Meeting of August 22, 2019
 
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
 
ON SUNDAY, 8/25, THERE IS A FUNDRAISING EVENT FOR MOLLY BANVILLE AT LOBSTER IN THE ROUGH.  IF INTERESTED, SEE THIS ARTICLE:
 
 
NEXT THURSDAY THERE IS NO MORNING ROTARY MEETING.  WE HAVE RESERVED FREE TICKETS FOR THE 7:30 P.M. PERFORMANCE OF "THE SUNSHINE BOYS" AT THE STAR THEATRE IN KITTERY (IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP, PLEASE CONTACT HELEN SO THERE ARE ENOUGH SEATS RESERVED), WITH AN OPTIONAL GET-TOGETHER AT TRIBUTARY BREWERY AT 5:30 P.M.   
 
Other Meeting Announcements
 
The board voted to have our club take part in Eliot Festival Day (it's the state's bicentennial and the historical society wanted to see a good showing from community organizations at EFD) and we decided to have a corn hole copetition with prizes to raise money towards Molly Banville's fund.
 
Looks like we will have not one but TWO global grants happening this year: 1) the Zambia project and 2) the Haiti project led by future Rotarian Amy Miller.  Other clubs will be sharing the commitments associated with these.
 
Because it doesn't seem to be the same format, we voted to not fund the NYC trip for Interact students.
 
The District Conference is imminent - October 5th - and we are responsible for having a booth.  Some of our club members have ideas for our booth.  Thank you for that!
 
Speaker of the Day
 
What a privilege it was to meet and hear B. J. White, an Amtrak employee, share his inspirational story.  BJ (Bill Junior) came from a long line of railroaders and is the 5th generation in his family working on the railroad.  He grew up near the turntable and engine house and witnessed his father and grandfather doing their jobs for the railroad, particularly Maine Central RR.  His grandfather was a coal shoveler and his home was like a railroad museum.  BJ got into sports, not trains, as a young lad and went right into employment after high school to help out his family which was struggling financially.  In 2001 the Downeaster service started and they needed mechanics and hired his father.  His father recommended him for a job as a laborer in 2002.  He rose through the ranks and obtained certification as a mechanic, both passenger and freight, and then conductor.  Conduction school is like Amtrak University and very involved.  Then he advanced to become an engineer completing studies at their engineer school.  He drove trains for years, had a harrowing experience with his thumb in a door, and as a result created a safety feature on train doors to modify the way they closed and then received that year the President's Award for Safety and Innovation, a tremendous honor.  He progressed to special duty manager to be able to train others in the trade, as well as manager's school.  By October 2011 he rose to Train Master and Road Foreman.  He is thrilled that the trains are now kept in the modern "barn" in Brunswick vs. the cold and difficult conditions he experienced when they were kept outdoors year round.  Unfortunately, he was seriously injured in an automobile accident caused by a distracted driver, which left him in a coma badly broken all over.  He has spent the last few years of his life being the miracle man who survived coma, paralysis, broken bones and other physical problems and worked hard to get to where he is today - the walking miracle who is back to work and a Road Foreman once again.  Surely, hard work, perseverance and divine intervention made this all possible.  We wish him well.
 
See you all Thursday evening at the Star Theatre in Kittery if you signed up for that event.  Show starts at 7:30 and claim your tickets at the door by telling them you are with the Rotary group.  Directions:  Go to the Kittery Traffic Circle and after the Dairy Queen take the right down Shapleigh Road, and about 1/2 mile on the left is the entrance to a former elementary school.  Parking is right there around the school and the theater entrance, if you're facing the building, is on the right of the building.  (I am not sure where Tributary Brewery is for that beverage before the show - ask someone who drinks beer...)