speaker was forced to postpone, so last Thursday Rotarians were left with nothing to do except … get caught up on activities and schmooze. The result was a lovely, informative, low-key meeting. And in fact, if our speaker had come as planned, I’m not sure if we would have had time for her!

We have a lot going on:

Next Wednesday, February 1, will find Rotarians gathering at the Whale’s Tale from 4:00 – 6:00 pm. It’s a day-before-Groundhog-Day social, with Happy Hour prices and lots of conviviality. BP (Before Pandemic) we used to have these monthly excursions to local watering holes, and it’s time we got back to them. So here’s hoping we see you on Wednesday – and bring your thirst.

Then, on Thursday February 2, Groundhog Day, we will hear a Classification Talk  from one of our new members, Vicki Haughen,  about the fascinating and glamorous life of a WOC Nurse.  I bet many of you don’t know what a WOC Nurse is.  Now is your chance to find out.  Vicki promises it will be fun and enlightening.

On Tuesday, February 14, there will be a District-wide gathering at the University of Southern Maine’s Hannaford Hall for a mixed bag of activities including planning and goals for next year and a concert highlighting USM’s Chamber Singers plus the Brunswick HS Concert Choir. Find out more – including info about the evening’s keynote speaker – on the District website: www.rotary7780.org.

Then on February 16, our “usual” club meeting will be subsumed by a trip to the Harbor Theater. Did you know that the Club is a sponsor of the Theatre these days? Ham Meserve has put together a showing of “Eighty for Brady” just for us. Be there at 6:00 pm, and be sure to invite friends and significant others to this can’t-miss event. Popcorn and Skittles will of course be available.

The following Monday, February 20, we will again be sponsoring the Community Lunch at Brady’s. Judi White passed around a sign-up sheet for soups, breads, desserts, and set up/serve/clean up. Check with her for details, and be sure to be part of this feel-good event.

While we’re talking about sign-ups, don’t forget People Power, the signups that fuel our meetings and get things done. Jim Herbold is the keeper of the list; check with him or signup on line to do your share. Thank you!

Marty Helman put in a plug for the District’s International Café, which will be held via Zoom on Saturday morning, March 4 at 9:30. The nation of Lebanon is by now a failed state, with rolling blackouts that can last 23 hours out of 24. Among other things, this means that schooling is curtailed – no electricity means no computers or other media, no lights, no running toilets. In response, Rotarians in Brazil are putting together a grant to (eventually) provide solar panels to every school in Lebanon. It’s obviously a big project, and the Brazilian Rotarians need our help to make it happen. Marty will asking all of us but especially the International Committee to learn more – so please put the March 4 Zoom call on your calendar.

Further down the road, Judi reported that the Y is talking about reinstating the Basketball Tourney this spring. Rotary involvement with this event started decades ago when there was no girls’ basketball in MidCoast Maine, and our club decided to do something about that. IJ Pinkham and Mike Thompson ran the Tourney for years, and now, it looks like it is being resurrected. Stay tuned for dates and details!

Saturday, April 15 will be Rotary’s annual District Training Assembly, an event for all next year’s officers to learn more about their new roles and expectations. And rounding out the year, we will have a District Celebration on Bailey Island on Saturday, June 10.

So with all this going on, who has time for winter blues?

Interested in learning more about Rotary and the service we do? We’re always looking for folks who, like us, are committed to this community and want to give back. Ask any Rotarian, or drop in on one of our meetings, held (almost every) Thursday at 6:00 pm at the Rotary Building on Montgomery Road. You’ll be glad you did!