Rotarians Celebrate 100 Years of Service

Susan Collins

By Elias Thomas, President, Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club

Senator Susan M. Collins will be the guest of honor at the Centennial Gala of the Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club on Sept. 16 at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport.

Final preparations are being made to transform a private hangar at the airport into a grand venue for the event, which will run from 5 to 9 pm. Admission is $50 per person, $100 per couple. The event includes a cash bar, a program, dinner, and dancing.

This is a celebration of our service to the community and the world. There is a lot to celebrate. In recent years, local Rotarians have:

• Built a playground area at the adult education building
• Built a meditation garden at the York County Cancer Care Center
• Created Rotary Park in Springvale
• Collected and distributed food and clothing through York County Shelter Programs
• Rung bells for the Salvation Army Red Kettle project
• Co-organized with Sanford Kiwanis Club a Christmas party for economically disadvantaged children
• Contributed tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to graduating students from Sanford, Massabesic and Noble high schools
• Honored students of the quarter at the Sanford Regional Technical Center
• Sent several area tenth graders to leadership and team-building training through Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
• Built an interpretive trail around Deering Pond
• Installed several Little Free Libraries around the city

The club has also been heavily involved in international projects, often with other partners from other countries. Rotary members have:

• Organized study-abroad exchanges for high school students
• Immunized thousands of children in India below the age of 5 against polio
• Built washing platforms and safe toilet and shower buildings for women and girls in a predominantly Muslim village
• Raised funds and helped construct more than a dozen water catchment dams in dried-up riverbeds in Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujerat in India. This year, Rotarians will help to construct a dam near the Indian city of Udaipur.

For additional information or to purchase tickets for the centennial event, contact rotary.ss.me@gmail.com.