Fellowship
It was cold and damp outside, but warm and dry inside the Rotary Building on Thursday, September 30, when we met together for an informal evening centered around Amy’s appetizers and our conversation and laughter. President Jeff Long received a huge ovation when he announced that we wouldn’t be having a speaker – just fellowship and a 50/50 – that night, and just as large an ovation when he said it was in the plans to have similarly unstructured meetings once a month or so for the near future.
Meet Susan Black, MD
This coming Thursday we will welcome Susan Black MD, President of Brunswick Coastal Rotary Club. Susan will discuss work her club is doing with Village Health Works in Kigutu, Burundi. Village Health Works sponsors community health care and education in one of the poorest regions of the world.
Barn Update
The Rotary Barn continues to be open for sales from 8:30 to 11:00 am every Saturday. It takes a week’s worth of work to prep for each sales day – including scheduling, picking up, hauling, sorting, fixing, displaying, selling, and trips to the dump. If you see a job that interests you that you think would help: volunteer! Behind-the-scenes kudos go to Seth Hedgcock for his clock-fixing ability and to Rhonda Friedman for her lamp-fixing genius. The Barn would not be a success without the work of Rotarians, spouses, neighbors, friends and relatives. And the financial results just keep rolling in. On a more mundane note we need trash barrels at the barn. Please donate if you have any spare.
Clubhouse Artwork
The walls of the Rotary Building are looking a bit bare these days, as our artist-in-residence program is on hiatus until the end of COVID. Marty Helman and Sandy Leonard got together this past weekend to “borrow” and price framed art from the Boutique’s stash – this will (a) brighten the walls; (b) publicize barn sales; and (c) maybe, just maybe someone will fall in love with a piece of art displayed on the walls. All it takes is $$$$.
Service for Skip
Sadly, this coming Wednesday, October 6, 4:00 – 6:00, we will get together for a celebration of life for our beloved Skip Kreahling at Halls Funeral Home. Meanwhile, our hearts go out to Sue.
Paint with Interact
More happily, on Sunday, October 17, at 12:00 noon, we will meet at the Boothbay Region Elementary School to re-paint the US map on the pavement. The Interact students will join us to help refurbish this fun and educational project. Deb Graves invites all to participate – wear painting clothes. Please bring paint brushes so they don’t have to be bought. They don’t have to be new!
International Service
International travel may still be mostly forbidden, but that hasn’t stopped our International Committee from forging ahead with plans. Marty Helman is exploring a Rotary Foundation Global to help create a new library/learning center at Safe Passage in Guatemala. John Hochstein is taking the lead on organizing an exchange (both ways) with Rotary Clubs in the Barcelona area happening in the fall of 2022. He is looking for Rotarians both to host and also those interested in traveling to Spain.
Afghan Refugee Relocation
Meanwhile, about 100 Afghan refugee families will be resettled in Maine in the coming months. The Freeport and Biddeford-Saco clubs are taking the lead on this; stay tuned for more information and ways we can help as plans develop.
