Henry graduated from UMaine in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was commissioned in the US Army Corp of Engineers, and was honorably discharged as a Captain. He began working at Saunders Brothers in 1950 and retired as chairman in 1986. He and his daughter Leslie recently endowed three faculty positions at UMaine, one named for his late son Kenneth in Engineering Leadership and Management, one in Forestry, and one named for his late wife Marjorie and daughter Leslie McManus in the Maine Business School. The latter is – to date – the only endowed position at UMaine named in honor of women.

 

Henry has been a member of Westbrook-Gorham Rotary for 50 years. In attendance were fellow Rotarians Bruce Saunders, Dan Willett, Woody Beach, and Christine Born Johnson, as well as former WG Rotarian Walt Stinson.  Also there to cheer on Henry were several members of his family pictured below.

 

 

Front: Henry’s sister Judy Bartholomew, brother & sister-in-law Susan & Bruce Saunders

Standing: Brother-in-law Biff Bartholomew, daughter Leslie McManus, Henry, Karen Marie Reilly, nephew and wife Barry & Katherine Saunders, nephew Carl Owens.

Vanessa spoke of regional and national trends, the strengths of the Greater Portland region and specifically the applicability of the Visit Portland organization to the Westbrook and Gorham area.  Visit Portland has defined market segments to target and attract, working with the Maine Tourism Bureau. They produce a variety of guides including ones targeted to event planners and to specific market segments and they conduct e-mail marketing campaigns to leisure travelers who have signed up to receive correspondence.  They do cooperative advertising -  buy advertising in bulk to obtain a lower rate, then resell that space to members to save ad dollars. They also have staff who participate in travel and trade shows that attract planners for international travelers. The great news is that we have a high return rate of visitors to our region.

 

After the meeting, she signed a book for the Walker Library and met with our Westbrook WRVC Culinary Director Chef Charles Limoggio to discuss the shortage of culinary help in the tourist region.

 

   

 

The statics for Westbrook are sobering. 64-65% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.  With the percentage of students this high for the community, Westbrook can provide free meals to children all summer long without qualifying each child who comes to be fed.

 

Meals are prepared at the middle school or the high school by five staff members who work all summer.  The food is then packaged and shipped to each site.  With transportation required, the meals are always cold.  They are similar to meals served during the school year with a vegetable, a whole grain, a fruit, and a lean protein.

 

To let families and children know about the program, flyers are sent home with kids.  Flyers are also placed in stores and laundromats.  This year the feeding sites will be at: High School, Middle School, Westbrook Point, Intercultural Community Center, and Walker Field. Volunteers are needed at all sites to hand out the meals and will be trained on procedures required to meet Federal guidelines for the program.

 

To volunteer, contact Barbara at: nicholsb@westbrookschools.org

 

L-R: Karen Marie Reilly, Barbara Nichols, Becky Albert