On Thursday evening, July 25, a lively group of Rotarians gathered for their last regular meeting before the annual Auction to be held on Saturday, Aug. 3. President Rick Elder called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. and a delicious repast of salmon, salad, and trifle followed. After the evening’s guests were introduced, announcements began. Ingrid Merrill asked via email for volunteers to water and weed the new garden at Edgecomb Eddy School that is the focus of the “Eat Well, Play Well” grant. Elder announced that the Boothbay Harbor Hannaford will donate one dollar of every recycled grocery bag sold in August to Rotary. He added that Margi Spratt has agreed to chair the International Committee. Judy deGraw spoke of the upcoming new identification badge distribution that she predicted should happen in about six weeks.

Debbie Graves and Laurie Zimmerli, co-chairs of this year’s auction, had a number of lengthy announcements. A beautiful 27-foot sailboat has been donated; but because of its size and lack of trailer, it will not be moved onsite, therefore, everyone is urged to spread the word that it can be seen at Southport Marine. Laurie spoke of the itinerary leading up to and through Aug. 3. On Thursday, Aug. 1 at 4 p.m. every available Rotarian will meet at the barn to load the two large box trucks with items in the barn and the storage unit. There is no regular meeting that night. Then on Friday morning, Aug. 2, Rotarians and other volunteers will meet for breakfast at the clubhouse at 6:30 a.m. They reminded everyone to wear a Rotary T-shirt --- new ones will be available that morning. They also asked for donations of muffins or other pastries for that breakfast. From there, the group moves to Sherman Field at Boothbay Region High School for Auction set-up. Laurie observed that the event is not over until the last piece of trash is removed from the field and the area returns to normal.

The meeting progressed with the 50/50 drawing and Happy Dollars Collection. A visiting Rotarian, Sue, from the Bath Sunrise Club, won the drawing. She also announced details of Bath’s fundraiser. Bob Pike collected many dollars from members who expressed their gratitude for the camaraderie and hard work of Rotarians and the larger community because of the club’s largest fundraiser, the annual Auction. Jean Huber gave a sizeable donation and explained that she would be out of town for the Auction because of her son’s wedding. Mike Thompson countered with another donation expressing his appreciation for Jean’s inspired scheduling of her family’s big event. Rick Elder thanked the club in advance for the terrific job unfolding over the next few days.

Irene Fowle introduced the program presenters for the evening—Rotarians Patty Seybold and Tom Hagan. The couple initially became involved with the African Food and Peace Foundation with their first financial contribution in 1991. They made their first trip to Uganda in 2006 and have made many journeys there over the ensuing years. Tom has been on the board of the AFPF and Patty has served on the board of the African Rural University, one of the recipients of AFPF funds. They spoke of and showed two videos about the Uganda Rural Development and Training Project that has established a girls’ school, a vocational institute, and a university. All are based on the belief that systemic change can be achieved through the creative process on the most basic level. The URDT trains women and girls who take their newly found knowledge and ideas back home to their families. They concentrate on agricultural projects and small business development, increasing the families’ incomes and extending their influence into the larger community. This education has a ripple effect. The URDT project has changed the lives of men and women with nutritional and sanitary improvements, increased educational and political opportunities, and gender and power relationships. They recruit new students with radio announcements and funding comes from non-governmental sources. The African Food and Peace Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization and more information is available at info@afpfonline.org.

The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m. with the reminder of the Auction breakfast at 6:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 2.