One of our favorite things is to collaborate with other organizations and other Rotary clubs. This summer has had more than a few opportunities for us to share, work and learn with others:

Bath-Tsugaru Student Exchange program

In 1889 a ship called The Cheseborough, built on the Kennebec River in Bath, sunk off the coast of Japan near a town called Shariki. Villagers came out to help save as many of the crew as was possible. Since then, the two communities have become sister cities. Twenty-eight years ago, a student exchange program was started by the governor of Shariki and mayor of Bath. Since then, more than 660 students from Japan have visited Bath and more than 360 students from Bath have visited Japan. The sharing of these two cultures has enriched both the town’s lives and heritage. Two generations of students have traveled between our countries. Shariki has since joined with four other small towns to become Tsugaru City in the prefecture of Aomori.

This month the Bath- Tsugaru Student Exchange program sent seven students and three adults, including a Bath council member, from the Bath area to Japan where one of their activities was joining the Tsugaru Rotary Club for lunch. Bath families hosted 15 students and two city and program officials and one interpreter from Tsugaru a week after the Bath students returned home. We were delighted to sponsor a lunch for our Japanese visitors at the Georgetown wharf during their stay and have them visit us at our Aug. 17 breakfast meeting.

We are busy making plans to help sponsor the expense of the trip for Bath students next year. During next year’s anniversary activities there will be a tree planting to replace the tree planted 11 years ago in front of Brackett’s Market dedicated to the Mayor of Shariki who started the exchange program. His granddaughter had traveled to Bath that year. You can see the plaque for the tree just across from Lisa- Marie’s Made in Maine. The tree died last winter and was cut down several weeks ago.

It is an honor to be part of this experience where communities with different cultures and histories can and do nurture a relationship of friendship despite world circumstances. This program exemplifies the goals of Rotary International, and we look forward to developing an ongoing relationship with the Rotary Club of Tsugaru. Visit bath-tsugaru.org for more information on this wonderful program.

The renewed interest and support from our club came about from a member’s passion and commitment to the mission and he brought a proposal to our board. That is the possibility of Rotary International and it’s 35,000 plus local clubs globally: one person, one passion and Rotary support equals things getting done!

Bath Sunrise Rotary-Bath Rotary Club Joint Socials

Aug. 31, from 6-9 p.m., will be our quarterly 5th

Friday Social at

No Coward Soul in the lower level. There will be a short program at 6:30 p.m. for a surprise induction of an Honorary Member. Please join us if you would like to learn more about Rotary. And the second weekend in September will see Boothbay Harbor Rotary joining with both Bath clubs for an evening Sail-a-bration cruise. We work hard while having fun and then we celebrate and continue the fun.

Calendar Raffle Update

We are almost at the finish line with our successful Calendar Raffle. One more week to pick daily winners. The winner and ticket number are posted on our Facebook page each day with a list of all previous days’ winners at bottom of post. Many, many thanks to all who purchased tickets and the great businesses in the greater Bath area for supporting us, so we can do what Rotary does best — Service Above Self.

Robotics Clubs

School is starting next month and that means our three Rotary sponsored Robotics clubs will be gearing up for the year again. Check our Facebook page as soon as school is in session for current meeting times and days. If you have a student in RSU1 grades K-12, one of our clubs is for them. The Middle School and Elementary School clubs meet at the Patten Free Library and the High School club meets at Morse HS/BRCTC.

October BulbFest

This month the order went into Van Engelen for our annual flower bulb sale. Each Saturday morning in October you can find us at the Bath Farmers Market at Waterfront Park and in front of Brackett’s Market. When the order comes in at the end of September we will be busy repackaging and labeling for your gardening delight. We included yellow tulips in our order again for another Hope Garden to be planted at one of the schools in RSU1. Last year’s garden at Morse was beautiful when 300 tulips burst through the ground in 3 waves of bloom. We will also be working with the Yarmouth Rotary as they have their first BulbFest this year. At our bulb tables, you can also preorder your holiday wreaths.

Bath Sunrise Rotary meets the first and third Fridays of each month, 7 a.m., at Mae’s Café. If you are interested in finding out more about Rotary or joining in on one of our projects contact us at [email protected] and keep up-to-date on our programs by going to bathsunriserotary.org.

Carol Fleming is the president of the Bath Sunrise Rotary Club.