The Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club has continued weekly meetings even through the “Stay-at-Home” order, although now finding each other online. The first of these virtual meetings, on April 2, started off with six members signing on for a casual online hang out on Zoom. Now, the online “Turpentine Club” group has grown to more than 30 online participants, skillfully organized by Rotary past president Marty Helman.

On April 23, current Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club President Rick Elder convened our first full virtual business meeting. Amazingly, over 35 club members “zoomed” in, with just a few minor technical issues to iron out in the first few minutes before the club was on to business as usual.

Rick Elder outlined some of the discussions and donations from the last two board of directors meetings. Marty Helman and Irene Fowle shared the success of the latest club project, the gift certificate program. Over $3,500 has been raised so far, going towards the purchase of gift certificates from local restaurants. These gift certificates were then donated to our precious, hardworking local health care providers, with the largest donation going to the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service. We just can't thank them enough, but Rotary is doing our best. If you are interested in participating in this program, which not only helps out those on the front lines of this health crisis but also helps to support our local restaurant owners and economy, we are eager for your support. Please mail a check (in $25 increments) made out to the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club Foundation and with “gift certificate” in the memo line, to: Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club, P.O. Box 518, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.

In the Zoom meeting, a short presentation about a Rotary Covid-19 project followed those updates. The International Committee set a meeting time to discuss their request for support. Then, Ingrid Merrill, leading the Eat Well, Play Well program, brought us up to date on our 2019-2020 District Grant. She will need gardening, carpentry and other hands-on help this summer from the club members, so please reach out if your skill-sets fall in those areas.

In other news, the club applied for and received a $600 grant to support local food insecurity, which will be managed by the Visioning Committee to discuss grant distribution. A round of applause was given to Tory Paxson, our incoming vice president.

We will continue to meet virtually likely through May, or until it is safe to be together again. Brief discussion was held on the club’s annual auction event which takes place in August, as donation pick-ups are not able to be handled during this time either. As always, the Auction chairs are keeping a close eye on developments, the state of items in the barn, and what flexibility may be needed moving forward for our club’s largest fundraiser of the year.

Even, and maybe, because of these challenging times we welcome new members. Supporting your community, near and far, is possible through Rotary. If you or someone you know is interested, check out our website: www.boothbayharborrotary.org