President Ken Gardiner opened his first Club meeting, with Sandy Cox offering the Thought for the Day: "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time" by Abraham Lincoln.
Buckets on the Table in July will be for this year's Backpack Program, which will be led again by Barbara Heard.
President Ken was the speaker this meeting, where he discussed his ideas about future meetings being of a hybrid form, given the ongoing restrictions associated with the full Club being able to meet. It is likely that while some may be comfortable to meet again in-person, once we are allowed to do so, some may not be and so we will likely continue to hold meetings that include Zoom to allow those folks not in attendance to participate, and we are also looking into making recordings so that anyone can view the meetings at a different date/time.
President Ken asked each West Bay Rotarian, both in the parent and satellite clubs, to identify at least one person that we would like to have join us as a West Bay Rotarian, and invite them to participate in an upcoming meeting.
President Ken then discussed the background for his year's President's Project, which is associated with building coalitions and better relationships for those involved with the Midcoast Recovery Coalition. Ken would like the Club to build on our existing relationships with the many local organizations that we are presently involved with, including Habitat for Humanity, the Knox County Homeless Coalition/Hospitality House, One Less Worry, Strive, and the various food shelters in the area. Included in Ken's goals are the creation of a financial program to help educate those within MCRC. Our overall goal for the year and future is to help create a better atmosphere of hope and opportunity, with us mobilizing to help those in need meet the challenges ahead.
President Ken introduced his Officers and the various Committee Chairs for his Rotary year, with an opening still existing for Sergeant-at-Arms.