The Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor gathered again in our comfy clubhouse for our weekly meeting. The snowbanks have receded to only half the window-heights. Mud season could be a bit messy if last week was any indication. Craig Andrews filled in as chef for Kim Mills again this week. After a fine dinner of chicken shepherd’s pie and desert of brownies and ice cream, we set about our regular meeting and enjoyed a fine presentation.

Tony Curulla announced that Saturday, May 2 is Rebuilding Together Day. Members are encouraged to sign up for a project team to support the community in a worthwhile project to help our neighbors.

Deb Graves announced that Interact enrollment efforts at BRHS received seven applications for RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) this year. They will be selecting students from the Boothbay area to attend a camp for four days with youth from around the state to learn about leadership. Our club will sponsor all students who qualify to attend.

Jim Botti announced that the Soup Bowl Supper is only three weeks away (April 9 at 6 p.m. at the Legion Hall). Jim says he’s very short of commitments to provide desserts. Please contact Jim Botti if you are interested. Irene Fowle has been contacting local restaurants for donations and says they are being generous with their offerings.

The evening’s presentation was by Bill Howlett and Carolyn Neighoff. Carolyn is retired from education, having been a teacher, administrator, and coach in the Augusta School Department for 22 years. She is also the founder of Bread of Life Ministries in Augusta, having started a soup kitchen and homeless shelter in the '80s. She is currently the pastor of Water of Life Lutheran Church on Route 1 in Newcastle and secretary of Stepping Stone Housing. Bill Howlett is the founder of Stepping Stones Housing that operates affordable housing units in Lincoln County and that was the topic of the presentation.

Bill is passionate about affordable housing in Maine as something that is vital to providing adequate conditions for families with children who need a place to go. They call this initiative "Stepping Stones" because the program encourages people to get on their feet while providing a clean and warm place to live. In Lincoln County alone, 20 percent of households fall below the federal poverty line of about $25,000 per year. Many of those people need a step up. Bill is always looking for opportunities to convert existing properties into productive housing opportunities for this kind of work.

Carolyn mentioned that future plans for this organization are to create more affordable housing in Lincoln County and to create support networks for their clients out of existing structures to get people on their feet and able to live productive, independent lives.

A current project they are developing is in Damariscotta village, where they are taking a property and planning to build several housing units on it, some small 1600 square foot homes, others as “tiny house” units. These would be rented out at subsidized rates of around $350 per month, primarily to qualifying families.

To learn more about Rotary and about our Club and all the good things we do, visit our website: www.boothbayharborrotary.org, or like us on Facebook.