2/1/2009 John Butera, Executive Director of the Central Maine Growth Council

Sergeant at Arms

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Sue Guigere served as our Sergeant of Arms today. Thanks, Sue!!!!!

Greeter

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John Fortier was our Greeter today. Thank you John!! Scott Bullock will be our Greeter for the February 8th meeting.

50/50 Tickets

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Doug Legg sold $94 for the 50/50 raffle today and Ed Oliver was the winner of $47. Ed will sell tickets on January 25th. Scott Bullock won 10 free tickets for next meeting's 50/50 drawing.

World Service Cup

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The beneficiary of the donations for this month's World Service Cup will be the domestic violence reading program for schools that the Club is sponsoring materials for.

Fined for pictures in the Paper

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David Geller and Suzanne Uhl-Melanson had their pictures in the paper and were fined $5 each.

Cell Phones

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A $10.00 fee for cell phone ringing continues for the 2008-2009 Club year. No fines assessed today.

On Leave

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Cam McKay

Joan Phillips-Sandy

Paul LePage

Visiting Rotarians and Guests

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Kim Lindlof introduced John Butera, our guest speaker.

What can you do?

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* Tell Board Members what you are passionate about for community projects

* Tell the program committee about interesting speakers/topics you would like to listen to

* Be involved, join a committee

* Be active

* Be positive

Happy Dollars

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David Geller shared that his Dad Sid is alive and well. David shared his experiences over the past week or so when the rumor and calls regarding his father's "alleged" passing away became more than a casual occurrence. David shared that he's spoken with his parents often as of late and has been assured they both will be home by May.

Mike Roy announced that the high Hopes Clubhouse is also alive and well and passed out the recent edition of its newsletter. He called our attention to pages 6 and 7 where the employers in the area supporting the program with job opportunities for members were listed. Mike thanked all the Rotarians in the Club who have been supportive to High Hopes over the years.

Ken Vlodek had a couple of Happy Dollars: 1) They just returned from 3 weeks in Florida and were very luck to hit the best stretch of weather in the past 6 weeks! Ironically, the weather headed "south" right after they left! 2) He also spoke with Pat Stockford from the W.I.S.E. Zambia Project who noted that they are in the process of disbursing the funds as the project hits certain milestones. Most recently, the school purchased mats and desks. Remaining are the items for the chemistry lab and the toilet facilities.

Suzanne Uhl-Melanson had 10 Happy Dollars ..... 8 for the time they spent in the Caribbean visiting Jane and Barry Wherren. (John Fortier .... Jane needs another case of cups!) Suzanne is also very happy about her recent office move to 155 Silver Street, which went very well right after she returned.

Lucille Zelenkewich shared that they just returned from a Caribbean cruise that took them to Cozumel and the Panama Canal. It was a great trip and there were no snowmobiles!

Marc Pittman announced that he will soon be leaving Inland Hospital to take a position managing Peter Mills' campaign for Governor.

Sarah Sugden had 5 Happy Dollars .... 1) for the "Blesser" in Waterville. She was fortunate to have been blessed today! 2) That Sid Geller is alive and well. She has known him all her life and is happy that he is still around; 3) for her son Jack's good choice in friends. They had a great sleep over this week end and Jack's friend was most polite and helpful; 4) For Lindsay Ford's project in Ghana. It reminded her of the Scott Hi-Q competition that she and others participated when she was in high school and expressed a hope that there might be a similar type of effort in the future for this area.

Announcements:

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Club Rosters are available from Cathy for $2.00.

The Vocational Services Committee will meet after we adjourn.

There will be no meeting on February 15, President's day.

Sarah shared that in the spirit of building more fellowship in the club and creating an opportunity to learn about and meet potential candidates for membership in the club, there will be a regular gathering of Rotarians at the Pub on Thursday evenings fro 5 to about 6:45, beginning this Thursday. She offered that this informal Happy Hour is open to Rotarians, family, friends, and co-workers.

Upcoming speaker schedule:

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February 8, 2010 Debra Staber, Curator, Hinckley Museum

February 15, 2010 President's Day, No Meeting

February 22, 2010 Peter Martin, Oxford County Resort Casino

Waterville Rotary Club Web Site

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http://www.clubrunner.ca/waterville

Today's Program: An Overview of the Central Maine Economy (John Butera, Executive Director of the Central Maine Growth Council)

Bill Arnold introduced John Butera, Executive Director of the Central Maine Growth Council who will be presenting information about the state of the economy here in Central Maine. Bill indicated that the Central Maine Growth Council is a public-private partnership involving entities from the four municipalities in our region, Waterville, Winslow, Oakland, and Fairfield. Until 2002, John worked for the State of Maine's Department of Economic Development and has been in his current position since 2002. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. John's PowerPoint presentation has been posted on the Club website http://www.clubrunner.ca/waterville)

Questions:

1. Can you describe why big banks are failing and local ones are not? Local banks did not get into the issues that have troubled the big ones. For the most part, their loans have been more secure.

2. How do we distinguish ourselves from others in the state? One example is the existence of the KV Connect group. We also have good ambassadors who represent the area to those who might find Central Maine more attractive than other areas..

3. What's the next step in bringing entrepreneurs together? We need to seek out opportunities to bring them together. In One community he is aware of, there is an Entrepreneur's Club, where ideas are exchanged and networks established. Also we need to start introducing the concept earlier to our high school and college students.

After his presentation, Sarah presented John with a certificate noting that 6 children will receive polio vaccinations in his name as a token of appreciation and with the thanks and best wishes of the Club.