Over 100 people came to the Marion Music Hall on Thursday evening, July 26 to hear Margot Morrell, author of Shackleton’s Way, retell the story of the legendary Antarctic explorer and explain how today’s business leaders can learn from his leadership style.

A short video and a slide presentation told the story of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 – 1916 expedition on the ship Endurance, which was crushed between two ice flows, stranding the 28 men for almost two years.

“There was no contact with the outside world and it was like being on the moon,” said Morrell, a New York Times best-selling author. She read from diary entries written by both Shackleton and crew members which showed the many facets of his personality.

“He was described as a Viking with a mother’s heart,” said Morrow. “He constantly worked at keeping morale up in creative ways.”

The men lived in tents and ate penguins and seals along with rations from the ship. To lift spirits, Shackleton would have the men write short notes and deliver them to each crewmember on their birthday, like getting cards in the mail. Dog sled races were held and other physical activities were offered to keep the men fit and busy.

A sing-along was often held at night and a banquet, of sorts, was held on the shortest day of the year. The men also built a large snow maiden.

“She was well endowed by nature,” joked Morrow. “It was these small morale boosters and constant application of small corrections, unnoticed by nearly everyone, yet very potent in their cumulative effect.”

Morrow’s point was that the saying ‘leaders are born and not made’ is untrue. Shackleton was an unlikely leader until circumstances thrust him into a life or death situation in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

Shackleton was a master at reading personality types and mixed and matched crew members so they could work together more effectively. He took the three most difficult personalities and lived with them in his own tent. He focused on each person’s strengths and complimented them often and didn’t get bogged down by their weaknesses.

Shackleton was a researcher and prior to leaving on the voyage he read up on and purchased the latest in navigation, nutrition, camera equipment, and top quality instruments and products.

Morrow said she stumbled onto a book on Shackleton back in the 1980s when she was dating a sailor and they were browsing in a bookstore.

“It was total serendipity … one of those life changing moments that happen on the spur of the moment,” she said.

Morrow concluded with a favorite quote by Shackleton. “Optimism is true moral courage.”

By Joan Hartnett-Barry

It’s not every day you walk into the Mattapoisett Free Public Library and see helicopters flying around, but on Tuesday, July 31, that’s exactly what happened.  The helicopters were part of Dr. Martin Hudis’ Extreme Engineering program for children.

“The whole takeaway of this program is that science can be fun,” said Dr. Hudis, who holds a Ph.D in physics and teaches at UMass Dartmouth.  “The activities were about having fun and not realizing that you’re learning.”

Tuesday evening was the final of a four-part series in which Hudis instructed 12 students in grades 4-6 valuable lessons in math, science, engineering and technology.  On the final evening, the children and their parents gathered around to see if their hard work paid off.

One of the tasks the children were given in week 3 was to construct a helicopter landing pad that could hold a remote controlled helicopter for 30 seconds and also withstand a significant amount of weight.  The students divided into groups to design and construct the landing pads.

The catch, however, is that they had to use the materials they were given in a brown paper bag.  The materials included 3×5 inch index cards, a ruler, bamboo poles and tape.  The landing pads had to be between one and two feet tall.

“What was really interesting is that we had four really different designs,” said Hudis.  “They all had good clever approaches.  They all thought about it very hard, looked at all the materials and thought how they could utilize it.”

After the landing pad tests, the students dispersed around the library for a variety of different activities which all included maneuvering the remote controlled helicopters in different scenarios.  While each activity boasted a different outcome, the underlying lesson was the same.

‘We are trying to show the students that science and math are fun and if they get interested at this age, history says they’ll keep following it,” said Hudis.  “We also want to show that girls are just as involved in science and math as boys are.  It’s no longer a male-dominated field.”

For the students, their favorite part of the evening was trying to destroy their helicopter pads.  They stacked on the books until each of the pads collapsed.  Only one of the four pads remained in tact when six books were placed on top of it.  When Hudis sees the kids getting excited and hears their cheers, he knows his work is done.

“I like watching kids getting excited about it, that it’s fun, that it’s not just a geeky kind of thing, and that if it’s something that you really enjoy, you should pursue it,” he said.  “It’s amazing what you can pick up from this.  You don’t realize it but two to three months later, you’ll hear someone say something and you’ll realize that they really did learn something.”

By Katy Fitzpatrick

The Mass Pride 16U team based out of Bridgewater won the New England Elite Baseball league Division 1 Championships last weekend. Fresh from their successful trip from The Perfect Game Tournament in East Cobb Georgia last week, he Mass Pride team defeated the Firebirds from Peabody, Ma 5-2.

They lost a close game to the Scorpions from Stoneham 3-1. They then fought their way out of the losers bracket defeating the Firebirds 6-2.  Next, they defeated the Scorpions 3-2 in the semi-final round. In the championship game, the Pride defeated the Stampeed out of Reading, Ma 2-1.

The team is comprised of players from the greater New Bedford and Bridgewater areas. From the South Coast area it’s Andrew Dessert (Rochester) from Bishop Stang High School, P.J. Poulin and Andrew Ryan (Mattapoisett) from Old Rochester Regional, Jack Sylvia and Danny Sutherland from Dartmouth High School, and J. T Sylvia from New Bedford High School.

The Buzzards Bay Area Habitat for Humanity held their annual harbor boat cruise on Saturday, July 28, 2012, and as usual, it was a great success.

Gray and threatening skies didn’t stop the dozens of people who attended the fundraiser, which departed from New Bedford State Pier, headed west toward Dartmouth, and looped back around.

“We used to have the cruise on the Cape Cod Canal,” said Christine Lacourse, executive director of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter.  “Recently, we switched it to New Bedford.”

The cruise has been a long-standing fundraising event for about five years and “is always a success,” according to Lacourse.

“Our goal every year is to sell 100 tickets and this year we surpassed that.  The money goes to help build affordable housing in the eight towns we’re involved with,” Lacourse said.  Those towns stretch from Wareham to Dartmouth.

The current project involves property on Route 6 in Marion, which is awaiting its new dwelling. Lacourse said that they are looking to begin construction in the fall and estimates it will take anywhere from six to nine months to complete the home.

“I like it for what it goes to help.  The people here are all humanitarians and I like that,” said Kirsten Taylor of New Bedford.  She also mentioned that her daughter helped build a house in North Carolina with Habitat for Humanity a few years ago.

Lynn Whitney, formerly of Marion, has brought Taylor to the cruise with her for the last three years.

“This is always just a beautiful time for a good cause,” she said.

For more information on the Buzzards Bay Habitat for Humanity, visit their website at www.buzzardsbayhabitat.org/.

By Eric Tripoli

The Friends of Old Rochester Swimming held a car wash on Saturday, July 28, at the Mattapoisett Fire Department to raise more money for the up-coming winter sports season.  The newly formed ORR swim team needs to raise $7,500 by the fall to secure their place for the winter.

FORS is a brand new group, as well.  The members began the process of forming back in January, according to group president, Kristin Johnson, of Marion.

“We ended up talking to everyone from the athletic director to the principal.  It came together rather quickly,” Johnson said.  The school committee voted in June to approve the formation of the group as a fundraising entity for the team.

The last car wash they held raised about $800, according to Johnson, who said that the team cannot hire a coach or officially choose a pool until they raise $7,500 by October 1.

“We’re looking for corporate donations from around the Tri-Town, as well as from the community,” she said.

While the Friends of Old Rochester Swimming raise money for the team, the school has been investigating a handful of area pools that ORR may be able to use, including UMass, Dartmouth, the Wareham YMCA, and New Bedford High School.

Inspiration for the formation of a swim team at ORR came from a variety of sources.  The only high school swim team in the area is Bishop Stang in Dartmouth.  As a result, are many young students in the Tri-Town who swim competitively for municipal teams.

Colleen Beatriz of Mattapoisett is one of those students.  She has been swimming with the Wareham Riptides for seven years.

“Right now I’m also swimming for the Cape Cod Swim Club,” she said.  Beatriz will be in ninth grade at ORR in the fall, and she is motivated by the benefits of the sport.

“It’s great exercise and it makes you feel really healthy.  With the hard work you put in, going to a meet and competing; it feels good,” she said.

Beatriz hopes that having a swimming team at ORR will raise the profile of swimming in the eyes of the community, as well.

“I’m hoping that once it starts, people can see how fun it can be.  I really think it could be one of the biggest sports in the area if people gave it a chance,” she said.

Johnson, a former swimmer, sees the potential for building a strong school community beyond the component of competition.  One of the enduring aspects of her experience as a swimmer was forging relationships that have lasted through the years.

“You meet a lot of people when you swim.  I made friends from swimming who I still talk to today.  It’s a real bond,” she said.

For more information on Friends of Old Rochester Swimming, visit their Facebook webpage at https://www.facebook.com/FriendsOfOldRochesterSwimmingFors.

By Eric Tripoli

Photo by Eric Tripoli.