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Portsmouth Rotary Log for April 6, 2017 by Lindsey Hery Photos by Jim Rini Portsmouth Rotarians gathered on a cold and wet afternoon for the annual Joke Day. President James began our meeting with help from Bob Sheesley as he led us in God Bless America. John Rice offered the blessing and greeter Paris Khavari helped the club recite the Four Way Test. In the first order of business, James offered his thanks to Donna Lewallen, last week’s raffle winner. You’ll recall Donna generously donated her bonus winnings of $375 to Rotary International’s vaccination effort in India. James also announced the Board’s approval of several grants. Funds will go to a hands-on project at the Chase Home for Children and music scholarship at the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center. Also on the list are monies from the Jeremy Alex Fund for a Chess Tournament at Portsmouth Middle School. Finally, a grant was made to the One Sky organization. James proudly shared the creation of the Gordon Allen Humanitarian Award, which has already received great support from eight major donors. The honor will be given to Rotarians or members of our community who embody the spirit and values of Reverend Allen. In addition to this honor, Portsmouth Rotary will donate funds to local food banks in Gordon’s name. Club announcements included notification of the District Assembly which is Saturday April, 8th. There will be a clothing drive during the May 11th meeting, led by Nancy Clayburgh. Please bring your unused clothing to benefit Friends in Action. Donna Lewallen encourages all members to visit Dr. Glen and Sue Crawford for lunch and a tour. They are shipping the medical equipment to Tanzania soon. Dave Holden asks all who are interested in joining the Speakers Committee to stay after next week’s meeting. Before moving on to comedy, Barb Miller shared with us the three grants funded by the Cash Committee. One went to the Community Baby Shower on May 13. The others to Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build on May 13 and the hands-on Project at the Chase Home. Susan Gold encourages those who are writing copy for the website to send final revisions by next week. Finally, The Golf Committee is accepting sponsorships and raffle items for this year’s Golf Tournament. If you have items to donate, please contact Susan Gold or Rich Ryzman. Portsmouth Rotarian’s were especially happy this week. The Happy Dollar highlight was Ben Wheeler, who is moving.to a new bank. All the same, he earned fond praise from his former work colleagues, John Pratt and Bob Davis. In the final order of business, the famous Gambler’s Table won this week’s raffle prize of $57. The infamous Fine Master, Neal Ouellett, was welcomed to the podium with overwhelming “Boo’s” from the crowd. He called upon all aspiring comedians to share in this year’s Joke Day. Many brave Rotarians journeyed to the microphone to impart their humor. The largest laughs went to Steve Wood’s tale of the Peterson’s helicopter ride (sic). John Flagg’s tale of fatal bell ringing also went over well. Three cheers to all who participated. The main event was a memorable performance by Mitch Stinson, a retired Navy Pilot and comedian from Maine. Stinson told stories of Navy nicknames, pilot woes and amusing accounts of his life from Florida to Maine. We won’t soon forget his experience hitting a deer with his car in Maine. Many Mainers, including the arriving police officer asked, “Was it a Doe or a Buck?” Hat’s off to Stinson and his hosts Cuzin' Richard and Neal Ouellett. Respectfully submitted, Lindsey Hery |
