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April 2026

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Service Above Self

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Thursdays at 7:15 AM

Berwick Academy

Academy Street
Commons Building
South Berwick, ME 03908
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Geo Quiz Night for Santa Cruz, Guatemala

Another Successful Geography Quiz Night for an International Project

Global Grant spokesperson, Michele Bois-Gilbody, along with our district grants guru, Carolyn Johnson, as well as Peter Johnson who filled in as a member of one of the winning teams, were on hand with hundreds of others to learn some geography, volunteer, have some fun, and support a Global Grant for helping a school in Santa Cruz, Guatemala. This is our 15th Geography Quiz Night, led by the incomparable expert quizmaster, Mike Moloney, supporting an international project adopted by our club for the event. 28 teams of grownups and students competed, folks enjoyed food, bid on auction items, bought 50/50 raffle tickets and audience participation forms, and it looks like we earned about $8000 that evening. Congratulations and thanks to all who helped and attended!

Congratulations to Our Student of the Month

Rotarian and educator, Vicki Stewart, presents award to Marshwood Middle School Student Sorrel Lawson

Sorrel Lawson is our March Student of the Month

Marshwood Middle School teacher Tami Schoff, spoke about our most recent student of the month, Sorrel Lawson.

Schoff described Sorrel as "the quiet leader who takes the backseat and helps everyone around her thrive. Each day, Sorrel brightens the lives of students and adults around her with a kind good morning, her infectious smile and laugh, or her inquisitive one-finger question, answer, thought, or intrigued expression."

Sorrel is active in a wide range of clubs and activities, including soccer, theater, Girl Scouts, and Unified Basketball. Beyond school, Sorrel gives her time to others through volunteering at Seacoast Top Soccer, Best Buddies of Maine, and A to Z Abilities events. "Watching Sorrel interact with peers and younger students of all abilities is truly inspiring - she forms genuine connections and makes everyone feel welcomed and valued," said Schoff.

Thanks to the support of her parents, Schoff noted, Sorrel is on her way to making positive changes in the world. Sorrel has already mentioned that her $100 designated donation by Rotary on her behalf will be an organization that helps kids with special needs.

Welcome, Maggie OBrien

Membership co-chair Brian Beeler created another thoughtful welcome ceremony for our newest member, Maggie O'Brien.

Speaking metaphorically, if Rotary is a beautiful rainbow, then our members are the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So Brian had each member receive a gold "coin" which represented what they like most about being in Rotary, and as each of us expressed that we filled the pot of gold with our sentiments.

Maggie O'Brien (pictured with Brian and holding the pot of gold!) is a South Berwick organic farmer who manages the Three Sisters Farm, along with her husband and 3 daughters. She is civic-minded, has a background in international work, and hopes to instill in her family members as well the importance of helping and volunteering

We are thrilled to have you join us, Maggie!

Proud Sponsor of Marshwood Ski Team

Our Newest Student of the Month

May Wells, an 8th grader from Marshwood Middle School, is our newest Student of the Month. School Superintendent and Rotarian Heidi Early-Hersey did the honors of presenting May with the award at our morning meeting on February 12th. Her parents, as well as her teacher, Renee Caverly, were on hand to celebrate May. Renee described the qualities that earned May this recognition. Among those, she said May is active in the Junior Honor Society and the Civil Rights Team. May has been particularly involved in the Common Ground Tuskegee-South Berwick Sister city project. Renee said. "I have not had a student as dedicated to that as May," describing May as a "well-rounded leader ... who never focuses on herself...who quietly steps up when something needs to be done."

Part of this award is that the student designates a charity/cause to which our club donates $100 in her honor. May has already informed us that she would like us to donate to the World Wildlife Fund.

United for Good - Working with Our Interact Club

Marshwood Interact students collected Xmas trees and recycled them with the help of Rotarians Len Bogh, Jackie Pampinella and the Goranssons as an environmentally-conscious fundraiser. They raised $650! Great job, especially by Nellie, Julia, Fiona, and others who supported this endeavor.

Exchange Student On Ski Team!

After an enjoyable experience as a Marshwood High School Varsity Soccer Team player, our exchange student, Carlos Carbonell Monte (left) is now a member of the high school Ski Team! He is pictured here with his new "brothers", Ethan and Liam Waddell, at his first ski competition. Carlos was welcomed by the Waddell family for the next phase of his exchange experience - this time joining a family with 4 children, quite the change from his farm life with the Goranssons during August-December!

Fundraiser Nets Over $12,000 for the Food Pantries

Co-President and also Chair of Community Service for our club, Robin Wheeler (right) presents a check for over $6000 to Jean Graunke, Director of South Berwick Community Food Pantry. A check in the same amount will be presented by Kittery Rotary clubs to Footprints Food Pantry in Kittery. This has been our most successful fundraiser and benefits those suffering from food insecurity in our communities. It was so heart-warming to see the overwhelming concern by community members who supported the dance and auction in November. We are grateful for the donors of auction items as well as those who came out to help feed their neighbors while dancing to the great music of Undercover. Thank you to all!

November Student of the Month

Marshwood Middle School student Dayna Krummel received the Student of the Month award for November. Her parents and younger brother attended the meeting along with her teacher, Mr. Rowe, school principal, Christine Goulet and Interim Superintendent (and Rotarian) Heidi Early-Hersey.

The superintendent noted the Student of the Month effort is a "great partnership" between the Rotary and schools. Beyond student recognition, the recipient receives a gift card to spend as well as the opportunity to name a charity or cause to which our Rotary club will donate $100 in the student's honor.

Mr. Rowe, a social studies teacher for 20 years who nominated Dayna, described her as "tenacious about learning," "driven" and "the embodiment of self-achievement." He said she would "drop everything" to help someone and "greets everyone with a smile." Sounds like she has all the makings of a great Rotarian, don't you think?

In receiving this recognition, Dayna said, "It's really cool I got this reward."

Welcome, Aram and Khayyam

Membership Co-Director Brian Beeler (second from left) and Co-President Helen Goransson happily welcome Aram Guptill (left) and Khayyam Mohammed (right) as our newest members. Aram is Executive Producer of Hackmatack Playhouse and also a helper of the immigrant community in his work in Portland, and Khayyam is a beloved retired teacher from Marshwood High School who still serves there helping students in various ways and a long-time community organizer of the Strawberry Festival in South Berwick. We are so fortunate to have these two "unite for good" with us!

Another Thanksgiving Dinner for Our Seniors

Thanks to all our volunteers, especially the crew from the submarine Washington at the U.S. Navy Yard, who set up, served, socialized and cleaned up after a most successful Thanksgiving dinner for the senior citizens of South Berwick. Over 100 people enjoyed the home-cooked meal funded by us and provided by First Federated Congregational Church and Harland Goodwin, as well as the pies donated by York Hospital. Rotarian Deb DeColfmacker led the effort making sure all was done to perfection. Lots of smiling faces and happy tummies that day!

Fundraiser for Food Pantries a Big Success

A SPLENDID TIME WAS HAD BY ALL! Rotarians and community members came together for a great cause. Major sponsors of the event were Undercover (the band), our club, Kittery Rotary, Kittery After Hours Rotary, J.S. Pelkey and Son, and Kennebunk Savings Bank. Many thanks to all the generous donors of auction items, the volunteers from Marshwood's Interact club, and the generous attendees who bid on items and made free will donations of cash and food, all while enjoying fellowship with other like-minded folks. Talk about UNITE FOR GOOD (this year's Rotary motto), this was definitely what we were all doing!

Work Day at the Kita Center

Dance and Silent Auction for Food Pantries

We welcome your silent auction items to maximize fundraising at this event. And please come and bring your friends and family for a fun night with a great dance band!

Irene Is Our October Student of the Month

Seen here with her parents, we congratulate Irene Somers, a 6th grader at Marshwood Middle School for being selected our October Student of the Month.

She raises funds for good causes, works at and for food pantries, does lots of community service via her affiliation with her Girl Scouts troop, and even travels abroad to help kids less fortunate than she is, and the beat goes on. Irene Somers lives the "service above self" Rotary motto and we are so proud and appreciative of her. Congratulations, Irene, and keep up the great work! Thank you for all you do!

Supporting Free Press in South Berwick

Rotarian Mark Gagnon presents South Berwick Reporter writer/editor Karen Eger with a check for $1000 in support of their endeavors to become a non-profit organization.

Welcome, Katie Somers

Len Bogh Is Our Newest Member

Rotarian Brian Beeler, who compared our club members to individual seeds that grow into beautiful flowers and the Rotary organization to a beautiful bouquet, welcomed our newest member, Len Bogh. He is a South Berwick builder and remodeler and very interested in promoting the trades and addressing the need for workforce housing. Len has been active in the community, most recently with the Hot Summer Nights program in South Berwick. Welcome aboard, Len, and may you continue to blossom with our club!

Our Incoming Exchange Student Carlos Is Here!

Carlos Carbonell Monte in his Marshwood Soccer Tee Shirt during Team Tryouts

He wanted to join in as his host family was finishing hay harvest - Day One in the U.S.

We welcomed our exchange student, Carlos Carbonell Monte, on August 16th - just in time for him to jump into Marshwood High School's soccer tryouts 2 days later! Carlos comes from Javea, Spain, which is not far from Alicante, Spain, which is a few hours away from Barcelona. Carlos will spend his senior year of high school living in Eliot and South Berwick, Maine with host families. His first host parents are the Goranssons, owners of Bondgarden Farm in Eliot which produces hay, beef, turkeys, and other farm items and also boards horses. Carlos wasted no time in asking to help as the Goranssons were finishing their last fields for haying. He pitched right in with helping to load a half-wagon of hay into the haylofts and picking up hay off the field. Then fellow Rotarian Richard Donhauser invited the "farmers" for a dip in his lovely pool! Later that day, the teenage girls next door invited him to a small gathering. The following day, he began the first of 2 weeks of double sessions of soccer training. School begins September 2nd. In Carlos' words, "It's like I'm in a movie!"

Nellie Young is Our August Student of the Month

Interim Superintendent of Schools and Rotarian, Heidi Early-Hersey presents award to Nellie Young

Nellie Young presenting her next service project for Peru to our club

Our August Student of the Month was none other than Nellie Young, the energetic Marshwood High School student who brought our district the project to provide better early learning environments for children in Pachacamac, Peru and who does so much more. This prolific young person has been service-oriented throughout her high school years and, now a senior, she is president of the Marshwood High School Interact Club. She has another project in mind and she shared this proposal with our club members, not knowing that at that meeting we would be awarding her our Student of the Month award. Part of her award is to name a cause to which our club can donate $100, and she has already chosen that - helping Edcaminos in Mexico where one of our prospective members and her 11-year-old daughter did some volunteer work recently. We know that as this year's co-President of Marshwood Interact, this will be an outstanding year for that group, following the credo "service above self".

Our Outbound Exchange Student off to Colombia

Wishing safe travels and a wonderful school year to Sabine D'Aran

Our club bade farewell for now and safe travels to Sabine D'Aran, our outbound exchange student from Marshwood High School. Sabine will spend her senior year of high school in Cucuta, Colombia!

An adventurous and personable young woman, Sabine has accompanied travelers with the EF program on short-term visits abroad, but this year she decided to jump into the pool with both feet as she will spend the entire school year in Cucuta, Colombia. We sent her off with banners to share and a gift from the club, and the Marshwood Interact Club presented her with gifts they found for her that would cheer her while away.

We have heard from Sabine since her arrival and she writes, "I absolutely love my host family. I would say that I feel very comfortable most of the time with them, and that I feel accepted and cared for...I feel comfortable and enjoy spending time with everyone!" The trip to Colombia had a glitch when she arrived in Bogota and was greeted by her host father and they found that they had missed their flight to Cucuta. However, every cloud has a silver lining. He had family in Bogota and Sabine got to meet them and see Bogota, too!

Leftover Funds Buy Wheelchairs in Peru

Gelato at Lanternfest 2025

Servers Mark and Sandy Gagnon and Skip Cousens cheer up Lanternfest folks with gelato when the event was shortened due to an impending Thunderstorm.

Many thanks to our volunteers at Lanternfest (Mark, Sandy, Skip, Mary, Helen and Vicki and Randy (sorry your shift was cut short!)).

We Welcome 2 More New Members

Brian Beeler created an initiation for our two newest members using a baseball team metaphor. As each member tossed the ball, they described why they liked being a Rotarian.

We are delighted to have Jaime Roberge, representing the institutional membership of Berwick Academy, and Jordan Kelley, as our primary contact for another corporate member, the Great Works Land Trust. Being "corporate members" of our club, their organizations may send one representative to each of our meetings if they wish to rotate attendance around this way. It's a win-win as we all get to meet more and more community-spirited people through Rotary. Welcome to Jaime (left) and Jordan (right), on behalf of our club and thank you to Brian Beeler for once again inspiring us all with another of his creative new member ceremonies.

Strawberry Festival 2025