Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club
At our May 17th meeting, the invocation given by Shawn Lewin, and then enjoyed a dinner of meatloaf, baked potato and broccoli topped off by a delicious apple pie. While there were no guests at the Thursday meeting, President Jonathan Tindal welcomed back Rotarians returning from their winter sojourns. President Tindal announced that a film will be shown Tuesday, May 22nd, at the Harbor Theater. The film, “Maine Community Conservation” is sponsored by the Boothbay Region Land Trust and is free and open to the public.
Auction co-chairs Debbie Graves and Laurie Zimmerli called for all hands on deck Saturday for pick ups and loading in at the Barn. Mike Pollard volunteered to be Steward for the month of July. Seth thanked everyone for their help and enthusiasm with the bike program and asked for volunteers to help with distribution. The onions have arrived and will be available or pick up on Saturday. A sign up sheet for the annual graduation dinner was circulated. This is always a fun event when graduating seniors join us. Kudos to Interact leaders Debbie Graves and Ingrid Merrill.
The Anchor Church, that rents the clubhouse for their weekly meetings, have volunteered to help with spring cleanup. President Tindal gladly welcomed their offer to rake, wash windows and generally help with the spring chores.
The 50/50 raffles were won by Joy Ward and Tom Churchill. Many Happy Dollars were given in honor of returning Rotarians and friends.
Our speaker for the evening was Keith Crowley from The Chewonki Foundation. Keith explained through his slides and talk the three areas of Chewonki activity...Camps, Chewonki Schools, Education Partnerships. Located in Wiscasset, Chewonki’s mission “inspires transformative growth, teacher appreciation, and stewardship of the natural world and challenges people to build thriving, sustainable communities throughout their lives”. Chewonki encourages learning from credible sources (professionals) and mentors who have the most influence on the development of young people. Their “Owls of Maine” program travels to schools and club groups throughout Maine giving information and first hand, close up encounters with these beautiful creatures so important to our environment. Chewonki Camp experiences range from studying pond life and salt water pools to high obstacle course challenges. Night time around the campfire offers a time to reflect on the day and lessons learned. About half of Chewonki attendees are from Maine while the other half hail from away. A new program joins with the Lerner Foundation. This “Way Point” program follows 20 youngsters from middle school through high school helping them in navigating challenges and building relationships. Scholarships are available to Chewonki camps and programs in an effort to make these experiences available to all.
Upcoming Rotary events to add to your calendars:
May 26: Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club Bike Program – Rick Mitterling and his team are asking for volunteers to be on site to loan bikes. We will begin our annual program of lending out bikes for the season starting on Saturday May 26th from 9:00AM until 11:30AM at the Rotary Barn. Bike loans will continue every Saturday until July 7th at the same time, 9:00AM until 11:30AM. We also will need help every Thursday between 5:00PM until 6:00PM starting May 31st until July 5th . Please call Rick at 860-670-6471 if you have any questions.
May 31: BRHS Senior Night: Led by Ingrid Merrill and IJ Pinkham, Rotary will have a fun evening with graduating seniors and a young speaker, Matt Brown, who is a BRHS graduate working in Portland as a financial advisor. If you would like to be a table host (no cost) for three graduates at your table, please contact Alice Mutch. Reservations are limited for this evening. For more info, contact Ingrid Merrill or I.J.
June 6: A Rotary Social gathering will be held at the Clapps’ new home. This is a wonderful opportunity for Rotarians, friends, and prospective Rotarians to get to know each other better in an informal environment. Pleas let Linda Clapp know if you plan to attend.
