February 22, 2018 Meeting of West Bay Rotary

 

Shawn Doll is the special events manager at Big Brothers Big Sisters (BB/BS) Mid Maine. Shawn is from Bangor, went to UMO, worked for MBNA then Bank of America, and had served on the BB/BS board.  The organizations matches "littles" with "Bigs" in 7 counties across Maine with 9 staff that oversee the matches between mentors and children, who are often severely disadvantaged and live in unstable home environments. 92% of kids are facing some level of poverty, truancy and general lack of guidance and trust. Last year 739 kids were in matches in Maine. As of July 2017, Gwendolyn Hudson is the new Executive Director. Over 200 kids in Knox/Lincoln/Waldo county area. Staff meet monthly with matches and has had no reported instances of child safety. Golf for Kids Sake and Bowl for Kids Sake are their two major events that raise about $350,000 each year. It involved 22 events over the 7 counties. He provided some materials including stories about the kids and infographics about their events and program impact. Their goal is 1000 matches. The kids that participate are selected through a guidance counselor or parents who apply for a child they think would benefit through the program. Each match costs about $1000 a year for the organization. Successful matches are those that last more than 12 months.The current rate of matches lasting 12 months or more is 60%, but it was 18%. They recently were recognized as having hit all six of the metrics BB/BS uses to measure effectiveness of an affiliate. 

Rotary is celebrating its 113 anniversary tomorrow.

PETS training March 16 - 18 in St. George's, Quebec

April 11 will be the Business Showcase and WBR will have a booth. Stay tuned for more planning and volunteer opportunities.

Mary Sargent wants to be sure that local organizations know that April 1 is the deadline for applying for funds from the WBR Foundation. 

She also needs someone to coordinate the greeter scheduling for the 2018/2019 year, and Barbara Heard volunteered.

April 21 will be the annual Ewaste project that Tom Albertson is coordinating again. Electronic waste, shredding, drug disposal and cash for clothes will all be participating. He will be looking for help with publicity and execution, they'll be meeting next Tuesday 2/27 at 7:30a at the Bagel Cafe. 

Peter Berke is organizing Duck Derby for 2018. They are looking for sponsors, past and new, gifts and prizes.

Tuesday morning, February 27 will be the International Committee's meeting. 

Many tributes to Mark Masterson were shared, and he bid the club farewell as he and his wife head to the "low country" area of South Carolina.