This morning's guest speaker was Pam Mohlin of the Saco Diaper Bank. Pam shared the history of her organization and wonderful stories of how the diaper bank is making a difference in our community. What started in May 2021 with just a few clients now serves over 40 families each week. The Saco Diaper Bank, operating out of the First Parish Congregational Church, 12 Beach Street, Saco, is the only diaper bank in York County. At today's meeting, Rotarian Dave LePauloue presented over 2000 diapers to Pam. Thanks to Dave for coordinating the diaper drive on behalf of the Saco Bay Rotary Club.
Rotary Club of Saco Bay

Service Above Self
We meet In Person
Thursdays at 7:30 AM
Birdies Tavern and Grill
168 Saco Ave
Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064
United States of America
Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064
United States of America
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Changeover dinner June 19, 2025
Joanne's homeJun 19, 2025
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2025 Changeover Dinner
Joanne Landry HomeJun 19, 2025
5:30 PM - 7:30 PM -
Bon Appetite Community Meal
Second Congregational ChurchJun 20, 2025 4:00 PM
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Weekly Meeting
Birdie's Tavern & GrillJun 26, 2025 7:30 AM
Guest Speaker Emily Elliott, Community Relations Manager, from Living Innovations shared information about their services and programs centered around supporting clients with intellectual and developmental challenges. Emily's presentation was very informative!
During our weekly meeting, new Rotarian Todd Rodriquez completed his classification presentation to the club. Was great to learn more about Todd and looking forward to a future Louisiana crawfish/lobster boil!
On Thursday morning, a group of Rotarians visited the Young Elementary School Library in Saco to meet with the Librarian and a class of 2nd graders that would be using some of the newly purchased books donated by our club. As part of the 2025 District Grant, $4500 was donated to three local community school so that they may purchase new books and materials needed for their school. Young Elementary in Saco, Jameson Elementary in Old Orchard Beach, and the Biddeford Primary School were all recipients of this grant. It was fun to see the young students pick out one of the new books to read during our visit. Last month, Dan and Dru visited the Jameson school and had the opportunity to also meet with students in the classroom. A great service project for our community.
A fun night at Bentley's in Arundel for our monthly fellowship social.
Special thanks to Gretchen Johnson, Executive Director, Center for Grieving Children for speaking to our club this morning. Gretchen's presentation was very informative and she shared an overview of the services and programs available to those dealing with grief both directly and indirectly. For more information on the organization you can visit their website at http://www.cgcmaine.org
We have included some of the handouts provided to the club.
Rotarian and Assistant District Governor Joanne Landry shared with the club some highlights of her recent 10 day trip to the Philippines. Joanne was a member of the District 7780 Outreach Team along with PDG Dick Hall (Portland RC) and PP Carol Madsen (Bridgton-Lake RC). Despite a 30+ hour travel time and 120 degree temps, Joanne's trip was full of great experiences and she presented an overview of all the good work Rotary is doing in the Philippines. She commented on how wonderful the guest Rotarians were and how welcoming the people of the Philippines were to their team. Great Job Joanne representing the Saco Bay Rotary Club!
More info about the trip can be found on the district website: https://rotary7780.org/stories/district-outreach-team-travels-to-the-philippines
Congratulations to our May 2025 Students of the Month!! The two students recognized at our weekly meeting on May 8th were Gloria Sebit of Biddeford High School and Joana Massanga of Old Orchard Beach High School. President Dan Letellier and Rotarian Jen Sirois presented the students with a certificate and $50 gift card sponsored by Maine Community Bank. Great to honor these students and learn about their accomplishments! A reflection of Service Above Self!
Special Thanks to Amy Langelo, Senior Program Manager, Alzheimer's Association - Maine Chapter for speaking to our club on Thursday and providing us a presentation on Alzheimer's and Dementia Awareness. Lots of good information shared!!! September is the Alzheimer's Walk in Portland and everyone is invited to join team "NeverForget". If interested in walking, reach out to team captain, Rotarian Carmen Gawronski.
Another great day of Service for the Saco Bay Rotary Club. Who better to do the yard cleanup for our Auction winner in Saco than a group of landscape engineers from the Saco Bay Rotary Club. A rose among thorns, our favorite rose (Rotarian Jen Sirois) is flanked by President Dan Letelier, Rotarians Chris Jordan, Chris Bedard, Dave LePauloue, Dru Laduke, Mike Collard, and President Elect David Arenstam. Thank you Rotarians for your time and hard work!
Despite another rainy weekend, a team of Saco Bay Rotarians put on their gloves and raincoats to help with a community beach cleanup project at Camp Ellis. The event was kicked off by Saco Parks and Rec Department Director Ryan Sommer and Saco Mayor Jodi MacPhail and volunteers from a few groups walked along the beach from Camp Ellis to Bayview picking up debris. It was nice to see that the beach was very clean to kick off the summer season. The Camp Ellis General Store provided fresh baked cookies for the event. Special thanks to Saco Bay Rotarians Phil & Lucie Hatch, Jen Sirois, Larry Littlefield, Carmen Gawronski and husband Bob, and Chris Gordon and his two daughters for sharing their time to help support this community project.
Special thanks to this week's guest speaker Joanna Shaw for sharing her story and more information about Sweetser's OPTIONS program. The presentation was very interesting and all attending Rotarians were provided with a take-home bag full of important resource information and a box of NARCAN. For more information about this life-saving program, visit www.knowyouroptions.me
A team of Saco Bay Rotarians joined in a night of service on Friday, April 18th at the Bon Appetite Community Meal Program in Biddeford. The team helped with serving the meal, interacting with guests, and all the kitchen dishwashing tasks. Special thanks to Rotarian Tony DeBarros for coordinating the monthly event! And thanks to Rotarians Mike Collard, Dan Cote, Bill Doran, Carmen Gawronski, Doc Hammond, Larry Littlefield, Curt Scammon, and Todd Rodriquez for their time and service!
Great turnout for the Chilli Cookoff on Thursday, April 17th at the River Winds Farm in Saco! Participants were from the Biddeford-Saco Rotary Club, Saco Bay Rotary Club, and the Sunset Bay Rotary Club. The judge for the event was Chef Hermann from the Lost Fire in Cape Porpoise. And the top winners were.....
1st Place - $200 Gift Certificate to the Lost Fire - John Gallo - Saco Bay Rotary Club
2nd Place - $100 Gift Certificate to the Lost Fire - Lucie Hatch - Saco Bay Rotary Club
Congrats to John and Lucie!!
Special thanks to Rotarians Conrad Welzel (BS Rotary), Jeff Slayton (Saco Bay), and Dennis Robillard (Sunset Bay) for their planning and coordination of this fun fellowship event!
Despite the cold rainy weather, hundred of walkers showed up to join in the 27th year of Mary's Walk to raise funds for the Maine Cancer Foundation. Several Rotarians from the Saco Bay Rotary Club assisted the Saco Police Department by helping with traffic enforcement at the closed cross-streets along the Main Street & Elm Street walking route. A great day of service for the club!
A fun time was had by all at the 2025 Saco Bay Rotary Club Live Auction held on Saturday, April 12th at the Biddeford-Saco Elks Club. Special thanks to David Arenstam, Phil Smith, Dru Laduke, Phil Hatch, Dan Letellier, and all those that spent time and effort over the past several months planning, soliciting sponsors and items, storinga nd cataloging all the items, and ensuring the event was a success! We look forward to sharing the total fundraising financials shortly.
The Saco Bay Rotary Club Auction Extravaganza wrapped up its online auction on Thursday, April 10th with over 126 items sold!! The Live and Ticket Auction event is scheduled for Saturday, April 12th beginning at 5pm at the Biddeford Saco Elk's Club located at 68 Ocean Park Road in Saco. The Live event will feature over 25 additional items, a DJ will be playing your favorite tunes, appetizers served, and cash bar available. Please come out and have some fun and support the Saco Bay Rotary Club. We would like to thank all of this year's Sponsors and those that donated items for the auctions.

Congratulations to the April 2025 Saco Bay Rotary Club Students of the Month!! At the April 10th weekly meeting, the following students, who were nominated by teachers and faculty, were honored for their outstanding contributions to their high schools and each student shared their accomplishments and future goals with the Rotarians.
- Xavier De La Torre - Biddeford High School
- Ransom Randall - Old Orchard Beach High School
Each student was presented with a certificate and a $50 gift card sponsored by Maine Community Bank.
Congratulations to these well-deserving students!



York County Manager Greg Zinser was the guest speaker at the April 3rd weekly meeting and shared the mission of the First County Foundation (www.yorkcountryfcf.org) and the $40+ million project which includes two state of the art facilitites under construction in Alfred. We look forward to seeing these completed facilities in the future in action as they help to address the substance use disorder crisis in our state and county and the need for advanced training facilities for our first responders.



A team of Saco Bay Rotarians helped to serve over 100 meals on March 31st at the Saco Meals Program. Thanks to Joanne Landry, Phil & Lucie Hatch, and Jen Sirois for their time and service!! Rotarian Dave LePauloue also led the Thornton Academy Alumni team in preparing the meal. #ServiceAboveSelf



On March 27, 2025 we welcomed our newest member, Todd Rodriquez, as he was inducted into the Saco Bay Rotary Club by President Dan Lettelier and his sponsor, Rotarian Dan Cote. We look forward to Todd's contributions to our growing club. Congrats Todd!


Congratulations to the February and March 2025 Saco Bay Rotary Club Students of the Month!! The following students who were nominated by teachers and faculty, were honored at the March 13, 2025 weekly Rotary meeting for their outstanding contributions to their high schools and each student shared their accomplishments with the Rotarians.
- Brady Plante, OOB High School
- Colby Thomas, OOB High School
- Dominick Tremblay, Biddeford High School
- Emily Labbe, Biddeford High School
- Matteo Patino, Thornton Academy
Each student was presented with a certificate and a $50 gift card sponsored by Maine Community Bank.
Congratulations to all!



It's March Madness Time!! The Saco Bay Rotary Club has started a pool on CBSSports.com. Join in the fun! This pool will be a 50/50 fundraiser and the entry fee is $20 which includes TWO brackets per person. Payout will go to the top overall point leader. Download the CBSSports.com app on your phone or access via your computer. If you are interested in joining, please email us at cgawronski@aol.com and we will send you an online invite with the pool link to get you started. The entry fee can be paid via Venmo. SELECTION SUNDAY is March 16th at 6pm when the 68-team field will be announced and brackets will be available after selections completed. First tip off is March 18th.
Thanks for supporting the Saco Bay Rotary Club.
Our club is growing! President Dan Letellier led the induction of four new members over the past few months. We welcome our new Rotarians and look forward to their contributions as they share in our commitment of Service Above Self!
Introducing Rotarians: Tony Alaimo, Bill Doran, Chris Bedard, and Shawn Decoteaux

Addressing food insecurity is one of the core service pillars for the Saco Bay Rotary Club and a team of Rotarians volunteer at the Bon Appetite Community Meal Program in Biddeford the 3rd Friday of each month. We were happy to be able to donate $500 this year to Bon Appetite. On average, 75 Bon Appetite guests are served each night (Monday-Friday). The Rotarians help out by serving the guests in the dining hall, assisting in the kitchen, and handling all the dishwashing duties. #ServiceAboveSelf

Interested in being a sponsor?
Download the website sponsorship guide
Download the website sponsorship guide
It is the mission of our club to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthwile enterprise; to encourage and foster the development of aquaintenance as an opportunity for service; to encourage the highest ethical standards in business and professions; to recognize the worthiness of all occupations as a means to serve society; to apply the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life; and to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace through world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service above self.