Rotary Log for September 20, 2018
President Cleo struck the bell and welcomed fellow Rotarians and friends to the last meeting of summer. Following her pledge, Al Lantinen led us in song. Greeter Peter Grace tested the assemblage. Sara Treacy offered an eloquent invocation.
Guests (and Rotarian hosts)
Danijela Allen (Gene Doherty’s guest)
Associate CEO of Portsmouth Hospital Nick Vetranu (Deb Grabowski)
Former Rotarian Joe Pace (Ben Wheeler)
Pat Novello (Nancy Clayburgh)
Dan Blen (Yvonne Legge)
Rotarian Jan Magnusson visited us again from Anderstorp RK, Sweden
Announcements.
Basic Needs’ Cathy Nickerson reiterated that Cross Roads is our new partnering charity for 2018-19. Cross Roads EO Martha Stone thanked the club for selecting the organization. Cross Roads is a local homeless shelter that services about 500 people a year. Martha shared that 88 people were staying at the shelter the night before, about a third of them children.
Cleo disclosed that Basil had a heart attack but is doing ok. Please send your thoughts and prayers to our beloved fellow Rotarian as he goes into heart surgery.
Crutches for Africa will be hosting a loading party in Biddeford on October 6th from 8am-12pm. Reach out to Joe Cunningham or Bill Hurley to help volunteer. This program has contributed more than 500 mobility devices to those in need in Africa.
We welcomed Heather Inyart as a new member. She is sponsored by Tristan Shanley. A Rhode Island native and Steelers fan, Heather was a rotary college fellowship recipient in college. That fact inspired her to become more involved and she is especially excited about Christmas tree sales! Heather works for NH Made, a non-profit which seeks to increase awareness and demand for locally made products.
Happy Dollars/Raffle.
Ben Wheeler contributed $2 because his oldest daughter broke her arm. Don’t worry, though. DCYF was not called to his house and his daughter is on her way to recovery.
Cindy Shanley added another $2 to the pot as Tristan’s twins just turned two.
You can’t put a price tag on happiness, however. Art was feeling especially so and he put a $50 bill in the bucket to prove it. He is celebrating the birth of his 5th great grandchild!
Yvonne donated $5 for experiencing a “full circle” moment when she met a polio survivor now turned dedicated Rotarian. Proof that the work Rotarians do towards eradicating polio touches the lives of many.
Finally, Rick contributed $2 in honor of being exactly 100 days away from marrying his best friend.
Peter Weeks won the 50/50 raffle of $59 but it was not a match. $250 will go back in the pot for the next lucky winner.
Guest Speakers.
Our guest speakers all came from Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. Paul Fennessy was a former patient and caregiver to his wife who was also a patient there. When Paul’s wife was diagnosed with cancer in April 2015, they sought the best treatment at Wentworth’s Cancer Center. A month later Paul suffered a heart-attack and felt confident that Wentworth-Douglass could take care of him, too. It sounds like their family has had the worst of luck but in reality, Paul believes it’s had the best, thanks to the staff at Wentworth-Douglass. Two years later, Paul and his wife are healthy and happy.
Dr. Kate Collopy is Director of Nursing Education, Research & Innovation at Wentworth- Douglass Hospital. Dr. Arul Mahadevan is the Radiation Oncologist and Medical Director there. The two shared the huge strides being made by the hospital—all designed to makr it the Seacoast’s best care center. Wentworth recently partnered with Mass General to build a new full-service cancer center at Pease opening next spring. The hospital understands you can receive treatment anywhere, but feels that the experience of their doctors makes Wentworth’s care better.
Travlyn for Jaclyn is one of the many support group programs offered. This program grants “wishes” for adults. It also provides them with experiences away from being a patient for a day.
Dr. Mahadevan gave us a sneak peek at their multi-disciplinary high-tech conference room. The facility will allow staff to call world-ranked doctors all over the globe and receive feedback and advice on treatments. It virtually eliminates barriers to treatment.
The team also promoted their upcoming Seacoast Cancer 5k, slated for last Saturday. The event is expected to raise $325,000. All proceeds go directly to patient programs.
Everyone walked away from Thursday’s meeting feeling truly thankful to live near a hospital with such innovative care. It seems Wentworth-Douglass staff really go beyond in caring for their patients. Stay healthy!
Respectfully submitted, Madeline Warren
Photos by Tube Loch
