CARIBOU, Maine — There’ve been 90 years of Service Above Self in Caribou as the local Rotary Club celebrates its milestone anniversary.
Of all the changes the club has undergone, its commitment to giving back remains its focal point.
“I have to believe that we’ve been around for 90 years because we’ve been focused on the right things and have been very relevant,” said current Rotary Club President Mike Quinlan.
Quinlan sees the club as being part of a larger international ecosystem, but the focus of the club is the Caribou community.
“Whether it’s when you look at how we fund certain requests to our club or how we choose to get together on our time … it’s all about the community and taking care of each other,” the president explained.
Locally, that focus centered around helping youths — ski clubs, Scouting, Little League and the recreation department. Local programs have benefited from Rotary’s generosity, but Rotary is far more than a local service organization.
“It’s neat because the community we’re involved in is larger than this room and larger than Caribou — it’s literally a worldwide organization,” said Rob Keiffer, a Rotarian since the early 1980s.
Keiffer noted that giving back as a club allows each member contribute greater than they could if they were alone.
The annual bike helmet donation to area second-graders, the cash draw fundraiser, the annual craft fair — all major events done seemingly with ease due to decades of planning and experience. Quinlan said that only minor programming tweaks are needed from time to time to keep things running smoothly, and Past President of the Rotary Club Pam Sheppele agrees.
“We’re standing on the shoulders of those who worked hard to start some of these things,” she said.
According to a Rotary History complied by Rotatarian and Past President Alan Hitchcock, charter members included: R.W. Boone, R.N. Brown, J.C. Briggs, G.M. Carter, N.A. Currier, E.H. Doyle, C.K. Dunham, R.F. Gardiner, R.C. Gary, F.L. Gregory, A.B. Havey, P.H. McNelly, J. Partridge, O.T. Pierson, G. Ritchie, E.W. Russ, W.E. Sincock, A.W. Spaulding, H.O. Spencer, A.G. Vose. The first officers elected were: Sincock, president; Vose, vice president; Gardiner, treasurer; Dunham, secretary; and Gary, sergeant-at-arms.
The club has about 55 members 90 years later, and those members get together once a week and make sure projects that give back to the greater community are accomplished successfully. After all, it’s a service organization — not a social club. those who become members understand that it means time, effort and hard work.
“In my mind, I see it as the price of admission,” Quinlan explained.
Sheppele looks right past admission and right on to the camaraderie.
“I always say my best friends are Rotarians and when we do service projects it’s fun because you’re hanging out with your friends — though you work pretty hard, too,” she added.
Rotary does have its share of rules — like stipulations that everyone remain on a first-name basis and a strict rule that business and self-promotion is not to take place during Rotary meetings — unless it involves donations or volunteering services.
“If these people were paid for everything they do, this club would be bankrupt,” said longtime Rotarian Leo Keiffer.
Rotary Club is about giving back, and all Rotarians are welcome at any other Rotary Club’s meeting.
That’s why the elder Keiffer won’t soon forget his very first Rotary Club meeting down in Augusta after a successful political campaign.
“I was welcome in that Rotary club because I was a Rotarian — not because I was a State Senator from Aroostook County,” he emphasized. “That’s a big difference. It opens the door for a lot of opportunities.”
In its 90th year, the Caribou Rotary Club is currently in the midst of a membership drive.
“We all put a lot of effort toward Rotary, and it’s because we believe in it,” Quinlan said.
The club is looking for community leaders who also believe in “Service Above Self,” and those interested in joining are asked to send an email to info@caribourotary.org. The Caribou Rotary Club meets every Wednesday at noon at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center.
