Muffin Madness write-up by Larry Stillwell
The Kentville Rotary Club supports many activities in the Annapolis Valley Region and this is another short story about one specific project. The Club supports a breakfast program in a local high school. It occurs one evening a month, involving a team of Rotarians spending an evening preparing and baking both Power Bars and Muffins which will be supplied to the school breakfast program for the following month. I have named the nights in which I host the program Muffin Madness. Participants for these events are volunteers from the club, their significant other, a relative or friend. The Lead Rotarian is responsible for mustering the crew.
Recently, we held the program for the month of December and the beginning of January I was to take my turn as the Program Leader. Unfortunately, there was a death in our family and I volunteered to assist in the airport transportation for those relatives flying home from various Canadian locations. I had a full complement of participants and the return airport trip for the day would fit in my daily schedule.
Shortly before I left for the airport, I received emails from Club Members who needed to withdraw their participation for the night due to conflicts occurring in their lives. Thus, my trip to the airport and back had me wondering how I could manage the task I was facing. I sought assistance from my sister and when I arrived at the school, I was overjoyed to discover I would have a full complement with people coming forward and they included the present Rotary Club President Rod McMahon, two previous presidents, Shelly Phillips, Phyllis Jarvis, Rotarians Ellen Crowley, Byron Crossman, Vivian Kent, the wife of Rotarian Carl Kent, School Vice Principal Greg Fox plus my sister and I.
Since the Muffins and Power Bars were required for December and part of January our objective was greater than the usual quantity, However the team rose to the challenge, organized into work groups and executed like a well-oiled machine. The end result being that we prepared and baked over 16 dozen muffins and 94 power bars.
Were the baked products good? Greg conducted some quality control and advised that the granola bars and muffins were a big hit among students who benefit from the program. Kevin Veinot, the school principal also sent us an email thanking us for the program. Our club should be proud of the program and the benefit it brings to our community. The photos show us working and a few lighter moments. Working with a dedicated group of volunteers and contributing to the community is a wonderful feeling.