During the past week no residents of our community had the opportunity be bored. Driveways seemed to be overflowing with cars and most cottages had full houses of friends and families.

That is way it should be when we are celebrating our community's 100th birthday.

Now that Ken McCormac is retired Ken and Mary are spending their our first whole summer together at their cottage. He reports that it is wonderful to have the time to garden, read, go fishing and do things that need to be done without dead lines or timelines. Son Bruce has joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary and is enjoying his assignments and duties. Craig and Lucinda are back at their cottage on Southport again, with son Ken and his sister, Haley.

Both are working as sailing Instructors at S.Y.C. Cynthia and Chris are renting for the next two weeks on Southport with their children, Emma and Jack. The McCormacs will have the whole family here next week. Ken requests that the weather in August will bring the kind of Maine summer we all enjoy so much.

Last Saturday in Cape Elizabeth, 6,500 runners raced 6.2 miles to the Portland Head Light. Thanks to the organizer, Maine's Olympic marathon Champion Joan Benoit Samuelson, the world's best runners competed. The winner covered the challenging course in 28:06!  Bev McCoid walked the course for the 14th time, finishing in what amounted to a pace of 14.21 minutes per mile.  It is a very exciting event with a very supportive crowd of local families and lots of fun.

The Juniper Point Village Improvement Society (JPVIS) capped off its summer centennial festivities with a gala dinner event at Whitten’s Field on Juniper Point on August 3 with over 300 participants. We all enjoyed a plentiful feast of assorted barbecued meats and all the trimmings. We were treated to a small ensemble that entertained us before and during dinner and  provided music for dancing after dinner. The celebration also gave us all an opportunity to visit with many Point friends and their families that we are often too busy to connect with.

It was announced at the gala that JPVIS had raised $10,700, exceeding its centennial fundraising goal for the Manley Reed Fund (the total has since been increased since the announcement).  JPVIS established the Manley Reed Fund in 1983 to provide scholarships to high school students pursuing a career in the trades.

The fund was named after Manley Reed, who built many of the homes on Juniper and McKown Points.  The management of the fund was turned over to the Boothbay Region Student Aid Fund (BRSAF) in 2002.  JPVIS makes an annual contribution to the fund from its operating budget.

At the gala centennial dinner, President Peter Edwards expressed his gratitude to the membership for the many generous donations. 

“This gift to the Boothbay region community is one that we are particularly proud of” he stated.  “Giving back to the community has been a key part of JPVIS since its inception 100 years ago, manifested with the establishment of our Manley Reed Fund. We are proud and thrilled to be able to make this special centennial donation which will help the BRSAF meet the very challenging task of providing scholarship support to worthy students.”

Ham Meserve, president, BRSAF, accepted the donation on behalf of the scholarship fund. “The named funds are the fastest growing segment of our scholarship fund,” he commented. “This donation more than doubles the size of the Manley Reed Fund. It will make a huge difference in our level of support to those who are selected to receive Manley Reed Scholarship funding. We are truly grateful to the JPVIS community for making this donation a key part of their centennial celebration.”