I was first introduced to Rotary by Phil Morin, who invited me to a meeting at the old Colonial Hut—back when it sat where the 7-11 is now on the corner of Alfred and Pool Streets. Not long after that, Ron Ganon, then Director of the Biddeford Center of Technology, invited me to join him for lunch and encouraged me to get involved. About a month later, in the early 1990s, I officially joined Rotary. At that time, we met at the Chattanooga, which is now a sports bar next to the car wash on Elm Street.

Back then, the club had more than 70 very active members who showed up to weekly meetings like clockwork. If you missed three meetings, you could be removed from membership. I actually liked that level of formality—there was a head table, active subcommittees, and a real sense that everyone was welcomed and everyone had a role to play. We were all working toward a common good while building genuine, lasting friendships.

Around that same time, I became president of the Chamber of Commerce and was part of the team that helped move the Chamber from Factory Island to the new train station. “How dare we move the Chamber from Biddeford to Saco,” right? Looking back now, it’s been incredible to witness the transformation of our community over the past 30-plus years—from mills closing to reopening as housing and vibrant business spaces.

We often joke about the “fifth element” in everything we do—that it has to be fun—and that really does resonate. We’ve always found ways to laugh at ourselves and not take things too seriously…at least some of us, if you know what I mean.

Fast forward 30 years, and I’m still making new friends and still working toward the common good alongside some of the finest individuals you could ever hope to know. Rotary, at its core, is about relationships and community—two things we can always use more of in our lives.