For 31 years, the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club Essay Contest has encouraged local eighth-grade students to reflect on one meaningful question: What does the word family mean to me? On May 14, 2026, student winners from Biddeford, Saco, and Old Orchard Beach gathered alongside Rotarians, families, and school administrators to share heartfelt essays that highlighted the many ways family shapes our lives through love, support, resilience, and belonging.
Congratulations to this year’s winners (in order of 1st-3rd place):
🏆 Biddeford High School – Layla McDonough, Leila Zombo, and Cooper Crockett
🏆 Thornton Academy Middle School – Julia Collins, Kahlil Lee, and Tessa Purvis
🏆 Saco Middle School – Natalie Garrity, Branden Desormiers, and Aman Salam
🏆 Loranger Memorial School – Harper Keenan, Oscar Stanton, and Kyran Maynor
🏆 St. James School – Mia Millikin, Harper Elson, and Benjamin Dube
Each winner received a Certificate of Achievement, a $100, $75, and $50 cash prize, respectively, and a matching donation to a charity of their choice, reflecting Rotary’s commitment to “Service Above Self.” Congratulations to all of the student winners on their outstanding writing and thoughtful reflections.
Total Raised $3,235.65 | Containers CLYNKed 57,416 | Saved enough energy to light 80.2 lightbulbs—24 hours a day—for a year. | Saved the emissions equivalent of driving a car 15,188 miles.| Diverted enough containers to fill 584 lobster traps.
Alternately, if you already have a CLYNK account of your own, you can designate you funds as a donation. Hit the Donate button and search for Rotary and you'll find our account.
| Year | President |
| 1920 | Percy Sylvester |
| 1921 | John P Deering |
| 1922 | Dr George R Love |
| 1923 | Dr CE Thompson |
| 1924 | Arthur Burnie |
| 1925 | Charles Garland |
| 1926 | Joseph G Deering |
| 1927 | William F Goodwin |
| 1928 | Robert M Moore |
| 1929 | Dr Edgar Minot |
| 1930 | J Burton Stride |
| 1931 | William H Deering |
| 1932 | William Deering |
| 1933 | Thomas Coates |
| 1934 | Edwin T McDowell |
| 1935 | Dr Fred Lord |
| 1936 | Harold J Staples |
| 1937 | James W Wood |
| 1938 | Cecil F Clark |
| 1939 | Howard E Handy |
| 1940 | Harry C Hull |
| 1941 | R Pierpoint Jordan |
| 1942 | Benjamin C Shaw |
| 1943 | King Woodman |
| 1944 | Herbert W Chambers |
| 1945 | Arthur J Pariseau |
| 1946 | Clarence Craig |
| 1947 | Arthur L Corriveau |
| 1948 | Stanley A Gould |
| 1949 | George Butler |
| 1950 | Sargent Jealous |
| 1951 | Roy MacNauhton |
| 1952 | Alfred Lawe |
| 1953 | Harold J Hallsey |
| 1954 | Clayton Cartmill |
| 1955 | John E Barrett |
| 1956 | John R Gibson |
| 1957 | Daniel G Falvey |
| 1958 | Maurice CE Roux |
| 1959 | Mark B Black |
| 1960 | Raymond L Karnan |
| 1961 | F Turner Brown |
| 1962 | Stuart V Flavin |
| 1963 | Joseph A Haley |
| 1964 | Joseph G Grondin |
| 1965 | Harry M Wooster |
| 1966 | William L Smith |
| 1967 | Albert P Deshaies |
| 1968 | Herny A Tarte |
| 1969 | Richard E Sweeney |
| 1970 | E Raymond Noiseux |
| 1971 | Donald E Scribner |
| 1972 | Graenville S Arsenault |
| 1973 | Albert E Carignan |
| 1974 | William C Langevin |
| 1975 | Frank DeFrancesco |
| 1976 | Earl A Goodwin |
| 1977 | Norman R Faucher |
| 1978 | Robert W Cole |
| 1979 | Richard J Reny |
| 1980 | Harold M Arsenault |
| 1981 | Royal N Sheltra |
| 1982 | Gregory F Clifford |
| 1983 | Ronald Drouin |
| 1984 | Dennis Petit |
| 1985 | Thomas Moore |
| 1986 | James F Pastorelli |
| 1987 | J Richard Martin |
| 1988 | David Beattie |
| 1989 | David Lowe |
| 1990 | Steven Fennell |
| 1991 | Donald Lauzier |
| 1992 | Robert Begin |
| 1993 | Mark Thomas |
| 1994 | Richard Buffum |
| 1995 | Gilbert Dominque |
| 1996 | Thomas Wells |
| 1997 | Bill Guay |
| 1998 | Helene Plourde |
| 1999 | Richard Lagarde |
| 2000 | Mark Tuller |
| 2001 | Keith Jacques |
| 2002 | Stephen Ives |
| 2003 | Keith Gosselin |
| 2004 | Paul Deschambault |
| 2005 | Roland Eon |
| 2006 | Scott Simmonds |
| 2007 | Denis Elie |
| 2008 | Frank Gooding |
| 2009 | Steve Morin |
| 2010 | Julie Villemaire |
| 2011 | Frank Dumas |
| 2012 | Karen (Chasse) Garnett |
| 2013 | Roland Gagne |
| 2014 | Ken Farley |
| 2015 | Bill Kany |
| 2016 | Lucie Kay |
| 2017 | Jackson Brown |
| 2018 | Joe Moreshead |
| 2019 | Fausto Pifferrer |
| 2020 | Don Pilon |
| 2021 |
Martin Grohman
|
| Bassett | Joseph | Jun -18 |
| Bean | Peggy | Apr-97 |
| Bonneau (+1) | Paulette | May-19 |
| Boyle (+6) | Lawrence | Jan-98 |
| Chasse | Karen | Jun-06 |
| Dallaire (+8) | Brian | Dec-02 |
| DeFrancesco | Frank | May-07 |
| Demers | Raynald | Jun-18 |
| Deschambault (+1) | Paul | Jun-03 |
| Drouin (+6) | Ronald | 16-Jun |
| Eon (+1) | Roland | May-96 |
| Farley | Kenneth |
May-08
|
| Fullmer | Jen | Jun -22 |
| Gagne (+8) | Roland | May-03 |
| Gajewski (+1) | Susan | Jun-14 |
| Gendron | Heather | May-11 |
|
Giroux
Godbout (+7)
|
Cynthia
Jim
|
Jun-23
May-09
|
| Goodwin (+8) | Carl | Apr-90 |
| Goodwin (+1) | Earl | Jan-84 |
| Grohman (+1) | Martin | May-21 |
| Hennessey (+2) | Charles | May-92 |
| Jacques (+1) | Keith | Feb-01 |
| Kany (+1) | Bill | May-94 |
| Lane (+1) | Dana | Jun-05 |
| MacLean (+1) | Heather | Feb-06 |
| Moreshead (+4) | Joseph | May-08 |
| Morin | Steve | May-07 |
| Nohorney | Mark | May-19 |
| Nelson | Alan | Oct-99 |
| Palmitessa(+1) | Elaine | May-15 |
| Paterson (+1) | Bill | May-19 |
| Pifferrer(+1) | Fausto | Jun-19 |
| Plourde (+1) | Helene | May-96 |
| Pollock (+1) | Brenda | Mar-22 |
| Ray | Jeremy | May-21 |
| Shea (+1) | Kathy |
Jun-22
|
| Stoner | Morgan | Jan-21 |
| Thompson (+1) | Haley | May-12 |
| Villemaire (+2) | Julie | Jun-06 |
| Welzel (+1) | Conrad | May-17 |
Service Above Self
Saco, ME 04072
United States of America