Three guests joined our meeting last week, and together, it seemed to me, they echoed everything that Rotary fellowship is all about. 

First was Judith Goodnow, a member of the Bow, New Hampshire club and a summer resident here in the Midcoast. She came with greetings from the Bow club and was warmly welcomed by us – it goes without sayingbut is worth remembering anyway that any and all Rotarians are welcome to visit any club anywhere in the world. There’s  an app that will help Rotarians find other Rotarians, and it’s part of our ethos that Rotarians are never strangers – just friends we’ve not met yet. 

Second was Connie Hartley, former member of the Brunswick club. Family obligations brought her to Augusta, and now a job has brought her to the Historical Society, and when things get a bit settled, she hopes to join us as a member. First things first, however, and that includes finding an apartment here in the region to rent … it’s a long commute from Augusta … the Rotary network got to work and we offered a real estate lead …who knows. 

Our third guest was Bob Webster, a member of the Rotary club of Lviv, Ukraine, and a summer resident of Westport. He found us via the aforementioned app, and he took the opportunity to talk about what Rotary is doing in Ukraine. The answer: A lot!  

Bob himself went to Lvov in January 2024 as part of a USAID mission to increase jobs through business development, providing opportunities for people who are internally displaced or whose jobs have been (literally) bombed away to start new companies.  That job ended with USAID’s demise earlier this year; he now has a short-term consultancy with a British non-profit and isn’t sure how much longer he will be in Ukraine. More importantly, he reports that people have died as a result of changes in US policy in Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, he is active in an English-speaking club, working on a grant that has provided $4 million in mobile medical and dental clinics, and bringing in used fire trucks – especially from Germany and Scandinavia – to help fight the fires that occur nightly thanks to Russian bombing. All we need to know: Rotary is a global organization that works to improve the local community wherever that community may be and whatever that community may need. Good for us. 

Amy is on extended sick call; dinner was burgers and dogs organized and procured by Brian McGrath and grilled by Laurie Zimmerli. “Other duties as assigned,” joked our President! All was as yummy as can be. 

The speaker of the evening was Chip Schwehm, industrial arts teacher at BRHS. Through our STEAM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math), our kids get real-world experience designing products, creating them using a 3D printer, CNC router, later cutter and CAD software, and then learning to use them. 

Especially popular is the Making and Marketing class, where kids design a product and not only make it, but also create a marketing plan and sell it. The musical design class gives them a chance to build an electronic guitar or ukulele and learn to play it, and historical inquiry finds them investigating old tools and using them with new designs. 

STEAM classes allow the kids to problem-solve, to create with an artistic vision and to use both power and hand tools.  Chip pointed out that the learning starts when things go wrong and they have to figure out how to improvise.  He said that the learning takes place through the process, and that what makes STEAM classes different is that: 

• The students integrate subject matter (math with music, history with technology). 
• It’s a great equalizer – students with different abilities and social connections find themselves in the same class and working together. 
• The students are physically active, interacting with tools, materials and with each other. 
• They walk away with quality products they created themselves. 
•  They learn through teamwork.  

Several parents and grandparents in the room spoke of how much their offspring enjoy Chip’s teaching. 

As remarkable as all this is, this fall Chip will start what promises to be his last year at BRHS prior to retirement, and it is unclear who will step up to teach what used to be known as “shop class,” or what direction the program will take. Time will tell. 

One amusing note:  Chip may be a wiz at CAD and 3D printing, but it was our own Jim Herbold who made the PPT work.  Ya gotta love it. 

This Thursday we welcome a most amazing local young woman, Alana LaCourse. Alana is a high school student who has had a love for ski racing since she was around seven. She saw many young people ski racing without good protective gear , good helmets especially.  She loves her sport and wants others to share it, but safely. So several years ago she started a personal non-profit called “Give O.N.E” to raise funds to donate safety equipment to young ski racers. As if that's not enough..she was recently crowned “ Miss Maine Teen 2025” and will be competing in September for Miss America Teen. Come hear and support Alana. It will do your heart good.   

Earlier in the evening, both Linda Foster and Bruce Harris were feted for their donations to the Rotary Foundation, the 501( c)3 that, inter alia, makes it possible for the Lyov club (and all clubs) to maximize donations and connect for good.  Speaking of income, we are finally getting good weather to accompany our Saturday barn sales, and Mike Thompson’s sale of a car earlier donated certainly helped the bottom line.  The last few Saturdays have seen overflow crowds and about $3000 changing hands in the course of each week; these are the dollars that are vital to our own club’s good work. 

And it’s all dependent on donations of furniture, housewares, tools, bric-a-brac.  We can arrange a pickup – phone or text  207-619-1417 or email rotarybarnpickup@gmail.com to schedule a pickup or, alternatively, drop your goodies off at the Rotary barn located at 66 Montgomery Road on a Saturday morning between 8:30 and 11.  Then watch while Rotary magically turns trash into treasure. Please note: No white goods, bed frames or mattresses, sofa beds, pianos or organs, athletic bikes, books or clothing. We apologize, but we don’t want to lug that heavy stuff either.  If in doubt, remember:  We’re all volunteers so it ain’t happening. 

And let’s not forget People Power, which gets the work done for our Thursday evening meetings. Sign up online or at the clubhouse … your choice.  But sign up. 

Interested in Rotary and all the good work we do?  Come to one of our “regular” meetings every Thursday evening at the Rotary clubhouse, 66 Montgomery Road. The joint is jumping by 6 p.m. and the (not very) formal dinner and program start at 6:30. We’reoutta there by 8.