Although I have met many of you already, I am sure there are some I have not met. I am humbled to be your District Governor for the 2024-2025 Rotary year. I am a 17-year member of the Kennebunk Rotary Club and a native of Kennebunk, having lived there most of my life. I moved to Wells three years ago. I am married to my wife Nancy and between us we have five adult children and several fur babies, including two Yorkies, three cats and a fostered bunny. I have been in public safety since I was 14, starting out as a junior firefighter, an emergency medical technician at 16, a fulltime firefighter/medic for several years, and a police officer for 36 years. I have been the Police Chief in Kennebunk for the past 16 years.
As we begin our new Rotary year, I have a great sense of excitement thinking about our time together and what we can accomplish. Pre-pandemic I was fortunate enough to speak at many of our clubs about the opioid epidemic, substance use disorder (SUD), and how we can all learn to save a life with Narcan. Our committee, the Rotary District 7780 Recovery Initiative, has been active for the past eight years and is planning the third annual Rotary Recovery Conference in September 2024. I have been extremely proud of what we have accomplished in and around our District, especially around reducing stigma associated with SUD.
I look forward to traveling around the district to hear/see and maybe even partake in what you and your clubs are doing in your communities and around the globe. Since I have been in the District Governor track, I have had the opportunity to hear some of the various initiatives our Rotarians/clubs have started and/or continued, making positive change in people’s lives.
As your District Governor, I naturally would like to continue to spread the word around my passion for saving lives. At the same time, I truly would like to get a greater sense of what you and your clubs are doing collectively as so we can celebrate and share with our broader community members. We all join Rotary to serve above self and not to look for a pat on the back. I believe we could take what we do and spread the word more broadly, because Rotary is our “best kept secret”. We are losing Rotarians as a pace that in not sustainable, and we need to change that. I believe one way we can attract members is by sharing the great collective work we do in and around our District. Once people hear what we do, who would not want to be part of it?
Again, I am honored to be part of this District and humbled to be part of a great leadership team moving forward! I have been very blessed to have had great Past District Governors from whom I’ve learned as well as from those taking the helm after me. I want to give a heartfelt thanks to our Immediate Past District Governor, Marion Cheney, for the steadfast leadership, guidance and support she has given me and our District. We’ve had a great year, so thank you!
Here’s to a fun and productive year ahead. I look forward to meeting and working with you all!
Members, District 7780 Recovery Initiative Committee
On Saturday, September 28, 2024, the District 7780 Recovery Initiative Committee will host its third annual Conference. This year’s conference will focus on how Rotarians have and can continue to support mental health and recovery for those who are confronted with substance use disorder. To this end, Rotarians are involved in community coalitions that are making a difference in the lives of individuals in recovery in Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire.
The Recovery Initiative Committee has met monthly for the past seven years under the direction and leadership of Chief Robert Mackenzie of the Kennebunk Police Department and our new District Governor. In coordination with the newly formed Rotary Action Group on Mental Health, the committee will present “Critical Partners: Mental Health and the Road to Recovery.”
By Katelyn Pierson, RYLA Senior Advisory Team, and Scarborough RC Past President & President-Elect
There is no better dynamic duo than Portland Rotarians Emily Rumble and Sam Klemarczyk. Over the past 14 years, I have had the chance to watch them grow into the transformational leaders they are today. At the age of 16 they attended their first RYLA, and now 14 years later they are handing over the reins to the next directors, Jacey Chavez and Tim Moyer. As part of tradition, they will be placed on the distinct list of those that have shaped and directed what our District 7780 RYLA has become.
In RYLA we take the time to reflect. Think about this time frame: when they had their first camper year, our current 2024 campers were only toddlers. Emily and Sam have dedicated their lives and have made specific decisions that put RYLA first. It would take too long to write all their accomplishments and how they have impacted the program, but it is safe to say that RYLA is not just a week at Camp Hinds at the end of June for them. RYLA is alive and a way of life; it is dedication to building curriculum, relationships with staff members, and coordinating the massive project we call camp.
District 7780 ShareForever Million Dollar Challenge Update
By: Dave Underhill (Portsmouth RC) and Sarah MacGillivray (Bath Sunrise RC), ShareForever 7780 Team
Last November we launched the ShareForever 7780 Million Dollar Challenge. We had what seemed at the time a huge goal ahead of us. An anonymous donor set a challenge of raising one million dollars in cash and bequest gifts to The Rotary Foundation Endowment, that they would match. It is thrilling to share with you that we have not only met that challenge, but have gone above and beyond it: including the match, we have raised over $3,400,000 for the Rotary Endowments!
We want to recognize our up-to-now anonymous donors and tell you more.
Kathryn Williams, Immediate Past President, Scarborough RC
By: Katelyn Pierson, President, Scarborough RC
Every Rotarian is an agent of change, looking to make the world a better place by living our common value of ‘Service Above Self.’ Scarborough Rotary would like to highlight the positive impact that Kathryn Williams, Immediate Past-President, has had as she completes her third year of service with our club.
Kathryn officially joined Scarborough Rotary Club in the spring of 2021 and brought with her abundant energy and drive to accomplish things. She immediately stepped in the vice president role which may seem quick, but Kathryn came with a Rotary resume. She was a member of the Rotary Club of Ottawa from 1995 to 2013, but like many Rotarians, her work took her away from Rotary for a few years. But we all know that once a Rotarian always a Rotarian.
We mourn the death of Past District Governor Ron Drouin. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Biddeford-Saco, Maine serving as its president in 1983-1984. He served on numerous Rotary International District Committees and was elected Rotary International district governor for District 779, in 1988-89. District 779 covered Rotary Clubs in parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, the Province of Quebec and Northwest Territories of Canada. During his tenure as district governor, he charted five new Rotary Clubs and created a new Rotary International District, 7780. He was responsible for 72 Rotary Clubs. He made a different in his community, the region, and the world.
Dorothy (Dottie) B. Milbury, 84, since 1983 a long-standing member of the Rotary Club of Exeter, NH, passed away at her home with her family by her side on April 6, 2024. Dottie Milbury left a legacy in the Exeter Rotary Club, in the Town of Exeter, and in the Rotary District 7780. In 1983 she was “invited” into the Exeter Rotary Club. This made her the first female member of the Exeter Rotary Club, which led to her being the first female President of Exeter Rotary Club for 1990-1991, and, the first female club president in the entire 7780 District. Dottie opened the door for women Rotarians and kept that door open by offering mentorship to women in Rotary for almost four decades. However, female leadership was not Dottie’s only lasting contributions.
The District International Services Committee (DISC) met on June 27 and made the following decisions of interest to District Rotarians.
The International Cafes will be scheduled every other month. The next Café will be on Saturday, August 17, 2024, 9:30-11:00 am. Be on the lookout in August for Café information and the link.
The International Café Sub-Committee will host a brainstorming session on July 11th at 4:00 pm via Zoom to discuss the ongoing evolution of this successful event. Anyone who would like to participate, please contact Jeremy Gould at jeremygould15@yahoo.com.
Work has begun on the next Outreach trip. Under consideration is a new area of the world, one not yet visited by an Outreach team. Be on the lookout for more information and the application in the very near future.
Several District Rotarians have gone to the Project Fair in Colombia the past few years. It is hoped that even more will go in early 2025. A site visit to the District’s latest Global Grant, Aquaponics for Youth project in Medellin, would be part of this trip. For more information, contact DGE Emma Bodwell at ebodwell@icloud.com.
Although I have met many of you already, I am sure there are some I have not met. I am humbled to be your District Governor for the 2024-2025 Rotary year. I am a 17-year member of the Kennebunk Rotary Club and a native of Kennebunk, having lived there most of my life. I moved to Wells three years ago. I am married to my wife Nancy and between us we have five adult children and several fur babies, including two Yorkies, three cats and a fostered bunny. I have been in public safety since I was 14, starting out as a junior firefighter, an emergency medical technician at 16, a fulltime firefighter/medic for several years, and a police officer for 36 years. I have been the Police Chief in Kennebunk for the past 16 years. 
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