What is the Brunswick Rotary Club doing in our community? Columns for the past 12 weeks have described Rotary International, what it has done for the international community, and how some of local clubs have been involved.

The Brunswick Rotary Club, in more than 90 years of existence, has supported a number of projects in our community. It has sponsored students to attend Outward Bound courses, international students, and a Bike Path. Students from local high schools have attended RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award), a multi-day course developing leadership characteristics in sophomore students.

Once again this year the Brunswick Rotary Club will be a lead sponsor of the Bike Rodeo. This safety-oriented project, started by the Brunswick Kiwanis Club, is a free morning of bike registration (for Brunswick residents), bike mechanical inspection, an “obstacle course” testing the driving skill and maneuvering of bikes and drivers, lots of free food, demonstrations by the Brunswick Police and Fire Departments, a raffle for bikes to be given away, music, and lots of other activities.

It takes place on Saturday May 20 at the Wal-Mart parking lot, and is also sponsored by the Town of Brunswick, Lowe’s, Wal- Mart, and the Merrymeeting Merry Wheelers. Rotarians will help with registration, food, direction on the obstacle course, and distribution of free helmets to those who need them. The event is open to all. (Registration of bikes through the Brunswick Police Department is only for Brunswick residents. Other towns do not appear to have the capability yet to register bikes.)

On the Fourth of July Brunswick Rotary will once again sponsor the Games on the Mall. This morning features many of the traditional games for kids of all ages — three-legged races, sack races, wheelbarrow races, carry-the-orange relay races, pie-eating contests, and watermelon-eating contests. The games are divided up by ages so all will get a chance to participate and perhaps earn some prizes. This is a free event and there will be oranges, drinks, and many kinds of food available at no charge.

The Brunswick Rotary Club will also send two members to spend a week in the Dominican Republic working to help supply potable water to villages. It is part of a grant from Rotary International’s effort to provide sanitation, clean water, and hygiene to needy areas. The club awards Service Above Self Awards to deserving local students from Brunswick High School, Mt. Ararat High School, and Region 10 Technical High school. As a result of the fundraising event, Midcoast Maine’s Got Talent, the Brunswick Rotary Club will award a scholarship to a worthy local student from the Region 10 Technical High School. Brunswick Rotarians also distribute food in Harpswell one Thursday each month (please see the attached photo taken in Harpswell on April 20).

Since 1995 the Brunswick Rotary Club has had a Brunswick Pride and Heritage Committee responsible for 16 bronze plaques denoting sites of historical interest in Brunswick, Harpswell, and Topsham. For example, there are plaques at the Town Farm Cemetery, Mill Cove Tide Mill, the Brunswick Town Commons, and the former Brunswick High School as well as the original Brunswick High School. In the near future there will be a brochure and a website link to allow more visibility and expanded information.

The Brunswick Rotary Club has more than 50 members, some of whom have been members for more than three decades. It is always looking for new members who feel a calling to help others. Membership in Brunswick Rotary makes you a member of Rotary International, one of the largest organizations in the world dedicated to “Service Above Self.” Meetings take place at noon on Mondays at The Daniel in Brunswick and are open to the public. For more information, go to brunswickmainerotary.org or contact me, the club president, at [email protected].