Eugene Keene Eugene Keene, newest member of the Light It Up Committee, holds a poster and wears one of the new navy blue T-shirts on sale by the committee. (Photo Kevin Burnham)

With "$30,000 committed" as of this week, the "Light It Up" Committee "is going to make a concerted effort" to raise $40,000 more in the next month in order to begin construction to erect lights on Sherman Field by late summer, early fall, according to president Pat Farrin and fund-raising chairman Tom Nickerson.

The committee met Monday, June 24 to discuss upcoming projects and to get reports from members helping with fund-raising and planning.

New member Eugene Keene of Boothbay Harbor, a former member of the parks and recreation committee in Auburn, has met with a few businesses about sponsoring the project and having their business name listed on banners. The five-foot by three-foot banners, provided by Masco Lighting, will hang from the light poles on a specially-made frame. The committee is asking for donations of $200 for each of the 42 sponsorship banners. The yellow banners with blue lettering are made of Coroplast® plastic, which are durable in any weather.

Nickerson said a "Light It Up" booth will be set up on the Boothbay Common on July 4. The committee plans to collect donations and pledges and sell the baseball caps ($10), tote bags ($12) and its new navy blue T-shirts ($12), which sport the Light It Up logo embroidered on the left shoulder. Raffle tickets for two footballs -- one autographed by NFL Hall of Famer Otto Graham and the other signed by the 2001 Class C State Champion Boothbay Region Seahawk football team -- will also be sold.

The committee is accepting any amounts of donations. For a donation of $200, however, a donor can purchase one of the 73 lights to be erected on the field. For a donation of $700, a donor can purchase one of the seven poles needed to light the field.

Residents of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb and Southport are reminded that Wiscasset Ford-Lincoln-Mercury will donate $100 in any resident's name to the Light It Up fund for the purchase or lease of any new or used car or truck between June 1 through Labor Day, September 2. All the customer has to do is to sign his or her name to a coupon appearing in an ad in this newspaper or at the auto dealership. The committee wished to thank Wiscasset Ford manager Frank Fassett for this generous donation.

Also, tax-deductible donations for the "Lights for Community Field" campaign may be made at the Boothbay Harbor branch of the First National Bank of Damariscotta. Checks should be made out to the "Boothbay Region Education Foundation" or "Light It Up," with a memo "Lights for Community Field."

Farrin reiterated that the committee can save money on the cost of the project by getting the work done on the light-pole bases donated and that he has commitments from several area contractors who will do the work.

Farrin and others set up a donation barrel in the Waterfront Park on Tuesday morning. He said the town approved the set-up and that it will remain in place at least a week.

Nickerson and Farrin said they plan to talk to the Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club soon about the project, in the hope of getting some pledge money.

Robert Vail is mailing solicitation letters and meeting with prospective corporate contributors. Jim Hanna, owner of Prince Charming, provided the letterhead paper for the mailing.

Clayton Pottle said he would meet with Babe Ruth and Little League representatives to see if the players and coaches would be willing to help with fund-raising. Any other groups which use the field who are willing to help with fund-raising are urged to contact Pottle.

Kevin Burnham will talk with local printers about having the Light It Up logo printed on placards which local stores and banks can sell for a donation. He will also talk with local football coaches about possibly holding a football skills competition for youth as a fund-raiser later in the summer. One other football-related fund-raiser being discussed by the committee is collecting pledges on the amount of touchdowns scored by the Seahawk football team this year.

Larry Brown reported on the sales of the baseball caps and tote bags. He also said that Craig Andrews, owner of Andrews' Harborside Restaurant, donated money to the fund with proceeds from the sale of his popular cinnamon buns on a recent Saturday morning.

M-T Redemption in Boothbay, located on Route 27 at the Red Lion Plaza, is also donating proceeds to the fund through its bottle and can redemption business.

The committee will meet again Monday, July 1, 6:30 p.m., at the Boothbay Region Lions Club on Lakeview Road. All interested persons are welcome to attend.