An all-star cast of Rotarians, Scouts and their parents attacked the Scout Hall with brooms, cleaners, rakes and a general go-to spirit last Thursday evening. Fortified by Chef Kim's burgers and dogs and trimmings, the group, aged 7 to 78, put in a couple of hours of heavy cleaning and yard work. While the results hardly make for a transformation, the Hall sure looks a lot more spiffy and we expect the neighbors will thank us for it! Thanks to Doug Harley for managing the effort! Meanwhile, Steve Salorio has a plan to keep the good work up.

Tammy Blackman organized the Scout participation and she also has developed a program for continued deep-cleaning by all the youth groups using the Hall. A meeting to discuss same, with required attendance by at least one parent from each group planning to use the Hall this year, is set for Monday September 17, 7:00 p.m. at the Hall.

Bob Jacobson's good news of last week has been confirmed through "official" Rotary channels and can now be shared: Our grant application to continue our local literacy program has been approved by the District as written! This grant will allow our club to once again provide a dictionary to each second grader in the region, to purchase teachers' instructional practices guides for the high school reading instructors, and to help replace the funding for "Reading Is Fundamental" which the school district will no longer receive from the federal government. Thank you, Tammy, for heading up this initiative! (My, Tammy's been busy.)

On Thursday, September 6, the fun continues with our almost-annual lobster bake on the Isle of Springs hosted by Mike and Lynn Thompson. If you haven't already invited your honey and made your reservations, please do so soon via Mike or President Skip: This lobster bake is a best-of-season event! The cost is $15 per person, with a choice of lobster or chicken; children are welcome and eat free if they choose chicken; those who want lobster pay like the grown-ups. The ferry departs from the dock on Sawyer's Island at 5:00 p.m. sharp. (We mean it! Ask Chip Griffin, who missed the boat one year and practically had to swim!).

On September 13 we'll be back in the clubhouse for our "regular" meeting at the regular time, and speaker Rick Prose will tell about the non-profit he is founding to teach rebuilding skills and provide vital social services to the residents of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, and to share excerpts of the video documentaries he has filmed of recovery work there. The board of directors will meet that afternoon at 4:45 p.m. at 7 Oak Street.

The District Membership Seminar is set for September 15 at York County Community College. See President Skip for agenda and registration!

The 6th Annual Hometown Heroes night will be held at Spruce Point Inn on Thursday, September 20. This event is our club's response to the tragedy of September 11; each year we invite our local police, fire fighters, communications teams and all first responders to say thank you for the work they do to keep us safe every day. Host for the evening is Angelo DiGiulian; emcee is Daren Graves, with Debbie Graves in charge of everything else! The keynote speaker will be former Soviet army officer and current American scholar Vladimir Sergevnin, an expert on international counter-terrorism. This is another jacket-and-tie, invite your sweetie event, and one of the year's highlights.

Rounding out the month on September 27, dentist Gary Howard, a past president of our club and current president of the Yarmouth club, will share stories of his Rotaplast trip to Peru earlier this year, when a team of doctors and Rotary volunteers helped repair cleft lips/cleft palettes for village children.

September assignments for those meetings held at our Clubhouse are Steward Foster Stroup; Innkeeper I.J. Pinkham; 50/50 Dwight Swisher; and Sergeant-at-Arms Rick Elder.

Check us out on the Web: www.boothbayharborrotary.org.