President-elect Jim filled in for Rick who was busy with work. After the preliminaries, Jim welcomed our speaker, David Packhem, and his young associate, Jay Orser. Then we settled in for lunch.

My audio recorder was not cooperating and I don’t remember most of the Happy Dollar comments. People were happy with the sunshine and trees turning green. Ed Smith reported that Mrs. Smith is doing well. Tracy mentioned that a celebration of her mother’s life will be held next Saturday, May 16, at 11:00 A.M. at the Ogunquit Baptist Church.

Pete continues his support of CLYNK.

“When you take a CLYNK bag in, that helps us a lot,

   Right now would be a good time to do it,

Actually any time at all,

   Is a good time to pursue it!

We have $484.95 in our CLYNK account.”

I had the winning ticket but drew the 5 of hearts and the ace of diamonds.

Jim then turned the meeting over to Dave Packhem. Dave is the founder and executive director of SEED (Students Empowered to End Dependency). The organization’s mission is to dramatically reduce substance use among Maine students by engaging them in compelling learning opportunities and messaging campaigns. SEED’s goals include:

• Reducing the stigma associated with drug and alcohol dependence
• Teaching the science underlying Substance Use Disorder
• Promoting recovery services and invite people into the recovery community
• Reducing the number of young people who initiate use of drugs and alcohol

Jay Orser is a young volunteer with SEED who provides convincing testimony based on first-hand experience.

The members in attendance on Thursday were enthralled with the presentation and asked numerous follow-up questions. Anyone wishing to know more about SEED should click https://seedmaine.org

The Ogunquit Rotary board meets Monday, May 11, at 5:00 at Bangor Savings.