Boothbay Harbor Rotarians gathered on November 21st to enjoy a pre-Thanksgiving feast prepared by chef Kim and served by members Tony, Dwight and Jean. Once appetites were satisfied several guests were introduced and the business portion of the meeting commenced.

Dwight Swisher reminded members of work duty commitments and passed a clipboard for sign-ups through June. Deb Graves announced the newly elected officer slate for the BRHS Interact Club and indicated that Interacters will be joining us at the December 5 meeting.

Deb also provided an update on the bulletproof vest project benefiting service dogs at the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office; she has several fundraisers planned including a craft sale at Petlife in Wiscasset and a bottle drive starting December 1 at the redemption center on Route 27.

President Jen Page Osman announced that beginning December 19, all future weekly meetings will be held at The Gallery until the new clubhouse is ready. The December 12 meeting will be dedicated to saying goodbye to the building that has served as the club's home for so many years. Chip Griffin will present a history of the clubhouse and members are encouraged to share their memories.

President Jen next provided an update on the club's donation to Shelterbox for relief in the Philippines. Special recognition was given to Michael and Penny Pollard along with Frank & Marty Helman for their respective challenge gifts. As a result of their generosity and that of club and community members, a check for $5,000 will be going to Shelterbox. Incredible.

Dwight Swisher and Jim Botti were the 50/50 winners. Sargent at Arms Doug Harley saw his basket fill with many thankful dollars. Our speaker for the evening was Fleet Davies of the Boothbay Region Food Pantry. Started in 1985, the Food Pantry is part of Boothbay Region Community Resources serving hundreds of families in the local area. The Food Pantry is a nonprofit run by a volunteer board of 21 individuals along with numerous other non-board volunteers.

In total an average of180-200 volunteer hours are donated each month. Fleet outlined the process by which clients apply for Pantry services and the benefits provided. A number of statistics were cited throughout his presentation including a persistent uptrend in the number of local families in need of assistance. In describing the challenges faced by the Food Pantry, two significant themes emerged: funding and storage space. Fleet emphasized that over 90 percent of the organization's operating funds are provided by local donations and fundraising; of funds raised approximately 97 percent goes to client support.

There will be no meeting on November 28. Greeter on December 5 will be Mike Thompson with Rick Elder and Ham Meserve on KP. Speaker that night will be Jared Avery talking about the RYLA program.